For the second year in a row, the Northwest Whitfield High School football team is in the state playoffs. In the way is an unfamiliar adversary.
The Bruins travel south to kick off the Class 3A playoffs Friday at 7:30 p.m. against Jenkins at Savannah’s Memorial Stadium.
The third-seeded team in Region 7-3A, Northwest ended the regular season 8-2, with four of those wins against region rivals Gilmer, LaFayette, Adairsville and Ridgeland.
That final game against Ridgeland on Oct. 25 saw the Bruins with a 47-28 victory on the road, thanks in part to a 90-yard Evan Jones kickoff return, an 80-yard Kyle Cummings punt return, a 30-yard Lucas Amos pick-six interception return and big scores from Corbin Bates, Caden Ramsey, Cameron Collins and quarterback Gavin Nuckolls.
Nuckolls took to the air five times with five connections against the Panthers, for 19 passing yards along with 79 rushing yards.
For the regular season Nuckolls threw for 1,367 yards with 20 touchdowns and three interceptions. He ran for 465 yards with seven touchdowns.
The Bruins’ losses were to second seed Heritage and first seed Calhoun, who battle Southeast Bulloch and Spalding in playoff action on Friday.
Squaring off with Jenkins for the first time, Northwest will face a team that finished 8-2 from Region 3-3A. A second seed, Jenkins suffered a lone 34-31 loss in region play against first seed Calvary Day on Sept. 20.
The Warriors also roll into the playoffs on a five-game winning streak, last defeating Windsor Forest 64-16 on Nov. 8. The region bout against Johnson the previous week ended with a 50-0 win for the Warriors.
Northwest missed the playoffs in 2022. Competing in Region 7-4A in 2023, those fourth-seeded Bruins opened the Class 4A playoffs against Region 6-4A champion Stephenson in Stone Mountain, losing 62-15.
The winner of Friday’s game between Northwest and Jenkins will go on to battle either Stephenson or Whitewater in the second round of playoff competition currently scheduled for Nov. 22.