Over the entire football season the Independence defense has quietly operated in the background.
Sure, the Patriot defenders have made some key plays along the way, but most of the spotlight has shined on the high octane, high-powered Patriots offense.
Friday in the quarterfinal playoff clash against Roane County, the defense assumed the starring role in a 22-8 win.
“The defense stepped up big Friday night. They made four or five plays for us that were vital to our success,” Independence head coach John H. Lilly said. “Unfortunately for us, in three of our first four offensive possessions, we started behind the chains. We kept shooting ourselves in the foot and the defense had to bail us out.”
While many in attendance Friday night were expecting the Independence train to roll over the Raiders like it had all year, Lilly was of a different mindset.
“We told them before the game it was going to be a challenge. I knew what we would face. I think maybe a lot of other people thought otherwise,” Lilly said. “We knew their style of offense was going to be tough. They were just keeping us from getting the ball.”
True to Lilly’s words, midway through the third quarter, Independence trailed 8-6 with Roane threatening to score again.
A strip-sack from junior Jordan Harvey was the first big play of the second half for the defense that prevented a game-changing score.
“Harvey has had a phenomenal season and has been consistent all year for us,” Lilly said. “He has quietly led the team in tackles and made some big plays.”
With the offense still misfiring and Roane being aided by a crucial roughing the punter call, the Raiders kept eating valuable time off the clock.
As the clock ticked under nine minutes to play, the defense made back-to-back plays that likely saved the season for the Patriots.
Judah Price came up from his safety position to stop the Roane receiver two yards short of a first down, forcing a fourth down decision from the Raiders.
Sitting at the Indy 44-yard line, Roane went to its bread and butter rushing attack. Standing in its way was none other than Indy’s biggest offensive threat, Atticus Goodson.
“Roane was ground and pound, so we played our two big senior outside linebackers, Atticus and (quarterback) Logan (Phalin). They stepped up big for us.” Lilly said. “Atticus made a big play on the fourth down run and in all fairness, Logan made three or four big plays on the other side. Both of them made big plays Friday.”
While Goodson and Phalin had not played huge minutes on defense throughout the year, it was not a new concept for the two senior standouts to be on the field together.
“Atticus was injured there for a while and then we also played a lot of spread teams,” Lilly said. “In the preseason, Logan was one of the top-10 linebackers in the state. He hadn’t been able to play because he got injured in the first game of the season.”
The magnitude of the stop became even bigger when Phalin hit Price for a 66-yard touchdown pass on the next play to give Indy its first lead of the night.
“The defense has played well all year. I don’t think you go undefeated unless you have a great defense. They have been spot on all year,” Lilly said.
Although the Patriots were leading 14-8, the game was far from over with Roane’s potent passing attack.
To the delight of the home crowd, the Independence defense had one more crucial role in the final outcome.
This time it was the other Goodson that stepped into the spotlight when Cyrus picked off a pass on the ensuing Roane County drive.
“Cyrus gets overshadowed sometimes because of Atticus, but he has also had a great year. He wants to be a great wide receiver, but he has also played really big for us on defense,” Lilly said “He had a big one at Nicholas County and one in both Shady (Spring) games. In fact, he had a pick-6 against Shady.”
Cyrus has not been the only theft artists in the secondary for the Patriots. Sophomore Trey Bowers also has three interceptions in the postseason.
“They have had a big years and all three defensive backs return next year,” Lilly said. “We have one or two other guys that we are confident in as well back there.”
A 56-yard jaunt by Atticus Goodson on the next play was the final dagger to send Independence to the semifinal round against Bluefield.
“The defense has stepped up big all year, but Friday they will have a huge challenge against Bluefield,” Lilly said. “That is the way it should be if you are in the semifinals and one of the top four teams in the state. We have to go out and see if there is a way that we can slow them down a little bit.”
In each of the games leading up to the battle with the Beavers, the Patriots have been the fastest team with the most athletes on the field .
That will not be the case Friday afternoon when the two teams clash in the highly anticipated battle.
“We haven’t experienced speed like we are about to see, since we scrimmaged them in the preseason,” Lilly said. “That was one of the reasons I wanted to scrimmage them, so it would get us used to playing fast teams. There is no way that we can simulate that in practice.”
Amir Hairston and Jacorian Green are two of the speed burners that have helped Bluefield average nearly 40 points per game in the playoffs.
Hairston averages over eight yards per carry and has piled up 970 yards on 113 carries. The elusive sophomore has found the end zone 11 times. Green, on the other hand, is the reigning Class AA state champion in 200 meter dash, and has 31 grabs for 584 yards and seven scores.
While Lilly has great respect for Hairston and Green, the veteran coach believes the key to stopping Bluefield starts with the yong man under center – Ryker Brown.
“I think Ryker makes them tick. I think the offense starts with him. He is the one that directs traffic and does a great job of it, Lilly said.
A quick glance at the numbers bares out Lilly’s analysis.
A serious weapon for the Beavers all year, Brown has thrown 16 touchdown passes and rushed for eight more. He has completed nearly 70 percent of his passes and has only thrown four interceptions in 151 attempts.
In his two postseason games, Brown has ran for four scores and passed for two more.
Gametime at George Covey Field Saturday is set for 1:30 p.m.
“Bluefield has been there before and this is our first time in quite a while. I think the kids are really excited to be there and are really pumped up to play. We just want to play,” Lilly said
