Northwestern earned a convincing win over rival Rock Hill, with one pleasant surprise
Everyone in District Three Stadium in Rock Hill was a bit surprised at what was unfolding on one play late in the third quarter on Friday night.
Everyone. Even Will Mattison, the play’s protagonist: The Northwestern senior quarterback, who’d helped propel the Trojans to a big lead with his arm, was making the play of the game with his legs.
He’d caught a shotgun snap, faked a handoff, then faked a lateral pass, juked one Bearcat defender near the line of scrimmage — and then headed upfield. And then, instead of slowing down to a slide, he continued his sprint up the left hash, using his 6-foot-4, 190-pound frame to outrun Rock Hill defensive backs.
With every step, the crowd got louder until he stomped into the end zone.
60 yards. Touchdown.
But more importantly? In essence, that was the game.
“Yeah, a little bit,” Mattison told The Herald after the game when asked if he surprised himself with his speed, shedding a subtle but satisfied smile. “Because I know people don’t look at me as a runner, you know? They think I’m just a pure pocket passer, which with certain elements I am, but I can definitely move a little, so I’m glad I proved that.
“But really I’m just proud of the whole team, man. How we ran the ball … It was just a great team win.”
The Trojans (1-1) — marching down the field drive after drive, quarter after quarter, as if they were a battalion armed with a contempt after last week’s loss and a hunger that accompanies every city rivalry matchup with Rock Hill High — dominated Friday night to the tune of 48-14.
And outside that Mattison run, which admittedly was a pleasant surprise, everything else went according to plan for Northwestern.
“That’s the fastest I’ve ever seen him run in my life,” Northwestern coach Page Wofford said. “It’s the truth. He came out like he was shot out of a cannon. When he gets going, he’s impressive, like a big ol’ gazelle out there. A giraffe bounding down the field. No one is going to catch him.”
Trojans notch 27 unanswered points
The first quarter was, for the most part, even: Rock Hill ended a promising first drive with a punt before taking its second drive into the end zone, one punctuated by a perfect halfback rush via Jonathan Crawford to the right to counteract the Trojan left-side blitz. Thirty-two-yard scamper. Touchdown. 7-0, Bearcats.
But it didn’t take long for the Trojans to seize Friday’s moment.
The home team scored 27 unanswered points before halftime in three different ways that deflated the Rock Hill sideline.
The first was a Mattison toss to a streaking Elijah Caldwell-Peale for a 46-yard touchdown. The second came 50 seconds later, after a Rock Hill fumble on the team’s first play from scrimmage set up a Mattison 2-yard scramble for a score.
The third came via a Mattison connection with receiver William Brooks for a four-yard touchdown after a drive spearheaded by the legs of running back Qua Howard and the blocking of Northwestern’s offensive line.
And the fourth? That came thanks to the Northwestern defense — in the form of an Austin Wilkes interception and 25-yard return for a touchdown. 27-7, Northwestern.
“Once we got into the flow of the game, it was lights out,” Wofford said of his defense. “Coming off last week’s performance, it was like a whole other defense. A whole other thing. Hats off to (defensive coordinator Mario) Donato and his staff, and those guys for playing their tails off.”
The game got closer on the scoreboard — Rock Hill sophomore quarterback Matthew Wilson put together a nice drive in the second quarter, one finalized by a Chase Gibson 9-yard reception for a score to make it 27-14 — but it was never close again in spirit.
Twenty-one more points later, featuring two more Caldwell-Peale touchdown catches and that Mattison scamper, and it was over. 48-14.
“That guy, I love him so much, man,” Mattison said of Caldwell-Peale. “He’s such a great teammate, and I know I can rely on him at any point. All of my receivers. The bond all of us have is inseparable. And that’s the thing: We have so many good receivers, it’s almost hard to satisfy them all, but we’re such good teammates, that doesn’t even matter. All that matters is that scoreboard.”
Northwestern was led by Mattison, who completed 13-of-23 passes for 261 yards and four touchdowns. He also added two touchdowns and 46 yards on the ground, gaining positive net yards via his 54-yard touchdown after a few sacks in the first quarter.
The Trojans also saw impressive performances from its running backs — Qua Howard (10 carries, 74 yards), RB Nate Sullivan (seven carries, 49 yards), RB Zachary Anderson (five carries, 40 yards) — and wide receiving corps. Senior Gerrell Watkins, who was sorely missed in his team’s season opener against South Pointe last week, caught five passes for 49 yards; Caldwell-Peale had four catches for three touchdowns and 147 yards; and Calique Cunningham had two catches for 51 yards.
The Bearcats were led by running back Crawford, who ran for 86 yards on 10 carries and a touchdown, and Brandon Watson, who added 59 yards on the ground.
Northwestern notched 467 yards of total offense to Rock Hill’s 310.
The game was planned on one day’s notice, after the two schools had previously planned opponents go into COVID quarantines last second. The contest didn’t count toward the region standings, nor did it count toward the city championship Rock Hill, South Pointe and Northwestern compete for every year. The two rivals still plan to play each other in October.
But a look at the Northwestern bus after the game — which was literally shaking and swaying from side to side, tires to tires, thanks to an ecstatic group of Trojans celebrating on it — said it all.
“We’re always happy with a win, you know?” Wofford said. “We came in with a quick game plan, just tried to throw some things together, and you know, luckily we were able to pull it off.”
Quotable
Rock Hill head coach Bubba Pittman on his team’s loss: “Didn’t play well. Just did not play well. Mental mistakes. Just didn’t play well. All phases of the game. I thought special teams were bad. We didn’t kick the ball well tonight. We did not play defense well tonight. We did not play offense well tonight. Too many mental mistakes. Couldn’t get in a rhythm. Can’t do that against good football teams, and that’s what we did. We beat ourselves.”
This story was originally published August 28, 2021 at 12:21 AM.
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