Anticipation has built up all season long for the Week 10 meeting between Beaufort County and 1-A Coastal Plains Conference foes Northside and Southside. It’s been a long time coming. The two teams opted not to schedule one another during non-conference action like they had been in the past. This is the first time the two have butted heads since Oct. 6, 2016.

The rivalry between the two is enough to draw football fans from all around Beaufort County. The battle between the Seahawks and Panthers is further emphasized given that Washington is on bye this week.

There’s more fuel to the fire this time around. The two teams appear evenly matched on paper. They split their two-game series last season. This year, two of Southside’s three losses have come at the hands of undefeated opponents in North Duplin and Tarboro.

The Panthers, on the other hand, dropped games to Washington and Riverside by a combined seven points. They seem to have gotten past not being able to close out a win, though. Their most recent victory saw them top South Creek, 14-8, in a defensive skirmish.

The winner of this Beaufort County showdown will have a shot at finishing second place behind runaway conference champion Tarboro. Southside wraps up its season the following week at South Creek and would need Pamlico County to stumble to earn sole possession of second place.

If Northside were to win, it would likely cruise past Jones Senior the following week. That would set the Panthers up to overtake Pamlico County when they host the Hurricanes for senior night in the regular-season finale.

NORTHSIDE (3-5, 1-2 1-A COASTAL PLAINS) AT SOUTHSIDE (6-3, 2-2 1-A COASTAL PLAINS)

Location: Southside

Time: 7 p.m.

Northside and Southside know each other well. Not as well as if they had squared off once already during non-conference play. Even so, these are two teams that change little about their offensive and defensive systems on a year-to-year basis. There will be different players in different roles, replacing those that have graduated since the last game between the two, but the overall approach will be similar.

Gone are the days of Jackson Midgette and James Barrow as the Panthers’ dual threat in the backfield. Zikajah Crawford’s shiftiness will be absent from the Seahawks’ ground attack, and stud linebacker Hunter Sparks won’t be plugging up the middle of the field.

Northside will bring its option-based offense into Chocowinity. Quarterback Matthew Marslender has a talented duo — senior Raydarius Freeman and junior Johnathan Clark — alongside him. The trio has combined for 1,430 of Northside’s 1,919 rushing yards and has found the end zone 17 times this season.

Southside will counter with its own cast of talented runners. Trajan Rhome leads the team with 611 yards rushing and seven touchdowns. His downhill speed is complemented by the raw power of Brandon Sullivan. The senior fullback has six touchdowns in six games. Depth favors the Seahawks, though. Jamison Bennett, Hayden Mayo and Jonquil Haywood have all been effective.

Northside’s defense will be tasked with keeping the play in front of them. It was a tactic that kept things close against an athletic Riverside club. Whether its via elusiveness or power, the Panthers can’t afford to let Southside’s running backs break into the secondary.

Southside has been playing lights-out defense as of late. It most recently kept Riverside to just two touchdowns. The Seahawks also held Pamlico County to a touchdown beneath its scoring average three weeks ago.

Northside has shown off its defensive capabilities, too, since its bye week. It bottled up South Creek en route to a 14-8 win.

This game will be a war of attrition in a lot of ways. Northside has had its off week already. The Seahawks don’t get to rest until the final week of the season. The Panthers may come in healthier, but getting in a groove like this is what has helped Southside succeed in the past.

Also factor in the difference in experience along the offensive and defensive lines. That, combined with depth at skill positions and playing at home, may give Southside the edge in such a close matchup.

PREDICTION: SOUTHSIDE 35, NORTHSIDE 28