All-Herald high school football: Honoring the Rock Hill area’s best of the 2024 season
.JPG "Northwestern players celebrate their win over Irmo in the Class 5A-D2 football state championship game at Oliver Dawson Stadium in Orangeburg on Saturday, December 14, 2024.")
It was another memorable high school football season in Rock Hill.
Northwestern pulled off an undefeated season and won its sixth South Carolina state championship in dramatic fashion.
It was a strong year for South Pointe, which fell in the state semifinals, finishing 11-3 following a nine-game win streak since the Trojans beat them by two touchdowns. A Rock Hill High wide receiver was a finalist for South Carolina’s “Mr. Football” honor after the Bearcats advanced to the Upper State semifinals.
Here are the 2024 All-Herald postseason football honorees:
Co-offensive players of the year
QB Finley Polk, Northwestern, 6-2, 185, Sr.
RB/WR Mason Pickett-Hicks, South Pointe, 5-8, 165, Sr.
Polk’s 2024 stats: 3,712 passing yards, 46 touchdowns, six interceptions; 436 rushing yards for 14 touchdowns
Pickett-Hicks’ 2024 stats: 2,665 rushing yards, 30 touchdowns; 289 receiving yards for three touchdowns
They were two of the best offensive players in the state.
In Polk’s third year leading the Northwestern offense, the Gardner-Webb-bound quarterback solidified himself as South Carolina’s top signal caller. His 3,712 passing yards led the state, including 427 yards on 33 of 39 passes in the title game.
Pickett-Hicks, the dynamic offensive standout for South Pointe, led South Carolina high school football backs in rushing yards by a wide margin. The S.C. State commit rushed for nearly 500 yards in a playoff game, setting the single-game state rushing record.
Defensive player of the year
LB Aakil Brown, South Pointe, 6-0, 205, Sr.
Brown’s 2024 stats: 92 tackles, 35 tackles for loss, 24 sacks
The Stallions’ standout linebacker led South Carolina in sacks. An all-state selection, Brown also ties for No. 13 nationally.
Coach of the year
Page Wofford, Northwestern
The Trojans’ head coach feels grateful to be a part of the school’s latest state championship.
Wofford, who grew up north of Charleston, always knew of these Upper State high schools as perennial football contenders. He attended Winthrop and became a student-teacher at Northwestern during the mid-1990s, when he started helping out with the Trojans’ football and baseball programs and admired the pride that the school community took in these teams.
It felt like a dream job just to become an assistant at Northwestern, and he left his position as the offensive coordinator at Daniel High School, near Clemson, to return five years ago and lead the program.
Team of the year
Northwestern
Winning state championships is an expectation at this school, and the Trojans won their first title in nine years.
Northwestern, which ranks amomg the Top 100 teams in the nation, scored more than 45 points per game. It won by an average margin of over three touchdowns, putting up 533.9 all-purpose yards per game throughout its unbeaten campaign.
This story was originally published December 25, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
