Southside 56-Northside 29

Click to view image

It was a brisk night in Fort Smith, Arkansas as the Rebels of Southside High School took on the Northside Grizzlies in "The Battle of Rogers Avenue."

It was Senior Night for Southside, and the players were honored with their families on the field prior to kickoff. Immediately following that special recognition, the Scholar Athlete Awards were given out to the senior member of each team with the highest GPA. The recipient from Southside was Jonathan Benson and the winner from Northside was Vinh Pham.

Northside came out ready to play and had a great start. They moved the ball as they pleased in the first quarter. An unfortunate interception stalled a drive early, otherwise the offense was moving just the way they wanted to. Southside moved the ball well too, but their defense was the key early, causing a turnover and bending but not breaking on a 19 play drive that resulted in a field goal.

An unfortunate injury to Grizzlies quarterback Tanner Knight diminished Northside's chances of pulling off the upset. From that point on, Southside was firing on all cylinders. Julius Jones established himself as the "go to" guy for the Rebels and scored three first half touchdowns to give the home team a 35-10 halftime lead over visiting Northside.

Northside played a better second half as they adjusted to their new quarterback. Still, at the end of the third quarter the score was 49-17 Southside.

The fourth quarter was dominated by Southside's running game and a valiant attempt to catch up by Northside. But in the end, Southside took home the victory with a final score of 56-29.

Immediately following the final whistle and the presentation of the "Battle of Rogers Avenue Trophy," the Great American Rivalry Series MVP medal and trophy were awarded to Julius Jones, who had 23 carries for 237 yards and four touchdowns, a true MVP performance.  The Great American Rivalry Series Trophy was then presented to the Rebels of Southside High School in front of their fans.