Unbeaten Indian Land vs. Fort Mill among this week’s top Rock Hill-area football games
With a shot at a region title on the line, it is easy to look ahead. That is what Indian Land football coach Adam Hastings is making sure his team does not do.
Indian Land is a perfect 8-0 this season and travels to Fort Mill (4-4) on Friday. With a clash with Northwestern looming, Hastings is making sure his Warriors are keeping a one week at a time mentality.
“All year long, our message has been the same. Be 1-0 and just win the week. Have a singular focus, not talking about what’s down the road, or what our record is, or what the record could be. It’s just 1-0,” Hastings said.
“So, that’s been a consistent message from Week 1 to now, and so that message is not going to change. That message is still who we are. And I think that allows us to have a singular focus per week and just be really locked in on what we have to do every week, because we know that you know we’re going to get everybody’s best.”
Fort Mill started the season 4-0 but has since dropped four straight to Catawba Ridge, Clover, Rock Hill and Northwestern. All but the loss to Northwestern were one-possession games and the Yellow Jackets had their chances late in those contests.
Hastings recognizes this reality.
“We know they’re competitive. We know this is a really good team, and their coach (Rob McNeely) has done a great job of getting those guys together. They play hard and have explosive athletes. They’re very sound in what they do. They force you to beat them. They’re not gonna beat themselves.”
Hastings wasn’t going to give away the game plan, but he knows the challenges Fort Mill presents and ways he needs to prepare his team for the challenge.
“They have some really explosive guys in the pass game,” Hastings said. “Their quarterback (Quinn Kelly) is really impressive. They’ve got tough kids. (Kelly) was the running back last year, he is an all-state wrestler. They have two receivers that can absolutely go. You can look at their games against Northwestern and Rock Hill, and they were both explosive downfield. We are going to have to be sound defensively and just stick to what we do.”
The Warriors have been sound defensively all year.
Indian Land has three shut-out wins and has only allowed single-digit scoring in four games. The Warriors’ lone game allowing more points was a 34-26 win against Nation Ford earlier this month. Hastings is a believer that the best defense is a good offense.
“For us, it really starts up front,” Hastings said. “Michael Foster, who is going to be in the North/South game, is an East Carolina commit at defensive end. He is a team captain and has had a phenomenal year. Him, Jackson Hadley, Kent Perry and Sam Asiedu up front have been dominant all season long. Then when you look at our linebackers, Mikey Johnson ... and Jackson Conners have been great defensive playmakers for us. C.J. Petri and Todd Fowler have also done a great job. Then in our backfield, every one of our defensive backs have had an interception at some point this season. And, all four of them played last year so they understand what we expect out of them and how to prepare.”
Top Rock Hill-area games to watch
Rock Hill (5-4) at Catawba Ridge (4-4), 7:30 p.m. Friday: This is a battle of the third- and fourth-place teams in South Carolina’s 5A Region 3, respectively. Both teams come in hungry to get back in the win column after the Bearcats fell to Northwestern, 45-14, and Catawba Ridge lost to Nation Ford, 41-34. Both teams have relied a lot on their defenses throughout the season as neither team puts up a lot of points per game (23.8 for Rock Hill and 20.3 for Catawba Ridge).
Nation Ford (4-4) at Clover (4-4), 7:30 p.m. Friday: Clover suffered its worst defeat of the season last week in a 35-0 loss to Indian Land. Meanwhile, Nation Ford put up 41 points in a win against Catawba Ridge behind an explosive game from senior quarterback Kason Canupp. Canupp was 17-for-24 passing for 283 yards and five touchdowns. He did throw two interceptions, however. The Blue Eagles’ defense will have its hands full and has given up an average of 27 points per game this season.
North Central (6-2) vs. Andrew Jackson (5-3), 7:30 p.m. Friday: Andrew Jackson got a statement win last week over previously unbeaten Central, which vaulted the Volunteers to sole possession of first place in South Carolina’s 2A Region 4 standings. Next up is second-place North Central, which is 3-0 at home. Andrew Jackson is 1-3 on the road. If the Volunteers want to stay in first place in the region, they will need two more big performances from tailbacks Jvon Kelly and Damias Seegars who accounted for all three touchdowns against Central last week in the 21-20 win.