The comparisons are easy to draw between the group of Independence Patriots that will take the field this fall to the one that brought the Class AA state championship trophy back to Coal City in 2022. Several seniors and multi-year starters are back for John H. Lilly's club. With four consecutive semifinal appearances and ten playoff games over the last three seasons, many of the Patriots have played almost an additional season of games.

"We are starting their fourth year but they have already played four years. And I think that is a big advantage," Lilly said. "All those games are big games against really good teams. I guess for the lack of a better word, they are battle tested."

Independence went 8-4 in 2024 and their four losses came against teams that combined to win nine postseason games. Preseason camp is being run at a higher speed this August as the Patriots hope to increase their pace of play on offense.

"When you are coming off going to the semifinals and you've got nine guys back on both sides of the ball, it kind of makes things a little but smoother in the offseason.

"In 2021, '22 and '23, we were very fast tempo. We want the ball snapped every 12 seconds. We were so young last year, we had to huddle up because we played three freshmen on the line and one sophomore. And we had a freshman quarterback. We had to slow it down but now that everyone is back, we are trying to push the tempo."

Freshman quarterback Brock Green was one of two signal caller's to earn Class AA first team All-State honors last season. He passed for just over 1,800 yards and a dozen touchdowns. After growing up in the program, the 6-foot-4, 221-pound quarterback is getting his chance to lead one of the top programs in the state.

"He has been here on the sidelines since 2018 as a ball boy and then he worked up to the starting quarterback. There's big expectations for him. But he is a good kid and he can handle it."

Green was joined on the All-State first team by Sylas Nelson. As a junior, Nelson scored 25 rushing touchdowns. Lilly says Nelson could place his name alongside program legends Atticus Goodson and Judah Price.

"We had back-to-back Kennedy Award winners. I think he is in that category. I don't know if he will be. He's got the talent to be. With him and Brock in the backfield, I think that is a good start."

Christian Linksweiler caught 30 passes for 652 yards and six touchdowns in 2024. He returns to lead a deep group of receivers.

"Our outside receivers are the same ones we had the last two years in Christian Linksweiler and Kaden Bradbury. And at the slot, we've got Cole Laxton. So we've got three seniors there and they have all started or played for three years."

Isaiah Conley and Landon Riddle are returning all-staters on the defensive side of the ball.

"We've got a three-year starting linebacker that is the quarterback of our defense, [Landon] Phalin. I think one of the coaches up north came down and said, 'How many Phalin's have we got?' We've got a bunch of them but they are all good kids."

With a record of 40-9 over the last four seasons, Lilly and the Patriots have every expectation of playing in the season's final game as they did in 2021 and 2022.

"This is the most experience we have had since '22. In '22, we had 19 seniors and all 19 of them were three-year starters. We didn't rebuild, because we were still successful. But we had to regroup. Now we feel like we've got the pieces together to have a pretty good football team."