In the annual showdown of cross-town rivals , the Trojans took the first punch early and held off South Pointe in a 28-14 victory on Friday night at District Three South Stadium.
The host Stallions held their own and gave themselves several chances to score late.
But Northwestern’s defense backed up stellar play from senior quarterback Finley Polk, and the Trojans were victorious in the matchup of South Carolina powers.
“We just had guys making plays all over,” Polk said. “We ran the ball. Offensive line was working great , they were doing their job the whole time. We missed a couple of things — obviously, we weren’t perfect, we gotta get better — but it was a good day.”
Polk, who will play at Gardner-Webb University, threw for all three of the Trojans’ (4-0) touchdowns.
Senior kicker Matthew Fish drilled a pair of field goals — and Polk found senior receiver Jayden Nichols for a two-point conversion. South Pointe (2-2) found the end zone twice during the second half.
Scoring drives resulting in touchdowns from senior running back Mason Hicks and senior receiver Caymen Finch allowed it to pull within a touchdown, but Northwestern’s defense kept the Stallions off the board in the fourth quarter.
“We came out in the first half and did a really good job,” Northwestern head coach Page Wofford said. “We made them get out of their game plan early, and we were able to move the ball on offense and defense. Shut them out in the first half, and in the end, we needed to do it.”
Notable
▪ Friday night’s game for the Rock Hill city championship marked the 21st all-time meeting between the cross-town rivals — and the sides entered Friday owning 10 wins apiece.
▪ Seventh-ranked South Pointe came into Friday having outscored its opponents 112-3 over the past two weeks since falling to Spartanburg, 26-25, in its season opener.
They said it
“This shows where our program is. It’s the third year in a row we’ve beaten them. Our program is on the rise, and we keep getting better. And so, you know, as Coach (Dabo) Swinney says at Clemson: ‘The best is yet to come.’ And I hope I’m here for it.” — Northwestern head coach Page Wofford
Up next?
South Pointe remains home for the next two weeks, starting with a game against the A.C. Flora Falcons of Columbia at 7:30 p.m. next Friday.Northwestern returns to its home field to face Nation Ford at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Scoring summary
Northwestern 7 14 0 7 — 28
South Pointe 0 0 14 0 — 14
FIRST QUARTER N: Zymier Gordon-Miles caught an 18-yard touchdown reception.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.