Rock Hill vs. Northwestern: A tale of two teams
Series record
Northwestern's 42-0 win last year evened the series at 23 wins each. The Trojans have won four of the last five meetings. Combined points in those games were: Northwestern 131, Rock Hill 31.
Coaches
Since Northwestern opened in 1972, the school has had seven coaches. Rock Hill has had five during that span.
Northwestern
Doug Echols - 1972-77 - 20-39
Ken Humphries - 1978 - 2-8
Bobby Ivey - 1979-1986 - 52-39
Jimmy Wallace - 1987-2004 187-53
Michael Allen - 2005-2006 - 10-14
Jimmy Wallace - 2007-2010 - 48-11
Kyle Richardson - current - 6-4
Rock Hill
Bill McGill - 1971-73 - 14-16
Bob Mauro - 1974-75 - 5-15
Jimmy Wallace - 1976-1982 - 32-42
Jim Ringer - 1983-2004 - 189-95
Joe Montgomery - current - 51-32
During the series, Northwestern and Rock Hill have played in a combined 12 state championships, Northwestern eight and Rock Hill 4. The following is a list of the games.
Northwestern: 1982 lost to Middleton 7-6; 1989 beat Lancaster 21-6; 1993 beat Gaffney 2-0; 1997 lost to Gaffney 37-30; 2001 lost to Spartanburg 24-21; 2008 lost to South Pointe 35-14; 2009 lost to Berkeley 33-24; 2010 beat Greenwood 42-12.
Rock Hill: 1990 lost to Sumter 17-7; 1996 lost to Spartanburg 28-6; 2002 beat Irmo 19-0; 2004 beat Stratford 21-7.
Pro players in the series
Northwestern: Rick Sanford, New England Patriots 1979-1984; Seattle Seahawks 1985, Jeff Burris, Buffalo Bills 1994-1997; Indianapolis Colts, 1998-2001; Cincinnati Bengals 2002-2003. Ben Watson, New England Patriots 2004-2009; Cleveland Browns, 2010-present; Derek Ross, Dallas Cowboys 2002-2003; Atlanta Falcons 2003; Minnesota Vikings 2004. Johnathan Joseph, Cincinnati Bengals 2006-2010; Houston Texans 2011
Rock Hill: Gerald Dixon, San Diego Chargers 1998-2001; Cincinnati Bengals 1997-1997; Cleveland Browns 1992-1995. Chris Hope, Pittsburgh Steelers 2002-2005; Tennessee Titans 2006-present; Ko Simpson, Buffalo Bills 2006-2008; Detroit Lions 2009.
Region 3-AAAA playoff picture
(3 automatic spots)
The Gaffney-Spartanburg winner is first.
A Spartanburg loss and wins by Northwestern and Lancaster force a three-way tie for second. Spartanburg would have 34.5 points, Northwestern 33.5 and Lancaster 30.5. So Spartanburg would be second, then Lancaster third based on head-to-head with Northwestern.
A Spartanburg loss, Northwestern win and Lancaster loss means Northwestern is second and Spartanburg third.
A Spartanburg loss, Northwestern loss and Lancaster win means Spartanburg is second and Lancaster is third.
A Rock Hill win and Lancaster loss would create a three-way tie for third. Lancaster would be the third seed in that scenario. Rock Hill would have 31.5 points and a shot at an at-large berth depending on results of other state games.
If Spartanburg wins, then Spartanburg is first and Gaffney second. Lancaster would be third with a win. Northwestern would be third with a win and a Lancaster loss. Lancaster would be third with a loss and a Northwestern loss.
Lancaster is assured an automatic berth with a win over Clover
This story was originally published November 4, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Rock Hill vs. Northwestern: A tale of two teams."