Northside welcomes balanced and hungry Coffee

Whenever the conversation lately turned to Region 1-6A, it has more or less centered on four teams.

Coffee wasn’t one of them.

But the Trojans are certainly among the topics now, after opening region play last week with a 42-35 win over Houston County.

Coffee was off for the first week of region action, so the Trojans got a good view of that Friday night, which included Northside outplaying Valdosta but not beating Valdosta.

While Coffee was beating Houston County a week ago, Northside was dismantling then-No. 1 Lee County 26-7.

Now, the latest slugfest brings Coffee to Northside and McConnell-Talbert Stadium at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.

By the end of the night, the region could have a pair of 2-0 teams and two 1-2 teams, or two 2-1 teams and two 1-1 teams.

Meanwhile, 0-2 Houston County watches and waits for Northside next week.

The Eagles, 7-1 overall and 1-1 in region play, are ranked third in the latest Georgia Sports Writers Association poll. Coffee was ranked early in the season but dropped out after losses to then-ranked Class 5A Ware County and Class 7A Tift County, by 12 points.

A win Friday would vault the Trojans back into the rankings and put them all but in the playoffs, even with games left against Valdosta and Lee County.

“I feel like they’re gonna play as hard as they can play,” Northside head coach Kevin Kinsler said. “We’re gonna have to match that, or it’ll be a long night.”

The game pits two mighty successful head coaches.

Kinsler is 76-9 in his seventh season as head coach at his alma mater, and the Eagles haven’t had a three-loss regular season since 1997.

Robby Pruitt is 161-41-1 as a head coach at Georgia, with two stints at Fitzgerald sandwiching one year at Warner Robins. He is in his fifth season at Coffee, following a pair of 5-5 seasons with two 10-2 seasons.

He has gone from the wing-T to the spread, and he brings balance to town.

Demetrius Davis is second in the region with 889 yards on 107 carries, with 12 touchdowns. There’s a dropoff after him to Tywan Brewton (192 yards).

“(Davis) is a slasher-type guy, and runs really hard,” Kinsler said. “The running back is really good.”

Max Hughes is second with 1,935 passing yards, completing 128-of-202 with four interceptions and 15 touchdowns. Milton Jackson (41 catches, 594 yards, three touchdowns) and Dalrone Donaldson (20-350, 5) are among the top eight in receiving yards.

“The quarterback is probably one of the better quarterbacks we’ll face this year as far as throwing the ball,” Kinsler said. “The biggest thing is, he does a good job of fitting in in tough spaces. When he gets pressure, he keeps his eyes downfield.”

Between Davis and Hughes, the Trojans are a balanced threat.

“I’ve seen (Davis) take just a little one play and turn it into a 60-yard touchdown run,” Kinsler said. “I’ve seen the quarterback get in trouble and heave it deep and hit it for a 40-yard touchdown pass.”

Cornerback Marquavius Jefferson has four interceptions and 21 tackles. Linebacker Jameon Gaskin leads the defense with 12.1 tackles per game, with linebacker RJ Pace and safety Tykesius Burkes teaming for 17 stops a game.

Coffee will have to deal with Tobias Oliver, Northside’s senior quarterback who comes up with big plays each week. He put Lee County on its heels last week with 150 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground, and he is third in the region in rushing (110-765, 11) and fourth in passing yards (74-125-2, 868 yards, nine touchdowns).

The Eagles’ run game is deep, adding Daniel Neal, De’Sean Dinkins and Trayvon Willis to the mix.

Coffee will be a little fresher, being off two weeks ago and then facing Houston County. Northside is coming off physical battles against Valdosta and Lee County.

“The thing that’s difficult for us is, we’re coming off two hard-fought games,” Kinsler said. “Last week was very emotional and intense. The big challenge is … trying to get our bodies and minds back refocused.

“We’ve got to find a way to get back and and try to play hard again.”

This story was originally published October 20, 2016 at 5:37 PM with the headline "Northside welcomes balanced and hungry Coffee."