Athlete of the Week
Justin Little:
The Mint Hill Times this season will feature an athlete chosen as the premiere athletic performance for the week and include one or two Honorable Mention candidates who deserve recognition for their significant contribution.
Our first selection based on his outstanding performance in the Independence win over JM Robinson on Friday night is new QB Justin Little.
The young athletic sophomore QB tossed three touchdown passes in his first varsity career start. The pass receptions include a 22, 20, and 43 yard pass plays to wide receivers Jaylen Springs who connected twice with Little, and Austin Cowick for 43 yards to secure the final outcome of the football game in the fourth quarter. He also hooked up with WR Brian Crowder for a 25 yard reception to keep an important drive alive.
Little also showed he is a two-way threat as he ran multiple quarterback keepers for big yardage including a 60 yard scamper. Other big gainers include 9,12 yard rush plays and short yardage gains generating first downs matriculating the football down field extending Patriot drives.
Meanwhile, Little showed he can inspire and manage the Patriot offense on the field. As he develops this season and matures going forward Independence may have found their QB for the foreseeable future.
Honorable Mention
Jaylen Springs:
The senior WR, a speedster with good hands made some huge plays for the Patriots. He caught two touchdown passes for 22 and 20 yards. Including multiple receptions and a big 16 yard first down reception keeping an important statement drive alive. Springs is a consistent playmaker who will play a vital role in the Patriots offense this season.
Patriot Defense:
This week we are going to recognize the entire Indy defensive unit. They played an excellent football game against an explosive opponent who can score touchdowns striking quickly. The defense virtually stopped the running game of JM Robinson, and were able to contain the Isaac Lee to Daevin Hobbs passing attack to a single 65 yard touchdown play. The big strong fast TE also scored on a 15 yard rushing touchdown. The defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage while applying pressure on the QB, the linebackers did a solid job in stopping the run and covering running backs out of the backfield, and the secondary put a blanket on the wide receivers for most of the contest. Special recognition to Joseph Reddish, Joshua Iseah, and Kaden Thomas.
