NORTH AUGUSTA — North Augusta football captured another region championship after going undefeated in region play.

It’s the Jackets' first title since 2024, when they went all the way to the state Class AAAA semi-finals, and their 25th in school history. While they went into Friday night's game against rival Midland Valley with the region clinched, it was still an exciting comeback win to finish things off with a bang.

It wasn’t a straightforward start to the season for North Augusta, with a 21-7 loss to Strom Thurmond on the road to open things up. But since that tough loss, the Jackets have been unstoppable.

They’ve won their last nine games in a row, including close wins over Irmo and South Aiken in the Region 5-AAAA. The Mustangs came close to upsetting them on Oct. 30 in the final game of the regular season. Since the loss to the Rebels, they’ve outscored opponents 38-13.

Midland Valley jumped ahead to a 27-7 lead heading into halftime as a team desperate for a win after struggling all season long in region play. And while it was one of the biggest deficits of the season for North Augusta to bounce back from, it pulled it off with a dominant defensive performance in the second half.

It started with a 21-0 quarter to take a narrow one-point lead while also making up for lost ground in the first, then the Jackets added another seven points to create more distance between the two teams.

While the offense was putting points on the board, the defense was holding Midland Valley scoreless all throughout the final two quarters, silencing the Mustangs' usually explosive offense. In the end, it was North Augusta that came out on top to keep the momentum going heading into the playoffs.

It will play its first-round match on Nov. 13, with the opponent to be decided based on the first round of playoff games. The Jackets also earned the opportunity to host their first playoff game and keep their home-field advantage.