Battle of the birds: Northside football hosts the Eagle’s Landing Golden Eagles to open the season

High school football has finally arrived in Houston County, and the Northside Eagles are one of the few teams who open at home on Friday.

They’ll play host at the MAC to a former Warner Robins region opponent, the Eagle’s Landing Golden Eagles.

Historically, the Golden Eagles have struggled to put more than a handful of wins on the board, and last year was no different as they finished 3-7.

However, with returning talent on both sides of the ball, Northside still has to play sound football to come out with the win.

Here are three things to watch for Friday’s season opener:

1. Can Northside pressure Golden Eagles’ quarterback Breylan Dewberry?

Dewberry is entering his senior year with Eagle’s Landing, and if Northside isn’t careful he could burn them in several areas.

He’s shown an ability to throw deep balls with good accuracy, hitting his receivers in stride for long touchdowns. He also has nice velocity on his short and intermediate throws, quickly zipping the ball to his receivers and not allowing the defense to make a play.

Dewberry isn’t shackled to the pocket, either. He has some serious wheels, and accelerates quickly to burst through a collapsing pocket for the first down or more on some plays.

That being said, he doesn’t deal with pressure particularly well.

When facing pressure Dewberry struggles to get through his reads, doesn’t secure the ball and will hold on too long trying to find a throw.

Assuming Northside can pressure Dewberry and contain his legs, the Golden Eagles’ offense should be limited.

2. Can Northside get the running game going?

It’s no secret running was the Eagles’ bread and butter last year, but most of that production is gone.

Head coach Ben Bailey mentioned before the season that there will be players with no experience at running back running the ball this year.

Seniors Ty’drickus Bolden and Drasayveon Robinson got reps in the spring, but as a whole Northside struggled to get the run going against Perry in the preseason.

Granted, the Golden Eagles’ run defense will be nothing like the Panthers, but Northside has to take advantage of the three down linemen the Golden Eagles use, and use the power of players like Bolden to get through their thin linebacker corps.

3. Can the Eagles get quarterback Jayden Wright comfortable?

If there were ever a week for Wright to get out the jitters and get more comfortable in the passing offense, this would be the one.

The Golden Eagles’ don’t have many threats in the secondary, and are liable to make mistakes in coverage or get beat over the top.

Wright isn’t exactly known for throwing it deep, but Briston Blasingame has the chance to be open downfield several times on Friday with his speed.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the MAC.