HICO — When Scotty Cuthbert and his coaching staff need to resort to the motivational playbook in the future, Friday night’s thrilling 28-27 win over Midland Trail will no doubt be Exhibit A.

And it will greatly reinforce something coaches always tell their players: Go until the final whistle.

Trailing 27-6 and its chances looking about as good as Marge Simpson’s hair surviving Friday’s stifling heat and humidity, Cuthbert’s Independence Patriots roared from behind with three touchdowns in the final two minutes, 17 seconds to register the one-point triumph.

The decisive score occurred after Independence’s Corey Cheek recovered an onside kick at the Trail 40 with 40 seconds left. Four plays later, reserve quarterback Richard Hampton lofted a 10-yard scoring toss to Jonathan Hunt, who shed two Midland defenders in the left corner of the end zone to pull the Raleigh County Patriots to within 27-26.

With nine ticks left, Cuthbert opted to go for the win and reverse a two-game losing streak to Midland Trail, and running back Adam Whitt took a handoff out of kicking formation and darted across the goal line for the go-ahead tally.

“I really don’t know what to say,” a stunned Cuthbert said after the contest. “All of a sudden I look up and we’re in the ball game.

“It was just a crazy finish.”

Trail had one final shot at redemption, but it wasn’t to be. On the final play, Dustin Nickell rumbled for about 30 yards before having the ball stripped, and Independence’s John Lawson fell on the loose pigskin to preserve the victory.

With both Cuthbert and Midland coach Joe Dean putting in reserves in the closing minutes so they could get some playing time, Independence got back in the game by scoring on a Cheek 2-yard dash following Chris May’s recovery of a Nickell fumble deep in Independence territory, then tacking on a brother-to-brother 37-yard scoring hookup from Ricky Cadle to Ben Cadle with 49 seconds left.

“We had the game,” a subdued Dean said. “On the onside kick, we knocked it away from each other a couple of times, but that happens.

“The fumble started it all, then (on the late scoring pass), we had some guys that didn’t get on the field, and we didn’t notice it and get them in the game. We made mistakes; that’s the coaches’ fault.

“And Independence didn’t quit. They deserved to win.”

After Indy’s Kyle Belcher reached paydirt on a 6-yard run to cap an 11-play, 78-yard drive on his team’s first possession, Midland Trail settled down and began to dominate. On the night, Trail’s Anthony Grimmett rambled for 142 yards on 15 carries, scoring three TDs. His final six-pointer, a 27-yard burst, came on the first play of a drive following a partially blocked punt with 11:50 left in the fourth. That gave the hosts a seemingly insurmountable 27-6 lead.

“We have a very young football team,” Cuthbert said. “The game turned into a jayvee game, then back into a varsity game.

“We executed when we had to. Jonathan Hunt made some nice catches, Hampton moved in (behind center) and did a solid job. We executed the onside kick. All the kids and coaching staff did a great job. It’s all new for us; maybe this will get ’em excited.”

Jeff Clifton led the Independence ground game with 52 yards on 10 carries, while Hampton was 6-of-8 for 99 yards and a score through the air.

Independence takes its 1-0 record into a matchup against Sherman at home next Friday.

The same night, Midland Trail entertains Fayette County rival Fayetteville.

— E-mail:

skeenan@register-herald.com



Independence 28, Midland Trail 27

I (1-0) 6 0 0 22 — 28

MTl (0-1) 0 14 7 6 — 27

First Quarter

I: Kyle Belcher 6 run (pass fail), 5:17

Second Quarter

MT: Anthony Grimmett 10 run (Will Deskins kick), 9:49

MT: Nathan Syner 4 run (Deskins kick), 5:55

Third Quarter

MT: Grimmett 2 run (Deskins kick), 5:55

Fourth Quarter

MT: Grimmett 27 run (kick fail), 11:50

I: Corey Cheek 2 run (Jonathan Hunt from Richard Hampton), 2:17

I: Ben Cadle 37 pass from Ricky Cadle (pass fail), 0:49

I: Hunt 10 pass from Hampton (Adam Whitt run), 0:09

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — I: Kyle Belcher 9-4-1, Jeff Clifton 10-52, Justin Chandler 4-11, Whitt 7-13, Cheek 2-4-1. MT: Grimmett 15-142-3, Dustin Nickell 13-103, Jake Crist 5-51, Syner 4-6-1.

PASSING — I: John Bennett 2-5-2-16-0, Hampton 6-8-0-99-1, R. Cadle 1-1-0-37-1. MT: Syner 1-6-0-39-0 .

RECEIVING — I: Hampton 1-15, Belcher 3-29, Hunt 4-71-1, B. Cadle 1-37-1. MT: Easton McGuire 1-39.

TURNOVERS — I: Chris May (fr), R. Cadle (fr), Cheek (fr), John Lawson (fr). MT: Coty Pierson (int), Nickell (int).