Independence 31, Lake Norman 0
Quantavious McGill hopes this wasn’t his final home game at Independence.
But if it was, the Independence senior went out in the style as the Patriots’ senior rushed for 243 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries to help his team a 31-0 victory over Lake Norman in the first round of the 4AA West playoffs.
McGill scored on two long touchdown runs of 51 yards to begin the third quarter and a 68-yard burst – where he made a spin move, then broke two tackles and went the distance – to cap the Patriots’ scoring. He averaged 13 yards per carry on the night.
The Patriots (8-4), the No. 8 seed, will now travel to unbeaten, No. 1 seed, East Forsyth (12-0) Friday.
McGill wasn’t the only Independence senior to have a standout night as Patriots’ quarterback, Christian McPhail went 10-for-16 passing for 180 yards and two touchdown tosses.
Patriots’ senior wideout/defensive back, Cedric Stone had two interceptions to lead the defense and also had four catches for 71 yards, while Elijah Small had two catches for 80 yards and a touchdown.
The Independence defense pitched its second shutout of the season.
Lake Norman shot itself in the foot repeatedly, moving moved the ball, but turning it over over four times on the night.
The Wildcats had three trips into the red zone that resulted in zero points, instead, getting a missed field goal, an interception and a turnover on downs.
Lake Norman (8-4) was led by sophomore running back Cole Jackson, who rushed for 111 yards on 14 carries, while senior quarterback Hayden Carlson went 19 for 28, passing for 137 yards on the night.
Quote: “This is my senior year and a lot of the guys’ senior years, and we don’t want to go out in the second round like we did last year. We want to go as far as we can and get a shot to play Butler or Mallard Creek again and redeem ourselves.” –Quantavious McGill, Independence senior running back on his potential final home game.
Records: Independence is 8-4; Lake Norman finished its season at 8-4.
Worth mentioning: The Patriots are one of the hotter teams in the state over the past two months, winning six of their past seven with their only loss coming to Butler last week (31-0). The Independence defense has been strong in those six wins, allowing only 41 points combined, which is less than a touchdown per contest. The Patriots will have to go on the road in their second round game to East Forsyth, but that isn’t a bad thing as Independence is 4-1 on the road this season, with their only loss coming at Vance.
What’s Next: Independence will travel to take on unbeaten East Forsyth (12-0) this Friday night; Lake Norman’s season is finished with the loss.
This story was originally published November 13, 2015 at 11:00 PM with the headline "Independence 31, Lake Norman 0."