South Pointe and Northwestern football teams face off Friday

Coaches’ thoughts

Northwestern Head Coach Kyle Richardson

“It is the last game in the non-region portion of the season, and we want to finish strong heading into the region portion of the schedule. This is also a rivalry game, and we want to keep the hype down. We want to stay focused on what we are doing.”

South Pointe Head Coach Strait Herron

“Even though it is a very big game and a rivalry game, we are approaching this just as we would any other game. We are trying to stay focused on our game plan and not let all the hype on social media surrounding the game distract us from what we are doing.”

Last meeting

Northwestern won 27-26 (2014)

Keys to the game

Richardson

“We can not afford to turn the ball over on offense. Defensively, we don’t match up well, and we must limit their big plays.”

Herron

“Yardage is going to be tough to come by on Friday night, so we must execute well on offense. Defensively, we must be ready for their balanced attack.

All-time meetings

The Trojans lead the all-time series between the two schools 6-5. Northwestern won the first game in 2006, and followed with another win in 2007.

South Pointe won both meetings in 2008, and the teams split two meetings in 2009. Northwestern won in 2010, and South Pointe won in 2011 and 2012. The Trojans claimed the last two contests.

Stat leaders

Northwestern

Rushing - Jerry Howard, 56-341, 6 touchdowns; Gage Moloney, 30-157, 2 touchdowns. Receiving - Jamario Holley, 14-248, 4 touchdowns; Jordan Starkes, 13-279, 1 touchdown; Julian Shockley, 13-218, 1 touchdown. Passing - Moloney, 61-83, 2 interceptions, 11 touchdowns. Tackles - Da’Chon Witherspoon, 34; - Logan Rudolph, 3. - Rudolph, D. J. Williams and Davion Blake, 1.

South Pointe

Rushing - Voshon St. Hill, 43-211, 3 touchdowns; Greg Ruff, 37-252, 2 touchdowns. Receiving - Quay Brown, 20-261, 2 touchdowns; Josh Wilkes, 15-206, 4 touchdowns; Lorenzo Wells, 9-186, 3 touchdowns. Passing - Ruff, 77-109, 11 touchdowns, 0 interceptions. Tackles - Bryson Cooper, 62. Sacks - Eli Adams, 9. Interceptions - Nick McCloud, 2.

NFL products

Northwestern - Benjamin Watson (New Orleans Saints), Johnathan Joseph (Houston Texans), Cordarelle Patterson (Minnesota Vikings).

South Pointe - Jadeveon Clowney (Houston Texans), Stephon Gilmore (Buffalo Bills).

By the numbers

2.1 Yards per carry allowed by Northwestern’s defense through four games. The Trojans have surrendered more than 64 total yards rushing in just one of their four contests.

109 Throws made by South Pointe senior QB Ruff this season without an interception.

95 Percentage of times Northwestern has scored on its 21 red zone visits. Trojan opponents are stuck at 50 percent.

55 South Pointe has out-scored its opponents 55-21 in the first quarter this season

7 The number of different Northwestern receivers that have caught a touchdown pass this fall – Jerry Howard, Dequez Harris, Starkes, Holley, Grant Kirk, Shockley and Cory McCoy.

5 South Pointe skill position players have Division I college football scholarship offers – Chris Smith, Nick McCloud, Derion Kendrick, Wilkes and Brown.

This story was originally published September 17, 2015 at 3:34 PM with the headline "South Pointe and Northwestern football teams face off Friday."