In what was supposed to be a rebuilding year, Independence overachieved by most outside standards.
The 2022 Class AA state champions graduated 17 starters and followed it up last season with a run to the Class AA semifinals, falling to eventual state champion Fairmont Senior.
Now in a four-class system, the Patriots dropped from Class AAA to the new Class AA two weeks before the season was supposed to start, vaulting them right back into title contention. Sill, the road won’t be easy after graduating three first-team all-staters.
“We’re still really an extremely young team,” Head coach John H. Lilly said. “We only have seven seniors but we’ve got a huge junior class and a lot of those kids in that junior class started last year. When we started the season last year I said it was going to take us a little bit to gel, because the only way you can get better is to get out there and play and then correct those mistakes and learn how to play. We got a slow start because we were in the learning process. But I think once we settled down a little bit and they started getting into it I think we won six or seven straight in a row and made it to the semis. So I was really, really proud of that achievement because we replaced almost every starting position but two or three.”
Defense will likely lead the way for the Patriots as they return a cohesive, experienced core on that side of the ball. While injuries are never ideal, those suffered last year allowed for backups to earn important snaps early.
Leading the defense will be a linebacker core highlighted by standouts Dylan Ritchie and Landon Riddle.
“We’ve got 10 starters on defense that started somewhere in this state. I guess that’s the best way to say it,” Lilly said. “And so we feel like we’ve got a lot of experience on that side of ball, but on the offensive side of ball, you know, we lost some serious play-making capabilities. That’s going to be something that’s yet to be seen. We feel like we got some good people in those positions, but we’ve just got to wait till we get out on the field. You know, the offense will go through Sylas (Nelson) and then we’ll just build from there.”
Nelson, who played quarterback and running back last season, will move around on offense, likely seeing most of his snaps at running back. He’ll serve as the top weapon for a young offense that’s replacing starting running back Tyler Linkswiler as well as Connor Bradford. Gone is also three-time all-stater Trey Bowers who started over 15 games at QB throughout his career at Indy.
The reins of the offense will be handed to freshman QB Brock Green.
“The offense will go through Sylas, and we’re going to use him in different ways,” Lilly said. “He might be a wide receiver, sometimes he might be a quarterback, sometimes he might be at tailback. And yes, we’re going to go through Brock at quarterback. And I think they’re both excited to see how this works out. I think we’re excited to see how it works out. You know, they accepted that, and we practiced like that from Day 1.”
The offense will be aided by a big, talented line led by junior Alex Blankenship who earned first-team all-state honors as a sophomore.
“In our offense, we’re a tailback oriented offense,” Lilly said. Â “We’ve got four starters back from last year on that line, and we feel like we’ve got about three or four other guys that’s grown in the weight room that can give us reps there. I’m not sure we’re solidified exactly where we’re going to put everybody so we’ll get after it in the scrimmages. And we got a phenomenal group of freshmen linemen. We got six freshmen linemen that are bigger than our varsity linemen, and we’re just jacked up. We’re jacked up on Mountain Dew when it comes to those freshmen linemen.”
While the Patriots will likely be one of the top teams in the new Class AA based on the strength of the program they’ve established over the last four years, their road to the playoffs won’t be a cakewalk. Even getting there will be challenging with a schedule that features numerous powerhouses including Class AAA standouts Princeton, Oak Hill and Herbert Hoover as well as perennial Class AA playoff teams, Scott, Mingo Central, Bluefield and Nicholas County.
“I think we’ve proven that if we can get to the playoffs, we’re going to be dangerous,” Lilly said. Â “And if we can do that, we’ve got to learn to navigate this schedule, and they got to learn that they don’t have a gimme game. They don’t open up with a 60-point win every year like we’ve done the last couple years. You know, we don’t have a fourth game where we score 80 points every four games. We have to learn to navigate playing the top teams in the state. But I think it’s going to be fun. We’re really excited about it. I think our kids are excited about it. They really are. We can play with the best of them.”
Independence will open its season on Thursday, Aug. 29 with a 2022 Class AA title rematch at Herbert Hoover.
