The Northwestern Trojans are headed back to the state championship for a sixth time under coach Jimmy Wallace.
They got there with a dominating performance that ended in a 24-6 win over South Pointe on Friday night at District Three Stadium.
It was a sweet win for the Trojans from just about any angle one wishes to choose.
Northwestern started the season 0-4 and lost 30-7 to the Stallions in the regular season. The Trojans (9-5) made it to the Class AAAA Division II championship game last year but lost to South Pointe by 21.
Friday's game in no way resembled the last two losses to the Stallions. The Trojans played a near-flawless game on both sides of the ball and held a 17-0 lead at halftime. The second half began with Northwestern receiving the kickoff, and it was obvious the Trojans weren't going to be caught on this night.
“I heard our offensive coordinator Kyle Richardson tell our offense at the half that if they wanted it, they had to chance to go out and get it,” Northwestern coach Jimmy Wallace said. “Our guys responded right away, and that 24-0 score looked awful good the way we were playing.”
South Pointe's Landon Ard kicked off for the first time in the game to open the third quarter, and the ball flew into the end zone for a touchback. The Trojans began an 80-yard scoring drive with short passes and running plays. But on third down and needing three yards to move the sticks, Trojans quarterback Justin Worley spotted his favorite target, Robert Joseph, streaking down the right sideline in front of the Stallions' bench.
Worley cocked his arm and laid the ball on the money to Joseph. He made the catch and turned the play into a 68-yard gain. They hooked up again three plays later, this time for a 4-yard TD — the third of the night for Joseph and Worley.
“It all went right most of the night,” Worley said. “I was getting good pass protection. My receivers were running good routes. The satisfying thing about this win is we went out and executed. It's good to be going back to the state after we started 0-4.”
The Trojans go to Columbia on Friday and play Berkeley at 8 p.m. for the state championship. Berkeley advanced with a 38-35 win over Goose Creek in double overtime.
Wallace wasn't concerned with that game. His focus was on South Pointe, and Northwestern got maximum efforts from its players except for a couple of small, harmless miscues.
Worley completed 23 of 36 passes for 301 yards and three touchdowns. He pushed his totals for the season to 4,111 yards and 40 TDs.
Joseph caught 12 passes for 164 yards and three touchdowns. He added to his state record for most catches in a single season and now has 140. He has 1,760 yards and 18 touchdown catches on the season.
Worley and Joseph were expected to play well, but Northwestern's offensive line stepped up and kept South Pointe's Jadeveon Clowney off Worley's back most of the night. Clowney had a good game, but the big plays he and his teammates have been spoiled by didn't materialize against the fired-up Trojans.
“We just never got into our game,” Clowney said. “We had a bunch of guys cutting up and joking around before the game. Our coaches got on them. I got on them. But some of them didn't come out ready to play. And I'm really sorry for our seniors. They wanted to make it back to the state.”
The Trojans also played an outstanding defensive game. Northwestern held South Pointe to 12 yards rushing, 4 passing and just two first downs in the opening half. By game's end, the Stallions had 75 yards rushing, 35 passing and eight first downs. South Pointe got its touchdown with 6:34 left on a 2-yard run by Quinten Darby, who was held to 17 yards on eight carries.
Northwestern's defense intercepted two passes and recovered a fumble. Defensive end Rod Byers knocked down three passes at the line of scrimmage.
“I told my teammates that if they gave me 100 percent, I'd give them the same,” Byers said. “You have to play like that to beat a good team, and South Pointe is a great team. We'll let this win sink in for 24 hours, then start getting ready for Berkeley.”
Barry Byers 329-4099
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