Gaffney football knocks Northwestern from unbeaten ranks in win at District 3 Stadium
Gaffney put together perhaps its most complete game of the season, earning a fourth win in a row over Northwestern at District 3 Stadium on Friday, and turning away Trojans, 28-7.
The Indians, who lost 40-26 to South Pointe on the same field in Week 0, came back to Rock Hill on Friday night looking for redemption. Northwestern had revenge on its mind, having lost, 16-13, to Gaffney in the third round of last year’s playoffs.
Gaffney had the upper hand this time around.
“It wasn’t a secret that Gaffney’s a good team,” Northwestern coach Page Wofford said. “No matter what their record is, they’re still a good football team and good football program. We were just so uncharacteristic tonight. So many things went — not just the way that we didn’t expect, but so many kids played differently than what we expected them to play tonight. Things happened differently than we expected as a staff.”
After a defensive struggle in the first quarter, Gaffney broke into the scoring column with 6:32 to play in the half when Drew Medley hauled in a 30-yard toss from Grayson Loftis. Loftis later hit Emazon Littlejohn on a two-yard throw to put the Indians ahead, 14-0.
Northwestern (4-1) shook off its early offensive struggles on the final drive of the period, going 60 yards in four plays to halve the lead. Finley Polk connected with Ben Gregory on a 16-yard pass to cap the scoring drive.
The Trojans received the ball to start the second half, but all three of the Trojans’ third-quarter possessions ended prematurely, once each in a punt, a missed field goal, and a turnover on downs.
Gaffney (2-2) turned in a tremendous defensive effort, limiting a Trojan offense that entered the game averaging 60 points and 300 rushing yards per contest to just 212 yards of total offense. Northwestern rushed for just eight yards and tallied only 12 first downs — only one of which came on the ground. The Indians also maintained a 30:08 to 17:52 advantage in time of possession.
“Gaffney’s a pretty good defense,” Wofford said.
The Indians’ offense proved elusive, generating 427 yards while converting 11-of-16 times on third down. Gaffney also converted a fourth-down opportunity. The defensive performance left Wofford with many things for his side to correct during the upcoming bye week.
“We have to work on some tackling. I’ll make sure we do it,” Wofford said. “We had guys in positions to make plays. For whatever reason, tonight it just didn’t happen for us.”
Gaffney quarterback and Duke commit Grayson Loftis connected on 24-of-34 passes for 281 yards and two scores. Running backs Quashon Tate and Jaiden McDowell bolstered the offensive output, combining for 165 yards on 34 carries and having their way with the Northwestern defensive front. Defensively, the Indians snatched two errant Trojan passes to set themselves up for key drives.
The Trojans now get a bye week before starting Region 3-4A play with a home contest against Lancaster on Friday, Sept. 30.
“(Tonight) was me. It all falls on me. I take full responsibility for it,” Wofford said. “I’ve gotta do a better job with the offense and put them in better positions to be successful. I’ve gotta do a better job on the defense, working on tackling, coverages, and the things we need to get better on.”