Football Preview: Northwestern Trojans vs. Catawba Ridge Copperheads
Two dominant signal callers in Finley Polk and CJ Couch are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Northwestern Trojans will face off against the Catawba Ridge Copperheads at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Northwestern is looking to tack on another W to their eight-game streak on the road dating back to last season.
Northwestern is headed into the match after thoroughly thrashing Nation Ford: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Northwestern blew Nation Ford out of the water with a 67-13 final score. That 54 point margin sets a new team best for the Trojans this season.
Polk was his usual excellent self, throwing for 335 yards and three touchdowns while completing 90% of his passes, and also rushing for 54 yards and a touchdown on only six carries. That's the most rushing yards he has posted since back in September of 2023. Another player making a difference was Zymier Gordon-Miles, who rushed for 23 yards and two touchdowns.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Northwestern was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 229 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, you're bound to get a positive result if you outscore your opponent every quarter, and that's exactly how it played out for Catawba Ridge on Friday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that they blew Fort Mill out of the water with a 30-0 final score. The game was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Copperheads had established a 27 point advantage.
Couch continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, throwing for 381 yards and two touchdowns. 104 of those passing yards were hauled in by Braylen Burgis.
Catawba Ridge's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged three passes before it was all said and done. It was truly a group effort as Josh Dobson, Ian Babcock, and Babcock picked up one apiece.
Northwestern's record is now 5-0. As for Catawba Ridge, the victory was the fourth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 4-1.
Keep an eye on the quarterbacks in this one, as the two teams don't mess around when it comes to the passing game. Northwestern has been excellent in the air this season, having averaged 283.8 passing yards per game. However, it's not like Catawba Ridge struggles in that department as they've been averaging 318.6. It's looking like Friday's contest might be a classic QB duel.
Everything came up roses for Northwestern against Catawba Ridge in their previous matchup back in October of 2023, as the squad secured a 52-10 win. Does Northwestern have another victory up their sleeve, or will Catawba Ridge turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
