Perfection: Northwestern caps unbeaten regular season with big win over Indian Land

The Northwestern Spartans dominated their regular-season finale on Friday night, defeating the Indian Land Warriors by a score of 45-0.

The shutout also capped off a perfect 10-0 regular season for the Spartans, the school’s first in almost over a decade.

“I told the kids already that 10-1 don’t mean a whole lot,” Northwestern head coach Page Wofford said when asked what it meant to be undefeated. “11-1 don’t mean a whole lot, 12-1 don’t mean a whole lot. You Northwestern or not, undefeated seasons are uncommon. We’ve got five state championships at Northwestern which has become uncommon, so we need to make that common again.”

Wofford’s team certainly looked anything but common from the first whistle. The Trojans defense immediately set the tone, as they quickly snuffed out the Warriors’ first drive.

Upon receiving the ball, Northwestern sophomore running back Zymier Gordon-Miles took an end around 55 yards to the house to open up scoring.

The remainder of the first half followed this framework, with Indian Land unable to get anything going offensively, and Northwestern moving the ball with near impunity. Senior quarterback Finley Polk led the way on three scores, throwing for two and running another in on a 10-yard scamper.

Coming out of the half, the Spartans picked up right where they left off as a long pass set them up in the red zone. Two plays later, Gordon-Miles plowed his way 10-yards for his second score of the night.

Following another three-and-out by Indian Land, Polk dropped another bomb to set the Spartans up at the 1-yard line. Following some trickery, Gordon-Miles found the end zone once more, his third score of the game.

The Trojans pulled their starters, and the second string finished out the game in the fourth quarter. The Warriors added on three points with a field goal, which brought the final score to 45-0.

An undefeated regular season is certainly a massive accomplishment in high school football, but the Trojans are aiming for a whole lot more.

“We got two weeks now to prepare for what we hope is a four-week season,” Wofford said about what he’s telling team heading into the playoffs. “We got to get better every day. We’ve got two weeks off until the next game, so we’ve got to improve every day between now and then.”

Wofford’s senior quarterback echoed these sentiments but put it a little more bluntly.

“It’s nice to have the undefeated season, but it’s not our end goal. Our goal is to get a championship ring.

Three who made a difference

Finely Polk, Northwestern — The senior quarterback for the Trojans had a field day passing for well over 100 yards to go along with two touchdowns, and he also tacked one on the ground for good measure.

Zymier Gordon-Miles, Northwestern — The Trojans sophomore running back also had a phenomenal game, scoring three touchdowns of his own.

Tadarrian Knox, Northwestern — The leading receiver on the night for the Trojans, Knox made several huge catches to go along with a touchdown.

What’s next

Northwestern will have two weeks to prepare for their first-round playoff matchup, which has yet to be determined.

Scoring summary

Northwestern — 14 14 14 3 — 45

Indian Land — 0 0 0 0 — 0

First Quarter

(NW) - Zymier Gordon-Miles 55-yard run (Matthew Fish kick after good)

(NW) - Tadarrian Knox 6-yard pass from Finley Polk (kick after good)

Second Quarter

(NW) - Polk 10-yard run (kick after good)

(NW) - Jayden Nichols 5-yard pass from Polk (kick after good)

Third Quarter

(NW) - Gordon-Miles 8-yard run (point after good)

(NW) - Gordon Miles 1-yard run (point after good)

Fourth Quarter

(NW) - Fish 12-yard field goal