Chester and Northwestern take Week 3 spotlight, plus Rock Hill-area football predictions
Let on for a moment that Northwestern has the upper hand heading into Friday night — when the 5A Trojans travel outside of York County to take on 3A power Chester — and Northwestern head coach Page Wofford will push back.
“Not at all,” Wofford said earlier this week in a phone interview, dismissing the notion posed by a reporter that this game, at least on its surface, is a “David vs. Goliath” matchup.
“They’re pretty good, man,” he added. “I’m not kidding.”
It’s true.
Northwestern and Chester, by the (rare) serendipity of a mid-week COVID schedule change, will deliver the game of the week as far as the Tri-County is concerned on Friday night.
The matchup is preset with everything sports fans love:
For one, there’s an underdog. (That’s Chester, to be clear — the team representing the most populous high school in rural Chester County. The Cyclones are good and have cashed in on some greatness under head coach Victor Floyd, including a 3A state championship in 2018. But they aren’t as large and don’t have the Football City USA legacy and pedigree that Northwestern does. (And that’s because few non-Rock Hill schools do.))
For another, there are two teams on the tops of their games. (Northwestern fell just short of a comeback against Rock Hill rival South Pointe in Week 0, but a defensive awakening and a passing attack led by quarterback Will Mattison and an unselfish receiving corps led to dominant wins over Rock Hill and Clover in subsequent weeks. And Chester — after getting back their four-year starting quarterback and three-star prospect Zan Dunham, who was sidelined with an injury Week 0 — shut out 5A opponent Fort Mill in Week 1 and defeated 4A Airport by multiple scores in Week 2.)
And most importantly? There’s a chance, at least according to history. (In 2009, the Cyclones shocked and defeated a group of ultra-talented Trojans, 35-27, in District Three Stadium before making a run to the 3A state championship game later that year. The two programs haven’t faced off since.)
“We’re excited to play one of the state’s powerhouse 5A schools,” Chester coach Floyd said, adding, “With a young group, you want to get better week to week. And I think we’ve done that. This will be a test for us right before region play and will be good for us regardless of the outcome.”
Other high school football games this week have interesting storylines, too. From an update on the COVID-caused chaos that is high school football scheduling in 2021, to game predictions, to game-by-game storylines and more — here’s a one-stop shop for everything you need to get ready for Friday night football ahead of Week 3.
Who isn’t playing?
Clover was supposed to play South Pointe on Friday — which, had the game stayed intact, would’ve been an exciting contest between two squads looking to re-establish themselves after huge wins in Week 0. COVID-19 foiled the matchup, though. The Blue Eagles are out for the next two Friday nights.
In addition to Clover, Nation Ford had its game against Northwestern canceled this weekend, and Rock Hill and Lancaster are still battling COVID-quarantine-carnage from the week before.
Who is playing? Plus storylines and Zietlow predictions
Catawba Ridge (2-1, 0-0) at West Cabarrus (1-1, 0-0). There is remarkably little on the line for each team in this game — beyond the fact that an S.C. team (Catawba Ridge) and an N.C. team (West Cabarrus) are squaring up and will perhaps offer new evidence for the age-old quarrel about which state produces better high school football talent. For Catawba Ridge specifically? The team is trying to regroup after a low-scoring loss to Greenwood last week. (Don’t expect the Copperheads to be held to only two scores two weeks in a row.) West Cabarrus, a school only in its second year, has a 27-0 win over Northwest Cabarrus to its name already.
Listen: Comporium Channel 103
Sports editor Alex Zietlow’s prediction: Catawba Ridge wins.
Piedmont (1-2, 0-0) at Fort Mill (0-2, 0-0). Fort Mill will play its home opener against Piedmont from Monroe, North Carolina. This game replaces Lancaster on the Yellow Jackets’ original schedule. Fort Mill needs a win after two shutout losses and a COVID-protocol-cancellation last week.
Listen: FM 104.1
Zietlow’s prediction: Piedmont wins.
South Pointe (1-0, 0-0) at Shelby (2-0, 0-0). How good is South Pointe really? It’s unclear if even the players know their potential. After a big win over Northwestern in Week 0, one that looks better and better with every Trojan win, the Stallions were sidelined with COVID-19 for two weeks. The high-scoring team from Rock Hill will play on the road against Shelby, a North Carolina team that is undefeated and has only allowed on average 13 points per game.
Listen: FM 107.1
Zietlow’s prediction: South Pointe wins.
Union County (0-1, 0-0) at York (0-1, 0-0). York led or was tied with its opponent last week, Cox Mill, for all but 13 seconds and still lost. Brutal. The Cougars, though — who were shut down by COVID the first two weeks of the 2021 season — have a chance to get into a rhythm at home against Union County, which will be critical for the team’s offense. The York defense, which scored a touchdown on a Javarus Guthrie fumble recovery against Cox Mill, should be a bright spot again in Week 3.
Listen: WRHI.com
Zietlow’s prediction: York wins.
Broome (1-1, 0-0) at Indian Land (1-0, 0-0). The Warriors are back — and playing in their brand new, state of the art stadium — on Friday night after a two-week hiatus because of COVID-19 protocols. Indian Land’s only game in 2021 so far was a special, last-second win against Nation Ford in Week 0. Spartanburg’s Broome, which too has one win this year, has already equalled its win total from 2020.
Andrew Jackson (1-1, 0-0) at Battery Creek (0-2, 0-0). Andrew Jackson (2A) lit up the scoreboard when it defeated Mullins, 40-14, last week. Perhaps that new Volunteer explosiveness — which was particularly present in its junior quarterback, Hammond Wrenn, who ran for three touchdowns last week — will carry the 2A team to a win against its 3A Battery Creek opponent.
Zietlow’s prediction: Andrew Jackson wins.
Ridge Spring-Monetta (1-1, 0-0) at Lewisville (3-0, 0-0). Lewisville’s 2020 matchup against Ridge Spring-Monetta was one its coach acknowledged as a point of pride this offseason. He also used it as an indicator of how good his 2021 team could be: “From a program standpoint, we won our last three, four of our last five, and won two on the road. The last game was on the road against the defending state runners-up (Ridge Spring-Monetta),” Lewsiville coach Will Mitchell told The Herald in August. “The seniors went out playing their best football that they had played. That’s the same crowd that took it on the chin — 0-10 — as sophomores. They walked off the field as winners.” The 1A Lions have built off said momentum with a 3-0 start in 2021. Can they continue to do it against an always-good RSM program?
Zietlow’s prediction: Lewisville wins.
Great Falls (3-0, 0-0) at Hemingway (0-0, 0-0). Class 1A Great Falls will try to make it four in a row when it hits the road Friday night — something that hasn’t happened since 2014, a season when the team won its first seven. Hemingway has been a victim of COVID-caused scheduling issues and hasn’t yet played a game this year.
Zietlow’s prediction: Great Falls wins.
Legion Collegiate (0-1, 0-0) at Charlotte Christian (1-1, 0-0). At long last, Legion Collegiate will get its first test in the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association. The Lancers are doing so against Charlotte Christian, a perennial conference power, eight days after getting run over by the No. 2 team in South Carolina 2A football, Gray Collegiate.
Zietlow’s prediction: Charlotte Christian wins.
Northwestern (2-1, 0-0) at Chester (2-1, 0-0).
Listen: FM 100.1/AM 1340/FM 90.3
Zietlow’s prediction: Northwestern wins.
Tri-County Coaches Association Players of Week 2
5A
Offensive Player: Carson Black, Nation Ford, 22-40 for 295 yards and 3 touchdowns passing; Offensive Lineman: Marcus Romec, Nation Ford, 90% grade, 6 pancake blocks, 6 knockdown blocks, 0 sacks given up; Defensive Player: Clayton Rygol, Nation Ford, 18 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 1 sack; Defensive Lineman: Isaac McLellan, Northwestern, 16 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 quarterback pressure, 1 forced fumble; Special Teams Co-Players: Reed Richardson, Nation Ford, 5 punts for an average of 42.8 yards per punt, 6 kickoffs with a 58.5-yard average; Greer Hopkins, Northwestern, 40 yards a punt and threw for a successful fake punt.
4A
Offensive Player: Tyler Jones, Catawba Ridge, 10 carries, 88 yards, 1 touchdown; Offensive Lineman: Alex Bunz, Catawba Ridge, 91% grade, 1 pancake block; Defensive Player: Mekale Burris, York, 10 solo tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 2 assists; Defensive Lineman: Asa Johnson, Catawba Ridge, 9 tackles, 2 tackles for loss; Special Teams Player: Tre Smith, Catawba Ridge, 2-2 on PATs.
3A, 2A, 1A
Offensive Player: Hammond Wrenn, Andrew Jackson, 13-for-19 for 162 yards passing plus 71 yards and 3 touhdowns rushing; Offensive Lineman: Jake Barnes, Lewisville, graded at 88%, 2 pancake blocks, paved way for over 450 yards of total offense; Defensive Player: Zan Dunham, Chester, 11 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 pass breakup, 1 quarterback pressure; Defensive Lineman: Derrick Anthony, Andrew Jackson, 6 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 2 fumble recoveries (1 of which was returned 35 yards for a touchdown); Special Teams Player: Blake Brice, Andrew Jackson, 4-5 extra points, 1 punt downed inside the opponent 20.
Sam Copeland contributed to this report.
This story was originally published September 9, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
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