INDEPENDENCE – Toronto, making a playoff appearance that seemed that seemed unlikely at the midpoint of the season, held tough with No. 5 seed Independence in the opening quarter.

After that, a high-powered Blue Devils offense coupled with a key injury on the Red Knights’ offense proved to be too much for 12th-seeded Toronto to overcome as Independence pulled away for a 44-13 win in the opening round of the Division VII, Region 25 postseason.

“We got behind and had to start getting away from our game plan,” Toronto head coach Josh Franke said. “We came in wanting to run the ball. I think we did that, especially in the first half. They have a high-powered offense and we wanted to keep them off the field as much as possible and keep the clock moving.

“Kam Baker had an injury in the first half, he tried to play through it, but he just couldn’t. He was our third-string tailback, so now we’re down to our tailback No. 4 in the second half, and he was playing with a cast on his hand. That is just kind of how the season has gone for us.

“I am extremely proud of our kids. They battled the entire game and we have a really young football team. We had a ton of freshmen and sophomores out there playing in a playoff game, and that is going to benefit us down the line. These kids got to experience playing playoff football, and they are going to be better next year for it.”

After rushing for 95 yards and a score in the first half, Baker carried the ball just once in the second half due to his injury. The effect was perhaps most evident in the first down category, as the Red Knights moved the chains 10 times in the opening half, then just twice in the final 24 minutes.

Toronto had a promising first drive end on an interception in the Independence end, and the Blue Devils wasted little time answering as Roy Corrigan raced 20 yards to score on the next play after the pick was returned deep into the Red Knights end.

After a 77-yard kick return by Dom Bouscher, Toronto had a quick answer a 12-yard run to the endzone by Baker, but Independence needed just two plays to re-take the lead as QB Michael Tommer went 50 yards to paydirt.

After a Toronto (5-6) punt, Tommer fired a 56-yard strike to Kyle Zygmunt on the very next play.

The Blue Devils, who moved to 9-2 and will travel to Dalton in round two, scored three times on just four offensive plays.

“We just thought we were faster and quicker than they were,” Independence coach Rick Adams said of the offensive game plan. “On a lot of the film that we saw, they brought their safeties up. Kyle Zygmunt is a (heck) of an athlete. If we get him 1-on-1, he is going to win that nine times out of 10. We wanted to go after that.

“I was not expecting (to win big), I was expecting a close game. I’m very proud of our kids.”

Bouscher finished a five play drive with a 9-yard run to answer for Toronto late in the opening quarter to make it 21-13 Blue Devils after one.

Unfortunately for the Red Knights, that would be their last points of the game.

Tommer added a 12-yard run in the second quarter to make it 28-13 at the break, and the Blue Devils defense got another interception, forced three punts and a turnover on downs while Tommer fired two more long scoring strikes and kicker Casey McGhee nailed a 33-yard field goal to enact the running clock rule.

“My defensive coordinator made a great adjustment at halftime,” Adams said. “They were hammering us on the left side in the first half and he made some great adjustments and stopped them, really, the whole second half. They have good backs that are shifty, they made a lot of our guys miss.

“Our defense did a (heck) of a job, they put us in positions to score.”

Despite the score, Toronto kept playing hard to the final whistle as senior Shane Keenan, a Youngstown State commit, broke tackles and fought for 24 hard-earned yards on the final play of the game and his high school career.

“You reach a point where you question if you need to get some younger guys in, but we felt we owed it to our seniors to let them play their entire last game out all the way through,” Franke said. “They have sacrificed a lot. They played with a lot of young kids and that is not always easy. They showed a lot of leadership.”

Keenan was one of six seniors, along with Aiden Mick, Avery Wiegand, Connor Peters, Josh Fancher and Landon Thomas, who saw their Red Knights careers come to an end.

“We’re going to miss these guys,” Franke said. “This is a very special senior class to me, they were with me as freshmen and are my first group that has gone all the way through. You build bonds with those guys and love them like they are your own kids. It is always hard seeing those guys leave the program.”

No. 5 Independence 44, No. 12 Toronto 13

Toronto 13-0-0-0 – 13

Independence 21-7-16-0 – 44

SCORING

FIRST QUARTER

I: Corrigan 20 run (McGhee kick) 7:50

T: Baker 12 run (Keenan kick) 6:08

I: Tommer 50 run (McGhee kick) 5:11

I: Zygmunt 56 pass from Tommer (McGhee kick) 2:34

T: Bouscher 9 run (kick failed) :02

SECOND QUARTER

I: Tommer 12 run (McGhee kick) 4:17

THIRD QUARTER

I: Beacher 20 pass from Tommer (McGhee kick) 7:49

I: Corrigan 38 pass from Tommer (pass failed) 6:36

I: McGhee 33 field goal 2:12

FOURTH QUARTER

None

RUSHING: Toronto 43-176-2TD (Baker 16-87-TD; Bouscher 13-66-TD; Mick 5-(-16); Keenan 4-24; Nett 3-12; Wiegand 2-3); Independence 19-93-3TD (Corrigan 7-29; Tommer 9-84-2TD; Wilson 1-(-11); Jolliffe 1-(-1); Narduzzi 1-(-13).

PASSING: Toronto 9-16-97-2INT (all by Mick); Independence 7-12-205-3TD (all by Tommer).

RECEIVING: Toronto 9-97 (Keenan 2-40; Nett 1-9; Baker 3-27; Bouscher 3-21).

FIRST DOWNS: Toronto 12; Independence 5.

FUMBLES-LOST: Toronto 0-0; Independence 2-0.

PENALTIES-YARDS: Toronto 11-79; Independence 5-35.

PUNTS-AVERAGE: Toronto 4-45; Independence 4-38.5.