Independence smothers Lake Norman in first round of NCHSAA football playoffs
Independence’s offense took a little while to find its footing against Lake Norman.
Then, Justin Little and Jayden Jones came up with some big plays to ignite the Patriots in a 35-0 victory over the Wildcats in Friday night’s NCHSAA 4A playoff opener.
Jones ran for 131 yards while Little accounted for four touchdowns for Independence (8-3), seeded 23rd in the West 4A bracket, while the Patriots’ defense posted their fourth shutout win.
Little threw for two touchdowns — a 7-yarder to Vontrez Burch in the second quarter, and a 4-yarder to Will Brown in the third — then added TD runs of 1 and 5 yards in the fourth quarter to put the game away against 10th-seeded Lake Norman (9-2).
“It was just us not executing and not doing our jobs,” Little said. “Once we got together, started doing our jobs and worrying about ourselves, things just started to go.”
While Indy’s offense was trying to get out of low gear, it was the Patriots’ defense that put the first points on the scoreboard thanks to a Lake Norman fumble on its opening possession.
Wildcats quarterback Kavin White — making his first start at the position since his freshman year at South Iredell — coughed up the ball, with Chris Clark scooping it up for a 35-yard scoring return with 8 minutes, 47 seconds left in the first quarter.
“The defense’s touchdown definitely sparked us a little bit,” Independence head coach D.J. McFadden said. “Credit to (Lake Norman) — they got us off to a slow start, and we definitely weren’t executing.”
If Clark’s TD return sparked Independence, it was Jones and Little who threw the proverbial gas on the fire for the Patriots.
Just before the end of the first half, Jones busted off two long runs — 33 and 25 yards — to help set up Little’s TD pass to Burch with 2:04 left in the second quarter and a 14-0 lead.
“Jayden’s been doing that all year long,” McFadden said. “All he really needs is a little crease, and when he gets going he’s one of the best backs in the state.”
Here’s how much things got sparked for Independence — the Patriots’ offense had just one first down in the first quarter, but had 16 total over the final three quarters, while holding Lake Norman to 201 yards total offense.
“We never could get a good read on what they were trying to do to us defensively and trying to find advantages, and the turnover at the very beginning of the game really hurt,” Wildcats head coach Jonathan Oliphant said. “We just never could get our footing; they were the better team.”
Three who made a difference
Justin Little, Independence: The Patriots’ junior quarterback finished with 190 passing yards and the two touchdowns, completing 15 of 22 attempts. That put Little over the 2,000-yard mark for the season, with 2,062 yards and 25 touchdowns.
Jayden Jones, Independence: Just a sophomore, the Patriots’ star running back didn’t add to his 14 rushing touchdowns this season, but his seventh 100-yard effort put his season total to 1,275 yards.
Coleton Belcher, Independence: The senior wideout had just five catches for 66 total yards this season, but in Friday’s game finished with five receptions for 71 yards.
What’s next
Independence faces East Forsyth (10-1) in Kernersville in the second round of the NCHSAA 4A playoffs on Friday, Nov. 10. The seventh-seeded Eagles routed 26th-seeded Greensboro Page (5-6) 42-6 on Friday night in their first-round game.
SCORING SUMMARY
INDEPENDENCE 7 7 7 14 — 35
LAKE NORMAN 0 0 0 0 — 0
First quarter
I—Chris Clark 35 fumble return (Lyric Kopera kick), 8:47
Second quarter
I—Vontrez Burch 7 pass from Justin Little (Kopera kick), 2:09
Third quarter
I—Will Brown 4 pass from Little (Kopera kick), 5:52
Fourth quarter
I—Little 1 run (Kopera kick), 11:57
I—Little 5 run (Kopera kick), 4:50
PHOTOS: Independence at Lake Norman
This story was originally published November 3, 2023 at 11:13 PM.
