Page at Independence - Offensive Standouts

<p>The Independence Patriots flexed their playoff experience and high-level execution on both offense and defense, with an impressive 45-6 Round 2 victory over Greensboro Page. The Patriots showed that while the Pirates are better this year, they still have some steps to go as a program to get to a contending level. </p>   <p>There were some offensive standouts on both teams here in this one, let's take a look at them here. </p>    <p class="text-gray-700">I wanted to start with the offensive line for the Patriots because they set the physical tone Independence would play with all night long. Nori, from his left tackle position, was dominant all night. I don't remember seeing him get beat on a pass rush attempt all night, and he had several impressive pancake blocks in the running game. Nori's size is impressive to see up close and in person, and I expect him to.be a highly sought after recruit from a college football perspective before things are over for him in high school. </p>     <p class="text-gray-700">The steady hand of the Patriots offense, Jayden did what he does -set the tone and the beat of the Independence offense. The first 3 plays of the game, Jayden had nice runs, which prompted Page to call an early timeout to speak with their defense. It didn't help much though. Jayden finished with a rushing touchdown and a kickoff return for touchdown in this one. He totaled 162 Rushing Yards on 16 Carries as well. I spoke with Jayden after the game. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/pepman704/status/1989531162344116477?t=sIliNQAxbN5-DDzey2geaA&s=19 </div></figure>     <p class="text-gray-700">The Patriots' signal caller had a good game here, operating the offense with smart decisions and efficiency all night long. Jared's 2 touchdown passes showed off his varied skill set. His first one was a simple hitch route, but the timing on the throw and placement allowed his receiver to make the catch, turn, and make a move on the defense in order to get into the end zone. The second one was a seam route where he ripped it to an open receiver where he was the only one that could make the play. Jared finished 9-16 passing for 213 passing yards and 2 touchdowns. </p>     <p class="text-gray-700">King has really come on in the 2nd half of the season has gone along, and it's not a coincidence the Patriots have been playing their best football with his ascension. King had a touchdown catch on the first drive where he caught a hitch, eluded a cornerback, and used his strength and speed to take it 20 yards to the end zone. Throughout the game, King had a couple of impressive high-point catches over a smaller cornerback that really showed the strengths of his game. He's turning into a player who can be a late steal for a college football program. I spoke with King after the game. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/pepman704/status/1989531613407920255?t=guYBW37Y4z_-6Z9sg19hxw&s=19 </div></figure>     <p class="text-gray-700">I was excited to see Zamari in action in this one, but the Pirates started a different quarterback here. Zamari got put into the game in the 4th quarter when it was out of reach for Page. I immediately noticed the command and presence he played with from the pocket, and I'm excited to see how he continues to progress in the off-season. Zamari did finish with a touchdown pass, accounting for the Pirates' only touchdown in the game. </p>     <p class="text-gray-700">The Pirates didn't have a ton of bright spots, but out of their players that I noticed, I thought Aedyn was the main one who brought the right level of physicality and attitude to the game. Aedyn played on both sides of the ball here, and I was impressed with his individual fundamentals and execution. He had a size advantage against the Patriots' defensive line and did a good job on his assignments. I see why he has a lot of interest and multiple offers to play college football. </p>     <p class="text-gray-700">Moreno I thought did a really good job overall up front in this game. There were some plays where the Patriots ran behind him and he got some good push and changed the line of scrimmage consistently. The execution in the zone blocking scheme was good also - his blocks allowed for the zone read mesh to be executed very well by his quarterback and running back. I thought in pass protection he did a good job overall against a talented defensive end for Page as well. Moreno is ahead of the game after a transition from defense, and his ceiling is very high in my opinion. </p>

The Independence Patriots flexed their playoff experience and high-level execution on both offense and defense, with an impressive 45-6 Round 2 victory over Greensboro Page. The Patriots showed that while the Pirates are better this year, they still have some steps to go as a program to get to a contending level.