Northwestern Trojans trounce Fort Mill

The weather wasn’t great – especially in the second half – but it didn’t seem to matter for Northwestern.

Northwestern tallied 513 yards of total offense behind another stellar effort from quarterback Gage Moloney, delivering a convincing 56-6 victory Friday night at District 3 Stadium to open Region 3-4A play.

“We challenged our guys to put the non-region schedule behind them, put last week’s game behind them and really come out and play Northwestern football tonight, and that’s what we did,” said Trojans coach Kyle Richardson. “In the first half, I felt like we were on top of our game, (on) offense, defense and special teams. [...] I’m really proud of the staff for getting the guys ready to go to start the region, and obviously, the players responding the way they did to start off the region.”

Much of the game’s second half was played in a driving rain, combining with the score to limit the action on the field. The teams combined to punt six times in the half, with a Moloney-to-Julian Shockley nine-yard hookup offering the only offensive touchdown in the second half for the Trojans. A 20-yard strike from Rogan Wells to Hunter Helms put the Jackets on the board with 1 minute, 29 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Northwestern reserve defensive lineman Kobe Tate capped the scoring, recovering a Fort Mill fumble in the end zone as time wound down.

Turning point

The opening possession. Northwestern went 60 yards, with a 42-yard strike from Moloney to Shockley finishing the two-minute, thirteen-second drive.

Northwestern had seven offensive possessions in the first 24 minutes. Six of those possessions ended in touchdowns, with the final possession a one-play drive just before the horn.

Critical

The Trojans involved defensive standout Logan Rudolph on offense more against Fort Mill than in previous games, as he snagged two passes for 53 yards and a touchdown. Richardson said Rudolph’s added offensive reps were by design.

“The cooler it’s getting, the more reps he’s going to take on offense, and he’ll play both ways. Tonight, obviously, it was cool in the first half, and we had a plan to get him in early. We did, and he played (well) for the snaps he was in there.”

Star contributions

Moloney put together another efficient night under center, completing 28-of-35 passes for 431 yards and five touchdowns. The lefty also added a rushing touchdown on a one-yard plunge midway through the second quarter.

“Every week, he just comes hungry to the office to learn more and get better, and that’s what you expect our of your quarterback, the leader of your football team,” said Richardson of his signal-caller. “ So far, he doesn’t get too high, he doesn’t get too low and he’s a real even-keeled kid. I’m really happy with how he performed tonight.”

Three of Moloney’s scores found Shockley, who hauled in nine passes for 173 yards. Freshman Jamario Holley added another nine for 120 yards and a touchdown.

Overheard

Northwestern continues region play next week with a trip to the Cougar Den to face York. Richardson spoke after the game of the preparations his club would have to make to face the Cougars.

“We’ll just go back to work. I know that sounds cliche, but, we made some mistakes tonight. We’ve got to correct them. We’ll go back to work on Sunday and learn from this film. You know how the region is. Every night’s going to be a dogfight, so we’ve got to go back to work and get ready.”

Box score

This story was originally published September 25, 2015 at 10:45 PM with the headline "Northwestern Trojans trounce Fort Mill."