CHOCOWINITY — Southside head football coach Jeff Carrow was an assistant during the team’s last reign of supremacy. From 2002-2005, the Seahawks made two trips to the state championship. They fell short in both of those title games, but more than established themselves as contenders.

Carrow has made it his mission to reestablish the team as a powerhouse. Building the program has been a process. The Seahawks enjoyed a 10-win season last year. This year they won a dozen times en route to an appearance in the eastern regional finals.

As the No. 2 seed, Southside played its first three playoff games at home. The winning culture seemed to develop throughout the trek. More and more fans came out to show their support, culminating in a large contingent traveling with them to No. 1 Plymouth.

Being at the helm for Southside’s return to form has been a highlight of Carrow’s career.

“It was great to build the tradition back up at Southside,” he said. “This is not the best season that Southside has had by far … The run from 2002 to 2005 were the most productive years.

“It was a good couple of years back then. For us to get back to that point — or at least on the track to get back to that point — with last year’s team getting that 10-win season and this year’s team doing even better than that and making it to the eastern regional finals is a huge step back in the direction where we want to be.”

Carrow vows that reaching the state semifinal isn’t the end of the road. Continuing to build on that will be a challenge, but he’s learned a lot — especially in this past season — that will help him continue the journey to the top.

“Every group is different from seniors to freshmen,” he said. “(I learned) building a relationship with the kids and keeping them focused in on what’s important.”

An integral part of coaching is keeping the team focused. Neither the players nor the coaches can get caught up looking forward to a game. Carrow said that’s a challenge even for the coaching staff. Just like the players, they have big games circled on the calendar, but neither group can afford to lose sight of what’s right in front of them.

It’s that mentality that helped make the Seahawks so successful, especially in the regular season. Their Oct. 23 game at top-ranked league foe East Carteret was their marquee contest of their conference stretch.

That game was Southside’s lone loss of the regular season. The team kept up with the potent Mariner offense, but the hosts escaped with a 62-42 win in the shootout.

“The players did really well with adapting to that philosophy. We preach that your next opponent is your most important opponent,” Carrow said. “The next game is the biggest game you’ve ever played. Sometimes it’s harder for coaches. As a coaching staff, we’ve got to keep ourselves in check instead of looking ahead. That was sometimes a challenge for us.”

They overcame that challenge, as well as many others. Southside’s never say die mentality was most apparent in the postseason. The Seahawks neutralized Northampton County’s big-play potential in the second half of their second-round game.

They then found themselves facing a two-score deficit early in their third-round matchup with North Edgecombe. They were down 16-0 before the offense took the field for the first time. They never doubted their chances to survive and advance, which helped produce a second-half shutout and a berth in the eastern regional finals.

Southside will graduate many key players. That won’t stop Carrow from continuing to build toward a championship.

“We’re just going to keep doing what we do,” he said. “Each season is a new season and each group of kids is a different group. We’re going to do all the basics again. We’re going to go back to the basics of what’s made us successful and the system that’s made us successful.”

Carrow was quick to divert the accolades to the players and the rest of the coaching staff.

“We win and lose as a team and a staff,” he said. “We wouldn’t have been as successful without our other coaches. We have an outstanding coaching staff and they deserve much of this recognition.”

It’s been a wild ride since Carrow took over in 2013. He quickly turned the team around, making things quite exciting in Chocowinity for next year and beyond.