Northern Guilford prepares for first home playoff game since 2015
GREENSBORO, N.C. — On Friday, Nov. 5, the Nighthawks of Northern Guilford (9-1) took on the Wildcats of Lake Norman (7-3). The Nighthawks are entering the 2021 NCHSAA football playoffs coming off an impressive nine-win regular season. That phenomenal season has earned them their first home playoff game since 2015.
The success of Northern Guilford football this year is in many ways a return to normalcy for the Nighthawks. Over the past decade, Northern Guilford High School has become a model of high school football in the state of North Carolina. Under John Roscoe, Northern Guilford won three consecutive state championships from 2010 to 2012 and added a fourth title in 2014.
However, Roscoe’s retirement in 2015 raised many questions for the Nighthawks regarding who would fill the void left by Roscoe and how they would meet the standard he set. The man chosen to follow Roscoe was Erik Westberg, former head coach of Greensboro College.
Westberg took over the reins of Northern Guilford in 2016 and has been slowly rebuilding Nighthawk football. Since taking over, the Westberg-led Nighthawks have made three playoff appearances. Unfortunately, all those appearances resulted in first round loses.
Despite the playoff struggles, the Nighthawks seemed to find their footing heading into the 2020 season. That 2020 season, however, would present an entirely new challenge in COVID-19. Northern Guilford was forced to play a shortened season and only played conference opponents. The Nighthawks went 5-2 in 2020 and did not make playoffs due to two heart-breaking losses.
When asked about the unique struggles of the COVID-19 season, Westberg shared his disappointment.
“It’s frustrating because that was a playoff team,” he said. “We lost two games by less than a touchdown at the end of those games and missed the playoffs.”
The Nighthawks felt they had the talent to compete in the playoffs but lacked the opportunity. The frustration from the COVID-19 season pushed them to leave no doubt in 2021. In their nine wins this year, the Nighthawks’ average margin of victory was just under 35 points a game and the team averaged almost 47 points a game.
“We still have to be careful with COVID-19, but it feels good to play a 10-game schedule,” Westberg said. “We built off last spring and that’s lead to our success.”
While winning nine games this year is something to be proud of, Westberg is preaching to his team that they cannot be complacent. He referred to the playoffs as their “second season” to let the team know that the job was not done. If they wanted to continue their success, they needed to play fast, physical and smart.
Northern Guilford has been practicing those habits all year and it is a large part of their success. Westberg pointed to an even larger contributor to that success this year: his seniors. The Nighthawks have 27 seniors on their team and Westberg is adamant that they are the catalyst for his team’s success. Those seniors will get to continue that success and do so in front of their home crowd.
When it comes to playoff football, coaches will look for any advantage they can get. Homefield advantage is the most valuable of them all. Being able to play at home is not only important for those seniors, but also crucial in the continuation of their season. Coach Westberg knows exactly how important homefield advantage is.
“It’s huge for us,” he said. “There is no travel and we get to play in front of our student section which has been great all year. We are looking forward to the community support as well.”
Heading into the match up with Lake Norman, there is a lot motivating this Northern Guilford team. They get a chance to improve on their season and renew the strength of their football program.
Westberg is confident in his team and has been preaching to them all week about understanding the moment.
“You never what game could be your last,” Westberg said. “We can’t let this one be ours.”
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