‘Never satisfied’: How Northwestern’s top receivers maintain focus heading into playoffs
South Carolina’s Upper State 5A Division II top seed Northwestern starts its 2024 playoff run on Friday night.
Two players that plan to leave their mark on the playoff run are wide receivers Kameron Vance and Jayden Nichols. Vance has 46 receptions on the season and averages 92.5 yards per game. He also scored 12 touchdowns. Nichols recorded nine touchdowns while averaging 75.2 receiving yards per game on 49 receptions.
“Both (Nichols and Vance) set great examples,” Trojans head coach Page Wofford said. “They come to work every day and I don’t know if they have really had a bad practice all year, as far as effort goes. They may miss a ball here or there but their effort is always there. So, that helps set an example for the other guys on the team and the young guys watching them. Then, as a byproduct of that, if they practice well, they tend to play well and we have seen that come to fruition.”
Both players feel that the Trojans’ coaching staff has helped to put them in the best position to be successful on and off the field.
“The coaches have pushed us to our limits,” Vance said. “They know how good we can be and they are never satisfied with us just being good. They want us to get better and better. So, that is one of the ways they use to motivate us and to keep us going to be the best we can be.”
“For me, I think the coaches go hard on us even in off weeks,” Nichols said. “Most teams try to get rest and try to get their bodies rested. But, with us, we are attacking every day and trying to get ahead and 1% better every day.”
Trojans quarterback Finley Polk has often mentioned how easy Vance and Nichols make his job as quarterback. Vance and Nichols feel that he also makes their job easier as receivers.
“I feel like during the summer (Polk) would always make sure we put the work in,” Vance said. “We would throw a few balls and build that chemistry together in the offseason. That way we would get comfortable with what each other was going to do. I also feel like just hanging out, outside of football helped build that chemistry and made us kind of like a family.”
The family illustration resonated with Nichols, while he also wanted to give props to his offensive line.
“I also feel that this team is a family,” Nichols said. “But, we can’t do any of this without our offensive line. They go against the best defensive line in the state every day during practice. So, I know that they can block for us and give us time to get open, as well as give (Polk) time to get the ball to us.”
After a first-round bye, the 10-0 Trojans will welcome a familiar foe to District III stadium in 6-5 Indian Land, who the Trojans beat 45-0 on Nov. 1, the last game of the regular season. Wofford and his players do not look at records or prior results, because they know each game is different and they have to play their best to win each week.
“I feel like we have to play to our standards,” Vance said. “We shouldn’t play down to (our competition). At the end of the day, it is just another game even though this is the playoffs now and it is win or go home. No matter the opponent, we have to play to Northwestern standard.”
Wofford mentioned that he has started to see his season-long message sink in to his players. He wants all the focus to be internal. No matter who the Trojans face, if they win the battle with themselves of eliminating mistakes and performing to the best of their own ability, he is confident there isn’t anyone who can stop them from being crowned champions.
“For us, it has always been focusing on what we can do,” Wofford said. “If we keep improving then we can separate ourselves from the rest of the competition. Then it simply comes down to us performing at our best and playing to our standard and the rest takes care of itself. We’ve talked about this all season long and I am glad it is sinking in somehow.”