The Northern Guilford Nighthawks are sitting nice right now at (11-1)…Only loss of the season for the ‘Hawks was to the Grimsley Whirlies in the last game of the regular season…Northern actually lost twice that night….NG lost the game to Grimsley, 42-14, and they also lost their starting quarterback, Jackson Kemp to injury…Kemp with 1,700 passing yards this season, and 18 TD passes…
(Kemp went down with a season-ending shoulder injury.)
Northern entered the 4-A West playoffs with a decent #10 seed and they also needed a new QB…So Coach Erik Westberg and his NG coaching staff turned the football over to Kevin Willoughby, and Kevin was now the Nighthawks’ starting QB…Willoughby threw for over 150 yards and 2 TDs, with 0 Interceptions in his first start vs. West Cabarrus…Northern topped West Cabarrus, 21-20, and the ‘Hawks were moving on to their Round Two Playoff Game vs. Marvin Ridge…
The Marvin Ridge Mavericks(5-6), and a #24 seed, had upset Asheville High School in Round One, and they came out to Spencer Dixon Road, and into the Johnny Roscoe Stadium at Northern Guilford HS with plans on ending the NG Nighthawks season, right then and right there…
It was the upset minded Marvin Ridge Mavericks vs. the upstart Northern Guilford Nighthawks, and it seems like these NG Nighthawks, led by their head coach Erik Westberg, and by a quarterback who took over during emergency duty, and that would be that new NG QB Kevin Willoughby, were ready to PLAY ON!!!!!
So what happened last Friday night???
Well the Nighthawks are still Flying High Above the Ground, as they took to the air and the ground, and they were able to pound and ground out a 28-24 Round Two Playoff victory over Marvin Ridge…Northern Guilford has done it again, as the ‘Hawks just continue to win, and now they will take their High Flying Act to Matthews this week, where Northern will face the #2 Seed from the 4-A West bracket, and the Defending NCHSAA 4-A State Champions, the Weddington Warriors….Weddington at (11-0) this season, and this the same Weddington Warriors bunch that knocked the Grimsley Whirlies out of the playoffs in Round Four, last season….
Northern with very tight 21-20, and 28-24 playoff wins, but in reality, nobody knew what to expect when the Nighthawks hit this year’s playoffs minus/without the QB1 Jackson Kemp…But look where they are now….Northern Guilford will be going after the Weddington Warriors this coming Friday night…On the road, albeit, but still on the march, and still in the hunt for a Fifth State Football Title for their school…
Don’t count these Nighthawks out…The Northern Guilford Nighthawks are Flying High Above the Ground, and from what can see, these ‘Hawks are not ready to come down yet….
(Will have some Northern Guilford stats from last Friday night’s win vs. Marvin Ridge up here, when they get posted up over on MaxPreps.com.)
For those who might be looking for a little background music to share as you read this post, here is part of the inspiration for my Title, with Willie Nelson performing Angels Flying too Close to the Ground…