VALDOSTA � Friday night, Valdosta�s Bazemore-Hyder Stadium played host to one of the best football games of the night.

Unfortunately for the Valdosta Wildcats, their team came out on the wrong side of the result.

Zach Wang�s potential game-tying 33-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right with 3.5 seconds left in the game, enabling Northside to hold on for a 16-13 win Friday.

It was a difficult ending for a Wildcat team that had stood toe-to-toe with the No. 5 team in Class AAAAA for 48 minutes.

�I thought we played well enough to win. But four missed field goals, one missed extra point, a kick run back for a touchdown � we�ve got to play better in the kicking game,� Valdosta head coach Rick Tomberlin said. �We played well. We moved the ball on offense. We didn�t have a turnover. The defense had a great play by Malcolm (Mitchell) for a touchdown... (Northside is) a good team.

�We knew their special teams were outstanding. I think the dagger in the heart was when they ran the kick back from the opening kickoff in the second half. That just killed us.�

Trailing 16-13, Valdosta forced a defensive stop, and after a 35-yard punt by Northside�s Devon Pike, took over at their own 45 with 1:31 left in the game.

Valdosta quarterback DaShay March then drove his team into field goal range. March completed an 8-yard pass to Avery Burney, and had runs of 10 and eight yards, moving the ball to the Northside 29. The junior quarterback then found Jay Rome for six yards and ran for seven more, taking the WIldcats to the 16. After a spike on second down, March threw for the end zone, but the ball fell just out of the reach of Malcolm Mitchell � who may have been the best player on the field Friday night � in the end zone.

On fourth down, with only 7.5 seconds left on the clock and 16 yards away from the end zone, Valdosta initially chose to try for the win. But after Northside called a timeout, the Valdosta coaches decided to send Wang on to try the field goal, even though the junior had already missed three field goals and an extra point.

The snap came in, holder Chad Prain put the ball down on the left hash mark, and Wang connected with the ball. But it sailed just wide of the right upright, and the officials signaled the kick was no good.

�Zach�s a good kicker, but he was hurt and hadn�t kicked all week. But he kicked well in the pre-game,� Tomberlin said. �He�ll help us win some games later in the year, because he�s a good kicker.�

The first half was a defensive showdown. Neither side reached the end zone, and only three points were scored. Valdosta outgained Northside 166-77, but trailed 3-0 at halftime.

The only points of the first half came on the first play of the second quarter. Pike, an All-Region kicker, split the uprights with a 49-yard field goal, giving the Eagles a 3-0 lead.

Valdosta responded by driving the ball down the field into field goal range. But Wang�s 46-yard field goal attempt fell short. Valdosta had a similar drive in the final minute of the first half. But the drive stalled again, this time at the 28, and Wang�s 45-yard attempt went wide.

On the opening kickoff of the second half, Northside�s Brison Williams, a South Carolina commitment, caught the ball at the 7, found a hole, cut to the Eagles� sideline, and raced 93 yards for the game�s first touchdown, giving Northside a 9-0 lead.

Valdosta responded with a 10-play, 65-yard scoring drive. On fourth-and-9 from the Eagles� 26, the Wildcats chose to go for it. March threw a fade route to the end zone, and Mitchell leaped and hauled in the pass for the touchdown. That cut Northside�s lead to 9-6, after the extra point was no good.

Northside was on the verge of extending its lead at the end of the third quarter, but Valdosta�s defense had other ideas. With Northside facing third-and-goal from the 3, Van Brunt tried to throw for the end zone. But a Valdosta defender tipped the ball, and Mitchell picked off the pass at the goal line. He took off running, escaped a tackler, then saw open field in front of him and raced 100 yards for a touchdown. The return was one of the longest in Valdosta High history, and it gave the Wildcats a 13-9 lead.

�Malcolm�s a great player for us on offense and defense,� Tomberlin said.

But Northside came right back, going 60 yards in six plays. The big play was a 43-yard run by Van Brunt, down to the Valdosta 6. Two plays later, Shaquille O�Neill plowed in from the 1 to put the Eagles back on top, 16-13 with 9:35 left.

On the ensuing possession, Valdosta staged a long drive, moving the ball to the Northside 10. But Wang�s 27-yard field goal attempt was deflected.

Valdosta�s defense then forced Northside to punt, setting the stage for the Wildcats� final drive.

Valdosta�s defense held O�Neill, Northside�s leading rusher, to 26 yards rushing on 15 carries, but Van Brunt gained 113 yards on 13 carries.

For Valdosta, March rushed for 93 yards on 16 carries, and completed 9-of-20 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown. Dhahrod Hall added 80 yards rushing on 17 carries. Rome had five catches for 70 yards.

Now Tomberlin says Valdosta (3-1, 0-1 region) must put Friday�s loss behind it and turn its attention to next week, when it travels to Warner Robins for another key Region 1-AAAAA game.