With its ninth win this year, the Northside Christian football team earned its best regular season record in program history.

The Crusaders finished 9-1 after beating Camden Military 48-14 in their last game of the season. This is the first time Northside has ever won nine games in a single season. 

“It's really hard to win nine football games,” Northside head coach Dean Howell said. “There's not a lot of people that can do that, but at the same time, we're not satisfied with nine. We want to keep going. We want to finish strong and make a run for the state championship.”

Northside had control the entire game and relied heavily on its run game. Running back Sam Burks was an unstoppable force, running over countless defenders. He finished the game with over 180 yards and four total touchdowns, including one on a 50-plus-yard punt return. 

“We got one of the best players, and I don't care SCISA, 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, that kid's really good,” Howell said. “He's going to have a great career in college. He makes us look like good coaches sometimes because we're not always. And I'm excited for his future, but I'm excited that we still got him for a couple more games.” 

J.R. Kinnard also had a big game on the ground. He rushed for over 100 yards and made plays on both sides of the ball. In all, the Crusaders had almost 400 yards of offense, with more than 300 coming on the ground. 

Northside’s defense put pressure on Camden Military’s offense all game. The Spartans’ quarterback was in scramble mode all game. While occasionally he broke free and found a man downfield, more often than not he was tackled after minimal or no gain. 

The Crusaders forced three turnovers and returned one of them on a scoop and score from Logan Taylor. Kinard had an interception and the team recovered a fumble on a bad punt snap. 

Northside had its own turnovers that cost the team points and even put Camden Military on the scoreboard. The Spartans picked off quarterback B.J. Suits in the redzone and returned it for an 86-yard touchdown before halftime. Northside also had a pair of fumbles but they did not result in points for the other team.

Camden Military’s only other points of the game came on another long play. This time its offense found the endzone after the quarterback escaped the pocket and ran 90 yards downfield. 

With the win, the Crusaders locked up second place in the SCISA 3A Region 2 standings. The team’s lone loss this season came against first-place Wilson Hall. 

It was another year of growth for the Crusaders, who have put up increasingly better records the past few seasons. Howell credited the team’s desire to get stronger as the reason for its improvement. 

“They are finally figuring out that the weight room makes all the difference in the world,” Howell said. “We stayed on them for two years, three years, and it was one of those situations where we were able to convince them, and their bodies have changed. They've stuck with it, they've stuck to the plan, and they've gotten better and better and better as the years gone on.”

Northside will begin its postseason journey this Friday at home against First Baptist.  The Hurricanes finished its regular season 3-7 and 1-2 in SCISA 3A Region 1.

“It’s win-or-go-home,” Howell said. “We're going to continue to do what we do and try to get better next week. We got four days to get ready for a good First Baptist team, and their record doesn't indicate how good they are. They got a great quarterback, great running back, and they got a really big offensive line. So, we got our work cut out for us.”

Full area scoreboard

Dutch Fork: 41, River Bluff: 14

Irmo: 55, Chapin: 21

White Knoll: 35, Lexington: 19

Brookland-Cayce: 49, Airport: 14

Gray Collegiate: 42, Gilbert: 0

Newberry: 45, Swansea: 0

Batesburg-Leesville: 28, Saluda: 7

Pelion: 28, American Leadership: 6