CHOCOWINITY — It was a disappointing scene at Southside this time last year. Nov. 5, 2016 saw the Seahawks get ousted in the first round of the playoffs by visiting Voyager Academy.

The Vikings endured an early-game surge from home standing Southside. It was a goalkeeping duo until each team broke through in the last minute of the first half. Luke Matthews put the Seahawks on the board only for Voyager to whip a shot past the fingertips of Johan Prado.

The most disappointed were Southside’s four seniors on that team. There’s a different feeling this time around, though. The Seahawks — led by seniors Remington Huggins, Jose Perez Garcia, Chris Reiner, Caleb Petty, Cole Godley and Javier Mondragon — are fresh off of sweeping the 1-A Coastal Plains Conference and winning the championship.

“It’s been amazing for the team,” Petty said. He scored his 10th goal of the season in Southside’s senior-night win over Northside. “We’re first this year. We were second last year. Everybody, especially after winning the conference, all of our confidence is boosted. I’d say we’re better prepared and better equipped than last year.”

Without making excuses, Southside finished the 2016 season out of synch. There were plenty of games rescheduled due to weather, especially down the stretch.

“It’s a little more exciting. I think we’ve had a more successful year, not that last year wasn’t successful,” coach Jay Petty said. “We had so many rainouts and so many reschedules that, by the time we got to playoffs … I felt like nobody could really get into the rhythm of things.”

Of course, winning the first conference title in program history means more favorable seeding for the Seahawks. They’ll be at home once again. Voyager was the No. 11 seed in 2016. This time around, No. 6 Southside has a first-round bye before a possible rematch with Voyager in the second round.

The other source of confidence is the team’s synergy. Southside was young last season. While there are a half dozen seniors on this roster, the underclassmen have still contributed plenty on offense.

Jario Juarez ranked second on the team with 16 goals as a freshman last year. Now a sophomore, Juarez has the team high with 22 and has assisted on another 12 — also a Southside best. Fellow Sophomores Johnathan Hernandez and Eduardo Gonzalez have also chipped in offensively.

“I feel really confident because our chemistry is really good this year,” Reiner said. “We were second last year. We’re first this year. I feel like it’s been just a great season. All the guys, they’re all great.”

Chemistry comes from this group having played together for another year. Each player, especially this year’s seniors, remembers the pain felt by last year’s senior class after the first-round elimination. That’s motivated them, too.

“It’s our senior year. We don’t want to go out in the first round,” Reiner said. “I feel like we have a pretty good chance of going deeper than the first round.”

Petty added, “It’s one of those things where we stood a really good chance of winning that ball game. But, like I said, we just could never get in a rhythm. … It still burns. It’s still there. I still remember a bunch of the plays. We’d like to be able to erase it with a victory.”