The Northside Eagles traveled to Newnan, GA to take on the undefeated Newnan Cougars in a the state AAAAA semi-final matchup, and one week after rushing for zero yards in their close quarter-final win over Peachtree Ridge, the Northside offensive line dominated the game from the opening kickoff and lead the Eagles to a convincing 29-24 victory and a spot in the state championship next week.

The Cougars received the opening kickoff, but the Northside defense quickly forced a punt. However, the short punt hit a Eagle blocker in the game giving the ball back to Newnan at the Northside 16 yard line. Four plays later, the Cougars were on the board after a 1 yard touchdown run and the PAT gave them a 7-0 lead with 8:12 left in the first quarter. The Eagles immediately answered the score with a 12 play 58 yard drive culminating with Van Brunt running in from 4 yards out. The PAT was no good so the Cougars still led 7-6 with 2:39 left in the opening period. The Eagle D forced another punt attempt and a bad snap gave the Eagles great field position at the Cougar 22. Six plays later, Van Brunt hit sophomore tight end Stephon Cross with 7 yard touchdown pass to give Northside its first lead of the game. Devon Pike’s PAT made the score 13-7 with 8:10 left in the second quarter. Newnan answered with an impressive 9 play / 83 yard drive culminating in a 9 yard touchdown pass. The PAT gave the Cougars the lead back by one with 5:55 left before half. The Eagles continued the sea-saw battle with a perfectly executed 9 play / 61 yard drive that ate up all but 9 seconds of the remaining time in the first half. Shaquille O’Neill plunged in from one yard out and Pike’s PAT gave the Eagles a 20-14 halftime lead.

Northside took the second half kickoff and drove 79 yards in 9 plays before stalling and settling for a 26 yard FG by Devon Pike to increase their lead to 23-14 with 7:33 left in the third. Newnan put together a 13 play / 66 yard drive before the Eagle D stiffened forcing a Newnan 26 yard FG attempt that was good cutting the Eagle lead back to 6 points at 23-17 with 1:55 left in the third quarter. The Eagle O-Line would not let this game slip away as they paved the way for a punishing 12 play 69 yard drive led by 9 carries by Van Brunt and ending with O’Neill once again scoring from 1 yard out. Northside’s attempted 2 point run was no good keeping the score 29-17 with 8:38 left in the game. The Eagles forced another punt and went on another time consuming drive before turning it over on downs at the Newnan 18. With the Eagles in a prevent defense, the Cougars drove 82 yards in 5 plays and scored a touchdown with 3 seconds left in the game. The PAT made the final score 29-24 when the Eagles recovered the onside kick attempt.

The Eagles now advance to their 5 state title game in this decade and face the defending AAAAA state champion Camden County next Saturday night at the Georgia Dome. The semi-final victory for the Eagles also marked the 300th career victory for Northside head coach Conrad Nix. Congratulations to Coach Nix on this tremendous career milestone.