Huskies face imposing, unbeaten Independence
Nov. 25—FAIRMONT — For the first time since 1997, the No. 6 North Marion Huskies have earned a spot in the state playoff semifinals.
The playoff run has wound through Rachel to Spencer, West Virginia will make its way down to Coal City on Friday at 7:30 p.m. for a date with last year's state runner-up, the No. 2 Independence Patriots.
The Patriots, with an average margin of victory of 48 points through their undefeated 11-0 season, have yet to truly be challenged on the gridiron, while North Marion goes into the game with a 10-2 record.
North Marion took losses at Fairmont Senior and Frankfort over the course of the regular season — two teams that bracketed North Marion in the playoff rankings, Frankfort at No. 5 and Fairmont Senior at No. 7.
North Marion's first-round playoff matchup came against the No. 11 Lincoln Cougars, a conference foe that the Huskies had already dispatched 35-0 in the regular season.
The playoff rematch did not end too differently, with North securing a 37-7 victory at Roy Michael Field.
Huskies running back Aaron Hoffman, who has become a featured piece of this team, ran for 126 yards and two touchdowns against Lincoln after running for 146 yards and two touchdowns against the Cougars in their previous meeting.
Gavan Lemley also punched in two touchdowns in a game where North Marion's rushing attack was working, totaling 150 yards on the ground despite a stormy downpour throughout the game which did not lend itself to offense.
North's offense did not have as much success against No. 3 Roane County in last week's state quarterfinal, but the Huskies' defense proved potent enough against the Raiders, while the offense made plays when it had to in a 13-12 nail-biter of a victory.
Junior quarterback Casey Minor came through in a huge way for the Huskies against Roane County, scoring both of North's touchdowns while rushing for 97 yards — a team-high — and passing for 34.
Minor ran in what ended up being a game-winning 15-yard touchdown with 6 minutes to play in the fourth quarter, and sealed the game late by hooking up with receiver Brock Martin for a fourth-down converting catch.
Outside of two explosive plays, a 65-yard touchdown run from Briar Begler and a long touchdown pass to the same, North locked down what had to that point been a downright prolific Raider offense.
The games don't get any easier moving deeper into the postseason, and North's defense will have to stand up to an even tougher challenge Friday.
Independence stands as the highest seed remaining in the Class-AA playoffs following No. 1 Winfield's 27-26 loss to No. 9 Herbert Hoover last week.
Much like North Marion, the Patriots had a rematch from the regular season in their first-round opponent, the Bluefield Beavers. The Beavers gave Independence one of their hardest fights in the regular season, though Independence still won 44-16, and in the first-round of the playoffs the margin grew much tighter, a 20-12 win for the No. 2 seed.
Patriots defender Colton Miller clinched the game with a fourth-quarter strip-sack which Independence recovered, while offensively, running back Judah Price ran for 191 yards and two touchdowns, while quarterback Trey Bowers ran for 56 yards and one touchdown.
Price and Bowers came back with impressive performances the next week in a revenge win over Fairmont Senior, who vanquished Independence in last year's state title game. In round two against the Polar Bears, Price ran for 140 yards and three touchdowns, while also returning an 80-yard pick-six. Bowers passed for 143 yards and one touchdown, almost all of the yardage going to wideout Cyrus Goodson.
Price, Bowers and Goodson form a trinity of talent at running back, quarterback and wide receiver that has devastated opponents. The Huskies will have their biggest test of the season against the trio.
All the speculation will cease Friday in Coal City, where one team makes their second straight semifinals trip, the other returning there after a decades-long pursuit.
Whichever team comes out on top will make their way to Wheeling for the state championship, where they will face the winner of No. 5 Frankfort vs. No. 9 Herbert Hoover.
Reach Nick Henthorn at 304-367-2548, on Twitter @nfhenthorn_135 or by email at nhenthorn@timeswv.com.
