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Thursday, Oct. 02, 2008

South Pointe vs. Northwestern : Who’s the boss?

Throw out the records ... tonight, something’s gotta give

Northwestern hosts South Pointe at District Three Stadium tonight at 7:30 in a battle of unbeatens. Both teams are 5-0. Northwestern is ranked No. 2 and South Pointe No. 3 in the Prep Writers Poll for Class AAAA teams.

It’s not a region game, but it’s a matchup of what could be the area’s top two teams.

Tickets are $7 at the schools today and $8 at the gate tonight.

Here’s a by-the-numbers look at the two teams and what could happen in tonight’s game.

By the numbers:

2 —  Times Northwestern and South Pointe have played. Northwestern won 28-14 in 2006 and 41-18 last year.

12 — Number of touchdowns South Pointe has scored on kick returns, interceptions or fumble recoveries. Defensive backs DeVonte Holloman and Pat Burris have four each.

20 — Touchdown passes thrown by Justin Worley, Northwestern’s 6-5 sophomore quarterback. He has passed for 1,403 yards.

254 and 0 — Passing yards and passing touchdowns South Pointe has allowed.

4 — Trojans with at least 250 receiving yards — Jarrett Neely (416), Cordarrelle Patterson (347), Labris Adams (300) and Julian Patton (256). They have combined for 19 TDs.

10 — Where South Pointe is ranked in the national football polls calpreps.com and MAXPreps.com that came out Tuesday afternoon. The Stallions are No. 30 in the Rivals.com poll.

9 —  Number of South Pointe coaches who either played or coached at Northwestern — coach Bobby Carroll and assistants Strait Herron, Zack Snyder, Pat Burris, Benjie Young, Dexter Falls, Calvin McCullough, Jay Currence and David Ard. Six played for Carroll.

254 — Career wins by Northwestern coach Jimmy Wallace in 26 seasons, including six years and 47 wins at Lewisville. South Pointe’s Bobby Carroll, an assistant under Wallace for 18 years, has 17 wins in three seasons.

2 — Father and son combinations in tonight’s game. Pat Burris, Sr. is a South Pointe assistant coach and Pat, Jr. is a starting DB. Ray McCleod is an assistant at Northwestern. His son, Devin Wherry, starts at tailback for South Pointe. There are two sophomore brothers matched up — Gerald Dixon Jr. (DL) at Northwestern and Gerald Dixon (DE) at South Pointe.

What South Pointe has to do to win: The Stallions’ defense has to put constant pressure on Trojans quarterback Justin Worley to make him rush his passes and throw on the run. South Pointe has to pick up a touchdown or two on special teams or defense because Northwestern is solid defensively. When the Stallions have the ball, they must control it and keep it away from Worley. They need to take advantage of every scoring opportunity because this one should be close.

What Northwestern has to do to win: The Trojans are facing a tough defense and might have to look more to the run to keep the Stallions from teeing off on Worley. Northwestern has to look for holes and decide how to attack South Pointe’s secondary. The Trojans have an offense that can score quickly, but ball control could be a key to help keep their defense off the field as much as possible so the players on that side are able to take a breather. This will be a fast-paced game, almost like a track meet.