Rock Hill or Northwestern? South Pointe or York? A lot is at stake in Week 5 football
To some, Week 5 is probably defined by what it isn’t: Due to COVID-19 concerns, Clover football won’t play a game for two weeks, leaving Nation Ford without a game to play on Friday night — and Fort Mill, after finding an opponent to play this week only to have those efforts unravel on Thursday morning, won’t play, either.
But to at least two schools in a town that calls itself Football City USA, Week 5 is defined by a rivalry nearly half-a-century old.
“Northwestern-Rock Hill is the biggest rivalry in the state of South Carolina at any level,” Northwestern head coach Page Wofford told The Herald via phone interview on Wednesday night.
Many Rock Hill residents — those who’ve lived in the area long enough to remember coaches Jim Ringer and Jimmy “Moose” Wallace appear in local car dealership commercials and newspaper advertisements to hype up the game-of-all-games every October — know what this event means in the larger sports history.
But this game, in the context of this season, has plenty at stake on its own.
Northwestern, after a 2-8 season last year defined by tight region losses which included a seven-point loss to Rock Hill, is undefeated in 2020. The Trojans (3-0, 2-0) have command of Region 4-5A and can wrap up the title with a win on Friday night. They can also win their first city championship — conquering city foes Rock Hill High and South Pointe in the same season — for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
Northwestern has had a different player step up each week: In Week 1, it was Jaylen Chavis, who notched over 150 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. In Week 2, it was Qua Howard, a sophomore running back who ran for 129 yards on 26 carries. And then after a last-second cancellation ahead of the Week 3 game, the Trojans were led by their defense that didn’t give up a touchdown against South Pointe and Kyle Aldridge, who notched 100 yards on the ground in Week 5.
“We had to get them out of the clouds after last week, and we did that,” Wofford said. “And now we’re getting them ready for Rock Hill.”
Rock Hill, conversely, hasn’t won a game yet. The Bearcats have played teams close, though. Take their season-opening, turnover-riddled loss to Spring Valley, for instance, or their overtime loss to Ridge View last week.
“I think we’ve played some really tough games,” Rock Hill head coach Bubba Pittman told The Herald via phone interview on Thursday. “Our kids have fought. Last week’s overtime loss to Ridge View was, you know, tough on our kids. But they’ll bounce back. It’s kind of good to have a rival game coming up next to get them focused and ready to go.
“I don’t doubt that our kids will be ready to play.”
Through three games, it’s not clear if Rock Hill has played its best football yet.
But to defeat Northwestern, it’s clear the team will have to.
Full Friday night football schedule, Zietlow’s picks
Check out Friday night’s football slate below. All kickoffs are scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Sports reporter/editor Alex Zietlow did not publish predictions last week. (So he’s still technically 14-6 on the season.) But you can view his picks ahead of Week 5 below.
South Pointe (3-1, 3-0) at York (3-1, 2-1)
South Pointe can wrap up the region title with a victory, and after a debilitating loss to Rock Hill rival, Northwestern, DeVonte Holloman will surely have his Stallions ready. A South Pointe loss would throw the region race into a three-way tie, which would require the region tiebreaker — an evaluation of head-to-head matchups and point differentials — to be applied. York needs a win to force the three-way tie for the region. A loss effectively ends the Cougars’ playoff hopes.
Listen: FM 107.1
Zietlow’s prediction: South Pointe wins.
Catawba Ridge (3-1, 3-1) at Chester (2-1, 2-1)
This is a non-region contest, but it’s an interesting one: Catawba Ridge hasn’t allowed a point in three contests in 4A competition, and Chester, although falling last week to Fairfield Central in an offensive slugfest, has proven to again be one of the best teams in 3A this season. Catawba Ridge fans probably resent this, particularly after all their team has proven thus far this season, but a win this week would put to rest the inherently loaded question: Is Catawba Ridge football the real deal yet?
Listen: FM 94.3 and FM 90.3
Zietlow’s prediction: Chester wins.
Lewisville (1-2, 1-2) at McBee (0-2, 0-2)
Both teams are out of the playoffs, but Lewisville would like to get a win to even its record. Great Falls had its best showing of the year against McBee last week, winning 8-6, and Lewisville handled Great Falls in a 14-0 win earlier in the year.
Zietlow’s prediction: Lewisville wins.
Bamberg-Ehrhardt (2-0, 2-0) at Great Falls (1-3, 1-3)
This is a non-region contest between two teams over 100 miles apart that have not played each other since 1964. Bamberg-Ehrhardt is usually a very strong team, so Great Falls will have to replicate its defensive effort on Friday night to make it two wins in a row.
Zietlow’s prediction: Bamberg-Ehrhardt wins.
Indian Land (1-3, 0-3) at Lancaster (0-2, 0-3)
Here’s a big county rivalry game, but there’s nothing on the line besides pride and bragging rights. Neither team will make the playoffs.
Listen: FM 104.1
Zietlow’s prediction: Indian Land wins.
Legion Collegiate (1-2, 1-2) at Blacksburg (0-4, 0-3)
Legion Collegiate would like nothing better than to close the region season with a win and a .500 record. They’ll be playing to avoid a letdown after a big win last week and shouldn’t take this winless Blacksburg team lightly.
Listen: WRHI.com
Zietlow’s prediction: Legion Collegiate wins.
Rock Hill (0-3, 0-2) at Northwestern (3-0, 2-0)
Listen: FM 100.1/AM 1340
Zietlow’s prediction: Northwestern wins.
Sam Copeland contributed reporting.
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