McConnell-Talbert Stadium was overflowing Friday in anticipation of the heavyweight matchup between 2 unbeaten Region 1-AAAAA rivals, and the Northside Eagles and Lowndes Vikings did nothing to disappoint the huge crowd and Georgia Public Television viewing audience. In a dramatic, hard fought defensive battle, the Eagles stunned most of the state’s prognosticators as they defeated the powerful and explosive Vikings by a score of 10-7 to remain unbeaten on the season. “We don’t lose in Blue” and “Not at the MAC” could be heard as many of the Northside players were boarding the buses for the ride back to the school, and they were right. Since 1997, the Eagles are now 96-4 overall at the MAC (and wearing “The Blue”) with 2 of the 4 losses coming in the state playoffs (’01 Championship vs Parkview & ’03 second round vs Newnan) and the other 2 losses in regular season matchups against city rival Warner Robins. (The last Northside regular season loss at the MAC other than to the Demons was on September 20, 1996 against R.E. Lee of Alabama).
The Vikings won the toss and elected to receive. Lowndes had made a habit of scoring early and often so far in the ’09 season on their way to averaging close to 50 points a game, and you could sense the apprehension amongst the Northside crowd as sophomore kicker Dillon Mixon – starting in place of the injured 2-time All State senior Devon Pike – lined up for the opening kickoff. However, in perhaps an omen for the rest of the game, the young Eagle kicker surprised everyone by booting the ball into the endzone – negating the dangerous Lowndes returners. The Northside defense then came on the field and set the tone for the rest of the night by forcing the Vikings to punt without a first down. They made it be known to all, this game was at the MAC and things were going to be a little different. Maintaining the momentum established by their defensive mates, the Eagle offense came on the field and proceeded to run the ball right at the Vikings on a 9 play / 53 yard drive culminating in junior QB Briar Van Brunt running in for a touchdown from 4 yards out with 6:28 left in the first quarter. Mixon drilled the PAT and the Eagles had the early lead at 7-0. The Eagle defense again stuffed the Vikings and forced them to punt the ball back to Northside. The Eagles then went on a 14 play / 64 yard before stalling at the 17 setting up a 33 yard FG attempt by Mixon. The sophomore kicker was just wide on the attempt and the score remained tied. Midway through the 2nd quarter, Lowndes put together their first good drive of the game but the Eagle D stiffened with 10 seconds left in the half and the ball at the Eagle 27. The Lowndes FG attempt was also just missed and the teams went into the locker room with the improbable score standing at 7-0 in favor of the boys in blue.
The Eagles received the second half kickoff but could not move the ball and punted to the Vikings, and the Lowndes offense began to find its rhythm. After a 9 play / 72 yard drive culminated in a 19 yard touchdown run, the Viking PAT tied the score at 7 with 4:54 left in the third quarter. The Eagles made their only real error of the night on their ensuing possession when Van Brunt threw an interception that setup the Vikings at the Northside 35 yard line with about 3 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter. The Eagle defense again rose to the occasion though as they refused to let the Vikings near the goal line forcing another field goal attempt, but the 33 yard attempt on the first play of the final period was missed maintaining the tie score and overcoming the Eagle turnover. Both defenses continued to control the game until the Eagles took over one last time on their own 20 yard line with 7:23 left in the game. Van Brunt faked a reverse, paused with his back to the line of scrimmage, and then turned to look downfield to find wide open sophomore receiver Cartrell Brooks. Brooks snagged the perfectly thrown pass before being pulled down after a 60 yard reception setting up the Eagles deep in Viking territory. The Eagles then pounded the ball up the middle on five more running plays to get down to the Lowndes 3 yard line but an incomplete 3rd down pass attempt by Van Brunt brought up a decisive fourth down and big decision for Coach Conrad Nix. Nix did not hesitate to send in his young kicker again – this time with the game on the line. Dillon Mixon did not disappoint his coach as he calmly stepped up and booted the football through the uprights to give the Eagles a 10-7 lead with 3:14 remaining in the game. The Vikings showed their championship mettle as they received the ensuing kickoff and calmly marched right down the field – converting one fourth down play on a perfectly setup naked bootleg. Another big scramble by the Lowndes QB put the Vikings inside the Eagle 5 yard line with no time outs and the clock stopped at 16 seconds. On third down, the Vikings called for a fade route to the right corner of the endzone; the pass fell incomplete but a flag was dropped on the play, but the silence on the Northside side of the stadium quickly turned to cheers when the referee signaled ‘offensive pass interference’ and loss of down. The penalty pushed the Vikings back to the 19 yard line and forced a 33 yard field goal attempt with 5 seconds left in the game. The Northside sideline and fans erupted into a state of pandemonium when they saw the kick sail wide right and the scoreboard clock showed all zeros as the Eagles survived and won a classic matchup by a score of 10-7 to remain unbeaten on the year and to avenge their loss last season at Lowndes. Northside must now prepare for another region battle next week against Coffee Co.