Independence High football coach DJ McFadden makes one thing very clear: this isn’t the Independence of old, the one that won seven consecutive state championships and set a national public school record by winning 109 high school football games in a row.
McFadden, the Deer Park statewide coach of the week, said the 2023 Patriots are creating their own legacy and not focusing on the successes of the past.
Independence (7-2, 5-0 Southwestern 4A) will play rival Butler (8-1, 5-0) on Friday for the league title and Matthews-Mint Hill bragging rights. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Butler.
“When I came in, I was deliberate on not talking too much about the past,” McFadden said. “It isn’t fair to put expectations on these kids and we try not to do anything like that. I equate these last three years as the new regime, new coaches, and the next player legacy.”
McFadden, one of the quarterbacks for Independence during its 2000-2007 championship run, said he learned a lot playing under his old high school coach, Carolinas legend Tom Knotts, and coaching under several Charlotte-area greats, including Butler’s Brian Hales.
“I take a little bit of everything from each coach I’ve either played for or worked for,” McFadden said. “Going back to my high school days (and) playing for probably the best coach I’ve ever played for (Knotts) and then the great coaches I’ve worked under like (Mallard Creek’s Michael) Palmieri, (Brian) Hales, (former Independence coach) Joe Evans, (Myers Park’s Scott) Chadwick, and those guys. So, I have been around great coaches but I am trying to put my stamp and swag to it.”
McFadden said it didn’t take much convincing to get the players on board with his vision for the program: to leave the past where it was — and look ahead.
“I am fortunate enough to have walked into this with coaches that have been there before,” McFadden said. “We knew what we wanted to do and expected it. The kids have bought into it and it has been really good.”
After the team went 5-4 in his first year, the Patriots put together an impressive 11-2 season in 2022. They had a scoring average of 41.8 points per game. Led by junior quarterback Justin Little, Independence is on pace to match or better its 2022 win total.
“This is (Little’s) team and he knows that,” McFadden said. “His play as of the last five or six weeks is kind of what we expect and what he expects of himself. He is getting to the point now where he wants to be mentioned whenever you talk about the best quarterbacks in the state. He still has a lot to play for, but he has matured and is becoming that leader like we needed him to do.”
McFadden said he wanted to challenge Little and his team with a rugged non-conference schedule. It included games with past state champions Mallard Creek and West Charlotte from the Queen City conference. Both are ranked in the top 25 in MaxPreps’ state rankings.
Independence started 1-2, losing by 14 to Mallard Creek and by one to West Charlotte, but McFadden thinks those games have helped his team get better. The Patriots will head to Butler on Friday on a six-game win streak.
“The season definitely didn’t start the way we wanted it to,” McFadden said. “We had a few games early where (Little) would have a few turnovers in there. So, it was good for him to have a little adversity early in the year. It has helped him grow and mature, and it has gotten us to where we are now.”
With the playoffs just a few weeks away, McFadden is focused on Butler this week. Besides the Southwestern 4A championship, the winner is likely to get a top 5 seed when the 4A playoff brackets are announced Friday.
“It is everyone’s goal to get to the playoffs and make a championship run,” McFadden said. “We feel like we’ve been in playoff mode ever since conference play started. But, the focus is on Friday. Like I told the team, this is a playoff game. It is for a championship. It has a state championship feel to it. We will handle the playoffs when they come though.”
2023 coach of the week honorees
Week 1: Kennedy Tinsley, Mallard Creek
Week 2: Ben Kolstad, Leesville Road
Week 3: Brandon Gentry, Hopewell
Week 4: Andrew Farriss, Northern Nash
Week 5: Sam Greiner, West Charlotte
Week 6: Lennie Sanders, East Meck; Josh Williams, Garinger
Week 7: Patrick Stokes, Burlington Williams
Week 8: Scott Chadwick, Clayton
Week 9: Rainer Rackley, Rolesville
Week 10: DJ McFadden, Independence
