Gallery by Heather BelcherĀ
Clear Fork – Westside never figured out how to solve Independence’s defense which was fitting since it was led by a Riddle.
Independence edge rusher Landon Riddle racked up three first-half sacks, a fumble recovery and a touchdown, pacing a Patriot defense that yielded just 138 yards to the Renegades’ starters in a 51-13 thrashing Friday in Clear Fork.
The loss is the first of the season for No. 5 Westside (5-1) and the latest notch in the belt of No. 8 Independence (4-2) which has now beaten the No. 5-, 14- and 15-rated teams in double-A this season.
Bearing down on Westside QB Kadien Vance, the Patriot defense clamped the Renegades for most of the night. It wasn’t until the hosts trailed 21-0 that they crossed the 50, only to have that drive end in their own territory after Riddle’s second sack of the evening.
“We knew that Vance would be a tough task” Riddle said. “He’s the top quarterback in the area right now, so we knew it’d be a tough task. We lost last week, and I just needed a big game, whatever we did. I just knew our team had to win this week.”
Vance, who came in averaging 103 yards rushing per game, was held minus-23 in the first half with the four sacks costing him 32 yards. He finished the night with 10 rushing yards on 18 carries. He was also held to 102 yards passing, below his season average of 215 per game.
“Everybody does their homework,” Independence head coach John H. Lilly said. “He’s 71 percent of their offense. Two of our guys are 80 percent of our offense. So we figured if we could stop Vance, then we had a good chance of winning the game defensively.”
While Indy’s defense sold out to stop Vance, its offense took advantage of Westside’s efforts to stop running back Sylas Nelson, leaning on the arm of freshman QB Brock Green and a shifty cast of standouts. The rookie threw for 211 yards in the first half with his playmakers excelling in space. He set the tone early when he hit Dalton Adkins on a wide receiver screen for 40-yards on the first play from scrimmage, before Nelson capped the six-play, 75-yard drive with a four-yard scoring plunge.
Westside’s offense struggled immediately, picking up just three yards on its first eight plays across two separate drives. The positives rested with the defense which forced a turnover on downs and a punt on Indy drives that started at the Renegade 34 and 37, respectively.
But before long even the defense wilted.
While Westside went 1-for-11 on third down attempts, the Patriots came up big no matter the distance.
“On down and distance (we’ve got to) know the situation and make those plays in open field,” Westside head coach Justin Cogar said. “And they’ve got great players and they’ve got great schemes and coaches, and they did a good job at the end of the day. You know, when it’s third-and-long, fourth-and-long, you’ve got to be able to stand up as a defense and make those stops. And tonight, we didn’t do that.”
The visitors went 3-for-5 on third-and-long situations in the opening half with a pair of back-breaking plays. The first came on third-and-9 at the Westside 29 where Green found Dalton Adkins up the seam for a 29-yard score that was initially ruled incomplete before being overturned. The next came on Indy’s following drive.
Trailing 21-0, Westside forced a stop on third-and-6 at its own 42, but elected to accept an offensive holding penalty, replaying third down and giving the Patriots another crack at converting on third-and-16. A check down to Sylas Nelson and several broken tackles later, the Patriots found themselves 52 yards down the field at the Westside 3. Nelson scored on the following play, extending the lead to 28-0.
“We took them back on holding call and we liked our chances putting them behind the sticks because we felt like they were a little more predictable there,” Westside head coach Justin Cogar said. “We knew they were gonna throw the ball, but again, we just missed the open-field tackle. And kind of that’s how that goes.”
After an extended halftime wait for an ambulance to return, Westside found momentum, opening the third quarter with a 14-play, 68-yard scoring drive that consumed over six minutes. A stop gave the Renegades the ball back but a three-and-out preceded a four-play scoring drive for the Patriots, putting the game out of reach.
The defense continued to feast until the end, generating a safety on a hold in the end zone and score courtesy of Riddle’s 31-yard fumble recovery.
“Honestly, we feel like we should be 5-0,” Lilly said. “We have moments that we have let downs, but in our heart, in our mind and our soul, we feel like we should be 5-0. We only lost to two top 10 triple-A teams, but we had both those guys on the ropes. So it was kind of our thought process coming down that we believed in our heart we were a good football team, and we wanted to challenge ourselves by playing an undefeated team. That’s kind of been our approach all week, it was pretty much business like this week.”
Green led all players in total offense, finishing 15-of-22 passing for 238 yards with a passing and rushing touchdown as well as an interception. Nelson led all players in yards from scrimmage with 137 rushing, 82 receiving and four rushing touchdowns.
Vance led Westside with 112 yards of total offense.
Independence hosts Mingo Central next week while Westside hosts Summers County.
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