Top-seeded Northwestern welcomes Gaffney in 2024 football playoffs rematch

Two of South Carolina’s most historical high school football programs are set to meet again.

The top-seeded Northwestern Trojans (10-1) will host the fifth-seeded Gaffney Indians (9-3) on Friday in a Class 5A, Division II postseason game that seems to always deliver.

This game has a lot of historical significance. Gaffney owns the all-time record for the most state championships with 18. While Northwestern has just six state titles in program history, the Trojans hold a 31-26 head-to-head advantage on the Indians.

“Gaffney versus Northwestern in the later rounds of the playoffs,” Trojans coach Page Wofford explained. “Water is wet. This is what happens a lot of times. They are really good and I think we are pretty good, too. It will be a great football game. … I’ve had some of our NFL guys reach out asking me who we are playing, and it’s a big game. Ever since our NFL guys were here with us, we always seemed to play Gaffney at some point in the playoffs.”

To Wofford’s point, the two programs faced one another in last season’s upper-state finals and Northwestern won 58-40 before defeating Irmo in the state championship game. While both teams had seniors from a season ago graduate and some others transfer, Wofford feels there is much to glean from that game a season ago.

“Last year, the score wasn’t indicative of how close that game really was,” Wofford said. “We had a few big plays and calls go our way late in that game that helped us pull away to make the final margin what it was. But, it was a lot closer than 18 points. They would be looking like they were going to score, and we would catch a break or they weren’t able to catch those same kinds of breaks. So, again these are just two really great teams and great programs. It is a big reason why these two always seem to play during this part of the season. There is a lot to take from that game, but for me I was happy to win last year and have the opportunity to play them again this year.”

Last season, Northwestern finished 14-0. This season, despite dropping an early season game to rival South Pointe, the Trojans are back in a familiar spot and contending for a state title. This season, Wofford has seen a large amount of growth and maturation in his team by doing simple things like sticking to the process.

“I think the guys have done a good job of just doing their job and winning the next play,” Wofford said. “The biggest play is the next play, and I think they have kept that mentality. They are figuring out what to do to put themselves in positions to win. They aren’t looking ahead to the future and certainly not dwelling on the past. We have a motto of ‘So what? Now what?’ And we can’t worry about what just happened but what we are going to do next and the guys are really doing that.”

The Trojans aren’t getting ahead of themselves, but they are just three games away from repeating as Class 5A, Division II state champions. Wofford said the process never changes.

“We are trying to go 1-0 this week,” he said. “Another motto we have is, ‘Win today.’ We look to go 1-0 in practices on Tuesday, Wednesday, everyday. (Former college football coach) Mike Leach said, ‘You don’t beat a team on Saturday. … You beat them, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. So, in practice we have to be diligent on what we can improve on each day. Then on Friday night, execute. We have talked with the kids and gotten them to understand that we can’t win the whole thing in one night.”

“Right now, Gaffney is the game in front of us. We have to win that one.”

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday at District 3 Stadium.

Indian Land, South Pointe also alive in SCHSL playoffs

Class 5A, Division II

No. 3 Indian Land at No. 2 T.L. Hanna, 7:30 p.m. Friday: Both teams had opening week bye weeks and both teams cruised in the postseason’s second round. Indian Land beat No. 6 Hillcrest 40-10 while T.L. Hanna beat No. 7 Greenville for the second time this season, this time by a 38-14 margin. Both teams boast 10-1 records with the Warriors’ only loss coming against region foe Northwestern. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets haven’t lost since Week 1 to James F. Byrnes. The winner will face the winner of No. 1 Northwestern vs. No. 5 Gaffney for the upper-state title.

Class 4A

No. 1 South Pointe vs. No. 5 A.C. Flora, 7:30 p.m. Friday: The South Pointe Stallions have yet to be challenged in the playoffs, rolling past No. 16 Beaufort 63-13 and No. 9 Emerald 49-0 behind a stellar defense. Stallions coach Bobby Collins says his team has the best defense in the state and he has yet to be proven wrong. South Pointe welcomes A.C. Flora to town in a rematch from the regular season (a 35-12 Stallions win). The Falcons had their lowest point total of the season in that game.

SCHSL playoffs rewind

In the opening round, York fell to A.C. Flora 49-14 in 4A. ... Lancaster fell to Seneca 28-21 in 4A. ... Nation Ford fell to Greenville 42-35 in 5A Division II.

In the second round, Catawba Ridge fell to Northwestern 42-7 in 5A, Division II. … Andrew Jackson fell to Fairfield Central for the second time this season; this time 36-0.