Vance 41, Independence 20

Vance junior quarterback Kingsley Ifedi is only 15 .

But Ifedi, making only his fifth career start, keeps playing well beyond his years, as he passed for 370 yards (24-for-37) and two touchdowns and ran for 112 yards (on 12 carries) and another score to lead his Vance team rolled past Independence 41-20.

Despite committing 11 penalties , the Cougars’ offense dominated , rolling up 628 yards of total offense, including 370 through the air and 258 yards on the ground.

While Kingsley led his team in passing and rushing, he received a lot of help as senior receiver Myles Dorn had 12 catches for 173 yards and a touchdown, and junior running back Jeremiah Hall rushed for 69 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries. He also caught an 11-yard touchdown pass.

The Cougars (4-1), No. 5 in the Observer Sweet 16, took a 28-7 halftime advantage, but penalties and turnovers slowed the offense for much of the second half.

Independence (2-3) was led by senior running back Quantavious McGill, who rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries, including a 73-yard touchdown run late in the first half.

Quote: “Everybody in this (Vance) community keeps talking about championships. But if we don’t execute better and don’t stop making stupid mistakes and penalties, I don’t see it. All these mistakes have cost us and will continue to cost. We have a very good football team, but we have to be better if want to be one of the best teams.” –Vance coach Aaron Brand on his team’s play against Independence that included 11 penalties and three turnovers.

Records: Vance 4-1; Independence 2-3.

Worth mentioning: Vance starting running back Donnovan Spencer rushed for 63 yards on seven carries in the first quarter, before leaving the game with a hamstring injury. Coach Brand says Spencer will be back for the Cougars’ next game. ...Vance has now outscored its opponents 201-87 this season and looked dominant for muchof the game Friday night. ...Independence has now lost three games, two more than all of last season, when its only loss came to Hough in the playoffs.

What's Next: Both teams head into conference play in their next game, with Vance on a bye week Friday before hosting A.L. Brown in their MECKA 4A opener on Oct. 2. ...Independence plays host to East Mecklenburg next Friday (Sept. 25) in its Southwestern 4A conference opener.

This story was originally published September 18, 2015 at 11:04 PM with the headline "Vance 41, Independence 20."