Independence sent a statement to the rest of the 4A classification with a 44-0 shutout win on the road at Mount Tabor in the first round of the West playoffs.

The Patriots, the 21-seed, were not happy that they had to travel to Winston-Salem. Mount Tabor has the 12-seed in the bracket. The team lost to Charlotte Catholic in a tight game to lose the conference title and did not have a strong RPI rating because of some of the teams it had to play in its conference. The RPI ratings are used to seed all teams that make the playoffs after the conference champions. Independence’s 9-1 overall record was not enough to overcome its problems in the opponents’ win percentage category of the RPI formula.

After a brief scuffle between the teams before the game, Independence played with a clear edge.

The Patriots’ offense, led by multi-year starter Justin Little, matched quickly down the field on the opening drive. A Little 10-yard keeper gave the Patriots a 7-0 lead a minute and a half into the contest. The win was Little’s 32nd as a starter.

Independence was very balanced on offense. Little went on to throw for two touchdowns and star junior running back Jayden Jones scored three total touchdowns.

Perhaps most impressive was the Patriots’ defense.

Independence managed to shut out a Mount Tabor offense that had two senior 4-stars at wide receiver: Notre Dame commit JaDon Blair and Virginia Tech commit Shamarius Peterkin. Further: the Patriots were missing arguably their two best defenders: juniors Dallas Brannon and Nick Reddish, who both have a big collection of Power 4 offers.

Ricky Myers Jr. and Landon Carr were some of the defensive backs that stood out, but the entire unit played well. Carr had an interception in the second half.

The loss marks the end of the Blair-Peterkin football era at Mount Tabor. Peterkin is expected to be back on the basketball court soon while Blair is expected to graduate early and head to South Bend.

Mount Tabor wrapped up the season with an 8-3 overall record. Independence is now 10-1 overall and will travel to 5-seed Hough in the second round.

Scoring

1Q

• 10:49 – Justin Little 10-yard touchdown rush. Patriots 7, Spartans 0
• 7:34 – Jayden Jones 33-yard touchdown rush. Patriots 14, Spartans 0

2Q

• 11:46 – Jayden Jones 8-yards touchdown rush. Patriots 21, Spartans 0
• 8:29 – Justin Little 9-yard touchdown pass to Sadat Grant. Patriots 28, Spartans 0
• 1:43 – Justin Little 7-yards touchdown pass to Jayden Jones. Patriots 35, Spartans 0

4Q

• 3:55 – Lyric Kopera 30-yard field goal. Patriots 38, Spartans 0
• 0:00 – Semaj Robinson 35-yard interception return for a touchdown. Patriots 44, Spartans 0