Northeast stumbles early and can’t recover against highly-ranked Peach County in 33-14 road loss

A little more than half a dozen players had little or no experience at kickoff, but were tired and sweaty at the end of the night.

The freshman quarterback behind a not-experienced offensive line often looked the part.

And the other team was two classes higher and at home.

Plus, a year ago when these teams played, the margin was 19 points.

So there weren’t many surprises for either team as Peach County took control early and Northeast showed some second-half life in the Trojans’ 33-14 win Friday over the Raiders in the season opener.

“The way we came out in the first half, I thought we could have played a whole lot better,” Northeast head coach Jeremy Wiggins said. “I think it was a bad combination of everything. A bad snap, a three and out, got some new faces, kind of nervous.”

Last year at Fort Valley State, it was the same story: Peach County took control early, and Northeast showed some second-half life. But the Raiders played that game without standout running back Nick Woodford.

This time, there were no stars being held out by the team that went on to the GHSA Class A-Division I state championship.

“I see a lot of potential,” Wiggins said. “We’ve got to go back and fix some things, but I think we’ll be fine.”

Peach County was a little bit of an unknown last year after going 4-7 in Marquis Westbrook’s first season, but the then-unranked Trojans kept on rolling after beating the Raiders and went 11-2.

They opened this game as a top-5 team.

“I was telling (Marquis) Westbrook I think this is his year,” Wiggins said of a chat with Peach County’s third-year head coach. “This is the group that’s been with him a couple years now. They kind of understand what he wants, and the expectations.”

Wiggins’ son Jordan made his debut at quarterback, sharing time with returning quarterback Reginald Glover.

Peach County’s defense made it a long night.

Northeast went three-and-out on its first two possessions while Peach County scored in its first two. The Trojans took advantage of a short field after a high-and-muffed punt snap for one score, and some shaky secondary play for the other.

Then Northeast finally barged into Peach County territory on a nifty 36-yard run from Jacory Sherman, only for the Trojans to strip the ball and recover it at their own 38-yard line.

Northeast got it back on a fumble three plays later, but lost nine yards on fourth and two, giving it back at midfield.

The Trojans went 50 yards on seven plays for another score, QB racing for 28 yards on a delayed scramble to set up Ashton Barton’s 3-yard run for a three-touchdown lead one play into the second quarter.

Peach County’s knockout punch came on an eight-play, 52-yard drive for a 27-0 lead with 6:33 left in the half.

Northeast had but three first downs at half to go with eight penalties, but did get an interception at the goal line from veteran Kortnei Williams only for the Raiders to lose 30 yards in penalties on one play in the final minute of the half.

Wiggins’ postgame talk had some fire to it, no doubt mirroring his halftime chat.

Peach County punted on its first possession of the second half, and Northeast responded with a nine-play drive that included a conversion of third and 12 on a nice scramble of 16 yards by Wiggins.

But it was Glover who finished it off by finding a wide open Keandre Jackson for a 14-yard touchdown at the 5:25 mark to cut the margin to 27-7.

Northeast’s defense stopped Peach County on a fourth-down try, but gave it back on an interception three plays.

On the first snap, Barton weaved his way for a 34-yard touchdown with 28 seconds left in the third quarter.

Northeast kept scrapping, turning in a 10-play drive that covered 69 yards, Wiggins keeping it from 6 yards out, three plays after he hooked up with Keelle Searcy for a 34-yard gain.

Glover, last year’s playmaking quarterback, lined up outside and at quarterback as the Raiders tried some things. They were a little expressive when things didn’t work, as Glover and Wiggins had good moments and not-so-good moments, a few of which weren’t their fault.

Nothing Wiggins saw worried him, other than coaches just wanting better no matter the circumstance.

“I’m excited with what I saw,” he said after the first game of displaying a varied offensive philosophy. “I think we can go off this and get better.”