Published: October 11, 2008 01:11 am         

Patriots dispense Justice on homecoming night

If Independence reaches the Class AA playoffs, one play might be remembered as key to its turnaround.

Trailing winless Summers County 6-3 midway through the second quarter, the Patriots returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown.

Independence never again lost the momentum to the winless Bobcats, taking a 29-14 victory and putting itself back into the playoff chase.

“They were struggling and we gave them a touchdown to put them ahead. The kickoff return was a killer,” coach Scott Cuthbert said. “They went from sky high to the bottom. Our kids did a good job of keeping the momentum the rest of the game.”

The Patriots’ offense had sputtered early, managing only a 32-yard field goal from John Bennett.

Early in the second quarter they fumbled on their own 23. Summers’ Dustin Morey came up with the loose ball, and three plays later, slippery junior running back Seth Bower raced 10 yards into the end zone to put the Bobcats up 6-3.

Last week Summers (0-7) had been victimized by turnovers, committing four in a 35-6 loss to Greenbrier West.

“We moved the ball decently last week, but we put the ball on the ground,” coach Stan Duncan said. “The score was no indication. But tonight our backs and quarterbacks didn’t have a chance. Independence brought a lot of heat and they brought it fast.”

But the Bobcats’ fortunes changed on the very next play as Adam Whitt took the kickoff in the center of the field, cut to the right sideline and raced untouched to the end zone.

Summers was three-and-out on its next possession, and Independence followed with a nine-play, 50-yard march. Jake Justice ran the last nine up the middle for a 15-6 advantage with 3:07 remaining before halftime.

The Patriot defense held the Bobcats to just five first downs the rest of the game, with three of them coming in the final 5:58.

“Defensively, we’re pretty quick and physical,” Cuthbert said. “We’ve cut down on big plays and we’ve stepped up when we needed to.

Quarterback Jeremy Buchanan fired a 22-yard TD pas to Ben Cadle late in the third quarter, and Buchanan did the honors himself with a 44-yard breakaway in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

Summers got a late TD when quarterback Tim Wynes found Tanner Lilly with a 30-yard scoring strike.

Bower finished with 82 yards and 16 carries. Wynes had 46 yards on the ground and 45 through the air.

“Our defense was on the field way too much,” Duncan said. “We led and let them run the kickoff back. We have to learn when we do good things, we have to play tough and keep it going. And when bad things happen, we have to stiffen and get it back. We haven’t learned those two things.”

Justice led Independence with 76 yards on 17 carries. Buchanan ran for 28 and passed for 119.

“It was a really solid effort,” Cuthbert said. “Now we have two home games before we play at Wyoming East. We’ve put ourselves back into the hunt.”

The Patriots host county rival Liberty next Friday while the Bobcats return home to face Valley.

— E-mail:

dstillwell@register-herald.com



Independence 29, Summers County 14

SC (0-6) 0 6 0 8 — 14

I (4-3) 3 12 8 6 — 29

First Quarter

I: John Bennett 32 FG, 8:12

Second Quarter

SC: Seth Bower 10 run (Rush failed), 9:52

I: Adam Whitt 85 kickoff return (Kick failed), 9:30

I: Jake Justice 9 run (Kick blocked), 3:07

Third Quarter

I: Ben Cadle 22 pass from Jeremy Buchanan (Justice rush), 4:16

Fourth Quarter

I: Jeremy Buchanan 44 run (Kick failed), 5:58

SC: Tanner Lilly 30 pass from Tim Wynes (Wynes rush), 2:43

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — SC: Wynes 17-46, Bower 16-82, Shawn Weikle 3-6, Tre Ford 4-5, Jeff Cline 1-4. I: Justice 17-76-1, Kyle Belcher 4-9, Buchanan 3-28-1, Adam Whitt 7-27, Shawn McKinney 1-1, Ricky Cadle 1-(-4).

PASSING — SC: Wynes 2-6-0, 45-1. I: Buchanan 6-12-0, 119-1.

RECEIVING — SC: Lilly 2-45-1. I: Belcher 2-22, Justice 3-75, B. Cadle 1-22-1.

TURNOVERS — SC: Dustin Morey (fum. rec.). I: Shawn McKinney (fum. rec.).