Gallery by Heather Belcher
Independence speedster Judah Price scores the first TD on the new turf at Liberty.
Indy leads 7-0. 1Q 10:17#wvprepfb pic.twitter.com/8fjmaGdm2S— Rusty Udy (@rusman1981) August 27, 2021
Friday night, excitement filled the air at Liberty High School in Glen Daniel.
The hometown Raiders were welcoming county rival Independence to town for the annual Battle of ’76 game on their newly turfed field.
Unfortunately for Liberty, the Patriots were all business when they walked on the field and were in no mood for celebrations.
Rolling up 443 yards of total offense and holding the Raiders to less than 60, Independence routed Liberty 47-0.
Raiders’ head coach Mark Workman knew his young team was in for a tough clash against the experienced Patriots.
“I lost 11 seniors last year and nine or ten of them started since their freshmen and sophomore years. I only have three three guys on offense and four guys on defense that have ever seen any high school action,” Workman explained. “Independence has a pretty experienced team and they are big and strong up front. They just manhandled us up front. When you have a line like that and a back like Atticus Goodson, they are hard to stop.”
Independence won the toss and wanted the ball immediately, scoring in just four plays. Judah Price capped the drive when he broke loose on a misdirection run for a 53-yard touchdown.
Price didn’t carry the ball very many times, but when he did, he was electric. The junior speedster tallied 150 yards on just five carries.
“It was nice tonight and I didn’t really expect it. I thought Atticus was going to run it and I was going to stay in the slot,” Price said. “I enjoy being out in the open because I am really shifty and most of the guys don’t even know how to stop it.”
“Judah is a stud. He is a beast. He just doesn’t get a lot of credit, but he is phenomenal,” Independence head coach John Lilly said.
Coming into the game with a highly touted offense, the Indy defense became the story of the night, spending most of the night in the Raiders’ backfield.
“We made some mistakes there in the second quarter and we just leaned on our defense,” Lilly said. “I thought they played phenomenal the whole game. We have been proud of our defense even through the scrimmages. We weren’t surprised about that.”
The Patriots defense shut Liberty down on its first series of the year, forcing a three-and-out to put the offense back in business.
Independence then separated the game with big plays to break the Raiders’ backs.
Logan Phalin stung Liberty with a 47-yard scamper down to the Liberty 27 yard line. Two runs by Goodson and a 12-yard run from Phalin put the ball at the Liberty two-yard line.
Goodson finished off the five play drive to give Indy a 13-0 lead.
A personal foul penalty by the Patriots gave Liberty its initial first down of the season on the next drive. However, the Patriots defense stiffened and forced a turnover on downs.
Independence struck quickly again on the first play when Phalin rolled back and launched a strike to a streaking Trey Bower for 45 yards to the Liberty 35.
After Indy moved the ball to the Liberty six-yard line, Phalin called his own number. Although he looked to be tackled behind the line for a loss, Phalin broke free and dove into the end zone for the score.
Before Liberty could blink, it was down 19-0.
“Our game plan was to go fast. That is what we did last year towards the end of the year and we just keep doing it,” Lilly said. “Play as fast as we can. If this weather breaks, that will help us a little bit.”
An interception by Colten Caron set up the next Indy score in the second quarter. Trey Bower became the fourth Patriot to find the end zone on a one-yard run for a 25-0 halftime lead.
“We are down 25-0 at halftime and I told the guys, ‘we gave up big plays.’ We kinda kept Atticus at bay in the first half with no big long runs,” Workman said. “Then they hit us with Judah and the big pass on us. We are just very youthful.”
Liberty returned the second half kick-off to midfield, but any hope of a comeback was squashed by the Indy defense which gave the Raider no room to breath.
“I love playing defense. Defense is great and it was absolutely amazing tonight,” Goodson said.
On the offensive side of the ball, Goodson finished with 160 yards on 19 carries and had three scores.
“I struggled a little in the beginning, but the line helped me a lot, opening up some big holes. Logan played really well and it was a great team performance,” Goodson said. “I feel like I have done my thing in high school. I am not worried about getting 100 yard rushing games this year. I want to see my team win and play for a state championship.”
For now, Independence is scheduled to be off this week before a big showdown at home in two weeks against Poca.
I: 19 6 14 8
L: 0 0 0 0
First quarter
I: Judah Price 53 run (Atticus Goodson kick)
I: Goodson 2 run ( kick no good)
I: Logan Phalin 6 run (kick no good)
Second quarter
I: Trey Bower 3 rub (rush failed)
Third quarter
I: Goodson 18 run (rush failed)
I: 51 run (Goodson rush)
Fourth Quarter
I: Goodson 15 run (Goodson rush)
Team Statistics
Rushing: (I) Atticus Goodson 19-160-3, Judah Price 5-150-2, Logan Phalin 7-59-1, Trey Bower 4 (-1)-1.
(L) Doddrill 16-7, Clayton Williams 8-7, Ryan Simms 11-41. Peyton Pettry 3-2.
Passing: (I) Phalin 1-2-45-0-0, Bower 2-3-25-0-0. (L) 0-4-0-0-1.
Turnovers: (I) Caron (INT), Logan Lester (fum)
