Northwestern, Indian Land set for rematch in upper state football championship

The upper state has once again flexed its muscles.

Three teams remain in the fourth round of the SCHSL playoffs, and two meet on Friday night with the chance to play for a state championship on the line. The 5A Division II top seed, Northwestern (11-1), will welcome third-seeded Indian Land (11-1) to District 3 Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. game.

When these two programs met in the regular season, it was all Northwestern as the Trojans rolled to a 51-13 victory over the Warriors. At the time, Indian Land was undefeated and even though Trojans coach Page Wofford knew his team’s capabilities, he felt that result was a shock.

“I don’t think anyone expected a score like that,” Wofford said. “I didn’t expect it. I think some things, well, a lot of things really went our way early in that game. When you get up by that many points early, it makes it easier to hold on. But, I didn’t expect it, and I’m sure they didn’t either. They are a really well coached team, and it was almost like if you had a coin; every play or every possession early on if you flipped the coin it would land on us. We can’t expect that to happen every week, and I don’t think it will be that way this week.”

Indian Land coach Adam Hastings agreed with Wofford’s sentiments but wouldn’t make excuses as to why his squad got blown out last time the teams met.

“I think (Wofford) is right,” Hastings said. “But, it’s two different buckets. When you look at the last game against (Northwestern), one, we played an awful game. That was our worst game of the year, no question about it. Then, two, Northwestern is really good and when you play bad, they exacerbate bad to worse really quickly. They are able to pile on points if you aid them. They can get things going quickly, and it makes their opponents press.”

Hastings added that it felt like in the first meeting he was coaching against his own team about as hard as he was against Northwestern, given the amount of mistakes his team made.

“They got us out of rhythm early,” Hastings said. “We were not just playing Northwestern that night. We were also playing Indian Land, and we aren’t good enough to battle Northwestern and ourselves. This time we have to go play Northwestern, which in turn means we can’t make the same mistakes offensively. We have to stay on schedule. Then defensively, get some stops so they aren’t piling points on. There is a reason Northwestern has lost just one game the last two years. Page does a fantastic job keeping those guys in line. … But, there is a reason this game is being played. Both teams have earned the right to play this game, and I believe this time we will be at our best and see where that gets us.”

Wofford said upper-state teams making deep runs in the playoffs is beneficial to all teams in the area.

“We are right here in the middle of it,” Wofford said. “Every team around here is good, and it helps prepare us for these moments. This week, we will now have played two teams from our region in the playoffs. Catawba Ridge in the second round and now Indian Land. It truly speaks volumes about the quality of football in our area. … Football is important in our area. When something is important and people care about something, they will pour resources into it, and typically you’ll win a bunch of games.”

South Pointe vying for berth in 4A title game

The 4A classification’s top-seeded South Pointe Stallions remain on cruise control. The Stallions have scored 49 points or more in every playoff game, and have given up a combined 27 points through three rounds. South Pointe’s most recent game was a blowout of A.C. Flora 56-14.

This week, the Stallions (12-1) welcome Westside to town. The Rams (9-4) are on a nine-game winning streak after dropping the first four games of the year, all in blowout fashion. South Pointe and Westside had a few common opponents earlier in the season.

Westside beat Emerald 43-7 in the regular season and defeated Camden in the playoffs, 24-21. Meanwhile, South Pointe beat Emerald 49-0 in the playoffs and topped Camden in the regular season, 28-7.

The Stallions’ defense, which has been stellar all year, will prove to be a tall task. For the Rams to pull off an upset, they will have to get off to a strong start and feed their star running back Keylan Powell. The senior tailback is averaging 141.9 yards per game on the ground and leads the Rams with 11 total touchdowns. South Pointe, however, is accustomed to stopping high-powered running games with 208 total tackles for loss on the season.

SCHSL football 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.

All teams from the upper state that competed in the third round made it through to the fourth round and are previewed above.