Clover takes on Northwestern Friday

Seeking to rebound from a 28-17 loss to Rock Hill, the Clover High School football team shifts its focus to Northwestern.

The Trojans visit Memorial Stadium with the opening kickoff at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

While the Blue Eagles were battling Rock Hill in a closely-contested game, Northwestern was idle last week.

The Trojans, considered serious contenders for Big 16 state championship honors this season, feature an explosive offense with quarterback Gage Moloney leading the way.

“They’re a very fast team. They’re a very good team, strong and well coached,” said Chad Smith, Blue Eagle head football coach. “It’s one of the best Northwestern teams I’ve seen on film. They would be a challenge for anybody.”

Smith pointed to untimely miscues as a determining factor the tough loss to Rock Hill.

“The kids played hard,” he said. “You can’t fault the effort at all.”

Tanner Tolson, a 5 foot, 7 inch junior, carried the ball 18 times for 130 yards and a 7.2 average per carry. Cody Payne, a 5-11, had 14 carries for 97 yards and a 6.9 average per carry.

Tolson said after the game, the Blue Eagles are on the right track.

“I think we’re playing pretty well,” he said. “The offensive line was definitely moving off the ball, making holes for me to run. I felt really confident running the ball. The holes were huge, a lot of running room.”

But the Bearcats recovered two of the six fumbles the Blue Eagles laid down, Smith said.

“Then they had the interception,” he said. “If you have three turnovers in the game, and then you have that many negative plays to go on top of that, it’s just difficult to overcome.”

Smith lauded the Blue Eagle players for laying it on the line. Clover’s team totals included 257 yards rushing and 89 passing for 346 net yards.

“I was very proud of our players, especially the defense,” he stressed. “Our defense stepped up Friday night more than they have in the past few weeks. Offensively, were able to move the ball.

“But we made too many mistakes … We had a fumbled snap with a pass play called to take a shot at the end zone. We had only one timeout when we fumbled the snap. It kind of delayed things a little bit. We executed the field goal well (Sam Edwards) but I would sure like to have seen seven on the board.”

With the success quarterback Noah Lindsay’s had putting the ball in the air, Smith said the Blue Eagles are giving opposing defenses something to think about.

“We’re definitely passing it better than we have here the last two years,” he said. “We converted some first downs off of our passing game. If we can run it and stay with our blocks, the passing game should open up for us. If we can be efficient in the passing game, we can be a difficult team to defend.”

The Blue Eagles executed a seven-minute drive in the first half that stalled but set the tone for the rest of the game.

The CHS team scored on its next possession, with Lindsay crossing the goal line from a yard out.

Clover found the end zone again on a 12-yard run by Tolson, after a 73-yard drive.

Edmunds’ 27-yard field goal with 3.3 ticks left on the clock pushed the Blue Eagles ahead 17-7 at the break.

Rock Hill took charge in the second half scoring 21 unanswered points to seal the win.

The coach is looking forward to Friday’s game.

“We’re going to fight like a devil and see where the chips fall,” Smith said. “A few years ago, Wade Hampton beat Gaffney in a very similar situation. Hopefully, Northwestern will take us lightly. I know we definitely won’t take Northwestern lightly.”

This story was originally published October 13, 2015 at 9:52 AM with the headline "Clover takes on Northwestern Friday."