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WHEELING – Another week, another powerful foe for Linsly.
Saturday afternoon, the Cadets' potent opposition came in the form of Independence. The Coal City-based Patriots are 5-2 and ranked fourth in the most recent WVSSAC Class AA playoff rankings.
Independence lived up to its formidable billing.
The Patriots controlled both lines of scrimmage, flexing their physicality and athleticism en route to a 35-13 triumph over the Cadets.
Independence exhibited superb offensive balance. The Patriots rushed for 225 yards while passing for 221 more.
Meanwhile, the Patriots' defense held the hosts to under 200 total stripes on the afternoon.
The loss dropped the Cadets to 3-4 on the campaign.
The road gets no easier this coming Friday as Linsly travels to Northeast Ohio to take on Louisville. The big-school Leopards are 7-2 on the season.
"I am disappointed to say the least," Linsly head coach B.J. Depew offered after the game. "We played very poorly today. Independence controlled both sides of the ball.
"We have lost to some very good teams and played well," he added. "Today was not the case. We did not perform well.”
The bright spot for Linsly came right off the bat. The Cadets forced a Patriot punt on the game's initial possession.
The boot was hauled in by Chris Upton at his own 33. The senior standout swept right end and raced 67 yards for a touchdown. The PAT kick, however, failed.
It was basically all down hill after that for the hosts as Independence unloaded 35 unanswered points.
The Patriots took a 14-6 lead into halftime and was up 21-6 entering the final quarter. The visitors delivered the final two nails in the Cadet coffin with a rushing TD at the 11:55 mark and a 38-yard aerial bomb with 3:42 remaining.
Linsly did manufacture a nice scoring drive in the waning moments, engineered by frosh quarterback RJ Zitzelsberger. He completed all five of his passes to set up a four-yard scoring run by George Mamakos
The Cadets were held to 10 yards net yards rushing due to three quarterback sacks.
Linsly threw for 169 yards.
“We knew Independence was a very good team," Depew said. "We jumped on them early thanks to Chris's punt return. But we could not sustain anything after that.
"Their offensive line was big and physical. They ran the ball very effectively which opened up their passing game," he continued. "Things get no easier with Louisville. Our kids are resilient, however, and will be ready for their next challenge.”