Northside High football never seems to stray too far away from the headlines, not for the last few years anyway.
From racking up an unbeaten regular season to winning a region championship to pulling out a big victory in the Georgia Dome to claiming a state championship … it doesn’t end there. Several Eagles then sign on to play college football, some already in college ball might be among those selected in the NFL Draft, and gets to this point of the year: spring football.
Even with back-to-back state championships in the record book and no losses in any games these last two years, the Northside Eagles need to get on the practice field and work out those issues facing any program looking at a new campaign. Don’t expect head coach Conrad Nix and any of his longtime veteran assistants to panic or scramble for a new game plan just because a few high-quality seniors are graduating and putting their prep days behind them.
All right, even Nix knows it’s a hard job to replace nearly an entire offensive lineup that had some of the best players in Eagle history. On the defensive side, coordinator Kevin Kinsler probably sleeps a little better with a pair of major college prospects at his disposal.
“We’ve made some progress,” said Nix as the Eagles were close to wrapping up the spring session on Thursday. “We still see a lot of areas we have to improve on, develop and mature. Different people have to step up. Somebody’s got to come in and do a good job.”
The numbers are staggering, though, considering that Tijuan Green leaves after rushing for 2,035 yards and 29 touchdowns and Nick Bass and Kevyn Cooper combined for 13 receiving touchdowns. Marques Ivory, at quarterback, passed for 1,404 yards and 11 touchdowns, but missed a portion of the season due to injury.
Joe Scott, then a junior, stepped in and threw for 797 yards and six touchdowns.
“We are, too,” answered Nix about all those fans wondering who is going to take over for all these seniors. “A lot of people are back (on defense). They are going to do the things they’re supposed to do.”
One of those is Abry Jones.
Jones became one of those to commit to a major university before his senior high school season began. The massive defensive lineman told the University of Georgia that’s where he wants to play beginning with the 2009 season.
“It felt like the right decision,” said Jones. “I wanted to go ahead and get it out of the way so I can focus on my final year of high school. I had a lot of choices, but it really came down to Georgia and Miami, and I picked Georgia.
“Coach (Rodney) Garner is a great coach, and I know he put a lot of people in the NFL at that position (defensive end).”
“It’s exciting,” said Nix. “He’s had an extremely good spring. I hope he’ll play with a lot of intensity in the fall. It will be great for Northside. He’s still a Northside Eagle, and that’s what I’m concerned about.”
“The whole team’s playing good,” said Jones. “I’m playing good. Everybody’s showing up and improving. We’re just waiting to get better for the season.”
The other Eagle on the minds of the big colleges is linebacker Eric Fields.
Northside’s overall success has attracted some attention even beyond the Georgia boundaries. Published reports state that the Eagles had an invitation to play at Texas Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys. Instead, Northside will host Booker T. Washington High of Miami, Fla., the second week of the season. This school had the Florida Class AAAA state championship football team and the No. 4-nationallly ranked squad by USA Today.
“Promotion companies were trying to arrange games,” said Nix about all the communication this off-season. “Everybody sort of jumps on the bandwagon. “(Playing Booker T. Washington) is a great experience, great for our community. The Middle Georgia area will be exposed to different football. Hopefully we will be representative. I certainly don’t want us to let Georgia down.”
Nix said it is unknown if this game will be televised by an ESPN network as the reports have stated.
But before taking on Florida’s best, Northside will open 2008 hosting Perry at McConnell Talbert Stadium. The Eagles, after the Miami game, must go to Columbus to face Carver High, another defending state championship team. There’s no chance to relax, as the next game is the first for Northside in Region 1-AAAAA as Valdosta comes to Warner Robins.
“There are no easy days at all,” said Nix. “(Perry) will be an exciting game, one that will be very intense, a big ball game.”
