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Cincinnati Elder handed Independence its first
loss since the current seniors where in fifth grade.
Thomas E. Witte/SI
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CINCINNATI -- Coach Tom Knotts saw cracks in Independence High's invincibility but never expected the Patriots' 109-game winning streak to crumble. Not so soon, anyway.
Knotts understood that this year's edition of the seven-time defending North Carolina 4AA champions was flawed, but he had little time to brace himself for the reality of a loss. In Saturday's nightcap of the Kirk Herbstreit Ohio vs. USA Challenge at Nippert Stadium, Independence -- the preseason No. 6 in SI's national poll -- twice blew seemingly safe leads: a 13-point advantage at halftime and a touchdown edge in the game's final minute, with Cincinnati Elder facing fourth-and-15.
On that critical down, quarterback Johnny Groene lofted a deep ball into a sea of Patriot green and gold, and his tight end, the 6-foot-7 Notre Dame-bound Kyle Rudolph, boxed out the four defenders clamoring for the ball to set up the tying score in regulation, and the Patriots could not match a Groene TD pass to Josh Jones in overtime.
Independence's Anthony Carruthers threw for 346 yards and two TDs but tossed his second interception in OT, sealing Elder's 41-34 comeback victory and ending the Patriots' win streak 42 games shy of the national mark set by De La Salle (Concord, Calif.).
"I was not prepared," says Knotts of facing his losing team in the locker room. "I am still not prepared. I won't be prepared by Monday. Really, our hearts were set on breaking the record. We thought it was achievable. We had the players."
Nor should Knotts have been prepared. His last loss came a full seven years prior, to the day, back when the current seniors were in fifth grade and the team was led by a sophomore quarterback named Chris Leak.
"Winning that many is a double-edged sword," Knotts says. "It provides great confidence, but it also lessens the work ethic. There's an invincibility that's not always backed up by a great work ethic at a place like that."
It was a surprising admission by the architect of the second-longest streak in high school history. When Knotts was coach at West Charlotte in the '90s, any time his team played Independence, "we always felt we were stronger," he recalls. So when he took the Independence job in 2000 -- in part to harness the right arm of Leak -- among his top priorities was implementing a regimented weight-training program. That first fall there were only two Patriots who could bench-press 300 pounds; now there are about 20. Officially, summer workouts are optional, but they have near 100 percent attendance. "We take pride in our weight training," says junior safety Devonte Holloman.
Adorning the wall of the Independence weight room is a sign boasting "Champions Start In Here" and the Patriots have been nothing short of that. "Anybody on our staff or any of our kids will tell you it's the key to our success," says defensive coordinator Bill Geiler. "It gives them confidence." Geiler remembers a time when Leak tried begging out of a workout, saying he had plans to lift later with a personal trainer his father had hired. "I went and told Knotts who picked up the telephone and told Chris, 'All right, call your daddy because you've got to play somewhere else. You can't play here if you're not going to lift,'" remembers Geiler. "That set the tone. If it's good enough for Chris Leak, it's good enough for everybody."
This is, after all, a program where Knotts jokes the school motto ought to be "Be Like Chris" after the celebrated quarterback, who set the high school record for career touchdown passes with 185 and ranks in the top 10 in eight other passing categories. Also on the wall of the Patriots' weight room is a blown-up photo of the 2000 championship team. "You can look at [Leak's] face, and he was our age," says Georgia-bound cornerback Makiri Pugh. "We can do it too. We owe it to him."
Leak was one of 15 sophomore starters on that squad, which Knotts describes, as "weak and baby faced, like a JV team." The Patriots lost their second game of the season 34-31 to Crest (Shelby, N.C.) -- "on a controversial play, I might add," says Knotts -- but hadn't lost again until Saturday, winning by an average margin of 34.6 points per game. In 2004 they won every game by at least 28 points. Rarely had the Patriots even been tested, save a few notable rallies, including a 28-0 deficit against Providence in '05 and 21-0 against Butler in '06.
Installed during Knotts' meticulous practice plans, which are scripted to the minute, is a pass-happy offense that relies on timing patterns and grants considerable freedom to the quarterback to adjust plays at the line of scrimmage.
Not only has the offense dominated in North Carolina but also has sent its principals to Division I-A schools. Quarterbacks Leak, Joe Cox and D.J. McFadden have gone to Florida, Georgia and East Carolina, respectively; receivers Mario Raley and Mohamed Massaquoi went to Georgia; wideout Hakeem Nicks plays for North Carolina, which offered him a scholarship before his first varsity start; senior tight end Mario Carter, lost for the season with a knee injury, is committed to N.C. State; and even Knotts left Independence for the '04 season to be quarterbacks coach at his alma mater, Duke. Geiler was head coach that season before Knotts, unhappy in Durham, returned a year later.
"It's funny because a lot of people ask me, you had to just throw the ball every down," says Cox, who threw 66 TDs at Independence in '04. "But my senior year we had two running backs with about 1,000 yards apiece, and we threw for 4,500 yards. It's pretty much a balanced offense."
From their base 4-3 defense, Independence blitzes roughly 85 percent of the time, says Geiler, explaining, "We feel like, If you're going to score, score right now so we can get our offense back on the field." The Patriots pride themselves on their ability to cover receivers man-to-man, but against Elder they had no answer for the height and athleticism of Rudolph, who had two TD catches, or for the speed of Jones, who hauled in the game-winning grab.
Picking up the remnants of the streak is a tall task. Though the players didn't seem to dwell on it, the streak was a rallying point among the alumni. Cox and Massaquoi, roommates at Georgia, decked out their dorm in Independence gear and admitted to calling everyone Friday night from the Bulldogs' hotel to see how the Patriots fared. Hearing from the alumni won't be as enjoyable for Knotts this week.
"I'll just say I'm embarrassed," he says. "I am sorry and embarrassed. They will call. I've got all kinds of calls from guys all over the country this week, saying 'keep the streak alive.' It's a tough thing. You get used to winning, and this is a different feeling."
While the Patriots don't have much time to reflect -- they play a formidable West Charlotte team on Friday -- they may not have long to wait before establishing another streak: their junior varsity has won 45 in a row.