Independence at Columbia
What: Nonconference game
When: 7 p.m., Aug. 30
Where: Columbia Raiders Stadium, 14168 W. River Road, Columbia Station
2018 records: Independence 6-4, Columbia 7-4
Last meeting: 2018 – Columbia won, 35-6.
For the record: Columbia won this game handily last season but this isn’t the same team as it has been in the past. The Raiders return three starters on offense and one on defense, lost the county’s all-time leading rusher – Brandon Coleman – to graduation and have been forced to retool the offense with a group of young, inexperienced players. This game is the first chance to see how first-year quarterback Andrew Champagne and junior Joe Governale, who takes over for Coleman, fill the voids on offense, while a defense with one returning starter, senior lineman Carson Heidecker, finds its footing against the Division VII Blue Devils.