Published: Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009 / Updated: Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009 01:26 AM

Northwestern 45, Fort Mill 13

FORT MILL -- Northwestern continued its second-half surge as it demolished the Fort Mill Yellow Jackets 45-13 on Friday at Bob Jones Stadium.

Fort Mill (0-10, 0-4 Region 4-AAAA) played well at times, but failed to pick up its first win of the season. The Trojans evened their record to 5-5, but more importantly remained undefeated in region play at 4-0.

For the second consecutive week, the Trojans got off to a slow start. But just like last week's York game, the Trojans recovered for a dominant win.

The victory sets up a winner-take-all matchup next week against Gaffney for the region championship. Northwestern continues to improve after losing its first four games of the season.

“I could not be more proud of our kids,” Northwestern coach Jimmy Wallace said. “Our offense is really coming around and we are playing our best football at the right time. Next week is obviously a huge game for us, but we'll enjoy this win a day or two before we start worrying about Gaffney.”

Justin Worley had a tremendous game. Worley completed 25 of 32 passes for 408 yards and four touchdowns. His favorite target on the night was receiver Tyler Blake, who ended the game with seven catches for 230 yards.

Worley had just two incompletions in the first half and scrambled all night from Fort Mill's defensive line, buying time to find open receivers.

Blake added two touchdowns, the second of which totaled 70 yards and put Northwestern in control.

Fort Mill opened the game with a nine-play drive to take an early 6-0 lead. The drive was capped by Kyle Simon's 12-yard run. It was the only long scoring drive on the night for the Yellow Jackets. They moved the ball well but stalled in the red zone time and time again.

Northwestern's Air Raid offense did not respond well to the score, as the Yellow Jackets quickly forced the Trojans into a three-and-out.

Northwestern's defense rose to the challenge. Leading 7-6, Northwestern blocked a punt and Lamar Mitchell landed on the loose ball in the end zone.

From that point forward, it was all Trojans.

Along with Blake's huge receiving game, Trojans receiver Robert Joseph also had a tremendous game, finishing with 10 catches for 108 yards.

The Yellow Jackets had no answer for the Trojans after the first score. Northwestern reeled off 45 consecutive points before Fort Mill finally got back on the board late in the fourth quarter.

The Yellow Jackets have one last opportunity to pick up a win on the season, as they will host crosstown rival Nation Ford next Friday.

“I can guarantee that our kids will not quit and we'll be ready to play next week against Nation Ford,” Fort Mill coach Ed Susi said. “We did a lot of things well tonight, but gave up too many mistakes. You can't give up blocked punts and turnovers against a great team like Northwestern and expect to win. But I have to give credit to our kids, they have a lot of fight in them.”

NORTHWESTERN 45, FORT MILL 13

Northwestern.....0.....21.....10.....14.....--.....45

Fort Mill.....6.....0.....0.....7.....--.....13

Scoring summary

FM -- Kyle Simon 12 run (pass failed)

N -- Tyler Blake 26 pass from Justin Worley (Ryan Foster kick)

N -- Lamar Mitchell recovered blocked punt in end zone (Foster kick)

N -- Blake 70 pass from Worley (Foster kick)

N -- Desmond Cunningham 6 pass from Worley (Foster kick)

N -- Foster 31 field goal

N -- Blake 86 pass from Worley (James Smith kick)

N -- Nick Cousar 37 interception return (Smith kick)

FM -- Asa Kryst 16 run (Jack Gantzler kick)

TEAM STATISTICS

.....FMHS.....NHS

First downs.....27.....14

Rushes-yards.....21-63.....37-277

Comp-Att-Int.....27-37-1.....10-16-1

Passing yards.....406.....129

Fumbles-lost.....0-0.....2-1

Penalties-yards.....2-20.....1-5

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Northwestern: Justin Worley 2-(-5), Sanbonis McCloud 6-38, Tyler Williams 1-9, Demon Cunningham 6-3, Brandon Frank 4-13, J.T. Thompson 1-5 . Fort Mill: Max Simons 10-25, Asa Kryst 10-88, Montrece Kennedy 2-25, Kyle Simon 5-25, Preston Fry 10-64.

PASSING -- Northwestern: Worley 25-32-0-408, Williams 2-5-1-(-2) . Fort Mill: Fry 10-16-1-129.

RECEIVING -- Northwestern: Robert Joseph 10-108, Blake 7-230, Stewart Hunt 3-32, Brandon Lewis 1-(-5), Cody Craven 1-6, Keenan Orr 1-12, Brandon Williams 1-12, Cunningham 1-3, Darius Wilson 1-5, Tony Porter 1-3. Fort Mill: Dwayne Granger 6-84, Kryst 2-24, 2-21.

RECORDS -- Northwestern: 4-6, 4-0 region 4-AAAA. Fort Mill 0-10, 0-4.