In final year of eligibility, Rock Hill’s Northwestern High wins Sweet 16 football title

The best part about winning the state championship this season, Northwestern High football coach Page Wofford said, is that it reminded everyone, again, of how good Trojans football really is.

“I feel a lot of gratitude toward the people that were here before us,” Wofford said, “and for setting standards that we were trying to reach and exceed. People say, ‘We’re back on top where we belong.’ But our name has been pretty good and synonymous with championships for a long time, and to remind people of who we are, well, it’s a big deal.”

Northwestern, from Rock Hill, finished 14-0 and won the S.C. 5A Division II state championship game. It was the Trojans’ sixth state title, and today the school wins its second Charlotte Observer Sweet 16 banner.

The first came in 1993.

The Observer began the poll in 1984 and sought to rank the teams in its coverage area. A big difference between the Sweet 16 and most other polls at the time was that it included public and private schools and ranked teams from all classes.

The rankings were based on strength of schedule, strength of classification and performance. The poll did not consider how teams might fare against each other unless they actually played.

That tradition continues today, with the rankings now being compiled by longtime N.C. prep football expert Chris Hughes, and like all the past champions, Northwestern will get a large banner to hang in the Trojans’ gym.

This season, Northwestern was one of three state champions from the area. No. 2 West Charlotte won the N.C. 3A state title, and No. 3 Monroe won in 2A.

Beginning next month, the Sweet 16 and Charlotte Observer coverage zone will shift to only N.C. schools in Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln and Union counties.

That means Northwestern will be the last Sweet 16 champion from South Carolina. Wofford, however, doesn’t plan for this year’s Northwestern team to be the last group of Trojans to win an S.C. state crown.

He said he’ll never forget this group.

“I said from the beginning that we had really good kids,” he said. “We didn’t have to worry about anything in the classroom, no real problems. Once the season got going, all the distractions went away, and the kids had to be focused on what we were doing. And we really didn’t have a big injury. It was kind of the perfect season.”

And with the perfect ending.

Final Sweet 16 rankings

All-time champions

This story was originally published December 25, 2024 at 5:30 AM.

Langston Wertz Jr.

The Charlotte Observer

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Langston Wertz Jr. is an award-winning sports journalist who has worked at the Observer since 1988. He’s covered everything from Final Fours and NFL to video games and Britney Spears. Wertz -- a West Charlotte High and UNC grad -- is the rare person who can answer “Charlotte,” when you ask, “What city are you from.” Support my work with a digital subscription