COAL CITY, W.Va. — Judah Price found the end zone five times as Independence collected their sixth dominating win of the season with a 44-16 triumph over Bluefield in a Class AA state semifinal rematch from last November.
With the remnants of Hurricane Ian arriving just before kickoff, both teams struggled to move the ball in the first half. The Patriots led 14-8 at halftime thanks to a pair of touchdown runs from Price [18 and 2 yards]. Gerrard Wade had Bluefield’s score in the second quarter on a 70-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
“We tried to throw it a little bit but the ball was so wet. They were loading the box and we were really trying to make an attempt in the first half. But in the second half, we just said, ‘It is too wet’ and we just loaded up to run. We put it in Judah and Trey’s hands to see what we could get,” said Independence head coach John Lilly.
Trey Bowers broke loose for a 59-yard touchdown run on Independence’s first possession of the third quarter to put the Patriots up 22-8.
“Trey is still learning the quarterback position. We are trying to run him a little bit more the last two weeks. We feel like we need it. We don’t want Judah carrying the ball forty times.”
Price found the end zone twice more in the third quarter. His scoring runs of 20 and 3 yards were sandwiched around Bluefield’s lone offensive score of the game. Caleb Fuller connected with Sincere Fields on a 29-yard touchdown. IHS led 38-16 after three quarters.
“Our secondary is pretty good. We’ve got three first team All-Staters back there. We just kind of challenged them and we accepted the challenge. I think they wanted that challenge. They have been hearing that we didn’t play anybody and all this other stuff.”
Price won a footrace to the pylon for a 13-yard touchdown run in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. Less than a minute later, players from both teams were assessed offsetting personal fouls after a play. Bluefield head coach Fred Simon approached the officials and Lilly. The coaches agreed to call the game with 10:09 left to play.
“The kids played hard tonight. I think they took the challenge. They wanted to play good and prove that they are a good team. Coach [Fred] Simon is a class act and Bluefield has been the big dog in southern West Virginia for a long time. And they will be for a long time. It is just good that we got a good game in. Hopefully we can play each other over the next couple years.
“We’re still not as good as we can be. I think we’ve got a lot of room to improve. I know that sounds silly. We have to cut the mistakes and we have to cut the penalties. But I was real proud of them tonight.”
Independence is now 6-0 while the Beavers are 1-5.