High school football Week 6: ACE and Northeast meet in key region game, Central and Southwest rekindle rivalry

After a light schedule saw Howard win its Homecoming game in the marquee matchup of last week, Macon football roars back into action with some big Bibb County home games Friday. A huge region showdown in East Macon, a crosstown GIAA game between two different classifications and an old-school collision of rivals with great bands headline Week 6.

Northeast vs. ACE

Easily the biggest game in Macon this week, the Raiders’ homecoming date couldn’t have fallen on a better date as the Gryphons visit from across Macon for a pivotal Region 2-A Division I game that will likely have some playoff implications.

It’s a tale of two offenses in this one — Northeast (3-1) boasts a potent rushing attack with power back Nick Woodford and mobile quarterback Reginald Glover, while ACE (3-1) has found success on offense with Ace Hatcher tossing the ball to standout receiver Brice Whitley. Neither team is truly one-dimensional though, having some supplemental threats to mix up the offense.

Both teams have also looked solid on defense this season, though again in different capacities. The Raiders looked dominant in the trenches in their three games, usually having a size advantage on the defensive line. The Gryphons’ defense has multiple strengths but is anchored by a strong linebacking corps.

While both teams are 3-1, Northeast’s lone loss came against non-region Peach County in the season opener. ACE lost against another region powerhouse, Dodge County, in heartbreaking fashion two weeks back before rebounding with a stomping of Wilkinson County at home last week.

The two teams are used to fighting for region supremacy. Both schools played in the same 2A region in
recent seasons, regularly fighting with Columbus team Spencer for the top spot in the standings. Northeast has handled the Gryphons fairly easily in both previous meetings, winning 47-21 at ACE in 2022 before a 52-26 at home last year.

“Northeast has beat up on us pretty good the past couple years. We’ve had great seasons the past couple of years, but we want to get past that great program that Coach Wiggins has built,” ACE head coach Keith Hatcher said back in August prior to the season. “We’ve just got to draw from the experience we’ve gotten from playing them the past two years, and we’re looking forward to doing that and competing with them this year.”

A win for the Gryphons would put them right back in the thick of the region title race, while a Northeast victory would put the Raiders in excellent position to make a run at a home playoff game.

—Micah Johnston

Mount de Sales vs. CFCA

The Cavaliers’ second straight home game in a stretch of four is against another lower-classification team used to the postseason.

But the Lancers, though they were GIAA Class AA state champs in 2021 and 2022, are having major struggles in 2024. They’re 1-4, their highest loss total since going 6-5 in 2019, and averaging only 9.4 points per game thus far.

Last year CFCA averaged 27.7 after getting 41.5 and 33.6 in the championship years. The Lancers also suffered their first shutout since 2018 in their season-opening 48-0 loss to 4A Tiftarea.

CFCA’s lone win is 24-20 over St. Andrew’s, and the Lancers were close last week in a 14-9 loss to Rock Springs in district play. Quarterback Judson Walls leads the run-oriented Lancers with 126 yards a game on the ground.

Mount de Sales (2-3) is off a 46-20 loss to Gatewood, among Class 2A’s top programs under longtime head coach — and former Tattnall assistant — Jeff Ratliff.

The Cavs were in a 25-0 halftime hole but showed some spark in the second half.

Quarterback Zavion Deshazier is good for nearly 150 yards passing a game and is also the Cavaliers’ top rusher with 90 yards a game.

 The teams have played six times, all going Mount de Sales’ way. This is the first meeting since the Cavs’ 41-0 win in 2007.

-—Michael A. Lough

Central vs. Southwest

The Chargers and Patriots draw the less-than-desirable 5:30 p.m. time slot this week for their showdown, but that won’t take any of the heat away from this traditional rivalry game.

Both teams had a bye last week, but look to be on very different trajectories based off of their most recent games.

Southwest snagged a thrilling victory two weeks ago, defeating top-10 ranked Bleckley County 30-29 on a last-second touchdown on the road to get its first victory of the season. Now 1-3, the Patriots look to bounce back and build some momentum against the rest of their region schedule.

Central has struggled this year, losing its first four games by fairly wide margins and struggling to stop teams on defense. The Chargers’ last game, a 49-0 loss to East Laurens, was a tough one, and the second time they’ve been shut out this year.

The two teams have fought nearly every year for decades in one of Macon’s most classic rivalries. Central has a deeper football history — much of which stems from its state title win in 1975, the most recent state title win for a Bibb County public school — though Southwest has had more success recently. The Chargers played a classic spoiler game in 2022, winning 24-6 to steal a playoff spot from the Patriots, but Southwest came back swinging for a 37-0 blowout win last year.

This season will be another tough one for the Chargers — Southwest’s Steve Robinson will be tough to stop for a defense that has already struggled.

—Micah Johnston

FPD vs. Westfield

The Vikings return home this week for an intriguing matchup against nearby Westfield out of Perry. FPD found success running the ball hard last week after passing more in their close 6-3 win over Brookstone two weeks back.

The rushing increase — the Vikes didn’t even attempt a single pass in the win thanks to some bad weather and pulling ahead early — led to an explosive 47 points last week against Pinewood. The defense played well too, shutting out the
Patriots.

Now 4-1 after that win, FPD faces a tough test in the 3-1 Hornets hailing from Houston County. Westfield’s lone loss was a 33-29 defeat against Deerfield-Windsor, and the Hornets have looked stout otherwise. Wins over Southland and Brookwood were blowouts, and a 21-14 victory over Tiftarea set more proportionate but still high expectations.

Now the two teams, in the same GIAA classification but different regions, clash in Macon. FPD will try to keep the ground-and-pound going into its games against other Bibb County GIAA foes.

—Micah Johnston

Windsor @ Briarwood

The Knights lost at home last week in a tough game against Dublin’s Trinity Christian, but the second half of the 43-14 loss offered some encouragement. Windsor moved the ball better once the dreary weather that slowed the game down in the first half cleared up, though the loss was still a tough one that brought the team down to 2-2.

“We got to go to work, plain and simple. We got to go to work. We got to get physical, you know, keep doing what we’re doing. Figure out a way,” head coach Dylan Bass said after the loss to the Crusaders.

It’s still the second straight defeat with a troubling final score, as the Knights also took a beating against Augusta Day Prep two weeks prior. That 49-22 drubbing was its first loss of the season after Windsor took its first two games, but now the Knights have their work cut out for them with Briarwood.

The Buccaneers have been a reckonable force at the GIAA 2A/A level for several years now, often hovering around eight or nine wins and typically winning at least one playoff game. Briarwood’s most recent standout season came in 2019 when it appeared in the GIAA 2A/A Championship, losing to Gatewood.

Head coach Bo Fleming has kept the Buccaneers consistently competitive since he took over in 2014 after serving as the school’s middle school coach. This year looks like another solid one — Briarwood is 4-0 thus far with 28 or more points in all of those games, including more than 40 in two of them.

Windsor has a streak of five straight road wins to fall back on, but it will be a tough task heading to Warrenton.

—Micah Johnston / Josh Davis

Week 6 schedule

Other key games include Stratford trying to stay undefeated on the road against Brookstone, Westside traveling to a face a tough Lamar County team and Howard visiting Hephzibah. See the full schedule below and stay tuned for full game coverage of the biggest matchups Friday night.

• Central vs. Southwest, 5:30 p.m.
• Northeast vs. ACE, 7:30 p.m.
• Mount de Sales vs. CFCA, 7:30 p.m.
• Stratford @ Brookstone, 7:30 p.m.
• FPD vs. Westfield School, 7:30 p.m.
• Westside @ Lamar County, 7 p.m.
• Howard @ Hephzibah, 7:30 p.m.
• Windsor @ Briarwood, 7:30 p.m.