... - Sports - Preps - South Pointe

Tuesday, Sep. 30, 2008

The Showdown

No. 2 Trojans, No. 3 Stallions known for offenses, but their defenses are just as good

The time has finally arrived.

For years, football fans in Rock Hill counted down the days until the Northwestern Trojans and Rock Hill Bearcats played on the final Friday night of the season.

That changed this year when realignment separated those two old rivals, so they played in the third week of the season.

And there’s been another change, one that folks around here can’t say they didn’t see coming. The “Big 2” has become the “Big 3.”

The South Pointe Stallions have joined in to make Rock Hill the best football town in South Carolina. After all, what other town can boast three teams with a combined record of 19-1, and that one loss came when Northwestern knocked off Rock Hill.

The Trojans host the Stallions, both 5-0, on Thursday night at District Three Stadium, and an overflow crowd is expected.

“Next to the state championship, this is the game we’ve looked forward to,” said Harold White, the Stallions’ senior middle linebacker. “Everybody wants to put on for the people in our city. It’s going to be fun. It’s going to be crazy.”

Northwestern is Class AAAA’s No. 2 team in the Sports Writers Poll. South Pointe is No. 3 and is ranked as high as No. 30 in one national poll, Maxpreps.com.

Northwestern’s “Air Raid” offense and South Pointe’s running game are headline-grabbers. But both are quietly playing outstanding defense, each with 11 solid starters.

White, a three-year starter, is one of those. He is the heart and soul of South Pointe’s defense. He and his stepbrother, Pete Roseboro, lead the Stallions with 60 tackles each.

Put the names of all 22 from both teams in a bag and pull out 11. No matter which are picked, it would still be a defense any coach would be glad to have.

But the starting point would be the first four — White and his teammate DeVonte Holloman, a standout safety, and Northwestern middle linebacker Jerel Miller and safety Chris Long.

Last season, Long, a 5-foot-11, 152-pound senior, had eight interceptions. He already has five this year. “Our defensive players got together and decided we needed a nickname,” Long said. “We talked and picked ‘The Unit’ because we play as one and it’s a name that symbolizes us.

“Because we score so quick on offense, our defense is on the field a lot. We have to pull it together and keep the other team from scoring.”

The Trojans have allowed only 50 points and 1,386 total yards.

Miller, who wears a Mohawk haircut with his No. 20 razored on each side of his head, said the yards and some of the points are because most games have been over by the second half.

The Trojans are giving up 10 points a game. Miller said with the starters in, it’s more like four.

“I thought for a while that I’d be a running back, but I’ve played linebacker since I was 6,” said Miller, whose has Popeye-like arms.

“Our defense is pretty good. We might bend and give up some points, but we seldom break. When teams get near our end zone, we slam the door.”

The same can be said for South Pointe, which has allowed only 26 points and 639 yards. The Stallions have scored an amazing 12 touchdowns on either kick returns, interceptions or fumbles.

Holloman leads the way, with three punts and an interception taken back. He is as senior and transferred in from one of the top teams in the country, Charlotte’s Independence.

At 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, he’s gifted with size, speed and good hands. And he’s happy to be at South Pointe.

“This is almost like starting over for me,” said Holloman, who has committed to Clemson. “Winning got kind of complacent at Independence, especially after we won the state championship my sophomore year. It was business as usual until we got our 109-game winning streak broken last year.

“We were always ranked in the top 10 nationally, but here at South Pointe, it’s the first time this year. I’m seeing the excitement all over again. Everybody here is hungry. We want a state championship, and I’m happy for the chance to part of it.”

White is your typical roll-’em-up-and-go-to-work player. He rarely misses a play on defense has been known to line up at fullback and blast holes for the Stallions’ running backs.

While White was growing up in Rock Hill, it was always Trojans and Bearcats. He never expected not to be included in that rivalry, recognized as one of the best in the nation.

“When we opened four years ago and didn’t have a varsity team, we made it our goal to work hard, get better and play in a state championship as seniors,” White said. The most important game is the one we play that week, but we think we can make it to the state.

“We had good talent, but DeVonte has really helped us. It’s not so much that he’s a good player. It’s that he brought experience, has been around seniors who meet goals and have good work ethic.”

The work ethic is the same at South Pointe and Northwestern. And with the Stallions a member in standing to form the “Big 3,” it doesn’t come as a surprise to Miller or the other Trojans.

“We knew they would be good some day,” Miller said. “Most of them came from Saluda Trail Middle School and hardly ever lost a game. Before them, we had two schools in town with tradition. Now, we have a third that is building it.”

Want to go What: High school football

Who: South Pointe (5-0) vs. Northwestern (5-0)

When: Thursday, 7:30 p.m.

Where: District Three Stadium in Rock Hill

Tickets: $7 advance at both schools’ athletic departments, $8 at the gate.

Prep Writers Top 10 Class AAAA Poll: 1. Byrnes; 2. Northwestern; 3. South Pointe; 4. Dorman; 5. (tie) Sumter, Beaufort; 7. Lexington; 8. (tie) Rock Hill, Gaffney, Laurens