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Championship History Tonight; Chiefs Practice In UF’s Swamp

Tonight is the biggest night in high school football history at Northview, as the Chiefs take on top ranked Trenton in the Class 1A state football championship game.

It’s no big surprise that the Chiefs reached the title game in Orlando’s Citrus Bowl. The Chiefs were favorites from the beginning of the season, going on to destroy 1A opponents at home and on the road.

Trenton is undefeated, while the Chiefs did suffer three losses during the regular season as they played above their size class against 4A Marianna, 5A Gulf Breeze and 5A West Florida, all of which made the state playoff series.

“We’ve made it to the game we wanted to get to, and now we might as well go win the thing,” Northview head coach Sid Wheatley said of the championship game in Orlando.

Win or lose — the 2012 Chiefs will be the team that everyone talks about in the future, the team by which future players are measured. It’s the first ever trip to the state finals for any Northview team.  Digging deeper back into history, the two schools that were combined to create Northview both had one shot at the state title. The Century Blackcats fell short of a title by just one point back in 1986, and the Ernest Ward High School Eagles won the state championship back in 1979.

The Chiefs hit the road for Orlando Wednesday, spending the night in Gainesville. They thought they were going to spend their afternoon practicing at Gainesville High School, but Wheatley had arranged a really big surprise.

The Chiefs spent their afternoon practice in The Swamp — Ben Hill Griffin Stadium — at the University of Florida. It was part motivation and part shock and awe — getting accustomed to playing in a massive stadium to reduce the potential intimidation factor of the 70,229 seat Citrus Bowl.

Hundreds of Northview fans will be in the huge Citrus Bowl by kickoff time. Hundreds and hundreds more will be back home in little places like Molino, Walnut Hill and Century watching a video stream and following live updates from NorthEscambia.com as the Boys from Bratt show Orlando what it  means to be a Chief.

It all comes down to tonight at 7:00 Eastern/6:00 Central with the opening kickoff of the FHSAA Class 1A state championship game. Somebody goes home as the second best in state, and somebody is crowned champion. It’s a moment the Chiefs are prepared to face.

“It’s an exciting time; I think our kids are excited and ready for this,” Wheatley said.  “They are prepared for this; they know that this is their moment.”

Before kickoff tonight, NorthEscambia.com will provide access to a live video stream of the game in story posted on our front page and our Facebook page. NorthEscambia.com will also be providing live updates from the sidelines of the Citrus Bowl with photos and scores on our Facebook page. Click here to “Like” our Facebook page and follow the updates.

Pictured: The Northview High School Chiefs practice in “The Swamp” on Florida Field in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at the University of Florida Thursday afternoon. Exclusive photos by Wesley Rodriguez/UF Photography for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge