Northwood rolls past Heathwood Hall to claim first SCISA AAAA state championship

           Orangeburg -- The Northwood Academy football team did on Friday night at South Carolina State's Oliver C. Dawson Stadium what it’s been doing throughout the season – controlling the football and scoring as much as possible. 

           The Chargers easily overcame a 7-0 deficit to Heathwood Hall in the SCISA AAAA state championship game and ran, passed, and pushed their way to a 61-7 victory.

           It’s the first state championship for Northwood (11-1) since 2014.

           “I tell you, you can’t ever take these for granted.,” said NA head coach Johnny Waters, who won the SCISA AAA state championship in 2016 as head coach of First Baptist. “I’ve been blessed to be able to do it at two different schools, but it takes a lot of things, it takes the head administrator, your board, and the faculty and staff for that to happen and they’re a part of this too.”

           Junior quarterback Kevin Johnson completed 17 of 25 passes for 305 yards and five touchdowns. Four of those passing scores went to senior East Tennessee State commitment Aydan Hogan, who finished the night with six catches for 117 yards.

           “I think he’s the best junior in the state quarterbacking, and I’ll fight anybody with that,” Waters said. “Aydan Hogan is the best wide receiver in the state of south Carolina and there’s no question in my mind about those two right there.”

           Besides Hogan, Drew Wolfe also had a 100-plus yard night, grabbing five balls for 105 yards.

           Johnson credits his receivers for making the night special.

           “I threw the ball to whoever is open. They make me look good by catching the ball every time,” Johnson said, adding how those catches made the team shine in the state championship game. “It was amazing, it feels great. We’ve just got to keep working for the one next year."

           Heathwood Hall (9-4) got off to a hot start when Patrick Belk connected with Keon McKinley for a 57-yard pass play that set up Belk’s 5-yard touchdown run in the first minute of the game.

           “We had a missed assignment when they made that long play,” Waters said. “After that we settled down and then it was over.” 

For the next 23 minutes of the first half Northwood controlled the game. After Heathwood Hall’s chunk play, the Chargers held the Highlanders to minus-4 total yards the rest of the way.

           “We’re a high-scoring team but our defense puts us in position for that,” said Waters, whose team beat Heathwood Hall 39-20 in the regular season. “They have more credit than they actually get but they’re a stellar defense.”

           After the Highlanders’ score, Johnson led the Chargers on a 7-play, 71-yard drive that he capped with his 36-yard touchdown pass to Wolfe.

  Jordin Carter picked off a Belk pass on Heathwood Hall’s next possession. Johnson worked the Chargers down the field again and connected with Hogan for a 7-yard score late in the first quarter.

          Carter later scored from three yards out to give the Chargers a 21-7 lead at the 10:21 mark of the second quarter.

          On Heathwood Hall’s next possession, Quincy Lingard recovered a dropped lateral pass inside the Highlander 20-yard line early in the second quarter. Kaven Ford ran the ball in from eight yards out to give the Chargers a 27-7 lead.

          Johnson connected with Hogan for touchdown passes two more times late in the second quarter to give Northwood a 40-7 lead at halftime.

          With a running clock in the second half, Northwood scored three touchdowns to wrap up the win. Johnson threw a touchdown pass to Hogan for the fourth time to open the second half, and running backs Michael Polite and Carter scored rushing touchdowns late in the game.

          Heathwood Hall was in a state championship game for the first time since 2009 and was looking to add a state title to the two the Highlanders won in 2003 and 2004. 

          While Heathwood beat archrival Hammond for the first time in 16 seasons to reach the state championship, its quest to win another championship fell short.

          “We gave everything we had, they’re just a better team,” second-year HH head coach Tymere Zimmerman said. “That’s what happens in football. We’re OK with that. We’re not upset, the seniors are probably mad because it’s their last game, but other than that, we’re going to celebrate because we had a great year.”

          Rather than dwell sadly on what might have been, Zimmerman was enthusiastic after the game. He said he’s proud of the work the team has put in to make it to the final game. He’s also looking forward to next year as the program gets more firmly established. 

          “We were able to get this far. Nobody picked us when the rankings came out, and the prediction of our record, they picked us to win three games,” Zimmerman said. “I’m so happy for my team and happy for my seniors. We won nine games this year. That’s the most games they (the seniors) won in all four years put together. They set a standard for Heathwood Hall football and that’s all that matters. The kids coming up will be back.”

Heathwood Hall          7         0         0         0         –         7

Northwood                  14        26        14        7         –         61

First Quarter

H - Patrick Belk 5 run (James RIchardson kick) 11:03

N - Drew Wolfe 36 pass from Kevin Johnson (Cole McLeod kick) 8;15

N - Aydan Hogan 7 pass from Johnson (McLeod kick) 2:25

Second Quarter

N - Jordin Carter 3 run (McLeod kick)10:21

N - Kaven Ford 8 run (kick failed) 9:05

N - Hogan 34 pass from Johnson (McLeod kick) 4:45

N - Hogan 20 pass from Johnson (kick failed) :12

Third Quarter

N - Hogan 41 pass from Johnson (McLeod kick) 10:51

N - Michael Polite 2 run (McLeod kick) 1:20

Fourth Quarter

N - Jordin Carter 11 run (McLeod kick) 4:01

 H                     N

First downs      4                     20

Rushes-yds      13-(-4)              22-101

Passing yds     57                    305

Att-Com-Int      10-4-2              25-17-0

Fumbles-lost    1-1                   1-0

Penalties-yds   10-65               8-70

Punts-avg        5-34.6              0-0.0

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING

H - Keon McKinkley 5-(-10), Julian Hughes 4-14, Patrick Belk 4-(-8). N - Kaven Ford 10-46, Michael Polite 5-25, Jordin Carter 4-19, Kevin Johnson 2-10.

PASSING

H - Patrick Belk 4-9-2, Keon McKinley 0-1-0. N - Kevin Johnson 17-25-0.

RECEIVING

H - Keon McKinley 3-53, Jamonie Batts 1-4. N - Aydan Hogan 6-117, Drew Wolfe 5-105, Scott Geisel 4-41, Cody McCleary 1-9, Jacair Madlock 1-28, Jordin Carter 1-5.

SCISA Championships

Friday

AAAA

Northwood 61, Heathwood Hall 7

8-Man

W.W. King 50, Laurens Academy 36

Saturday

AA

Bethesda 54, Pee Dee 15

Class A

Williamsburg 34, Colleton Prep 14

AAA

Pinewood Prep 55, Wiison Hall 13