Despite the Cold, the Devils Were on Fire

It was a defensive showdown Friday Night. It was my first time traveling to Richmond Heights. As I marched into the stadium, I got a fluttery feeling in my stomach. I knew it was going to be a good game.

After the kickoff, I turned my head to talk to my friends. Richmond Heights had about 80 yards to drive down the field, so I figured it was safe to miss a couple of plays.

But I was wrong. I heard the cowbells first, followed by "Band horns up!"

"Wh...What?" I spluttered, very confused.

"School song!" My band director shouted. I caught a glimpse of the end of the play out of the corner of my eye. An interception.

Usually good teams can scrounge up 2, maybe 3 interceptions a game if you're lucky. But not Independence.

Richmond Heights quarterback, Junior Sincere Mills, Threw 3 pick-sixes, and 6 total interceptions. Their offense also fumbled the ball once, and Independence recovered, resulting in 7 total turnovers for the Richmond Heights Spartans.

Senior Linebacker, Jack Giganti, caught 3 interceptions, and returned 2 of those for touchdowns. Junior Kicker/ linebacker also got his hands dirty, returning his one interception for a touchdown.

"So is it almost halftime yet?" my one friend asked. My gaze shifted to the scoreboard. It was 42-0.

"No. There's still 3 minutes left in the 1st quarter!"

Independence finished the half and the game with 55 points.

But I have to give credit to where it is due.

Richmond Height's overall defense was not bad at all. In fact, they actually challenged Independence's second team.

But their red-zone defense agains a fiery, pumped-up offense was not good.

Independence was able to take advantage of the un-prepared and predictable defense on all turnovers.

The Blue Devils' offense did their job when the ball made its way to them. Their red-zone offense was elite and stellar, proving that much improvement since the beginning of the season was made.

In the second half of the game, Independence put in their second stringers and experimented with their wideouts and running backs.

Their game wasn't perfect by any means, but there is pure talent on the roster, and the way they played Friday proves that Independence has many promising seasons to come.

Next week is Senior week, and the last home game of the season. Please come and support our Blue Devils by wearing Neon to the game this Friday. Kickoff is at 7PM, against the Berkshire Badgers.

Go Blue Devils!