Moose and McCormick: which local HS football teams can make a state playoff run?

With Northwestern and Rock Hill both hosting first round playoff games, the Trojans, as the higher seed, got to pick when they wanted to play.

James Martin and company opting to play Thursday makes sense for several reasons, including less preparation time for Laurens and making the Raiders travel 80-plus miles (one way) on a day when they normally would be practicing at home. If the Trojans manage to beat Laurens, they’ll have an extra day of rest before the second round and the opportunity to scout the Gaffney-Easley game in-person Friday night.

Laurens (3-7) at Northwestern (6-4)

Last week: Northwestern beat Rock Hill 34-24; Laurens lost to Greenwood 34-11

Last meeting: Northwestern won 46-7 (2015 playoffs)

First round playoff record (since 1972): LHS - 13-21. NHS - 25-10

Key players: LHS - Jr. RB Ca’rado Ray, Sr. QB Ryan Campbell, Sr. RB Troy Dendy. NHS - Sr. DL Christian Steele, Sr. DL Chance Miller, Sr. DB Freddie Cunningham.

Need to know: Laurens hasn’t won on the road this season in five attempts. The Raiders, who are very big up front on both sides of the ball, scored more than 24 points just twice this season and would prefer a plodding ground war against the Trojans. Of course, Northwestern would probably prefer the opposite especially as its run game has somewhat evaporated the last month. Northwestern has only topped 100 yards on the ground in two of its last five games, and just barely in the two that it did. That hasn’t mattered much, though, as senior Jordan Starkes and junior Jamario Holley continually step up in the passing game. If the Trojans aren’t going to dominate the ball, they need to make sure they finish possessions with points.