Thursday’s first-round playoff showdown between Northside and Southside has been brewing for 13 years. Both the Panthers and Seahawks put together some of their best campaigns in 2004, building toward a fateful encounter in the eastern-regional championship.

Southside’s cast of speedy athletes helped it score 601 points in 13 games leading up to the rivalry match. They also held opponents to a combined 136 points. The Seahawks had gotten the better of Northside, 30-8, in conference play a month before.

The Panthers had only dropped that game and a 14-6 defeat at the hands of league foe Gates County. C.J. Wilson led the team as both an on-field force and a captain. The future East Carolina defensive end and Super Bowl XLV champion played fullback and linebacker for Northside.

Southside, however, used its overwhelming team speed to pick up a 32-0 win. The Seahawks improved to 14-0 at the point and earned a trip to the state championship, where the fell to Swain County, 16-14.

Here is what those involved in the game remember about it:

 

Star Panther C.J. Wilson on the memory still being fresh:

“I remember like it was yesterday. It was my senior year and we lost. We only lost to two teams that year, and (Southside) was one of them. … They were just fast. They had a lot of speed. We couldn’t contain their speed.

“I think about it from time to time. It’s something you never forget. It was one of the great highlights of my career in football, thinking about Northside and the rivalry with Southside. … I wish we could go back and play again.”

 

Then Southside head coach DeWayne Kellum on the game and his relationship with former Northside coach Bing Mitchell:

“We had a lot of superstars that weren’t big-name people. … It was a big rivalry and we had started the Anchor Bowl. It was a big game. I miss coach Mitchell. He was one of the first people that complimented me when I started coaching.

“It will be a good game. … It’s always been a good game, even back when it was Chocowinity and Bath. Now it’s Northside and Southside. … I wish coach Mitchell would be here to see it. We’d be sitting on the sideline together.”

 

Then Northside assistant coach Keith Boyd on the game:

“I remember they were really good. They had a great team with a lot of speed on defense. We had a good team, too. … We had some good players. It was a battle, but they got us.

“I know it’s exciting for (Southside). They’ve gone two years in a row playing for the eastern championship. Jeff (Carrow) has done a heck of a job. We got going again last year. (If not for) a last-minute loss to North Edgecombe, we’re staring at meeting somewhere down the road.”

 

Then Southside assistant Jeff Carrow on the game:

“They were big boys on the block with C.J. We played well as a team. We had a lot of team speed. They were an outstanding team and an outstandingly coached team. C.J. was a hoss. I thought that out linebacker play and execution on offense that year were top-notch.”

 

Wilson on what he remembers from being coached by Boyd:

“Coach Boyd was a fireball. He got us fired up. Coach (Bing) Mitchell, he was in the box and coach Boyd was on the field. He got us pumped up and did a good job. I learned a lot from coach Mitchell, of course, but I remember coach Boyd being someone who got us pumped up a lot.”

 

Wilson’s message to the players in this game 13 years later:

“Leave it all on the field. My coaches would always say that. Give God the glory. If you leave it all on the field, you should feel great about the outcome, win or lose. Have no regrets. To my two nephews playing, Zakkai Wilson and Zion Wilson … I wish them luck, too.”