Northwestern runs over Lexington for Class 4A, Division II state championship
Lexington coach Josh Stepp was impressed of what he saw of Northwestern quarterback Gage Maloney on film leading up to Saturday’s Class 4A, Division II championship game.
Moloney didn’t disappoint. The James Island transfer threw for 274 yards and accounted for six touchdowns in the Trojans’ 63-13 win over the Wildcats at Williams-Brice Stadium.
The 63 points tied a state championship record for most points by one team.
“The kid’s a player,” Stepp said. “And they are electric on offense. But the thing that made the difference was their defense. They were very good in the box. We knew it was going to be the best defense we saw all year.”
Moloney, who came in the game completing 75 percent of his passes, was 19 of 27 through the air with five touchdowns and also had 5-yard TD run.
Running back Jerry Howard rushed for 157 yards and two scores for the Trojans, who had 475 yards of offense.
The loss ended Lexington’s winningest season in school history. The Wildcats set school records for victories and consecutive victories with 13, making it to the championship for the first time since 2000.
Lexington, however, couldn’t match the Trojans’ firepower and turned the ball over five times. Northwestern held Lexington’s 2,000-yard running back Slade Carroll to a season-low 25 yards.
Brandon Blake and Donny Baker split time at quarterback for the Wildcats, who tried to make it a game in the second quarter. Baker led Lexington to its only score of the half when he hit Jason Rumph on a 4-yard pass to cut the Trojans’ lead to 21-7 in the first minute of the second quarter.
But the Trojans scored three touchdowns in less than five minutes in the second quarter, capped off by Howard’s 9-yard run to make it 42-7 at halftime.
TURNING POINT
Trailing 7-0 in the first quarter, Lexington put together its best drive of the game and had it first-and-goal at the Northwestern 1. The Wildcats couldn’t punch it in and missed a 25-yard field goal.
After forcing a Northwestern punt, Lexington turned it over on its next drive as Miles Corpening returned an interception 54 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-0 with 4:43 left in the first quarter.
KEY PERFORMERS
Gage Moloney: Junior was 19 of 27 through the air for 274 yards and five TDs. He also rushed for 36 yards and a score.
Jerry Howard: Northwestern running back averaged 9.2 yards a carry and finished with 157 yards rushing.
Jayson Hopper: Lexington receiver had game-high 10 catches for 88 yards. Senior finished with season 76 catches for 838 yards.
THEY SAID IT
“We trusted our preparation and we thought we had a good plan in place. We just didn’t play very well. Northwestern had a lot to do with that too.” – Josh Stepp, Lexington coach
“We just wanted to come out and win. We had a great game plan and the defensive staff did an unreal job. The kids came out and executed and what bigger stage to have your best game of the year, offense, defense and special teams than here at Williams-Brice. – Kyle Richardson, Northwestern coach
“I will remember what a great group of kids I had. They accomplished a lot of great things on the football field and did a lot for our school and community. The way they handled themselves and what they did off the field means more to me.” – Stepp
KEY NUMBERS
2: Number of state championships won by the city of Rock Hill at Williams-Brice Saturday, with Northwestern and South Pointe winning titles.
33: Average margin of victory in seven state championships played this season.
8: Number of different Northwestern receivers to catch a pass.
HOW THEY SCORED
1st Quarter
N – Morgan 15 pass from Moloney (Prioleau kick), 10:11
N – Corpening 54 interception (Prioleau kick), 4:43
N – Moloney 5 run (Prioleau kick), :09
2nd Quarter
L – Rumph 4 pass from Baker (Kinsley kick), 11:11
N – Howard 11 pass from Moloney (Prioleau kick), 7:35
N – Holley 29 pass from Moloney (Prioleau kick), 5:02
N – Howard 9 run (Prioleau kick), 2:42
3rd Quarter
L – Blake 2 run (kick failed), 8:56
N – Starkes 74 pass from Moloney (Prioleau kick), 4:23
4th Quarter
N – Hoofnagle pass from Moloney (Prioleau kick), 8:18
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: N: Howard 17-157, Moloney 7-36, Starkes 1-2, Hinton 4-13. L: Carroll 16-25, Baker 4-8, Green 2-3, Blake 1-2, Davis 1-4
Passing: N: Moloney 19-27-0 270 L: Blake 14-27-3 157, Baker 7-8-1 96
Receiving: Kirk 2-40, Morgan 2-30, Shockley 4-28, Starkes 6-89, Holley 2-32, Harris 1-22, Hoofnagle 1-18, Howard 1-11. L: Hopper 10-88, Schadewald 4-82, Ferguson 2-6, Graves 1-15, Rumph 3-58, Wells 1-4.
This story was originally published December 12, 2015 at 10:09 PM.