WHAT WE SAW: Northwestern 28, Catawba Ridge 23

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>ROCK HILL | Northwestern coach Page Wofford knew during Friday night's 28-23 win over Catawba Ridge that the Copperheads were double covering star receiver and West Virginia commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='146372' first='Elijah' last='Caldwell'].</strong> So what do you do to counter?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rely on running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='265222' first='Turbo' last='Richard']. </strong>The sophomore delivered with 237 yards on 34 carries and two touchdowns. He was hard to bring down once the ball was in his hand as defenders couldn't get to him until after he was past the second level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“It helped that they were doubling Elijah. We kept thinking, hey, they're not going to double him this series and they kept putting two guys on him. Well, Elijah's doing a great job blocking two guys. And our offensive line did a heck of a job. Turbo was nursing a little knee injury that nobody knew about and had 34 carries for over 200 yards so that's a testament to him and his toughness and that offensive line and receivers blocking up front for him,” Wofford said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But the first half was anything but pretty for the Trojans as they had to overcome a 17-7 halftime deficit. Every time Northwestern would get inside Catawba Ridge territory, the Copperheads wouldn't break.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='241044' first='Finley' last='Polk'] </strong>was stuffed on 4th and 1 inside Catawba Ridge territory in the first quarter trailing 3-0. The struggles for Polk would continue in the second quarter as a tipped pass was picked by <strong>Jake Sines </strong>inside Trojan territory. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='492672' first='Tyler' last='Jones']</strong> would score from 3 yards out to cash in on the takeaway as the Copperheads lead to 10-0 with 10:25 to play before the half. The plan for Catawba Ridge coach Zac Lendyak and the Copperheads was working well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“(We) executed it perfectly in the first half. We wanted to run the ball, keep them off the field, try to put them behind. We knew they were explosive offensively and they did a great job. Great second half adjustments there and credit to their coaching staff, man. They did a great job,” Lendyak said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Northwestern committed back-to-back false start penalties inside the Catawba Ridge 5-yard line before <strong>Jordan Gilliam </strong>intercepted Polk on a fade pass that was returned to midfield. <strong>Tyler Fikis </strong>connected with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='202755' first='Brandon' last='Raysor'] </strong>for a 25-yard TD pass to capitalize on the takeaway, as Catawba Ridge went up 17-0 with 3:53 to play before the half. The Trojans were able to put a drive together to cut into the lead at 17-7 with a 1-yard run from Polk with just seconds before the half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Northwestern's offense was still trying to find their rhythm early in the third. Polk was able to link up with Caldwell for a 36-yard gain on a quick screen catch and run before <strong>Greer Hopkins </strong>scored from 5 yards out on the QB keeper to make it a game at 17-14 with 3:43 to play in the third.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TURNING POINT</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The momentum started to shift following that score as the Trojan defense pressured Fikis and forced a three-and-out. Polk threw a long ball and Caldwell mossed the defender for a 39-yard TD to give Northwestern their first lead of the night at 21-17 with 1:14 to play in the third. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jamarr Perry</strong> would make a critical interception in the end zone with 8 minutes to play in the game when it looked like Catawba Ridge was positioned to score. Polk and the offense would capitalize with a 9-yard TD run to continue a 28-0 scoring run to put the game on ice with 3:27 to play in the contest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fikis and Raysor would connect for their second touchdown of the night to make it 28-23 with 2:45 to play in the contest. Northwestern's Polk would keep it on the QB keeper on 3rd and 3 with 1:33 to play to run the clock out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->