Northside falls to Perry in preseason scrimmage

WARNER ROBINS, GA – Friday night’s football game between the Northside Eagles and the Perry Panthers, a score definitely in Perry’s favor at 30-6 over Northside, showcased two teams with a lot of promise; but also need to work through some pre-season issues going into the regular season.

Northside head coach, Ben Bailey, is starting his first year with the Northside Eagles.

The Eagles are returning a lot of players, but had some key losses like Isaiah Harvey and Michael McClendon.

Coach Bailey is looking to “improve on the tradition and improve on the discipline and do the best they can,” going into the season.

One of the areas of discipline that will be a focus this season is penalties, as Northside was one of the most penalized teams in the area last year.

Friday night’s game was a chance for the Eagles to get an idea where they are as a team as well as their first chance to play someone outside of organized team activities.

The Eagles started the game strong with a long run, but failed to score a touchdown on that drive or any others. Procedural errors and penalties kept the Eagles from getting their drives going.

The Panthers’ offense was led by quarterback Colter Ginn and running back Ahmad Gordon. Colter passed for 120 yards with a 73.7% completion rate and Ahmad rushed for 110 yards, including a 49 yard touchdown run, on 16 carries with one touchdown.

Panthers’ head coach Kevin Smith is excited about the group of players he has.

They made mistakes early and still have corrections and improvements to make, but their execution improved throughout the game.

The Panthers had a good year last season but fluttered a bit in the playoffs. They are looking to refine their play and go even further this year.

Northside starts their regular season on Saturday, Aug. 19 against Jones County in Five Star Stadium in Macon.

Perry’s regular season will start on Friday, Aug. 25 at home against Houston County.

HHJ News