Northside Christian’s perfect year has come to an end. 

The Crusaders fell to 8-1 this season after losing a close back-and-forth affair against Florence Christian, 27-20. Northside overcame an eight-point halftime deficit to tie the game before Florence Christian scored the game-winner with five minutes to go.  

“We struggled blocking a bit, and we had a hard time keeping them from running the football,” head coach Dean Howell said after the loss. “It’s probably my fault. We didn’t play our best football in big situations. We didn’t really execute.” 

Florence Christian finished the game with over 300 yards of offense, with 170 coming on the ground and 149 through the air. On the flip side, Northside ran for just 96 yards and threw for 150.  

B.J. Suits accounted for most of Northside’s offense. He ran for 51 yards and completed 5-of-11 passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught four passes for 36 yards. 

Freshman Joshua Weston also made some plays on offense, catching four passes for 72 yards and two touchdowns. 

The Crusaders came out and took the advantage first, going on an eight-play, 64-yard touchdown drive, ending in the first touchdown connection between Suits and Weston. 

While Northside took an early lead, the point-after try was missed, making the score 6-0. 

Florence Christian didn’t flinch at the Crusaders’ opening drive and went on their own 10-play, 60-plus-yard drive to score a touchdown. The Eagles made their extra point kick, giving them a one-point edge in the first quarter.

On that drive, Florence Christian converted on multiple third-down situations. 

“It seemed like we'd do a pretty good job of stopping them,” Howell said. “We’d get them third and long, and then we just give up a pass.”

That lead grew early in the second quarter when Florence Christian got into the end zone again. 

The Eagles got a free possession with great field position after picking off Suits in Northside territory. The team took a few plays, then ran a jet sweep inside the 10-yard line that scored. 

Fortunately for Northside, the damage wasn’t as bad after a delay-of-game penalty backed up Florence Christian’s point-after-try by five yards. The extra distance was enough to challenge the Eagle kicker, and he missed the uprights. 

Northside cut the lead back down to one on the following drive as Suits and Weston connected for their second score. 

This time, the Crusaders were facing a 4th and 15 inside Eagles’ territory. Not looking to punt, but still too far for a field goal, the team decided to go for it. 

With pressure in his face, Suits escaped the pocket and launched the ball to a wide-open Weston on the other side of the field for the touchdown. 

Northside kept the offense out for the extra point attempt, but the two-point conversion failed, making the score 13-12. 

Florence Christian got the ball back with just over three minutes to go. Set to receive the ball in the second half, the Eagles were in a golden position to expand the lead. 

Working against the clock, Florence Christian moved downfield and got inside the red zone. Northside had to hold on for just 30 more seconds to prevent a touchdown. 

It got close. The Eagles again converted multiple third downs and got into the end zone with just five seconds left in the half, taking a 20-12 lead into the break.

Florence Christian failed to capitalize on the opportunity to double up and gave the ball back to Northside early in the third. 

After making a quarterback switch, the Crusaders scored a three-yard touchdown and converted a two-point try to tie the game at 20. 

With everything even, it was anyone’s game in the final quarter and a half. 

The teams traded punts on their next possessions, then the Eagles switched strategies. 

Florence Christian took the ball on its next possession, moved downfield and drained as much time off the clock as they could. 

The Eagles got the ball with two minutes to go in the third and scored the game’s final touchdown with five minutes left in the fourth for a drive lasting longer than eight minutes of game time. 

This limited Northside to just one final possession before the game could end. The Crusaders got near midfield but came up two yards short on a fourth down to turn the ball over. 

From there, so little time was left on the clock that Florence Christian drained it all away and secured the win. 

“They go 99 yards and eat up 8.5 minutes off the clock. That’s demoralizing,” Howell said. “It was hard to come back from.”

The loss marks the end of Northside’s best start in program history. The team won each of its first eight games entering this contest. 

It was a remarkable turnaround for a team that finished the 2025 season 3-8 without a single region win. 

“I’m just so proud of these kids,” Howell said. “Last year, we did a lot of failing, but we never quit. We kept working, and all of their work has been what this season has been about.”

While the loss is a setback, the Crusaders can still win the region title and host a playoff game. They’ll just need some help. 

First and foremost, Northside must win this week against current first-place team Wilson Hall. Wilson Hall is undefeated in the region so far. 

Should they win that and Florence Christian win next week, it goes to the three-team tiebreaker, which comes down to points. 

Depending on the results, the Crusaders could finish anywhere between first and third in the region. 

“We can go see if we can beat Wilson Hall and make a mess of it,” Howell said. “I don’t do a lot of looking at that stuff, but I reckon after tonight, after losing, we’re going to have to start.”