What We Saw: South Pointe Run Game Too Much For Trojans

South Pointe was dominated on both lines of scrimmage in the 2020 edition of the Trojans-Stallions cross-town rivalry, but this year, the roles were reversed as it was the Stallion run game and a healthy dose of defense that helped them pull away from Northwestern to win the 2021 season opener, 40-35 on Saturday night. Let’s get into the notes and standouts first for the South Pointe Stallions: Running backs Ja’Quan Thompson <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/JQThompson03">(@JQThompson03)</a> and Caleb Sims <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/simscaleb10">(@simscaleb10) </a>were utilized heavily in the inside zone running game and it worked well against the Trojans’ defensive front as the Stallions ran for 238 yards on 48 carries. Both were physical at the point of attack and did not go down easily on first contact. Senior quarterback Zay McCrorey <a href="https://twitter.com/zaymccrorey1?lang=en">(@ZayMccrorey1)</a> was involved in the read option game and was effective once he got into space. Jordan Mcvay <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/jordan34269743">(@jordan34269743)</a> and Logan Daye <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/Logan_Daye1504">(@Logan_Daye1504)</a> were two guys on the offensive line that we noticed that opened up big holes, getting good pad level, as the Trojans’ defensive front was unable to get much penetration throughout the contest. “We worked hard this summer and I’m glad we did get to run the ball the way that we did because it shows that our hard work paid off,” South Pointe head coach DeVonte Holloman told Prep Redzone SC. You’ll want to remember the name of senior wide receiver Waymond Jenerette <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/WaymondJeneret3">(@WaymondJeneret3)</a> who torched the Trojan secondary in the first half for three touchdowns. One of the touchdowns was on a 3rd and 30 for a 50-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Jenerette ran smooth out and hitch routes in the short passing game in taking advantage of what the secondary gave him. Junior wide receiver Khyre Rawlinson <a href="https://twitter.com/khyrerawlinson4">(@KhyreRawlinson4)</a> is a guy we saw in last week’s scrimmage and he excelled in running the quick curls and out routes, knowing where he needed to go to get the first down. He connected on a 9-yard touchdown pass from McCrorey, cashing in on a Northwestern fumble on the opening kickoff of the third quarter. Where the game changed Lightning detected nearby caused the game to go into about a 30-minute weather delay. Once play resumed, South Pointe came out with the upper hand, executing the run game to perfection. But all of it happened without their starting quarterback who went out with cramps prior to the delay. Backup quarterback Jayce LaFlore <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/jayce_leflore?lang=en">(@jayce_leflore)</a> came in for McCrorey and managed the offense like he was the starter. LaFlore sold the linebackers so well on a play-action fake that it fooled us into thinking a diving touchdown catch from Khyre Rawlinson wasn’t made. But it was, as the Stallions started to pull away from their cross town rivals in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="89316" first="Will" last="Mattison"] <a href="https://twitter.com/Will1Mattison">(@Will1Mattison)</a> showed good pocket presence in getting the ball to his receivers in the first half, which is a credit to his offensive line for keeping him clean. He connected with Cunningham over the middle for a quick six points, cashing in on a South Pointe takeaway. Mattison also led the Trojans on a 97-yard drive for a touchdown after they were pinned deep in the second quarter. Senior wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id="91200" first="Calique" last="Cunningham"] <a href="https://twitter.com/4calique?lang=en">(@4Calique)</a> ran his routes with precision and the connection between him and Mattison was active on the opening night. On the drive where the Trojans were pinned deep, he had completions of 25 and 41 yards to get them out of trouble. These were intermediate catches that ended up being long catches and runs and that’s the beauty of the Air Raid offense they run. He also had a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Additional notes and observations <ul> <li>South Pointe sophomore defensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id="139304" first="Chris" last="Dixon"] Jr. <a href="https://twitter.com/Cjdixon_417">(@Cjdixon_417)</a> recorded two sacks on the night as he harassed Northwestern quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="89316" first="Will" last="Mattison"] during the course of the ball game, along with guys like A.J. Miller who affected the Trojans’ ability to run the ball inside. They got back-to-back sacks on the Trojans at one point in the second half</li> <li>Northwestern senior defensive end Isaac McClellan <a href="https://twitter.com/isaac_mclellan">(@isaac_mclellan)</a> recorded a sack and a fourth down stop in the second quarter as he clogged up the middle where the play was supposed to go.</li> <li>Northwestern senior linebacker EJ Anderson <a href="https://twitter.com/EMAN__168">(@EMAN_168)</a> recovered a fumble on a flare pass to the back early on, setting up a score while defensive back [player_tooltip player_id="122015" first="Michael" last="McMullen"] <a href="https://twitter.com/MMcMullen_">(@MMcMullen_)</a> nearly had a pick six after closing on a tipped ball quickly.</li> </ul> Up next: South Pointe will play host to Rock Hill while Northwestern will host Indian Land.