By Taylor Kennedy | Gazette-Mail
ELKVIEW – The Herbert Hoover Huskies not only overcame an hour-and-a-half lightning delay but a 16-point halftime deficit Thursday evening.
The Huskies welcomed the Independence Patriots to Elkview for the first game of the season.
The game was originally scheduled for 7 p.m. That changed to 8 p.m. due to the forecasted heat.
That time was bumped back twice Thursday evening due to lightning delays with the game kicking off around 9:30 p.m.
Hoover quickly found itself in a 23-7 hole at halftime.
The Huskies fought back by out-scoring the Patriots 30-7 in the second half accounting for the final 22 points of the game en route to a 37-30 victory over Independence.
Herbert Hoover recorded 408 total yards of offense on Thursday.
Thursday’s game marked the first time both teams took the field together since the 2022 Class AA title game.
“Our young guys got a real taste of football,” Herbert Hoover coach Joey Fields said. “We told them to ignore the scoreboard, go out and play one play at a time and have fun doing this. That calmed them a little bit.
“This game definitely lived up to the hype and wait. Any time you come back and fight against a quality opponent says a lot about your group.”
The multiple delays allowed both sides to gather their thoughts and get more hype for the game.
Fields knew that whoever did better throughout the contest prepared better during the wait.
“I told our guys that the team that handled the wait the best would have the advantage of the game,” Fields said. “First half didn’t go our way. Our quarterback [Dane Hatfield] didn’t play well, but he’s a fighter and found ways to get the ball in the endzone.”
Independence recorded 110 yards of total offense in the first half with 62 of those yards coming in the air via quarterback Brock Green.
The Patriots, in the second half, compiled 106 yards of total offense, totaling 216 on the night.
“Both teams got after each other,” Independence coach John Lilly said. “We got a little gassed towards the end. They played good football. We shake their hands and go onto Brooke. That’s football.
“That was a good football game with a great environment. We tip our hats to them. We have some things we have to work on.”
Green finished the game going 8-of-13 for 141 yards and one passing touchdown, adding another with his legs.
Thursday’s contest against Herbert Hoover served as the freshman’s first ever varsity football game.
“I thought it was a coming out party,” Lilly said. “We know he’s going to be special. The gameplan offensively went the way we wanted to. Defensively, it didn’t go. We had a lot of mental mistakes. We’ll correct them.”
Herbert Hoover struck first on its opening drive after Independence fumbled on its first play of the game.
Hatfield squeezed his way through the Patriots defense and found the endzone for the first time Thursday evening from 13 yards out.
The Patriots punted on their first three offensive drives of the game.
Their first points came via a safety off a high snap by Herbert Hoover on the Huskies 22-yard line that sailed into the back of the endzone.
Independence scored the final 21 points of the half, which started off an 83 yard pick-six by Indy’s Syles Nelson.
Nelson recorded 24 carries for 85 yards and one touchdown.
The following two offensive possessions saw Nelson and Christian Linksweiler find the endzone, swelling the Patriot lead to 23-7 at halftime.
Linksweiler’s touchdown came off a 40-yard throw from Green.
“I actually thought we started kind of slow,” Lilly said. “We fumbled the ball on the first carry. That came from us leaving until 2:30 p.m. then didn’t kick the ball until [9:30 p.m.]. However, both teams had to do that.
“After that, we settled down. We played well offensively all game, but, defensively, we didn’t.”
Hatfield got into the endzone once again for the first points of the second half following a two-yard tout to cut the deficit to eight, 23-15, with 3:41 remaining.
Independence responded on its following possession with a one-yard touchdown by Green to increase the lead back to 15 at 30-15.
That was the last time the Patriots found the endzone.
The Huskies scored on their final three offensive drives of the game, starting with back-to-back touchdown runs by sophomore Blake Fisher.
Fisher shed four defenders on a 23-yard touchdown for his first of the season then muscled his second one in from 37-yards out.
Fisher’s second touchdown slimmed Independence’s lead to one, 30-29, with 9:39 remaining.
The junior running back finished the game running the ball 10 times for 105 yards, including 92 yards in the second half.
“[Those were] huge,” Fields said. “Him and [Devin] Silvas as that one-two punch is a good change-up. We thought Blake could do some stuff out wide, but the way they were playing us we had to get him the ball the easiest way possible.
“When he gets to the second level, he can go.”
Hatfield scored his final touchdown of the game off a 16-yard, go-ahead score with 3:58 left in the game from 16-yards out.
He finished the game with 271 yards of total offense, including 140 on the ground. He found the endzone three times.
Hoover’s defense stood tall on Independence’s final drive of the game as Sam Kee intercepted Green with less than a 1:30 left in the contest.
The Huskies welcome Winfield next week while the Patriots travel to Brooke.
Herbert Hoover 37, Independence 30
Independence;9;14;7;0;–;30
Herbert Hoover;7;0;14;16;–;37
First quarter
H — Hatfield 13 run (kick good) 10:03
I — Hoover safety (no kick) 7:16
I — Nelson 83 interception return (kick good) 0:21
Second quarter
I — Nelson 4 run (kick good) 8:48
I — Linksweiler 40 pass from Green (kick good) 6:50
Third quarter
H — Hatfield 2 run (Hatfield run) 3:41
I – Green 1 run (kick good) 1:37
H — Fisher 23 run (kick failed) 0:03
Fourth quarter
H — Fisher 37 run (2 pt good) 9:39
H — Hatfield 16 run (2 pt good) 3:58
Team Statistics
;;;Independence;Herbert Hoover
First Downs;;;12;26
Rushes-yards;;;27-75;44-277
Passing yards;;;141;131
Passing;;;8-13-1;12-22-1
Total yards;;;265;408
Fumbles-lost;;;2-1;1-1
Penalties-yards;;;12-80;3-40
Punts-average;;;5-42;3-31
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Independence: Nelson 24-85, Green 3-(-10). Herbert Hoover: Hatfield 30-140, Fisher 10-105, Silvas 4-32.
PASSING — Independence: Green 8-13-1-141. Herbert Hoover 12-22-1-131.
RECEIVING — Independence: Linksweiler 5-96, Adkins 1-30, Rose 2-15. Herbert Hoover: Kee 5-78, Williams 3-26, Harrison 1-17, Fisher 3-10.
