Southside Mavericks vs. Northside Grizzlies football is popular amongst Fort Smith residents. In recent years, Northside’s dominance showed, as they held a seven-year win streak from 2016 to 2022. Recently, however, Southside has made a name for themselves, winning in 2023 and eventually pulling through a close matchup Friday, Aug. 31, 2024.
The kickoff went to Northside and they immediately began to highlight their talents. Within the first two minutes of the game, they had already scored a touchdown after an incredible pass to Max Chavez (Junior). Jaylin Chavez (Junior) kicked it off to Southside so they could start their drive. Unfortunately for the Mavericks., things didn’t go well, and a lot of their early drives led to punts. This resulted in the Grizzlies pulling out to an early 21-0 lead.
Things turned around once Southside caught on to Northside’s tactics. The Grizzlies kept trying to utilize their star receivers Max Chavez and Cam Massey, as well as their running back. This worked out for the first quarter, but Southside came right back and made it a one point game at half time, 21-20. Things kept going in favor of Southside, ultimately leading to a tied game at 27-27 going into the 4th. It was in the 4th quarter that the Mavericks pulled through by scoring another touchdown to take a 34-27 victory.
“Obviously, getting down 21-0 early in the first half was not part of the game plan, but when things like that happen, you have to focus on what you need to do next,” said assistant coach Brad West. “Getting that first TD was crucial and allowed us to settle down and just play. The defense played really well, especially in the 2nd half and I thought our players did a great job of making plays, keeping their cool and avoiding unnecessary penalties. Once we got the go ahead TD [(Touchdown)] late in the 3rd quarter, I felt that gave us all the confidence we needed to hold them off and finish the game with a win. Overall, I was proud of the way our players responded to adversity early and by the end of the game, we just completely outplayed our opponent.”
Not only did Southside’s defense hold their ground, but Wilson Key (Junior) had a great performance on the offensive end. From River Valley Democrat-Gazette, “Junior receiver Wilson Key caught six passes for 92 yards and [three] touchdowns of 11, 17 and 14 from Blake Forsgren in Southside’s 34-27 win at Northside in the opener.”
What seemed like a complete blowout at first turned out to be an incredible game and one the Mavericks will remember. Being the first game of the season, it will be interesting to see how both of these teams improve throughout the season. Could we possibly see a similar streak for Southside to that of Northside between the years of 2016 and 2022? Only time will tell once these two football programs meet again for the next Battle of Rogers Avenue.
