No. 10 NORTHSIDE (4-7, 1-5 1A COASTAL PLAINS CONFERENCE) AT No. 7 SOUTHSIDE (4-7, 2-4 1A CPC)

LAST TIME OUT ON THE FIELD

The Panthers last took to the gridiron on Nov. 1, when they picked up their only conference win of the season, a 22-20 victory over Jones Senior (0-10, 0-6 1A CPC) at home. Northside established a 10-point lead in the second quarter, thanks to Kenneth Winfield’s 66-yard TD reception, and also with 4:04 left in the game. But both times the Panthers allowed the Trojans to get right back into it, including making it a two-point game with 3:31 left to play. Jones Senior looked like it might pull off the comeback, but Northside’s Omari Crandell came up with an interception to seal the Panther victory on Senior Night. The win most likely proved vital to earning Northside a trip to the playoffs.

LAST TIME OUT ON THE FIELD

Southside is coming off of an uneven performance at North Duplin (5-5, 1-4 1A Carolina Conference) that saw the Seahawks put up almost as many yards of offense as the Rebels (206, compared to North Duplin’s 227), yet still fall, 21-7. Southside’s defense did a good enough job to be competitive, but the offense was lacking in its execution. The Rebels scored on their first drive of the game after the Seahawks turned the ball over on downs at the North Duplin 46. Southside looked like it was in the process of replying with a TD of its own, but ended up fumbling the ball away on the Rebel 11. Things didn’t get much better for the Seahawk offense, converting just four times out of 12 on third down and finally scoring in the final minute of the game.

 

THREE THINGS TO LOOK FOR

1. How much can Northside benefit from what was effectively a bye right before the playoffs? It has been 15 days since the Panthers last played and Northside head coach Keith Boyd said after the win over Jones Senior that his team would focus on fundamentals in the time they had off before finding out their playoff destiny. Facing off against an opponent in Southside that the Panthers recently lost to in a tightly-contested Anchor Bowl that came down to the wire, that extra time to work on problem areas, as well as to heal up any lingering injuries, could prove to be the difference between the two cross-county rivals.

 

2. Can Southside get its offense back on track? The Seahawks have struggled to put points on the board in their past two games, scoring only a single touchdown over the past eight quarters, while averaging only 200 yards of offense per game in that span. Southside has shown it has players, such as Jonquil Haywood, Jaheem Carter and Chris Brinkley, capable of making plays, but penalties, missed blocking assignments and dropped passes have recently grounded the Seahawk attack.

 

3. Will Northside serve up some vengeance for their Anchor Bowl loss at home earlier this season? The Panthers were 18 yards away from tying, and potentially winning with a two-point conversion, the 2018 Anchor Bowl. But with no timeouts, Northside turned the ball over on downs in the final seconds to lose to their bitter rival, 23-16. Fortunately for Boyd’s team, the Panthers don’t have to wait a year to exact their revenge on Southside. Northside didn’t get to keep the anchor this year, but knocking the Seahawks out of the playoffs at Southside would probably feel just as good.