Northwestern has its way with South Meck for second straight win
Northwestern and South Mecklenburg played a back-and-forth first quarter Friday night, in which the defenses found themselves limiting damage. In the second quarter, that all changed.
Northwestern scored 21 points in that second period, pulling away from South Meck on the way to a 45-0 win at Fred Boger Field in Charlotte.
After that opening stanza in which the Trojans could manage only a 22-yard field goal from Thomas Gettys, the visitors turned on the jets in the second. Northwestern (2-1) got three touchdowns from sophomore Dustin Noller in the period, with touchdown strikes of 35 and 15 yards to Jordan Starkes accompanying a 12-yard quarterback keeper. The Trojans took a 24-0 lead to the interval, and never looked back from there.
Two more quick-strike Northwestern drives resulted in touchdown connections from Noller to Jamario Holley, the first of which coming on a one-play, 38-yard drive that took just six seconds. Holley also hauled in a 27-yarder later in the period. A 30-yard toss from Noller to Jamaar Moore with 9:47 to play capped the scoring.
South Meck (0-3) found its best chance to dent the scoreboard for the first time in nearly nine quarters on its final drive, as the Sabres launched a nearly nine-minute drive that saw their first trip to the red zone on the evening. Freshman quarterback Austin Grier’s pass fell incomplete from the Northwestern 10, though, allowing Northwestern to let the final seconds elapse.
Turning point
After that Gettys field goal gave Northwestern a 3-0 lead, South Meck went on a 12-play drive that lasted over seven minutes and traversed 56 yards. Much as it did all night, the bend-but-don’t-break Northwestern defense again came up big, forcing a turnover on downs. The Trojans took over at the South Meck 24, engineering a precision drive that traveled 76 yards in five plays over 41 seconds, with the 35-yard toss from Noller to Starkes giving the Trojans a 10-0 advantage.
“I think the change was really just our demeanor,” said Northwestern coach David Pierce of his team’s response. “We were walking around, we were slow off the ball. I don’t think our head was in it. We had to have a little talk about the way we act. We have to sometimes get out of our own way, and I believe they picked it up.”
Critical
As remarkable a performance as Northwestern’s offense contributed, its defense merited equal billing. South Meck enjoyed a 35-minute-to-13-minute advantage in time of possession, yet managed just the one trip to the red zone.
Third and fourth downs proved huge for the Trojans, as they limited the Sabres to just 3-for-20 on third and fourth downs combined. Northwestern forced five South Meck punts, turned the Sabres over on downs five times, and recorded a nifty Fred Cunningham interception. D’Arthur Ratchford continued his stellar play of late, blocking one of the South Meck punt tries.
“I just believe we kept seven (defenders) in the box,” stated Pierce about the key to his team’s success. “Coach (defensive coordinator James) Martin does a great job of anticipating through studying film and knowing what they’re going to do. Our defensive line, we’ve got some young kids in there that really kind of hammered it out tonight against some guys that were much larger than they were. I’ve gotta give the credit to our (defensive line) and our whole defensive front in just not really giving (Grier) much time to get it off.”
Star contributions
Noller looked every bit the part of what many have come to expect from Northwestern’s quarterback position. The sophomore signal-caller connected on 24-of-32 tries for 329 yards, throwing for five touchdowns and running for another. His connections with Starkes (nine receptions, 145 yards, two scores) and Holley (four grabs, 85 yards, two scores) provided much of the scoring for Northwestern. Running back Dequez Harris made the most of his limited opportunities on the ground, carrying 10 times for 76 yards and showing good burst and toughness.
Grier acquitted himself well in just his second game under center for South Meck. The freshman completed 21-of-31 attempts for 160 yards, and showed a reasonable comfort level in the pocket. Receiver Jordan McKinney snagged eight of those throws for 71 receiving yards.
On deck
Northwestern hosts Byrnes next Friday. That game is scheduled for a 7:30 kickoff.
Box score
Northwestern 45, South Mecklenburg 0
Northwestern 3;21;14;7;-; 45
South Mecklenburg 0;0;0;0;-; 0
SCORING SUMMARY
First quarter
NW – Thomas Gettys 22 field goal 6:15
Second quarter
NW – Jordan Starkes 35 pass from Dustin Noller (Gettys kick) 10:18
NW – Starkes 15 pass from Noller (Gettys kick) 4:43
NW – Noller 13 run (Gettys kick) 2:14
Third quarter
NW – Jamario Holley 38 pass from Noller (Gettys kick) 10:50
NW – Holley 27 pass from Noller (Gettys kick) 6:53
Fourth quarter
NW – Jamaar Moore 30 pass from Noller (Gettys kick) 9:47
TEAM STATISTICS
NW;SM
First downs;20;10
Rushes-yards;16-106;25-31
Passing;24-32-1;22-33-1
Passing yards;329;171
Fumbles-lost;0-0;0-0
Penalties-yards;5-60;3-18
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING Northwestern: Dequez Harris 10-76; Dustin Noller 2-14; Trey Robinson 2-10; Jailon Good 2-6. South Mecklenburg: DeAngelo Blair-Young 13-23; Jabari Dalton 9-22; Austin Grier 3-(-14).
PASSING Northwestern: Noller 24-32-1-329 yards. South Mecklenburg: Grier 21-31-1-160; Andre Francois 1-2-0-11.
RECEIVING Northwestern: Jordan Starkes 9-143; Jamario Holley 4-85; Gregory Bivens 4-21; Jamaar Moore 2-35; Harris 2-14; Ger-Cari Caldwell 2-11; Derron King 1-20. South Mecklenburg: Jordan McKinney 8-71; Francois 6-36; Blair-Young 2-7; Anthony Sharper 2-4; Jason Ivey 1-28; Terry Thomas 1-11; Grier 1-11; Dalton 1-3.
RECORDS Northwestern 2-1, South Meck 0-3.
This story was originally published September 1, 2017 at 10:39 PM with the headline "Northwestern has its way with South Meck for second straight win."