This weekend, the Woodward War Eagles will compete in and host their second annual Southside Lacrosse Tournament.

Last year, Newnan, Northgate, East Coweta, Etowah and Whitefield Academy all participated in the tournament but this time around it will just be the War Eagles along with Newnan, Northgate and East Coweta.

“The tournament is smaller this time and Whitefield and Etowah were not on the south side geographically,” Woodward boys’ lacrosse coach Nick Weil said. “It’s going to be a true ‘Southside’ tournament.

“We’ve developed a real natural rivalry with East Coweta, Newnan and Northgate,” Weil said. “I’ve made a real effort to develop a relationship with those teams because of our location.”

On Friday, Woodward will kick off the tournament against Newnan. Then, the War Eagles will face East Coweta on Saturday morning and Northgate that same afternoon.

Last year, the War Eagles lost all three of their matchups while East Coweta won all three of its contests and Newnan finished 2-1 in the tournament. (Woodward ended the regular season with a 14-3 rout of the Indians but fell to the Vikings in triple overtime.)

“We’re trying to build a program,” Weil said. “The tournament is a way for us to do that and put us on the map. Get some game experience against some of the best schools that we can that are out there.”

Last season, the War Eagles never lost more than three games in a row but failed to win more than two straight en route to an 8-9 record.

“I’m really excited about this team,” Weil said. “We are young and green. I think we are going to make our run after spring break this year. We got a real shot to make it back to state. Just missed it last year.”

Helping the War Eagles accomplish this goal could be Josh Rogers, Oliver Marshall and Ozzie Bunbury.

“Josh plays a lot like Carl Jackson,” Weil said. “We’re looking to build program around him and Oliver.”

This season, Woodward is scheduled to play just six road games compared to 10 in 2011.