WARNER ROBINS — On Friday night, the Northside Eagles played like one of AAAAA’s elite teams.
Northside won its first-ever Region 1-AAAAA football game, defeating No. 6 Valdosta 28-14 Friday night at McConnell-Talbert Stadium. The loss was Valdosta’s first of the season.
It was also the first time the third-ranked Eagles had ever defeated Valdosta. The Wildcats had been 7-0 lifetime against Northside.
Northside, which is ranked No. 21 in the latest USA Today national prep football poll, took advantage of Valdosta turnovers on back-to-back possessions at the end of the first quarter, turning them into touchdowns and building a 14-0 lead. That put the momentum firmly on the Eagles’ side, and Valdosta was never able to recover.
The game was a defensive stalemate until the end of the first quarter, when Valdosta imploded and opened the door for Northside.
On second-and-15 from his 30-yard line, Valdosta quarterback Kyle Rowe tried to hit tight end Jay Rome over the middle. But Northside’s K.J. Morton read the play, picked off the pass, then took off for the end zone. Morton raced 40 yards untouched for the touchdown. Devon Pike’s extra point gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead.
On the ensuing possession, Valdosta was penalized 22 yards for a personal foul, forcing them into a passing situation. Rowe tried to throw a screen pass, but the receiver tipped the ball. Northside defensive lineman Anton Williams intercepted the deflection, and returned it 21 yards to the VHS 4. Northside ran the ball three straight plays, and on the third, Xavier Bacon crossed the goal line for the touchdown, making it 14-0.
Valdosta had a chance to score midway through the second quarter. The Wildcats moved the ball down to the Northside 17. But on fourth-and-12 from the 20, Morton tipped away Rowe’s fade pass to Dontavius Sapp in the end zone.
Late in the half, the Eagles struck again. After a short punt, Northside took over at its own 49. On the first play, Valdosta was flagged for pass interference, moving the ball up to the Wildcat 36. Quarterback Joe Scott found Allen Davis for 17 yards on the next play. Then Bacon took the handoff, went left on the sweep, cut through a hole, and raced into the end zone for a touchdown with 1:22 left in the half. The Eagles headed into the locker room with a 21-0 lead.
Northside put the game away with a 13-play, 68-yard drive that consumed six minutes of clock time in the late third and early fourth quarters. The Eagles kept the ball on the ground on 12 of those plays, including seven runs by Bacon. Twice the Eagles prolonged the drive with Bacon runs on third down. Finally, on first-and-goal from the 1, Bacon went around right end for the score, making it 28-0 with 8:14 left in the game.
The game was all but over, but Valdosta kept battling, and finally got on the board with a nine-play, 65-yard drive. Rowe’s 15-yard pass to Rome on third down extended the drive and moved the ball to the Northside 44. Five straight runs moved the ball to the 25. Then on third-and-2, Rowe faked the handoff, rolled left, and hit Jay Rome on the run. Rome broke a tackle, and ran into the end zone for the score. John Mark Stephenson’s extra point made it 28-7 with 4:05 left.
Then Valdosta recovered the onside kick inside the Eagle 45. On the next play, Rowe pitched to Chad Prain, the back-up quarterback. Prain pulled up and lofted a bomb deep for Sapp. The 6-foot-4 Sapp leaped and pulled down the pass at the 3. On first-and-goal, Rowe faked the handoff, rolled left, then fired a strike to Sapp for the touchdown. That cut Northside’s lead to 28-14.
But the Wildcats would get no closer. Northside’s Brandon Brown recovered the onside kick at the Eagle 39, and the Eagles ran out the clock from there, getting three straight first downs.
Bacon ran for 156 yards on 29 carries, with 108 of those yards coming in the second half. The Eagles passed for just 44 yards, preferring to keep the ball on the ground once they built a three-touchdown lead at halftime.
For Valdosta, Rowe was 8-for-19 passing for 144 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. VaShun Johnson ran for 44 yards on 15 carries.
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Northside enters region with win
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