Independence leads early, rallies late to beat archrival Butler on Friday night
Maybe the Independence-Butler football rivalry is back on.
Independence took visiting Butler’s best shot Friday night and battled back, beating the Bulldogs 27-21 and capturing the King of the Hill Trophy for the first time since 2014.
“They came back, they took the lead, but we battled back,” said Patriots head coach D.J. McFadden, who quarterbacked the Patriots in the mid 2000s, when Independence was a state power and dominating neighborhood rival Butler.
Things changed more than a decade ago, and Butler had won 18 of its past 19 meetings with Independence prior to Friday night.
“There was a time when this trophy didn’t leave this place,” McFadden said after the game, hoisting the King of the Hill Trophy. “We’re going to work to keep it here.”
The outcome means the Southwestern 4A Conference ended in a three-way tie, with Butler, Charlotte Catholic and Independence each finishing 5-1.
Charlotte Catholic beat Independence 36-35 earlier this season, and Butler topped Charlotte Catholic 20-19.
The Patriots (9-1 overall) jumped to a 17-0 first-half lead Friday night, but Butler (8-2) scored three second-quarter touchdowns and led 21-17 at the half.
“We told each other at halftime to settle down and follow the game plan,” Patriots quarterback Justin Little said.
Independence shut down Butler’s offense in the second half, with safety Quentin Reddish picking off a pair of passes by Bulldog sophomore quarterback Zach Lawrence. Both of the passes were tipped by Butler receivers, and Reddish found himself in the right spot.
Meanwhile, Independence narrowed the gap to 21-20 late in the third quarter when Charlie Gottlieb, recruited from the soccer team when then Patriots’ kicker suffered a concussion last week, booted a 41-yard field goal.
Another Butler error, a bad snap on a punt, set up Independence’s winning touchdown.
The snap went over kicker Nicholas Konieczynski’s head and was recovered by the Patriots at the Butler 2. After a procedure penalty moved the ball back 5 yards, Emmanuel Teah carried around the left side for the go-ahead score with 10:53 to go.
Butler threw one last scare into the Patriots, driving to the Independence 19 in the closing minutes. But a Lawrence pass was picked off by Reddish, who dashed 46 yards into Butler territory.
The Patriots then ran out the clock, with Little twice picking up first downs on runs.
Now the two teams will wait for Saturday, when the N.C. High School Athletic Association announces its playoff pairings.
“We’re 0-0, as of tomorrow,” Little said. “It’s a new season, and we want to go as far as we can.”
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle
Butler 0 21 0 0 — 21
Independence 10 7 3 7 — 27
I: FG Charlie Gottlieb 18
I: Sincere McIntyre 75 punt return (Gottlieb kick)
I: Justin Little 6 run (Gottlieb kick)
B: D.J. Horton 19 run (Nicholas Konieczynski kick)
B: Dequadre Currence 7 pass from Zach Lawrence (Konieczynski kick)
B: Eli Sylvester 35 pass from Lawrence (Konieczynski kick)
I: FG Gottlieb 41
I: Emmanuel Teah 6 run (Gottlieb kick)
This story was originally published October 28, 2022 at 10:07 PM.
