As has so often been the case, the road to this year's football state championship game runs through Charleston.
On Black Friday, Nov. 29, the 11-2 Charleston High School Tigers will host the 10-3 Northside High School Gators in a Class 2A North State championship showdown. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m.
The winner will advance to the state title game Saturday, Dec. 7, at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg.
Next week's contest will be a rematch of the high-scoring regular-season matchup between regional foes Charleston and Northside that was not decided until overtime.
Charleston won that Oct. 25 game 40-34 in Shelby and finished No. 1 in Region 3-2A. Northside was the runner-up in the region. That is why the Gators must come to Tiger Stadium, where Charleston rarely loses a game of such magnitude.
CHS is the defending 2A state champion.
To punch their ticket to the north half, Charleston defeated Calhoun City 30-12 Friday night, while Northside topped Union 20-3.
In other 2A games, Raleigh defeated Loyd Star 36-8 and Heidelberg topped Bay Springs 30-8, setting up a showdown between a pair of 12-1 teams in the South State championship game.
