High school football is back! Here are Week 0 storylines, picks across Rock Hill area
All season-opening high school football games in the Rock Hill area are important — but perhaps the one with the most statewide interest won’t be played under Friday night lights.
It’ll be played on Saturday, that is.
The South Pointe Stallions will travel 10 minutes by bus to District Three Stadium to take on city foe Northwestern at 7 p.m. Saturday — a day after the rest of South Carolina high schools begin their football seasons — in part because Rock Hill High plays host to Greenville in District Three on Friday night.
Playing on the opening weekend’s Saturday every two years has become a trademark of the South Pointe-Northwestern rivalry, one that hasn’t yet quite supplanted the Rock Hill-Northwestern rivalry (between the city’s first two schools) as top dog but is intense nonetheless.
Part of the reason why the matchup between the Stallions and Trojans is special is because the programs have been so good for so long. (Since 2008, the city of Rock Hill has seen nine high school football state championships: six from South Pointe and three from Northwestern.)
In 2015, the two schools won two state championships in back-to-back games.
“We came off the field after beating Lexington,” Northwestern head coach Page Wofford recalled of that 2015 state title, “and South Pointe is coming on the field, and our kids and our coaches are high-fiving their kids and their coaches, you know? We were saying, ‘It’s your turn. It’s your turn to go do it.’
“People always say we want them to win every game except the time that they play us. That’s kind of how I feel about South Pointe.”
Saturday’s matchup should be a good one: Northwestern (5A), an Upper State finalist in 2020, is poised for a special season in 2021 — one that’ll go as far as its 10-plus senior returners (including at quarterback) will take it. South Pointe (4A) has a lot of returning talent, too, including a Division I quarterback prospect of its own.
Northwestern defeated South Pointe last year, 17-3.
“They definitely feel it, especially with us losing the way we did last year, giving them an extra boost of motivation,” Holloman told The Herald after a practice earlier this week. “A lot of those guys, they’ve grown up with playing youth league football, and you know, you don’t want to let anyone get the best of you twice.”
The Herald has profiled the high school football teams in its coverage area this offseason, charting the emergence of big-time college prospects and staying on top of the COVID-caused-chaos that has already affected the 2021 season. But just so you have it: Here’s a one-stop shop for everything you need to know ahead of our area teams’ first games in 2021.
Who isn’t playing? COVID-19 scheduling mishaps
The COVID-19 concerns and scheduling headaches that made 2020 memorable haven’t gone away.
The Lancaster football team, originally set to face Crestwood in its season opener, announced earlier this week that several individuals associated with the program contracted COVID and that the entire team is quarantining and will miss two weeks of games.
The Bruins aren’t the only ones, either: Legion Collegiate is having to delay its NCISAA debut because of its own COVID issues. (The Lancers’ season opener will be at Cannon School on Thursday, Aug. 26.) And York confirmed to The Herald Wednesday afternoon that COVID-19 issues will prevent it from playing Mauldin at home on Friday.
Chester and Lewisville high schools also had their own COVID-related scheduling issues — both of their opponents canceled their games on Friday — but the two schools found replacement opponents.
Lancaster County’s Andrew Jackson isn’t playing in Week 0, as per its original schedule.
Who is playing? High school football storylines, Zietlow picks
All kickoff times are 7:30 p.m. on Friday unless otherwise noted.
Greenville at Rock Hill: You could feel the catharsis this past Friday, when Ian Gomez nailed that scrimmage-winning field goal and the entire Rock Hill team stormed the field in triumph. Everyone in District Three Stadium could feel it. The Bearcats didn’t win a game in 2020 — but a new sense of connection and belief, buoyed by the return of their starting quarterback and a pair of college-bound defensive linemen, defined their 2021 offseason. Greenville will be no easy opponent, though: The team was voted a preseason top-3 4A squad in all of South Carolina earlier this week.
Listen: FM 100.1/AM 1340
Sports editor Alex Zietlow’s prediction: Rock Hill wins.
Nation Ford at Indian Land: This rivalry-by-proximity game features two schools that sit less than 10 miles apart from each other. When these two met in 2020, Nation Ford escaped with an overtime win, 37-34. And both programs have only reloaded since then: Nation Ford (5A) returns a bevy of offensive talent, including Division I-bound playmakers Carson Black (junior QB) and Jerrick Foster (senior WR/ATH). And Indian Land (4A) welcomes back seven All-Region 3-4A players from last season. Should be close. (Note: The game will be played at The Reservation, Indian Land’s old stadium. The program hopes to use its new athletic stadium — which is on the campus of the newly built Indian Land High School — later this year.)
Listen: FM 107.1
Zietlow’s prediction: Nation Ford wins.
Fort Mill at Catawba Ridge: This crosstown rivalry seems lopsided on paper: Catawba Ridge — with its recently named top national college prospect of a quarterback and other Division I skill guys — is loaded with talent and is hoping to build off its banner, Upper-State-finalist 2020 season. But Fort Mill is returning pieces of its own, too.
Listen: FM 94.3
Zietlow’s prediction: Catawba Ridge wins.
Clover at Dorman: This is a rematch of a classic playoff game from two years ago — one that saw Clover and Dorman trade blows in a 45-42 shootout that sent Dorman to the 2019 Upper State title game. The game will be a good measuring stick for Clover, which will be talented but young in 2021, because Dorman is a perennial 5A power.
Listen: WRHI.com
Zietlow’s prediction: Dorman wins.
Chester at Providence (7 p.m.): Chester takes its young team — led by its experienced offensive line and its four-year starting quarterback — to Charlotte to open its 2021 season. It will be a tough assignment as Chester (3A) will have to play a school much larger than it. (The Cyclones were originally scheduled to play Union County, but the matchup was canceled because of COVID.)
Listen: FM 90.3
Zietlow’s prediction: Chester wins.
Columbia at Lewisville: Like Chester, Lewisville was able to land a replacement for their season opener on short notice. The Lions had a four-game winning streak to close 2020 — and they believe that they have the talent, between their returning senior quarterback and their experienced offensive line, to build off that momentum. In order to do that, they’ll have to make every possession count against their larger, 2A opposition.
Zietlow’s prediction: Lewisville wins.
Great Falls at Whitmire: Great Falls hopes to take the momentum from its win in the Chester Jamboree into its season opener. With several key pieces returning from last year — including its second-year coach — Great Falls should be improved from 2020. Whitmire, of course, is no slouch, particularly at home.
Zietlow’s prediction: Great Falls wins.
South Pointe at Northwestern (Saturday, Aug. 21, 7 p.m.).
Listen: FM 100.0/AM 1340
Zietlow’s prediction: Northwestern wins.
Sam Copeland contributed to this report.
This story was originally published August 19, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
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