Northwestern is on a six-game streak of home wins, while Gaffney is on a five-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Northwestern Trojans will host the Gaffney Indians at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Northwestern knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 31 points or more in their past eight games -- so hopefully Gaffney likes a good challenge.
Northwestern is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They blew past Greenwood 35-6. The Trojans might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won nine matches by 29 points or more this season.
Finley Polk was his usual excellent self, throwing for 244 yards and two touchdowns, while also punching in a touchdown on the ground. Zymier Gordon-Miles helped Polk out on the ground, rushing for 75 yards and a touchdown.
Northwestern wouldn't let Greenwood keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Northwestern can thank Kahlil Williamson and Andre Pickett for forcing both of them. Northwestern got some further help from Mason Grier: he made seven total tackles (3.0 for loss) and defended three passes.
Meanwhile, Gaffney faced T.L. Hanna in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. Gaffney took down T.L. Hanna 21-7.
Jaiden McDowell went supernova for Gaffney, rushing for 121 yards while picking up 7.1 yards per carry, and also catching a touchdown. Those 121 rushing yards gave McDowell a new career-high. Jayvon Gilmore was another key player, throwing for 113 yards and three touchdowns.
Northwestern's win bumped their record up to 12-0. As for Gaffney, their victory bumped their record up to 10-1.
The upcoming matchup will be a clash of competing strengths. Northwestern has relied on air attacks this season and has averaged 278.4 passing yards per game. Gaffney, on the other hand, has relied on a stout run game: they average 176.8 rushing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
Northwestern took their win against Gaffney when the teams last played back in September of 2023 by a conclusive 49-24. In that contest, Northwestern amassed a halftime lead of 35-3, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
