Gallery by Heather Belcher
Independence head coach John H. Lilly knows the dangers of playing a team twice in a season.
He’s done so three times before as a coach, compiling a 3-1 record along the way.
Make it 4-1.
The No. 2-seeded Patriots picked up 514 yards of total offense with 458 of them coming on the ground in a 73-7 win over No. 15 Shady Spring Friday night in Coal City.
Running a tempo offense that saw the hosts try to snap the ball in less than 12 seconds, they scored nearly as quickly as they lined up. The Patriots’ first three scoring drives consumed seven plays in total with seniors Atticus Goodson and Logan Phalin doing the damage with their legs.
After a holding penalty negated a 43-yard gain from Goodson on the first play from scrimmage, Phalin got it all back and then some, faking a toss to Goodson before rolling 63 yards down the left sideline for the first score.
Goodson, a Kennedy Award candidate, capped off the next two drives with scoring jolts of 25 and 10 yards, staking his Patriots to a 20-0 lead after a quarter of play.
Q1 8:06 Atticus Goodson walks in from 25 yards untouched. It’s 14-0 Indy #wvprepfb pic.twitter.com/SCmbf6Rhg2
— Tyler Jackson (@TJack94) November 13, 2021
“We’ve run it all year,” Lilly said of the tempo approach. “We’ve tried to snap the ball in less than 12 seconds and we’ve done it from Day 1 for the last two years. I guess nobody pays attention to it. We try to. In the second half we had to go four-minute offense, but the kids did really well. The kids executed really well and Logan ran the offense well. He does a great job. Tonight they gave us the run so we took the run but we’re prepared to do either.”
Meanwhile turnovers plagued the Tigers. A fumble led to Goodson’s first score while a Trey Bowers interception of Shady QB Cameron Manns halted a drive that saw the Tigers move the ball to the Indy 39. Backed up on their own 1 after a penalty, the Patriots’ fourth scoring drive consumed just six plays as Phalin picked up his second rushing score of the evening after Goodson’s 58-yard rush from the goal line flipped the field.
58-yard run from Goodson flips the field. Seven rushes for 119 yards and two TDs for him after 1#wvprepfb pic.twitter.com/xzlcuNuQ0F
— Tyler Jackson (@TJack94) November 13, 2021
The onslaught continued with the latter adding rushing scores of 16, 10 and 74 yards, all in the second quarter, to cap a performance that saw him carry the ball 11 times for 236 yards and five scores.
It was the latest in what’s been a remarkable stretch for Goodson against his county rivals. After being held to just 34 yards rushing when the two teams played in 2019, he had strung together consecutive 300-yard performances in the last two meetings between the teams.
“The 34-yard game just sparked something,” Goodson, who was playing for the first time in three weeks after a leg injury, said. “I knew it wouldn’t happen again. I wouldn’t let it happen again. I was going to work as hard as I could and just let them have it. I’m never getting stopped at 34 yards again. I won’t let it happen.”
Atticus’ younger brother Cyrus had the eighth touchdown of the half, catching a 22-yard pass from Phalin.
Coming out of the locker room the only question was whether or not Lilly would be forced to keep a promise he made to his team.
During the week the veteran head coach installed a punt return designed to attack the way the Tigers played on special teams and it worked. Junior Judah Price fielded a second-half punt at the Indy 21, bounced back and forth two times before bolting 79 yards down the left sideline for a score, getting a high five from Bowers as he crossed the goal line.
Price came to the sideline, yelling “Milkshakes for everyone” afterwards.
“We put in a punt return specifically for Shady,” Lilly laughed. “I told them if they scored on it I’d buy them all milkshakes so I guess I’ve got to do that on Monday.”
It’s a chore Lilly will gladly accept as the playoff win marks the first for the program since 1986. It also marks the first playoff win for Lilly since 2001, who previously coached at Shady and Beckley.
“It was a good win,” Lilly said. “Your last six draws were Martinsburg, Martinsburg, undefeated University, Fairmont Senior and you know in all honesty though that’s why we put such a premium on the regular season to get a home field. I told the kids when we got beat at Fairmont Senior last year that’s how important home field is. You’re in your routine and you don’t have to travel. So we really put an emphasis on taking care of business in the regular season to get home field and I told them that’s what the good teams do.
“Bluefield, Fairmont, Martinsburg – they get that home field and they’re hard to beat at home so that’s the key, getting home field. That the difference. Like in 2002 we lost to Morgantown who won the state championship, then Martinsburg, Martinsburg – three more state championships. Fairmont Senior was another state championship, but I didn’t remember that. I try not to remember that.”
Paving the way
Independence’s offensive line was dominant Friday evening, paving the way for 458 yards on the ground.
“We’ve got a good offensive line and they work really hard in the offseason,” Lilly said. “These guys work hard and there’s nothing else I can say other than the fact some people say they do stuff but we do it. I’m really proud of them. Last week we were in thew weight room until dark and the kids keep working. They respond well and practice hard. They’re a great bunch to coach and getting No. 3 (Goodson) healthy down the stretch sure helps.”
While Goodson was spectacular, holes opened effortlessly for him all evening behind the talented front, though there are some questions going into next week’s matchup with Roane County. Indy offensive lineman Michael Cheeks had to be helped off the field late in the game after taking a helmet to the knee. He’ll be reevaluated next week but the Patriots hope to have him back as they host the Raiders on a day yet to be determined.
The run comes to an end
On the opposite sideline there was bitter taste left in the Tigers’ mouth. They finished the season outscored 123-24 in two meetings with the Patriots. Caleb Whittaker scored the team’s lone touchdown Friday evening late in the fourth quarter. The loss is the end of the run that saw the Tigers win six of their last seven games to squeak into the postseason. It also brings to a close the careers of a senior class that helped the Tigers to the playoffs in three of their four years there after a six-year postseason drought from 2012-17.
“Oh no doubt,” Shady head coach Vince Culicerto said. “We’ve got a good formula going because of those guys. We’ve just got to get stronger. That’s the big one and hopefully our young bunch can buy into it because you see what it can do and that’s the whole difference in this evening. They were a lot more physical than we were. We’ll keep our heads up and I hate that for my seniors but they did have a good career here. They just kicked our butt and if we want to be that level, hopefully my young boys took notice because we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Caleb Whittaker with an 11-yard rushing score to avoid the shutout. With 5:18 left it’s 73-7 Independence #wvprepfb pic.twitter.com/Xo2e59BdhS
— Tyler Jackson (@TJack94) November 13, 2021
Email: Tylerjackson@register-herald.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94
