The Eagles captured their third State Championship after
rallying from a halftime deficit to defeat the Mays Raiders
by a score of 25-18. The game was a tough, defensive
battle broken up by big plays from both sides.

The Eagles got on the board first when senior Tyree Williams
applied pressure to the Mays QB causing the ball to pop into
the air and Jayllen Kendrick picked it off and ran it in from 15 yards out for a touchdown at 7:27 of the first quarter for the early Northside lead. Justin Alonso's PAT made it 7-0.

From that point until halftime, Mays score on 3 big-play
touchdowns around an otherwise sound Northside defensive effort. The last 29 yard TD pass was a kick to the gut as it occurred as time expired in the second quarter. The first PAT was blocked by the Eagles and Mays failed on the next two 2-point attempts to make the score 18-7 at the half.

Mays kept Willie Jordan and the Northside rushing attack
in check in the first half, but the Eagles came out of the
Dome locker room and put together a solid 9-play drive into
Mays territory before two penalties forced an Alonso punt.
Mays drove out from its one yard to near midfield before
punting back to the Eagles. With a first and ten from their own 30, QB Tobias Oliver handed off to Jordan up the middle who then stopped and turned and pitched the ball back to Oliver. Oliver loaded and launched the ball downfield to a wide open Nate Greene. Greene caught the ball in stride, and after a quick peak over his shoulder, sprinted untouched into the endzone for a touchdown to the send the huge Northside Dome crowd into a frenzy. Alonso drilled the PAT and the Eagles had cut the lead to 18-14 with 4:24 left in the third quarter.

The Eagle D continued its solid play in the second half and
repeatedly gave the ball back to the offense. Both teams
punted 9 times in the game. Late in the third quarter, the
Eagles began a good drive behind the elusive and daring
running of Oliver. The Eagle sophomore QB repeatedly faked
to Jordan and sliced through the tough Mays defense for
big chunks of yardage. The nine play drive eventually
stalled after more untimely penalties but Alonso remained
clutch and perfect in the post season by drilling a 32
yard field goal to cut the Mays lead to 18-17 with 10:22
left in the game.

The Eagle D forced another punt and Oliver took over.
Oliver completed a shuttle pass to Jordan for six yards and
then ran for seven. With 8:31 left in the game, Oliver kept
again and slashed through the right side of the Mays line,
juked the safety out of his shoes and sprinted into the
endzone to give the Eagles back the lead that they would
never relinquish. Northside went for a two point conversion and senior Jurmon Weaver dove and caught a low bullet from Oliver for the two points and a 25-17 lead. Mays drove out to midfield but the Eagle D bowed its neck again and forced a punt. However, the Northside excitement was dampened when the Eagles fumbled the ball back to Mays on the first play at the 21 yard line.
In four plays, Mays was down to the one yard line but a false start pushed them back to the six for a crucial third down. The Eagle rush flushed the Mays QB from the pocket and forced him to throw the ball away for an incompletion. Mays decided to try a 23 yard field goal to cut the lead to four but the kick was wide left; the Eagles still had the lead and 2:17 remained in the game.
Northside could not run out the clock as Mays forced a '3 and out.' Alonso's 40 yard punt put Mays on their 37. Mays drove to the Eagle 39 yard line before back-to-back incompletions turned the ball back over to Northside on downs with 1:07 left in the game. Jordan busted off a 17 yard run but was forced out of bounds. Two more running plays and 2 Mays timeouts left Northside with a
3rd down and fifteen with 49 seconds left. Jordan ran up the middle for five yards but a Mays injury forced an injury
timeout with 37 seconds left. When play was ready to resume, the clock was restarted and Northside let it run down to 12 seconds and took a delay of game penalty. On fourth down, the Eagles elected to punt. Alonso took the perfect snap from long snapper Wesley Bateman and quickly got the kick off before the Mays block attempt. The returner let the ball hit and it continued to roll and roll until time expired and the Eagles were Champions
again!

The State Championship was Northside's first since 2007 and the first for Head Coach Kevin Kinsler. The victory also serves as a great going away gift for long time Northside offensive line coach Mark Stewart as Coach Stewart had previously announced that this would be he last season coaching as he plans to retire. Congratulations to Coach Stewart for a great career as player and coach at Northside, and kudos to the whole Northside staff as they
led a great group of young men through much adversity through the year and allowed them to reach their ultimate goal,
a State Championship!

IT'S GREAT TO BE A NORTHSIDE EAGLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!