The favorites came up huge in totally different ways during a big nationally-televised doubleheader at District Three Stadium in Rock Hill, S.C. on Saturday.
Hoover (Ala.), No. 17 in the MaxPreps.com Xcellent 25 national rankings, limited perennial national power
Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.) to 127 yards and received touchdowns from
Caleb Sims and
Jaylon Denson en route to a 14-0 win.
According to the Rock Hill Herald, it was the first time Brynes had been shutout in 11 seasons. Byrnes didn’t even cross midfield until the final four minutes of the contest.
Evidently the Rebels aren’t big fans of District Three Stadium. That’s the last place they were shutout, 41-0 to Rock Hill in 1999.
“We’re just young,” Brynes coach Chris Miller told the newspaper. “Well be all right.”
Byrnes did a nice job defensively, holding Hoover to 253 yards and just two scores. The first was a 20-yard run by quarterback Sims with 3:20 left in the first. The Bucs increased the lead to 14-0 with 2:02 left in the third on a 45-yard pass from
Ryan Carter to Denson.
Hoover coach Josh Niblett said his team's speed and forcing Brynes into long third-down situations were keys.
In the nightcap, No. 18
Northwestern (Rock Hill, S.C.) defeated city rival
South Pointe (Rock Hill, S.C.) 42-20 in a game much closer than the final score.
Northwestern actually broke the game wide open during a five-minute stretch of the third quarter when quarterback
Justin Worley threw five touchdowns passes – that’s right five.
With his team down 20-7, Worley fired TD passes of 24 yards and 57 yards to
Brandon Lewis, and single scoring strikes to
Stewart Hunt (18 yards),
LaThomas Long (3 yards) and
Robert Joseph (57 yards).
Three turnovers in the span keyed the scoring spree. Worley, a 6-5, 190-pound senior, threw for 251 of his 310 yards in the second half, according to the Herald.
Besides the turnovers, what keyed the scoring spree was protecting Worley, who early on couldn’t shake the remarkable talents of
Jadeveon Clowney, a MaxPreps All-American last season when he had 23 sacks.
Clowney is the No. 2 national recruit from the Class of 2011, according to MaxPreps/CBS College Sports recruiting expert Tom Lemming, and a leading contender for the National Player of the Year, according to MaxPreps National Football Editor Stephen Spiewak.
A dark horse in that race, according to Spiewak before the season, is Tennessee-commit Worley. He certainly made an impressive case for himself.
“I just didn’t have time to threw deep in the first half,” Worley told the Herald. “We made some adjustments at halftime and came back out.”
That was some adjustment.
Lewis, a 5-10, 145-pounder, was his main target with six catches for 172 yards. All but eight of those yards came in the third quarter.
Lewis came up big because South Pointe put most of its efforts trying to stop Robert Joseph, who had a state-record 150 catches in 2009.
Worley came into the game having thrown for 8,007 career yards and 92 touchdowns. Last season, he completed a state-record 392 passes for 4,366 yards and 42 TDs.
See South Carolina correspondent Jason Gilmer's preview to the event.
