The Eagles met former region rival Thomas County Central Yellow Jackets on a beautiful Friday night at the MAC in the second round of the 2012 state playoffs. TCC entered the game as the #2 seed from Region 1 with plenty of playoff experience and tradition, but Northside jumped on the Yellow Jackets quickly for a 17-0 lead before the end of the first quarter and never relinquished the lead.

Senior Keshun Hill returned the opening kickoff 33 yards to set the Eagles up in good field position at midfield. Northside proceeded to drive 36 yards in 9 plays before stalling. Isaac Rivera came on to drill a 31 yard field goal for the early 3-0 lead with 8:40 left in the first. The Eagle defense forced a TCC punt that once again gave Northside good field position. Hill then exploded for a 46 yard TD run at the 4:55 mark of the first quarter. Rivera’s PAT made the score 10-0. With 51 seconds left in the opening period, Hill was in the endzone again after a 3 yard touchdown run. Rivera’s PAT pushed the Eagle lead to 17 points as the quarter ended. TCC busted off a long run up the middle that appeared headed for the endzone, but senior safety Rodney Levine never gave up on the play and eventually dragged the runner down deep in Northside territory. The Eagle defense made Levine’s hustle payoff by keeping the Yellow Jackets out of the endzone and forcing a 25 yard field goal with 10:17 left in the second. Three minutes later, the Yellow Jackets were back deep in Northside territory and this time they pushed the ball on end to the endzone on a 1 yard run to suddenly cut the Northside lead to 17-10. The Eagles responded to this with a 4 ½ minute, 9-play, 65 scoring drive that was all on the ground – ending with Glenn Smith’s 5 yard touchdown run. Rivera’s PAT made the halftime score 24-10.

TCC took the second half kickoff and was driving in Northside territory when faced with a fourth down and short yardage situation. The Yellow Jackets decided to go for it and ran a dive play up the middle; the runner appeared to be close to converting the first down but coughed the ball up and senior linebacker Trey Payne scooped it up and raced 70 yards untouched for a touchdown. The Rivera PAT gave the Eagles a more comfortable 31-10 lead with 7:33 left in the third quarter. The Eagle defense was forced back on the field again but eventually forced TCC to punt the ball back to the Eagles on the Northside 29 yard line. Northside then methodically marched 71 yards in 10 plays for another score when Smith connected with Justin Burnam for a 29 yard TD pass. John Tignor kicked the PAT and Northside led 38-10 with 10:16 left in the game. The Eagles then followed that long drive up with a longer one – 8 plays and 87 yards – that ended with sophomore Jamaal Joyner scoring on a 3 yard run. Tignor’s PAT made the score 45-10 with 3:19 left in the game. TCC put together a drive against Northside reserves and punched it in the endzone with 27 seconds left in the game to make the final score 45-17 in favor of the Eagles.

The victory sets up a rematch with last year’s state champion that shocked the Eagles in the state semifinals with a 100+ yard fumble return for a touchdown when Northside was looking to ice the game. The Tucker Tigers return to the MAC for huge third round matchup on Friday with a trip to the state semifinals on the line.