Northside more used to deep playoff runs than Dacula, which is hot
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
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For Northside, this is nothing new.
Well, the 5-5 regular season was new, and playing three road playoff games is quite unusual.
Being in the semifinals is an expectation.
Combine a road warrior mentality and familiarity of a big stage, and that may be the difference when Northside visits Dacula in a GHSA Class 6A semifinal.
Because otherwise, the similarities outweigh the differences.
“I think we are pretty evenly matched, but you’re pretty much going to get that at this point,” said Northside head coach Kevin Kinsler, 96-20 in his 10th season. “I don’t know about individual matchups. They’re solid football time, good size up front on both sides.”
This is Dacula’s highest win total since going 12-2 in 2005, and the 11-2 record follows a three-year run of 19-15, and it’s six years removed from a 1-9 year.
“They’ve got a quarterback (Jadin Daniels) that can run and throw,” Dacula head coach Clint Jenkins told the Marietta Daily Journal. “He’s a guy that can go score at any time. They have good skill kids, good receivers, good running backs.
“Northside-Warner Robins has got a lot of tradition. They’ve had a lot of great players over the years. When you get to the semis, these are the kinds of people you’re going to see, the Valdostas, the Northsides.”
Jenkins told the paper he thought Northside’s 46-44 loss to Valdosta, eliminated 56-21 by Dacula last week, was an aberration. Kinsler doesn’t argue, and said last week his kids would have loved another shot at the Wildcats.
But having another shot, period, is more important.
Kinsler is a little worried about Dacula’s ability to turn a simple play into a big game, like the Falcons did last week. Kyle Efford scored on runs of 69 and 83 yards en route to a 189-yard evening, part of the Falcons’ 398 yards rushing.
Jalen Perry, a Michigan commit on defense, went 56 yards on an option pitch. There were also touchdown passes of 44 and 52 yards.
“They’ve scored on a lot of big plays, offensively and defensively,” “They have gone out and created some situations where they’ve scooped and scored, pick-6, block a punt.
“They’ve scored on a lot of big plays, offensively and defensively.”
Northside can do the same, but may be more able to establish long drives, with Daniels, plus a deep running corps of Eric Smith, Zikhyree Hill and Daniel Neal, the latter a versatile player who leads the Eagles with 568 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.
The offenses are fairly similar, a power run game with some option and passing.
“I wouldn’t classify them as a wide open spread team,” Kinsler said. “They’re a balanced attack, probably 70-30 run pass, but they can throw the ball effectively.”
Dacula has a slight size and speed advantage in the secondary, but the Eagles set a team record in interceptions and now have 18, to go with 45 sacks.
Both teams are in regions with two semifinalists, and Northside is familiar with Lanier, owning a 22-7 win over the Longhorns last year and 38-7 two years ago. That may give the Eagles a boost of confidence.
“I don’t know that we’re big enough to blow anybody out,” Kinsler said. “But we’re gonna play really hard. … We’ve had a hell of a schedule to try and get battle-tested early in the year. We had mistakes and turnovers, stupid mistakes, but they kept getting better and better.
“No matter what, these kids are going to play hard.”