Independence Going to State on Six Bunch, Johnson TDs

Indy Eagles
by Bill Dorsten

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Indy Scores 21 in 2nd to Pull Away

TEAM 1 2 3 4 TOTAL
Centennial 9 0 6 0 15
Independence 14 21 7 14 56

Nate Johnson by Bill Dorsten

Independence Eagles receiver Nate Johnson is a touchdown machine.

The Mr. Football finalist caught five touchdowns and ran in another on Friday night in the Eagles 56-15 Class 5A semifinal win against visiting Centennial.

Independence (14-0) moves on to its second-ever Blue Cross Bowl State championship game, next week at Tennessee Tech against Sevier County (12-2).

Centennial (12-2), in its first ever semifinal appearance, scored first and led 9-6 halfway through the first quarter. After that it was all Independence.

The Eagles, with a heavy dose of Johnson and quarterback Andrew Bunch, scored 21 unanswered second quarter points to pull away from the Cougars.

Johnson, who finished with 9 catches for 230 yards, caught touchdowns of 26, 5, 38, 1 and 57 yards, and ran in another from 7 yards out.  Bunch, who threw 21-33 for 386 yards, 5 TDs and 1 INT , ran in a touchdown and threw two more in the Eagles 21-0 second quarter.

“When you don’t run the ball well you look up and its 21 or 28 to nothing before you know what hit you,” said Cougar head coach Brian Rector. “This is the  best Independence team I have ever seen.”

The Cougars knew to have a chance they had to go for every possible edge to keep the ball away from the high-octane Independence  offense.

Centennial opened the game with, and recovered, an onside kick then marched down to kick a field goal to take a 3-0 lead.

It was a good strategy on paper and probably the only one that gave the Cougars a chance, but on the field nothing could stop the Eagles- who scored on five of their first six possessions and did not punt until midway through the third quarter.

The Cougars game plan seemed sound: establish the run in order to control the clock and keep the ball away from the Eagles. After recovering the onside kick, the Cougars took nearly half the first quarter on a 12-play drive but came away with just a field goal. Then, on the opening drive of the third quarter down 35-9, Centennial took up half of the quarter with a 16 play drive that came up short on a fourth down attempt.

But Independence did not need much time to score, holding the ball 19 of 48 kminutes.

Its first touchdown came after the Cougars opening-drive field goal on a two-play, two-Nate-Johnson catch, 63-yard drive that took less than a minute. Centennial  trying- needing- to match the Eagles blow-for-blow early to stay in the game, responded with a 35-yard touchdown from Tristan Pisacane to Ra’Sean McLemore, with 4:55 left in the first quarter.

But the Eagles marched right back down the field, after Centennial tried another onside kick, and Johnson scored on a 7-yard end-around run.

The Cougars went three-and-out on their five other first half possessions. Independence sole blemish came on a Bunch interception by Austin Waddell in the Cougars end zone with 8 minutes left in the second.

The only bright spot on offense for Centennial in the second half came on a 61-yard touchdown catch-and-run from Texas A&M commit and 5A Mr. Football lineman of the year winner Tyrel Dodson, who finished with 2 yards on 2 carries.

Centennial’s biggest problem was keeping drives alive. Incomplete passes or unsuccessful runs put them in frequent third-and-long situations, leading to the Cougars converting only 3 of 14 third downs. Independence converted 5 of 8 third downs, moving the ball well the few times it needed more than a down or two to gain a first. Mondu Sawyers led all rushers with 96 yards on 20 carries

Independence lost to Smyrna in 2007 in its only other State Championship appearance. Sevier County beat Rhea County 42-28 on Friday night.

Centennial ends its most successful season in school history with a record marred only by two losses to Independence.

(For all scores live on Friday night, check out our Scoreboard)
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