Northside, Warner Robins clash in the latest chapter of Middle GA’s biggest rivalry

Warner Robins versus Northside... or is it Northside versus Warner Robins? That order is important to fans and alumni of those two schools: their rivalry is that serious.

Details matter when it comes to this rivalry. There are historians on both sides who could answer relevant questions: Which team has the longest win streak? Who has the most double-digit wins? Who has the most shutouts?

But the most important question is this: Who is going to win Friday night, when the two undefeated schools square off?

There have been more than 60 of these Warner Robins-Northside games. But for Northside head coach Chad Alligood, making his second appearance as a head coach in this game, the record coming into the game or what happened last season is a non-factor.

“I think this is my 19th or 20th Northside-Warner Robins game and the one thing I have learned is what you did in the past does not matter,” Alligood said. “When you kick it off, you better be playing your best football, because you get everybody’s best game in this game. Players are going to play way above their head in this game, some players can’t rise up to the occasion. That shows too.”

Warner Robins is looking for its fifth straight win in the series, there have only been a couple of streaks in this series longer than five.

Even more rare is a shutout in this game, before back-to-back shutouts by Warner Robins in 2019 and 2020 the last shutout for either side came in 2008 when Northside won 14-0.

The Demons aren’t focused on last year’s 47-0 win, the largest margin of victory ever in the series for Warner Robins and the largest since a 55-3 win by Northside in 2016. Instead, head coach Marquis Westbrook, in his third year as the head coach in this game, mindset is zeroed in for Friday night.

“The mindset is to go and dominate every single play. Don’t worry about last year. Don’t worry about everything that surrounds the game,” Westbrook said. “It is a big game but you have to play your playoff brand of football and everything else will take care of itself.”

As a fan, if you’ve never experienced a Northside-Warner Robins game, it is unlike anything else in high school sports in Middle Georgia.

The pageantry surrounding the game includes everything from an annual Demon funeral put together by Northside to fans hanging on the fences to catch a glimpse of the action.

For the players and coaches, this game means 364 days of bragging rights against people they’ve known their whole life. The two schools are separated by Watson Boulevard. They share a stadium. The distance between them is a measly 2.3 miles, an evening jog.

This rivalry is built on mutual respect or is it hate? Sometimes those lines get blurred. The two programs have been some of the most successful in the state. The two have combined for eight state championships, countless region titles and Warner Robins even has a pair of national titles.

It all comes together to create an electric atmosphere that is second to none.

“These are two of the premier programs in the state of Georgia. If you look through the history of the game it has been a whole lot of back and forth.” Westbrook said. “It is the proximity of the schools. You have got houses divided. There is a lot that goes into this game. The winner gets bragging rights for a full year. There is a lot of uncles, grandads, moms and dads sitting on opposites sides of the stadium. It is fun from that standpoint.”

The two teams once occupied the same region. That is no longer the case but the intensity surrounding the game has not dropped off even a little bit. While the game on Friday night won’t impact either team’s goals for the season, it can serve as a springboard for the rest of the season.

Bragging rights and momentum are on the line. Westbrook said this is as close to a playoff game as his team will get during the regular season in terms of energy in the stadium.

This game means more to the players, coaches, fans and those who competed in this game in the past. .

“You can talk to our kids that have played major college football, played in the NFL and you could ask every one of them if they could play one more game what would it be?” Alligood said. “Every one of them without hesitation would say I would love to play in one more Northside, Warner Robins game.”

Games of the week

Three Telegraph staffers will make picks each week for the top five matchups around Middle Georgia, and we’ll keep track of how we do.

Justin (8-6)

• Warner Robins over Northside

• Veterans over Perry
• Northeast over Dougherty
• Mary Persons over Newnan
• Dublin over Wheeler

Caleb (9-5)

• Warner Robins over Northside
• Perry over Veterans
• Northeast over Dougherty
• Mary Persons over Newnan
• Dublin over Wheeler

Jason (9-5)

• Warner Robins over Northside
• Perry over Veterans
• Northeast over Dougherty
• Mary Persons over Newnan
• Dublin over Wheeler

This story was originally published September 10, 2021 at 10:47 AM.