Braves come within a play of beating Northside for first time in over 30 years

Baldwin came within a two-point conversion of beating Northside-Warner Robins for the first time in 31 years on Friday night.

In the end, however, it wasn't meant to be, and the Eagles rode away from Braves Stadium with a 13-12 victory.

The way that the Braves' players reacted following the game, you'd have sworn it was a playoff game in November, as opposed to a non-region game in August. Several players shed tears and were inconsolable, while the rest walked off the field with a sense of disbelief. Very rarely have Baldwin players showed that much emotion in recent years.

Head Coach Kevin Patterson was looking for his first career victory, one that would've snapped Baldwin's 13-game losing streak against the Eagles. Admittedly, this isn't your father or older brother's Northside program. The balance of power in Houston County football has shifted away from Northside, which finished 4-7 last season and 7-5 the year before that.

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Regardless, it was a good showing for Baldwin, despite not cracking the scoreboard until midway through the fourth quarter. That came courtesy of an electric 85-yard punt return touchdown from junior Sadur Salahuddin. Down 10-6, Baldwin opted for a 2-point conversion, which failed near the goal line on a trick play.

Salahuddin quickly is establishing himself as one of the best running backs and biggest home run hitters in this part of Georgia.

Northside responded on the very next drive with a field goal, upping the lead to 13-6. The Braves marched right back, however, again led by Salahuddin, who darted into the end zone with 33 seconds left in the game. The coaches again elected to go for two, another trick play with an unbalanced formation. The result was an incomplete option pass in the corner of the end zone.

The bad news is that Baldwin is 0-2. The good news is the schedule gets a whole heck of a lot easier from here, beginning in two weeks with the region opener vs. Cross Creek. The Braves, at least from a football standpoint, received a gift from the scheduling gods in the off-season and are now competing in GHSA Region 3-AAA, which is largely comprised of teams from East Georgia, a region of Georgia not exactly known for playing great football. Cross Creek, for example, has only one six games in the last five years combined. Another example is Aquinas, a team that played the last two seasons in GSHA Class A-Divsion 2 before moving up to Class AAA this season.

Here's a look at the 2023 record for Baldwin's other region opponents this season:

• West Laurens – 2-8 (no playoffs)

• Harlem – 7-4 (lost 36-29 in the first round of the playoffs)

• Richmond Academy – 4-7 (lost 40-2 in the first round of the playoffs)

• Hepzibah – 7-4 (lost 45-20 in the first round of the playoffs)

• Aquinas –9-3 (lost 38-35 in the second round of the GHSA Class A-Division II playoffs)

• Westside-Augusta – 4-6 (no playoffs)

• Howard – 5-5 (no playoffs)

It was the smallest crowd for a season opener at Braves Stadium in recent memory, one that also was late arriving. By the last few minutes of the game, however, the crowd was finally into it.