When the successful programs of Stevenson and Bridgeport merged to form North Jackson High School in 1988, the consolidated school continued the winning traditions of the merging schools. Since NJHS started playing football in 1988, the Chiefs have compiled an on-field record of 256 wins against 96 losses. North Jackson's players come from Bridgeport Middle School Hollywood School, and Stevenson Middle School. During the 30 year journey to the present, North Jackson has won some big games, and it has accomplished several milestones. The Chiefs' 50-26 win over Madison County on September 9, 2016, marked the school's 250th victory since its creation in 1988. North Jackson's milestone wins are shown below.
The creation of North Jackson has also established a heated rivalry with Scottsboro High School, about 15 miles away, providing some of the most exciting football in the state. The 4A Chiefs have chalked up a very respectable 21 - 9 record (20-10 with the 1996 forfeit) versus the now 5A Wildcats in their short history, including a string of nine wins in a row (2004 - 2012). Scottsboro won the 2017 game 56-27, marking its third win in a row over the Chiefs. That is the longest winning streak by the Wildcats in the series.
NJHS began its existence in the 5A classification for the 1988 and 1989 seasons, but dropped down to 4A in 1990. NJHS won the Class 4A state championship in 1993 and moved back up to 5A soon after. North Jackson was one of the smallest schools in 5A and did well during their time there, going to the playoffs every year until 1999. After the 1999 season, the Alabama High School Athletic Association realigned all of its member schools to allow for more equal competition and minimal travel for the teams. Due to the realignment, the Chiefs moved from the 5A classification back to 4A in 2000 and competed with a brand new set of opponents. Here is a history of North Jackson's accomplishments through the seasons:
In recent history, NJHS won the 4A Region 7 Championship in 2000, advancing to the second round of the state playoffs before falling to Brooks High School, 31-42. In 2001, North Jackson again won the Region 7 title and advanced to the 4A semi-final game before losing to state runner-up, Cleburne County, 23-28. In 2002, the Chiefs won their third consecutive Region 7 title and advanced to the 4A final game in Birmingham, where they fell to the defending 4A champion UMS-Wright Bulldogs 3-7 on a late fourth quarter touchdown. In 2003, the Chiefs won their fourth consecutive Region 7 title and advanced to the second round of the playoffs before falling to Brooks 15-14. In 2004, the Chiefs did not win the region title for the first time since dropping back to 4A in 2000. North Jackson finished as runner-up to East Limestone which won the Region 7 crown. North Jackson won the Region 7 title again in 2005 and made it to the third round of the 4A playoffs. In 2006, the Chiefs won their sixth Region 7 Championship in the past seven years and went to the second round of the playoffs before falling to Dora. The Chiefs again won the Region 7 title in 2007 and advanced to the second round before losing to Guntersville. In 2008, North Jackson won its fourth consecutive Region 7 title, losing to Deshler in the second round of the playoffs. Winning the Region 7 title makes the 2008 senior class the first in NJ history to never lose a region game, registering a perfect 28-0 region record. The Chiefs ended 2009 as the third place qualifier and advanced to the third round of the 4A playoffs before losing to eventual champion Cherokee County. 2010 proved to be a banner year as the Chiefs won the Region 7 title once again and advanced to the semi-final round of the 4A playoffs before losing to the Deshler Tigers. The 2010 Chiefs led the state in scoring for much of the season and finished second to Deshler in scoring for the year. The Chiefs won the 2011 Region 7 title again, defeating Fairview 30-21 in Fairview. North Jackson won its first round game with Cleburne County 35-28 but came up short against Fayette County and was eliminated in the second round 32-40. The 2012 Chiefs lost four regular season games, including two Region 7 games, and ended the season as the third place qualifier in the 4A playoffs. NJ won its first round game 45-35 versus Central-Florence, but was eliminated in the second round by Oneonta 21-48. The 2013 season was very disappointing as the Chiefs went 2-8 and missed the state playoffs for only the second time in the school's history. In 2014, Coach Mark Rose returned as North Jackson's head coach and the Chiefs responded with a winning season at 7-4 and were very competitive as one of the highest scoring teams in Class 4A, averaging 47 points a game. The four teams that the Chiefs lost to were all playoff teams and were a combined 40-4 when the Chiefs' season ended. North Jackson placed third in Region 7 and played the Saks Wildcats in the first round of the 4A playoffs but were eliminated 64-41. The 2015 Chiefs finished second in the Region 7 chase after falling to Priceville in the first region game of the season. After that region loss, the Chiefs didn't lose another region game the rest of the season. In the first round of the 4A playoffs, the Chiefs played the Haleyville Lions, winning the game 28-6 at home. However, the season came to an end when the Chiefs fell to the Brooks Lions 50-21 in the second round. The 2016 Chiefs finished second in Region 7 for the second year in a row. The Chiefs' only loss in the region was to Madison Academy and North Jackson ended the region schedule in a three-way tie (all with 5-1 records) with Madison Academy and Madison County for the number one spot. Madison Academy won the tie-breaker with North Jackson taking second and Madison County finishing third. In the 4A playoffs, the Chiefs defeated Wilson in the first round 41-7 but lost to Hokes Bluff in the second round 24-14 to end the season.
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