Wallace already had on his game face, and shot his famous Clint Eastwood-like squint nearly every time he answered a question.
South Pointe coach Bobby Carroll followed the rules and brought the requested two players -- quarterback Stephon Gilmore and defensive back DeVonte Holloman, who were sitting to the left of Carroll.
He was the typical "BC," as his friends call him, grinning the whole time as he jumped on every question thrown his way.
It was a period of truce for the two coaches who are longtime friends, but as Wallace said, that changes for two hours on Friday night.
Wallace's Trojans, 13-1, play Carroll's Stallions, 14-0, at 8 p.m. on Friday at Clemson's Memorial Stadium for the Class AAAA Division II state championship. It will be the first time two Rock Hill football teams have played for the state title.
Carroll worked under Wallace for 18 seasons before leaving Northwestern in 2005 for his first head coaching job at South Pointe. The last time Northwestern played in a state championship game at Clemson, Carroll was the defensive coordinator.
Carroll's defensive unit won it for the Trojans, 2-0 over Gaffney. And when the Indians attempted a game-winning field goal late in the fourth quarter, Carroll sent Curtis Wilmore up the middle and he blocked the kick as it left the kicker's toe.
"I won't say Bobby is like my son because that would make me look too old,'' Wallace said Monday. "I'll call him my brother. I love him and I don't know of another team in this state that has played varsity of only three years, is 14-0, nationally ranked and has talent like South Pointe's.
"The first time we played this season, it was like your daddy taking you behind the woodshed, taking off his belt, bending you over a stump and whipping you.''
That first meeting was on a Thursday night, Oct. 3, at District Three Stadium. The Trojans and Stallions had played the previous two seasons and Northwestern won both games. Last season, Wallace decided two years of being the school's full-time athletics director were enough and returned to the sideline.
It was his first head-to-head match-up against Carroll, and Wallace took a 1-0 lead in the series with a 41-18 win.
Carroll and his Stallions got revenge this season, winning 28-7.
They shut down Northwestern's powerful "Air Raid'' passing attack by dropping as many as 10 players in coverage on some plays.
"We'll probably blitz all 11 players on every play this time,'' Carroll said. "It's great to share our first trip to the state championship with Northwestern. This game is good for our town, for both schools and the two communities that support us and Northwestern.
"Our schools are only five miles apart and have kids that have known each other all their lives. We have players on both teams who grew up playing Pee Wee, GRA-Y, and middle school football together and against each other.''
And both teams have some mighty fine players, some of the best in the state.
South Pointe's Gilmore and Northwestern's Neely were chosen as South Carolina Mr. Football finalists. They will be in Myrtle Beach on Dec. 12 for the announcement of the winner.
They will go home and leave for Spartanburg the next day, where they'll be teammates in the Shine Bowl of the Carolinas Football Game.
South Pointe linebacker Pete Roseboro is also on the Shrine Bowl team. Holloman and wide receiver Charles Holmes, who, along with Gilmore, committed to South Carolina, will play in the North-South All-Star Game in Myrtle Beach the next day. So will Northwestern linebackers Hakeem Adams and Jerel Miller.
But because South Pointe's team and its players are so highly regarded, and deservedly so, Northwestern's top players have been overlooked.
There's not a team in the state that wouldn't like to have Neely, Long or Adams.
"Not getting recognition doesn't matter to me,'' Neely said. "We know their players are good, but we also know we have good players. Me and Chris might be the two best-kept secrets in the state.
"I don't worry about that stuff,'' Long said. "I worry about our team, doing what I can to help us win. We made it to the state championship, and that's all I care about right now.''
So it's all come down to Friday night. Will it be South Pointe -- it's always hard to beat a good team twice. Or will it be Northwestern? The Trojans have lost in their last two trips to the title game -- 1997 and 2001.
It will come down to coaching, execution and which team wants it more.
"Football games are played on the field and not on a computer,'' Wallace said. "You put the players on the field between the white lines and see what happens.
"I read where (former Indiana basketball coach) Bobby Knight was told he would be a good football coach. He said he wouldn't coach football because you can make one mistake and lose. It's like that. More than three and you'll almost surely lose against a good team.''
Barry Byers • 329-4099
