INDEPENDENCE — South Tama’s second road game in as many weeks ended with another blowout loss as Independence defeated the Trojans 56-6 last Friday night.

South Tama (1-4) fell behind early and never recovered, trailing 14-0 after the first quarter and 42-0 at halftime to the Mustangs (5-1), who racked up a whopping 477 yards of total offense in the contest.

The Trojans, on the other hand, gained just 137 yards of total offense, 112 on the ground and 25 through the air. Junior quarterback Gavin Bridgewater accounted for most of them with 92 yards rushing — and the lone touchdown on the ground in the fourth quarter — along with 25 yards passing. Nolan Upah was the leading receiver with one catch for 14 yards.

Defensively, Haydin Branan led the way with 7.5 tackles, and Bridgewater (seven) and Pablo Montez (6.5) were the other top tacklers. Although no single rusher eclipsed 100 yards for the Mustangs, four different carriers found the end zone. Quarterback Mitchell Johnson had a monster night, completing 9 of 12 passes for 192 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for 60 yards and two more scores on the ground.

STC returns home for its next two contests, beginning Friday against West Delaware (2-3) and then the homecoming game against Center Point-Urbana, also 2-3, on Oct. 7.