Week 10: Northeast travels to Dodge County, Bibb County rivals meet

Even during an action-packed Week 9 of high school football in Macon, the most interesting development that impacts a Bibb County team might have happened elsewhere.

As schools in Macon played Friday night, the Bleckley County Royals and Dublin Fighting Irish met in a highly-anticipated GHSA Region 2-Class A-Division I game. In an unexpected result, the Irish rolled to a blowout 42-19 win.

Though it did not involve any Macon teams, the Irish victory did one Bibb County squad a great deal of good.

Northeast has control of the region with only two games remaining now that Bleckley County has two losses and is no longer tied for first. Region 2 now has three schools — Northeast, along with Dublin and Dodge County — tied for first with only one loss.

ACE also proved its mettle last week with an eruptive second-half comeback last week. The Gryphons bounced back from a 21-0 halftime deficit to defeat Southwest 35-21 and keep their hopes of a home playoff game very much alive. The Patriots’ slim playoff hopes evaporated with the loss.

With region standings in Region 2 and beyond in flux, this week’s games could shake things up even further. Here are previews of key contests on the slate this week.

Northeast (6-2, 6-1 in region) @ Dodge County (7-1, 6-1 in region)

Last meeting: Northeast defeated Dodge County 40-19. Last week: Northeast defeated Central 61-6, Dodge County defeated Jefferson County 51-12

The Raiders are set to take a trip south with the Region 2 championship on the line in a huge contest thanks to the aforementioned Dublin-Bleckley County result.

Northeast appeared fully rejuvenated in a 61-6 win over Central on Oct. 16, trampling the Chargers off a bye week and two weeks removed from a heartbreaking 14-13 loss against Bleckley County that, at the time, put a blemish on the Raiders’ region resume that seemed like it would be hard to overcome.

The Royals’ loss has given Northeast new life as coach Jeremy Wiggins searches for his firs region title and the Raiders’ first since winning the trophy under Bruce Mullen in 2009, the school’s only region title dating back to 1970.

It will be a tough task. While Northeast surprised many when it dominated Dodge County in last year’s 40-19 home win, the program has historically struggled against the Indians when playing on the road. The Raiders have gone 0-3 against Dodge County in Eastman since their last win there in 2003 under Carror Wright.

Dodge County does appear imposing. The Indians opened the year with a narrow win over Bleckley County, a victory that would have set them up to take hold of the Region 2 standings were it not for an unexpected home loss to ACE early on.

Dodge was unfazed by the loss, winning five straight since then and scoring at least 32 points in all five games. Junior quarterback Kain Mincey is a serious passing threat with 1,829 yards, 19 touchdowns and only six interceptions. Two receivers, Jauriel Bray and Jerimiah Burns, stand out as well for Dodge County. Bray has nearly 650 yards receiving while Burns is just under the 600 mark through eight games.

Northeast will need a complete game. Its defense should fare well — even in the loss to Bleckley County the defense only made a handful of mistakes and played with poise. It was the offense that faltered in the second half and ultimately failed to score despite multiple trips to the red zone.

Westside (2-6 overall, 1-2 in region) vs. Rutland (0-8 overall, 0-3 in region)

Last meeting: Westside defeated Rutland 57-18 in 2024. Last week: Both teams were idle.

This classic Macon rivalry features two teams that are down on their luck more than one would expect this year, though the two squads’ shortcomings have come in very different ways.

Westside entered the season with high expectations in longtime head coach Spoon Risper’s final season at the helm. With yet another dramatic win over Howard to start the season, it seemed Risper and the ‘Noles were right on track to have a decent enough year.

Then came a stunning six-game skid.

Westside’s tough non-region schedule is certainly partly to blame for the tough stretch — the Seminoles played private school powerhouse Prince Avenue in Athens and also faced defending state champion Bowdon — but the team has also struggled on offense regardless of opponent. They’ve been shut out twice during that streak and have failed to reach the 30-point threshold.

Nonetheless, Westside got a much-needed victory over Region 2-2A opponent Pike County last week to start its stretch run. If the Seminoles can sweep their last three games, they will secure a top-four finish in their region and one last playoff run for a Risper-led Westside team.

Rutland stands in the way of their rival’s playoff goal. The Hurricanes have gone a meek 0-7 thus far, but the winless record is a bit deceiving considering how some of their games have played out.

The Hurricanes defense kept things close with Bleckley County in a difficult season opener, then took Howard, Lamar County and Hawkinsville to the wire in competitive contests.

The region schedule has not been so kind to the Hurricanes — Jackson shocked Rutland on Homecoming, defeating them 44-0 to kick off a streak of blowouts — but there is still potential on the roster. A local rivalry game could rile them up.

Like most Bibb County teams, Rutland has not had much success against Westside. The Hurricanes are 0-15 all-time against the Seminoles.

ACE Charter (5-3, 4-3 in region) vs. Bleckley County (6-2, 5-2 in region)

Last meeting: ACE won 29-28 in overtime in 2024. Last week: Bleckley County lost 42-19 to Dublin, ACE beat Southwest 35-21.

There are a few traffic jams in GHSA Region 2-A Division I, and this matchup could add to the chaos.

An ACE win puts the Gryphons and Royals in a tie for fourth at 5-3.

And there’s more impact, because the Royals would fall in a two-week span from being a Top-8 seed to sweating out the possibility of not having a first-round home playoff game, depending on what else goes on in the classification.

A win pushes ACE close to its first home playoff game.

As of Oct. 21, Bleckley County is 13th and ACE 24th in the GHSA’s Post Season Ranking that determines seeding, the Gryphons moving up in the rankings a bit after beating Southwest.

Last year’s game was a thriller. Both teams scored late in regulation to force overtime. The Royals scored on Josh Stanley’s 9-yard run and Ford Childers, a near-automatic kicker, hit the PAT. Ace Hatcher answered on a touchdown run from a yard out, then hit Brice Whitley with the game-winning conversion to give the Gryphons the win.

It was just another on a list of heartbreaking losses for Bleckley County, which finished 5-7 yet outscored opponents 379-246. The Royals’ losses that year were by 3, 1, 4, 3, 21, 1, and 4. Bleckley County has gotten revenge on four of those teams so far, with ACE next on the list.

The Gryphons are 5-3 again this year at the same point, and off a win over Southwest.

ACE head coach Keith Hatcher said he’s never been around as many injuries in more than 20 years of coaching as this year, including his son Ace and standout running back Bryson Vincent.

But both had solid performances after a rough first quarter last week.

The Royals have battled health issues as well, which eventually played a role in last week’s 22-point loss to Dublin in what was a one-point game at halftime.

Bleckley County is more explosive than the Gryphons, with quarterback Brody Fleming approaching 2,000 yards, completing 51.7% of his passes for 1,628 yards, 20 touchdowns and five interceptions.

He has solid targets in Octavius Tate, Stanley, Kelvin Sneed Jr. and Connor Cairney.

ACE has several playmakers on defense, led by William Winters’ 16.4 tackles a game. Seven others get 6.5 stops a game, and ACE will have a chance to improve on only four interceptions.

Southwest (2-6. 1-6 in region) vs. Washington County (3-5, 3-4 in region)

Last meeting: Washington County won 28-26 on Oct. 25, 2024 Last week: Washington County beat East Laurens 26-14; Southwest lost 35-21 to ACE.

Both teams are in a win-out mode to have any shot at a postseason spot, having dropped from just inside the top 32 spots to outside it by about 10 spots.

They’re ranked only a few spots apart, so neither gains a whole lot with a win. Both teams will need to win the regular-season finales and get some help from other teams, with Washington County hosting ACE and Southwest visiting Jefferson County.

The Patriots had an up-and-down game last week.

They had a superb opening 14 minutes, storming out to a 21-0 lead and looking good doing it. They ran 15 more plays in the first half and led 21-7 after ACE responded to an early second-quarter score. At that point, the snap difference was still 25-13.

But as ACE got better, Southwest stagnated and was held scoreless over the 33 minutes.

Quarterback Chase Dupree was battling a high ankle sprain but didn’t look like it, passing for 160 yards and rushing for 80 yards, accounting for two TDs.

Washington County is fairly balanced, with quarterback Jordan Edwards and running back Rekevious Swint.

The Golden Hawks haven’t missed the postseason since 2007.

Other games

FPD and Tattnall meet in the latest edition of the crosstown rivalry, though the Vikings look plenty sharp this year while the Trojans have struggled to a dismal 0-8 record thus far. The final game of the regular season should offer a tune-up for FPD, which is line for a top-5 playoff seed.

Mount de Sales has endured a similarly disheartening campaign and will end it with a difficult matchup against resurgent John Milledge. 

The Trojans from Milledgeville bounced back from a surprising rough 2024 season — they went 2-9, by far the program’s worst performance since going 0-10 in 2009 — without batting an eye, going 7-1 this year and snagging impressive wins over FPD and Stratford. Mount de Sales will have its hands full trying to contain John Milledge.

Windsor finishes its year with Heritage out of Newnan for its Homecoming game. Despite a 2-7 record, the Knights have momentum after a stellar win over rival CFCA and should host a home playoff game as a No. 8 seed if they defeat Heritage.

CFCA will try to rebound from its loss to Windsor in the season finale against Cherokee Christian out of Woodstock. The Lancers slipped a bit in the GIAA Class 2A rankings to No. 6 after losing to the Knights but should still get a first-round bye in the playoffs.