HS Football preview: Northeast’s biggest challenge and Stratford’s road trip

Titans clashed in Week 6 of Macon’s high school football season, as one local school lost its undefeated status while another maintained it in blowout fashion.

As Bibb County’s teams breeze past the midpoint of the schedule, more important matchups loom this week. Here’s a rundown of last week’s games and previews of key showdowns slated for this week.

Last week’s action

Northeast and ACE met in the marquee game of Friday’s lineup, and the contest was a close one at first with the Raiders taking a 10-0 lead into halftime. The Gryphons could not keep pace with Northeast’s speed and athleticism as time went on, though, and the Raiders eventually pulled away for a 29-0 victory.

The win kept Northeast tied for the lead in GHSA Region 2-A Division I with Dublin and showcased their talents. While it was a tough loss for ACE, the 10-0 score at halftime was cause for optimism for the Gryphons during one of the school’s best seasons yet.

Across town, Stratford proved itself with a blowout victory over fellow undefeated team Brookstone to remain unbeaten and become a bonafide GIAA Class 4A state championship contender. With a rushing game as good as anyone’s, the Eagles have a chance to keep dominating for the rest of the regular season and into the playoffs.

Other games across Bibb County featured showdowns between two Macon teams. Southwest got a much-needed victory when it defeated Central 36-0. Mount de Sales notched its first win of the season when it defeated Central Fellowship 21-3. Westside faltered in what it hoped would be a bounceback effort, losing 27-14.

With some schools getting into their region schedules at long last this week, these key games highlight Week 7.

Northeast (4-1) vs. Dublin (4-1)

Last meeting: Dublin won 17-7 in 2024. Last week: Northeast defeated ACE 29-0; Dublin defeated Jefferson County 42-13.

After a ringing 29-0 win over region rival ACE last week — though Northeast head coach Jeremy Wiggins would just as soon bring up his team’s propensity for illegal shift penalties as he would bring up the final score — the Raiders have an even bigger challenge.

The Dublin Fighting Irish come to town this week in what could be the game that eventually decides the Region 2-A Division I championship as it did last year when Dublin defeated Northeast 17-7 at the Shamrock Bowl.

That was a ranked matchup, and both teams are in the Top 10 again this year according to Georgia High School Football Daily, which ranked Northeast at No. 7 in Class A-Division I and gave Dublin the No. 8 spot. Both are 4-0 in region play thus far.

The Fighting Irish do not appear quite as unstoppable as they did last season when they went undefeated until the semifinals of the playoffs. Dublin suffered a loss to now-No. 6 Swainsboro to open the year, and while the Irish have won every game since, they’ve had some close margins of victory over teams it swept away with ease last year (like Washington County).

Middle Georgia coaches like Wiggins know better — there’s no such thing as a “down” Dublin when the Irish still have longtime head coach Roger Holmes at the helm.

“I wouldn’t believe that. They’re still running the ball well, (Roger’s) just playing mind tricks with me,” Wiggins quipped of Dublin and its head coach after Northeast’s win over ACE last week. “We still just wanna make sure we do what we do. There’s a lot of little things to work on.”

The Raiders’ season has had a similar trajectory, as they suffered a loss against Class 3A No. 2 Peach County to open the year but dominated every opponent since then. Freshman quarterback Jordan Wiggins has put up gaudy numbers on a few occasions.

The home field advantage could be key for the Raiders, as last year’s game in Dublin was a close one. Northeast failed to score an offensive touchdown in that contest and will look to rectify that in search of its first win against the Irish since 2017.

In three games since then — all with Holmes and Wiggins as the head coaches — Dublin has beaten the Raiders with relative ease.

Stratford (5-0) at John Milledge (4-1)

Last meeting: Stratford won 42-7 in 2024. Last week: Stratford defeated Brookstone 41-14; John Milledge defeated Brentwood 31-28.

John Milledge head coach J.T. Wall is 2-2 against Stratford — and head coaches Rodney Collins, Chance Jones and Paul Carroll and the Eagles have outscored the Trojans 97-96 in those four games.

Expect that margin to change by only a little in a game pitting two of the top teams in the GIAA.

John Milledge is back on track after last year’s surprising 2-9 season, including a 42-7 loss to Stratford at Mercer. Notable in that loss was that John Milledge was down 42-0, the score coming late after a 23-play drive that took up more than 15 minutes.

Tyler Stephens has emerged as one of the top running backs in Central Georgia regardless of organization. The Stratford senior has above-average speed and has developed into an impact player on defense as a rookie defensive back. He’s 75 yards from 1,000 and has 15 rushing touchdowns.

John Milledge’s Asa Wall, son of the head coach, is a power-4 prospect at linebacker and tight end and is an impact player in an H-back role, with 70 rushing yards a game and six TDs.

Wall leads the defense with 9.5 tackles a game, with Bradyn Harrison adding three sacks.

The Trojans’ Lewis Cheney is a major playmaker at quarterback, while the Eagles’ Tucker Johnston is progressing as a passer and manager of the offense with each game.

Stratford got healthier last week with the return of wideout/defensive back Jett Johnston, which helped expand the passing game.

The head coaches bring serious player resumes.

Walls, who turned 46 on Sept. 12, went from John Milledge to a small college in Missouri to starting at fullback for two years at Georgia and helping the Bulldogs go 8-4 and 13-1 in 2001-02.

Carroll went from Hardaway to Georgia Southern and embarked on an Eagles’ hall of fame career at linebacker. He has the third-best single-season tackles total (127 in 1994), which helped add up to the program record for tackles with 375, a lead he has by 10 over Marques Watson-Trent (2020-24).

Both teams are locks for high seeds in the split GIAA playoffs despite being in the same region, so good performances put them in the role of a strong state championship favorite in their playoff class.

ACE (4-1) at East Laurens (1-4)

Last meeting: ACE defeated East Laurens 27-21 in 2024. Last week: ACE lost to Northeast 29-0; East Laurens lost to Dodge County 34-14.

Though both programs lost last week, the Gryphons and Falcons remain on decidedly different trajectories so far this season.

ACE’s loss to Northeast, while not close on the scoreboard, proved that the Gryphons could compete with what many believe is the best program in Region 2-A Division I, even with a somewhat sluggish offense and five turnovers.

Those mistakes are the key focus for ACE heading into a road matchup with region foe East Laurens, head coach Keith Hatcher said. 

“I just told the team that when we executed, we were right there with the best team in the region and one of the best teams in the state,” Hatcher said. “We did that at times, but we just made too many mistakes on both sides of the ball. A lot of those mistakes were self-induced and not inflicted by Northeast. We have to learn how to eliminate those mistakes.”

East Laurens, on the other hand, is still trying to find its footing during the second season of longtime Middle Georgia coach Jesse Hicks. Aside from a 58-0 trouncing of Central, it’s been a struggle for the Falcons so far to score points consistently.

The Gryphons should have the advantage in that the department as long as starting quarterback Ace Hatcher and running back Bryson Vincent are fully healthy, as both have been a bit banged up in recent games.

The Falcons do have three different rushers over the 100-yard mark this season, but ACE’s improved work in the trenches this season could prove crucial in stopping that running attack.

Rutland (0-4) vs. Jackson (1-4)

Last meeting: Jackson defeated Rutland 26-7 in 2024. Last week: Jackson lost to Westover 46-35; Rutland had a week off.

After a week off, the Rutland Hurricanes will again try for their first win after a barrage of close losses against talented teams so far this season. The Hurricanes lost to Hawkinsville 23-12 before their bye week, their third straight loss by 11 points or less. Rutland nearly knocked off Howard in Week 2.

The Hurricanes host Jackson, which is also struggling this season with a 1-4 record and a four-game losing streak since winning its opener against Hardaway. It will be the first region game of the year for both teams. 

If Rutland wins, it will be its first victory since October 2023. The Hurricanes are 0-12 against Jackson all-time dating back to 2003. A key matchup to watch will come between Rutland’s secondary, which has made some key plays this season, and Red Devils receiver Jaison McCall, who is averaging just under 100 receiving yards per game this year, according to MaxPreps.

Other games

FPD will attempt to bounce back from its second loss of the regular season last week against Westfield. The Vikings, back home after the road trip to Perry, will face a depleted Mount de Sales team, though the Cavaliers did snag their first win of the year against CFCA last week.

Tattnall (0-5) will search for its win, though they must host a talented Bulloch Academy team coming off a convincing 38-13 win over Strong Rock this week. Bulloch’s only loss of the season came against John Milledge.

The Southwest Patriots face a tough task on the heels of their romp over Central as Dodge County comes to town for another region game. The Indians are 4-1 and bounced back well after losing to ACE earlier this year, defeating Vidalia and East Laurens soundly in their next two games.

Westside may face the toughest test of all, as the Seminoles travel to Morgan County for a region game after losing to Lamar County at home last week. The Bulldogs are the No. 4 team in Class 4A, according to Georgia High School Football Daily, though Westside almost knocked them last season before losing 35-32.

Covenant and Windsor both have the week off.