GAME PREVIEW: Independence Visits Summit for ‘Border Battle’

Independence v Summit Preview

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By JOSH VARDAMAN

Independence (4-0, 1-0) at Summit (3-1, 1-0), 7 p.m. Friday*

The fourth edition of the Border Battle between the Summit Spartans (3-1, 1-0) and Independence Eagles (4-0, 1-0) is possibly the most hyped version yet.

Independence enters the contest riding a 19-game winning streak, while Summit has won three in a row and is one victory away from tying the school record of four..

The previous three matchups between these two rivals have not been close, with the defending Class 5A state champion Eagles owning a 153-26 combined score advantage.

With the two teams tied at 1-0 in Region 5-5A and sporting just one loss between them, this year’s contest has a new feel to it heading into Friday.

Spartans’ Offense vs. Eagles’ Defense

Summit, which owns this week’s home-field advantage, is coming into Week 5 with its best start in school history. The Spartans have won three games in a row and are coming off two straight weeks of 71- and 44-point performances on offense.

Last week against Lebanon, Summit scored early and won easily in its homecoming game.

“Last week I was very, very proud because it was homecoming,” SHS head coach Scott Coleman said. “There’s so much stuff going on that Friday, but I guess that speaks to the maturity of the guys that they handled it well and came out ready to play.”

Summit RB Tai Carter
Summit running back Tai Carter (Photo by Andy Collignon)

If the Spartans’ minds weren’t on the game, they didn’t show it. Running back Tai Carter scored his first of three rushing scores just over three minutes into the game, and the rout was on.

Carter enters this week’s matchup with 493 rushing yards and eight total touchdowns (1 punt return). Running backs Dalton Fisher (359 rush yds, 5 TDs) and Tyler Palmer (256 rush yds, 3 TDs) complement him in the backfield.

“They’re going to chew up clock, chew up yardage and chew up the time our offense is on the field,” Independence head coach Scott Blade said. “We have to try to get off the field and let our offense do its thing.”

Summit’s backs will have to be sharp against an Indy defense that recovered four forced fumbles and forced three interceptions in last week’s 21-7 win over Smyrna. The Eagles have given up 125 yards per game on the ground this season.

“They’re great tacklers, they play hard, they’re all going to be at the football – all the great things a great defense and great teams do,” Coleman said. “They know how to play and they know how to win.”

Eagles’ Offense vs. Spartans’ Defense

The Eagles’ spread offense has been touted since the start of last season as one of the state’s best. Against Smyrna in Week 4, though, it didn’t play up to that praise.

Independence QB Brandon Hines
Independence quarterback Brandon Hines (Photo by Kindell Moore)

Senior quarterback Brandon Hines (733 pass yards, 4 TDs, 6 INTs) struggled through the air, throwing for 117 yards and three interceptions.

Junior running back Troy Henderson (323 rush yds, 7 TDs) also struggled to get things going. After scoring seven times in the Eagles’ first three games, he ran for just 33 yards on 10 carries and failed to get in the end zone.

“We did not play well at all last week on offense,” Blade stated. “We turned the ball over and we made some poor decisions, but those are correctable things and things we are working on. We’re not hitting on all cylinders right now, but we’re still winning games and we still have a ton of room to improve.”