Northside football preview

Published 3:42 pm Thursday, October 11, 2018

: LEANING ON THE DEFENSE: With how the Northside offense has played of late, the Panthers will need dominant performances from defensive end Zakkai Wilson (No. 15) and linebacker Clark O’Neal (No. 40) in order to slow down the South Creek ground game. (Ashley Vansant | Daily News)

NORTHSIDE (3-4, 0-2 1A COASTAL PLAINS CONFERENCE) AT SOUTH CREEK (3-3, 0-2 1A CPC)

LAST TIME OUT ON THE FIELD

Northside is coming off of 10 days of rest after losing 59-7 at Pamlico County (6-0, 2-0 1A CPC) in what was a makeup game after Hurricane Florence. Hitting the road to play the Hurricanes with only three days of rest did the Panthers no favors, as they opened the game with four three-and-outs on offense. Pamlico County also ran rampant, putting up 51 points in the first half. Northside’s only score came from a James Gorham kickoff return.

THREE THINGS TO LOOK FOR

Can the Panthers find their offense? Northside opened the season by putting up point totals of 36, 22 and 56 through the first three weeks. But the Panthers were shut out in its week four matchup with Washington, and they haven’t scored more than seven points since. As stingy as Northside’s defense has looked at times, not consistently putting together drives or putting points on the board places too much strain on the defense, adding to the recent lopsided scores.

Can Northside corral South Creek’s Jaylen Short? The Panthers have had issues recently limiting the impact of opposing team’s top running backs, such as Pamlico County’s Sayvone Tutt and Manteo’s Claveon Rice. Short has been the Cougars’ go-to player on offense this year, as the senior racked up 595 rushing yards and four touchdowns through the first five games of the season. He also opened the year with four-straight 100-yard games, before facing Tarboro. The defending state champions were the only team to hold him under the century mark (58 yards).

Which team will pick up its first conference win of the season tonight? Both squads will enter tonight’s game on a bit of a slide, as the Panthers have lost their last four games and the Cougars have dropped their past two. The two teams looked evenly matched, as they both easily handled Perquimans early in the season and have both lost to Riverside by double-digits. Neither of these teams looks like contenders to win the conference, so playing against each other gives them ones of their best chances to get a conference victory.