The Independence Patriots are on the road again on Friday and play against the Weddington Warriors at 7:00 p.m. on December 1st. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Independence had already proven themselves in the regular season, and didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They had just enough and edged Butler out 10-7.
Independence found their leader in underclassman Jayden Jones, who rushed for 174 yards while picking up 7.6 yards per carry. Jones hasn't dropped below 100 rushing yards for seven straight games.
Meanwhile, Weddington came tearing into Friday's contest with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 23 points) and they left with even more momentum. They enjoyed a cozy 44-27 victory over Grimsley. Weddington's win was all the more impressive since Grimsley was averaging only 13.64 points allowed on the season.
Among those leading the charge was Nick Diamond, who rushed for 129 yards and three touchdowns on only 14 carries. Weddington also got a significant boost from Tyler Budge, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 94 yards.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Weddington's defense and their five sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Braeden Barger and Michael Luisa who racked up 4.5 sacks between them.
Independence pushed their record up to 11-3 with that victory, which was their fourth straight on the road. As for Weddington, they are on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-2 record this season.
Friday's matchup might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. Independence has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 202.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Weddington struggles in that department as they've been averaging 169.3 per game. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more football content.
