Preview: Northside Eagles vs. Veterans Warhawks
Northside has enjoyed the comforts of home their last two games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will face off against The Veterans Warhawks at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Neither of those teams managed to put together many points in their previous contests, so the offenses might be a little more motivated than usual.
Last Friday, Northside was beaten by Lee County 56-7. While losing is never fun, Northside can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Georgia football rankings (they are ranked 111th, while Lee County is ranked 15th).
The losing side was boosted by Da?veon Latimore, who rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Veterans' recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Friday after their fourth straight loss. They took a 14-6 hit to the loss column at the hands of Tift County. Despite 158 more yards than Tift County, Veterans couldn't convert that extra yardage to scores.
The team lost despite holding Tift County to a paltry 118 yards. A big part of that defensive dominance came down to Veterans' ability to keep the quarterback under pressure: the team laid him out three times before it was all said and done. Leading the way was Kane Byrd and his two sacks.
Northside has been struggling recently, as they've lost five of their last six matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-5 record this season. As for Veterans, their defeat was their fourth straight at home, which dropped their overall record down to 3-5.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's match: Northside has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 151.8 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Veterans, though, as they've been averaging only 83 per game. How will Veterans fare against such a dominant running game?
Everything came up roses for Northside against Veterans when the teams last played back in October of 2022 as the squad secured a 58-7 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Northside since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
