Plenty on the line Friday in rival clash

By Barry Byers - bbyers@heraldonline.com

The sky was overcast, it was cold outside and a light rain was falling at 2 p.m. Sunday.

The only plus weather-wise was the wind had died down and was no longer wrapping its force around Northwestern's F-building gym.

Rose Baker, Northwestern's athletic department secretary, set up in the lobby in a chair behind a fold-up table, a fat roll of tickets and a cash box to store the fruits that an advanced-sales day would bring in.

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Northwestern athletics director Bill Warren strung a line to display Trojans athletic wear. Once an item was sold, a duplicate in the right size could be pulled from one of several boxes stacked on another table and on the floor.

Warren and Baker were ready for what they had hoped would be an onslaught to purchase one or more $6 bars of gold — a football ticket. But this wasn't just any ticket. It was a pass to get into Friday night's 7:30 game at District Three Stadium between South Pointe and Northwestern.

The weather kept people down to a trickle. There was no long line challenging pre-sales for big Rock Hill versus Northwestern games of old, the ones that either decided a region title or were the last step in making it to the state championship game.

This game is like those, but with a new kid on the block in Rock Hill's third high school, South Pointe. The Stallions officially took their place alongside the Trojans and Bearcats last year. They are putting their stamp on it Friday night.

Northwestern and South Pointe played for the Class AAAA Division II title last year in Clemson. South Pointe won, 35-14, and the entire week leading up to their game on Friday night, locals wondered aloud why wasn't the game played here since both teams are from Rock Hill.

Easy answer. The South Carolina High School League struck a deal to hold all but the Class A title games in Clemson last year, and contractually couldn't let it move.

But last year was different. Northwestern and South Pointe advanced by beating other teams. So this year, for the first time, the Stallions and Trojans meet in town with that most-wanted trip to the state championship this year in Columbia on the line. The loser will done for the season at around 10:20 Friday night.

South Pointe has captured statewide attention in its four varsity seasons. Most of it has been positive, some of it negative. The doubters asked if the Stallions were a one-hit wonder. Some went as far as far as to say they were done after their talented group of seniors graduated last spring.

Those folks were wrong.

South Pointe's meteoric ascent to the top as been well-chronicled. The Stallions were 3-8 their first varsity season in 2006, 9-4 in 2007 after a 5-0 start and capped it with a 15-0 record last year. This year's team is 10-3, with the losses to Charlotte Independence, Clover and Rock Hill.

But hold on. South Pointe coach Bobby Carroll spent 22 seasons at Northwestern, most of them as Coach Jimmy Wallace's defensive coordinator. Can we say the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree?

Wallace came from Lewisville in 1987 and in his third season led the Trojans to their first state championship in football. He has been back four more times and has a 2-3 record, but was there a team in the state that could have beaten South Pointe last year? Some say Byrnes. We'll never know because the didn't play.

Some folks gave up on the Trojans this season after they started 0-4 and dropped to 1-5 after a 30-7 loss to South Pointe. It was a mistake. Northwestern has won seven straight and goes into Friday's game with an 8-5 record.

Wallace has a 270-81 career record and has had only one losing season at Northwestern. He rebuilt a Lewisville program in shambles into a state power. He took the Lions to the championship game twice and was 1-1. He won it his last season there, 1986, to complete a 15-0 season.

Since Wallace left his AD chair after two years and returned to the sideline in 2007, the Trojans are 33-9. They made it to the state semifinals his first season back and played for the state championship last year.

Here we are, ready to strap the chinstraps at least one more time.

Friday's is a must-see game. If you were not among the brave who who stood in line Sunday at Northwestern, tickets are available and likely will be scarce by game time. They are on sale today and Tuesday in both school's athletic departments from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. South Pointe has 1,000 tickets.

Better hurry.