Prep Football Preview: Independence loaded for return to Wheeling

Coal City – Last season was a historic one for Independence.

The Patriots secured the best record in program history, won more playoff games than any team before them, hosted every playoff game for the first time in school history and finished their season in Wheeling as the Class AA state runners-up.

Gone from that team are Kennedy Award winner Atticus Goodson, offensive lineman Michael Cheek and starting quarterback Logan Phalin – all of whom combined to account for nearly 5,000 yards of total offense.

The good news though? The Patriots return six first-team all-state players and 19 starters overall. Naturally the goal is to do what last year’s team couldn’t, right? It’s a long term goal but focusing on what it takes to be in that position is the primary goal.

“It’s an unspoken thing that we’re chasing something,” Indy head coach John H. Lilly said. “On a team level we have the ability to focus week in and week out. I think last year we learned just how hard that is to stay focused in every single game because it’s difficult to do. It’s difficult to run the table and you let your guard down one time and you get beat. Right now our focus is just on us and we really haven’t talked about a single team or said anything about last year. But obviously we all believe we’re chasing something and hopefully they believe it. I told them it’s better to have a chance than not have a chance so if the kids play hard and I don’t mess it up, we’ll win some games.”

While the Patriots bring back a wealth of experience, Lilly isn’t understating the losses they did suffer. Goodson became the first Kennedy winner in school history and only the third in the area this century. On top of that quarterback Logan Phalin rewrote the record book at QB, earning a second-team all-state nod.

“I’m sweating it because anytime you lose a Kennedy winner you don’t replace that,” Lilly said. “That’s luxury you had in your hip pocket that when you have a big 220-pound back it’s easier on fourth-and-1 and we don’t have that this year. We’ve got scatbacks. There’s a lot of things we’re in a learning process with in how we’re going to approach those moments. Yes, we do have some good people in the skill positions but we have to find a way to replace 5,000 yards and everybody will tell you that’s not going to be easy.”

Replacing Goodson situationally may be difficult but in the aggregate, maybe not as much. Judah Price, who rushed for 800 yards last season, will get the first crack at replacing the 2,000 yards Goodson picked up on the ground while Trey Bowers, Phalin’s replacement, brings a new dynamic to the offense with his legs.

While Phalin was an able runner, Bowers possesses elite speed that was on display in last season’s title game as he burned Fairmont Senior’s secondary with a long touchdown catch. At quarterback it makes him even more of a threat. Factor in an offensive line that yields two returning all-staters in Logan Isom and Brady Grimmett and there’s a lot of reason to believe the yardage can be replaced.

Joining Bowers and Price in the backfield will be Tyler Linkswiler, another player Lilly is high on, and rounding out the talented group of skill players is Cyrus Goodson, an all-state defensive back who finished a yard behind Bowers for the team lead in receiving yards last season.

That said, the line is the group Lilly is the most pleased with.

“I’ve always said our offensive line is what makes us tick and that separates us from a lot of teams,” Lilly said. “A lot of teams have some really, really good skill people but to have the overall nine of our top 10 linemen back, that gives us a luxury there that we can rest and play other guys and that kind of thing. The rock for us and has been, as much as Atticus got all he accolades and glory, if he played for some other teams he wouldn’t have got that. This offensive line and defensive line is special and you don’t get that too many times as a coach.”

Defensively the Patriots figure to be stout again with many of the aforementioned players lending their talents on that side of the ball as well. Leading the front on that side will be Jordan Harvey at linebacker, a player that finished as a Howley Award finalist last season.

While the continuity or seniors has made life easier for Lilly and Co. it’s also trickled down to the younger players who may not play as much this season.

Throughout the summer they’ve demonstrated their ability to pick up on the both the tangibles and intangibles the upperclassmen have displayed.

“I’m really pleased with some of our younger kids,” Lilly said. “They seem to be catching on a little faster than usual. I think it’s because of having a veteran team and they can see older guys doing it and No. 2 all the work in the offseason has helped. I’m really pleased with our freshmen and sophomores and how fast they’re catching on to what we do.”

Still the Patriots will go as far as their upperclassmen can take them.

Undoubtedly a special group on the field, what’s made them this way is how they approach and handle success. To achieve the dream of being the last team standing Lilly believes they’ll need to retain that mindset or risk falling short.

“I think the biggest asset with this team is they don’t care who gets the credit and they’re pretty close knit,” Lilly said. “They played together all the way up and we’ve got a saying in our locker room and with our coaches and it’s allowed us to bring some top notch coaches in but it’s ‘There’s no amount of good a man can do if he doesn’t care who gets the glory’ and these kids buy into it. They don’t care and support each other and don’t get mixed up in who gets the credit because obviously, in my opinion, they’ve got more than their share of publicity. But they’ve handled it well. Atticus handled it well last year and that helped the rest of us because he really didn’t care and these kids knew he didn’t care.”

The Patriots will open their season on Aug. 25 when they host Liberty.

Email: tylerjackson@lootpress.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94