The Northwestern Trojans will be heading into very hostile territory when they travel to take on Byrnes on Friday.
Photo by Ron McCann
Entering the season, if talk around the Palmetto State was not about nationally-ranked
Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.), it likely centered around the offensive prowess of
Goose Creek (S.C.), the resurgence of
Gaffney (S.C.) or the potential of South Pointe (Rock Hill, S.C.)
Three weeks into the 2012 campaign, there are now whispers that
Northwestern (Rock Hill, S.C.) might be the best team in South Carolina.
It will certainly have the opportunity to make its case Friday night, when Northwestern, No. 25 in the most recent Xcellent 25 will travel to take on No. 6 Byrnes for bragging rights, with both local and national implications.
Northwestern blasted Gaffney 49-19 in its opener and has not looked back, posting more than 50 points in its past two games, both blowout victories.
The offensive onslaught has been a surprise to many, but not Northwestern second-year head coach Kyle Richardson.
"It hasn't surprised me," Richardson said. "We played a lot of young guys last year and we won eight games with them. We took some lumps with them. They've kinda been in the fire with us for a year and had a really good offseason."
Leading Northwestern's youth movement is junior quarterback
Mason Rudolph.
The 6-foot-5 signal-caller is reminiscent of former Northwestern quarterback
Justin Worley physically, but is more mobile than the current Tennessee Volunteer was. He transferred to Northwestern before last season; he was used as a tight end at his previous school.
His adjustment to quarterback mirrored Richardson's adjustment to the head coaching duties after he replaced coaching legend Jimmy "Moose" Wallace.
"(Rudolph) and I were very similar," Richardson said. "He was constantly trying to keep his head above water. He replaced a legend. I replaced a legend."
Rudolph passed for 2,619 yards and 27 touchdowns in his first year as a starter.
This season he has a slew of tall, talented receivers to throw to, including 6-6
Rontavius McClure. He also has the luxury of 5-7 spark plug
Dupree Hart, who started as a freshman last season and hauled in 82 receptions.
"He's a small kid, but he's tough to bring down. He never does down after the first hit," Richardson said. "He's the most dynamic of all of our skill guys."
LaThomas Long, Northwestern
Photo by Ron McCann
Richardson said the team has relied on running back
LaThomas Long to anchor its running game, which has been responsible for 40 percent of the team's offense, an unusually high amount for Richardson's "Air Raid" attack.
In Byrnes, Richardson sees somewhat of a reflection of his own team, one that was young a year ago but returns battled-tested players and a prolific offense.
"Talking to (Byrnes athletic director and former head coach) Bobby Bentley, they were kinda in the same boat that we were last year. They went in with young guys," he said. "The difference between our lumps and their lumps is that they won a state championship."
Led by quarterback
Shuler Bentley, Byrnes' high-powered offense has scored 82 points in two games, though it surrendered 28 to Woodruff last week, leading to a closer outcome than some expected.
Many are predicting a high-scoring affair for this week, but Richardson cautioned that the defenses could prevail.
"A lot of people expected that in 2007 (in the state semifinals) and we lost 14-0," he said.
The game is set to kick off at 7 p.m. at Byrnes' Nixon Field. Northwestern will host Byrnes in 2013 as part of the teams' two-year deal.
