Football Recap: Independence Comes Up Short + How To Watch

Patriots

Previous 5 Games

10/03/25 @ West Charlotte	7-31
09/19/25 @ Palisades	27-20
09/12/25 vs Lake Norman	26-7
09/05/25 vs Charlotte Christian	35-34
08/29/25 vs Hough	0-35

Independence dropped down to 4-2 on Friday, ending the team's three-game streak of wins. They came up short against the West Charlotte Lions, falling 31-7. The Patriots lost against the Lions in their previous head to head back in September of 2023, too, but the margin this time around was even wider than the 21-20 score last time.

Jared Street Jr threw for 84 yards on 11 of 21 attempts. Zakai Milton was his top target, picking up 29 receiving yards. On the ground, Jayden Jones rushed for 31 yards and one TD.

As for West Charlotte, the win was the fourth in a row for them, bringing their record up to 5-2. The victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 40.0 points over those games.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead West Charlotte to victory, but perhaps none more so than Jamouri Nichols, who threw for 226 yards and three touchdowns, and also punched in one score on the ground. Nichols is becoming a predictor of the Lions' success: when he posts at least three passing touchdowns the team is undefeated (and 1-2 when he doesn't). Donte Nicholson was in the mix as well, providing West Charlotte with two TDs.

We've got plenty of inter-conference action coming up soon. Independence will face off against rival Chambers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Meanwhile, West Charlotte is set to square off against their familiar foe Butler at 7:00 p.m. on the 17th.