COAL CITY, W.Va. — There are signs of progress in Coal City as the Independence Patriots continue to put the pieces together for the 2020 season. Brand new artificial turf has been put down and John Lilly is entering his third season at IHS.
“We are very pleased with just being out here,” Lilly said. “I think I missed them more than they missed me. I am just ecstatic. I think we’ve got a good plan and hopefully it will work out.”
The Patriots improved from 4-6 in 2018 to 6-4 in 2019. They were very much in the postseason picture until back-to-back losses to playoff teams Nicholas County and Wyoming East ended their season.
“Everybody has been together now for two years. The coaches have been together for two years. It is a much smoother transition. We have a great coaching staff so we are kind of excited. We’ve got a bunch of good kids. We are young but we are talented.”
Independence welcomes back one of the top running backs in Class AA. As a sophomore, Atticus Goodson was named the second-team all-state captain. He rushed for 1,767 yards and scored 27 touchdowns. He also caught 19 passes for 342 yards and 3 more scores.
“He is going to have to carry the load for us early in the year until the rest of them catch up and grow up. We have good size and good speed around him so it just depends on how well we grow up.”
The starting quarterback spot remains up for grabs as the Patriots are seeking their replacement for Phillip Spurlock. Goodson and the rest of the Independence backfield will go to work behind an offensive line that will be filled with new starters.
“We lost all five so we have five new starters up front. But we are real excited. They are very talented and they are big.
For us, it is about growing up and the only way we can grow up is to get out there in games and learn and make mistakes and correct them. Other than that, we are pretty talented. I feel like we can matchup with anybody. It is just that we are so young we have to grow up and get that experience.”