Northside prepares for region rivalry showdown against Houston County
The Northside Eagles (2-4) look to pick up their first Region 2-AAAAA victory of the season against the Houston County Bears (5-1).
WARNER ROBINS, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The Northside Eagles take on the Houston County Bears this Friday night at Freedom Field in our Week 8 Game of the Week matchup on The End Zone.
The short week has Eagles head coach Ben Bailey and his squad balancing both practice and recovery before Northside plays its second region game in just four days time, after coming up short against Coffee at home Monday night.
At 2-4, the Eagles have been dealt plenty of adversity this season. After starting off the year 2-0, they find themselves in a similar situation to the 2023 season as the team looks to bounce back, learn from their mistakes and finish the season strong, according to Coach Bailey.
The best way to boost confidence in the final stretch of the season is to beat a region rival, and with the connections Coach Bailey has coaching some of the players on Houston County’s team, Coach Bailey, as well as many of these Eagles players, are ready to get their first win against the Bears, which would also be the first Northside victory in this rivalry since 2021.
However, the Eagles have won four of the last nine meetings and want to get back to their winning ways against a Houston County team they had beaten 17 years in a row from 1998 to 2014.
Coach Bailey knows it’s about how his players handle accountability, as well as how they stay disciplined and focused on the field to get the victory. Meanwhile, some of the Eagles’ seniors are ready to show the Bears players who are friends and former teammates what they can do on the field in this not-so friendly region rivalry showdown.
“The record is not what we want it to be, but the kids are practicing extremely hard, and that we are proud of,” Coach Bailey said at Wednesday’s practice. “The culture’s good. We’ve got a tough schedule, we’ve got a tough region, and we know that. Every game is going to be a dog fight, and there’s going to be no difference in the next four [games] that we play. So, that’s where we are. We embrace it, and we are not giving up by any means. That’s why football is the greatest game there is, because that’s life. Curve balls come at you. It’s 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to it, and football is no different. That’s what we are focusing on.”
Eagles senior Say Robinson used to play with some of the Bears, and is still friends with them, so this game means more for Robinson. “Being at HOCO before and coming over to Northside, you know I miss my boys, but for now it’s beef with my boy Antwaan [Hill] and Hayes. Although, Amir [Thomas], he can’t play, but it still would have been beef with him as well. This game is personal to me, because that’s my boys, but even with the team of Northside, you come over here and you see their traditions. We never want to lose to them boys on [Highway] 96.”
“Yes sir! This is serious,” Northside senior Michael Clayton said Wednesday. “We’ve got to show that Northside is still here. We are still the best in Warner Robins. We might have had a little rough few games, but we are still going good.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Freedom Field.
Catch live pregame coverage during 41NBC News at 5, 5:30 and 6 p.m. Don’t miss highlights from our Game of the Week, and others, on this Friday’s edition of The End Zone during 41NBC News at 11.
