Week 5 Football Preview: FPD, Stratford and GIAA schools take spotlight with light schedule, Howard plays Homecoming game

Week 4 featured some exciting finishes and interesting shake-ups in Macon. With Week 5 having a lighter slate with several Bibb County schools on break, the GIAA schools might steal the show this time around.

Here’s a look at some of the interesting football games in Macon this week.

ACE vs. Wilkinson County

The Gryphons suffered a heartbreaking loss against region powerhouse Dodge County last week, falling 33-28 after failing to convert a fourth-and-goal play from the Indians’ 8-yardline in the final minutes to take the lead.

While the loss hurt, ACE did well to keep up with Dodge County’s stacked roster through four quarters. Now the Gryphons play a smaller school in Wilkinson County, who come off a loss to the Stratford Eagles in Week 3.

“We’re obviously disappointed with the outcome, but in the last year or two years ago, we don’t take a team like that down the line and have a chance to win on the last play of the game,” ACE head coach Keith Hatcher said. “I’m really proud of that, we really battled in the second half.”

 The 2-2 Warriors will not be an easy foe, but they could offer a bit of reprieve from a relentless region schedule for ACE. Even if the non-region game won’t impact the Gryphons’ playoff chances in the most direct way, they’ll still use it as an opportunity to coach up. The showdown will still matter for power rankings, as well, should ACE place in the region top four.

“We got a lot of things to fix, primarily we can’t turn the ball over. We gotta tackle better and we got to finish drives. We’ll look at the film. There’s a lot of things we’ll need to improve on if we’re going to continue to compete with teams like that,” Hatcher said.

Howard vs. Academy of Richmond Academy

The Huskies, who won their first game two weeks ago 31-12 over Macon foe Rutland, moved to 1-2 this week after a tough one-point loss to West Laurens on the road.

Howard fought for the entire contest and mounted a valiant fourth-quarter comeback effort, scoring a touchdown in the final minute but failing to convert the two-point try for the win.

The Huskies now have their Homecoming game this week against Academy of Richmond County. The Musketeers come into the matchup 0-3, but the record could be deceiving — two of those losses were to powerful 2A teams Burke County and Thomson, both competitive programs. Burke County ranks in the top five of 2A teams in Georgia so far this year.

Howard will need to show the same resolve it brought to the region opener against West Laurens to secure a homecoming victory. Head coach Trey Porter has found success crafting a run-heavy offense thus far, though the team’s sole victory came thanks to some Rutland errors in Week 3.

Mount de Sales vs. Gatewood Academy

The Cavaliers will look to bounce back from a road loss to Terrell Academy with a home game against nearby foe Gatewood.

Mount de Sales is off to a better start than in past seasons, though, going 2-2 through the first part of the season and gutting out one particularly impressive defensive win over Calvary Christian, 7-6. The Cavaliers lost 18 straight games before winning their final game last season, so a .500 record through four games is acceptable.

Gatewood is 2-2 as well, though the Gators enter the game following back-to-back wins instead of alternating victories and losses. They beat Loganville Christian Academy 40-0 two weeks ago before a close 16-13 win over Southland Academy in Week 4.

Mount de Sales will need to try to rekindle its defensive efforts from Weeks 1 and 3 to come away with a win in this one.

Rutland @ Hawkinsville

The winless Hurricanes struggled against Lamar County last week, dropping to 0-4 after a 62-7 beatdown at home. They’ll get one more chance to tune up before region play with a road game against Hawkinsville this week.

The 2-1 Red Devils got an impressive 41-16 win last week over Lanier County, though they did allow 47 points to Schley County in a loss the week prior. Coach Anthony Williams and Rutland will need to clean up penalties and hope they return some players from injuries to compete in this one.

FPD at Pinewood Christian

Two weeks ago, FPD went backwards at a dizzying pace thanks to a night of poor shotgun snaps combined with a flurry of penalties.

The result was 59 yards in losses and an 18-6 loss at previously winless St. Anne-Pacelli.

Things improved a bit a week later in FPD’s 6-3 win over Brookwood. Still, the Vikings are a team in some flux as they head down Interstate 16 to take on Pinewood Christian in a non-district matchup.

“Our defense is playing hard,” said FPD head coach Brett Collier, who was missing four regulars last week and had a few others not at 100%. “We’ve got to figure some things out on offense.

The Patriots broke into the win column last week with a 38-0 win over Class 2A Thomas Jefferson a week after leaving Macon with a 48-7 loss at the hands of Stratford.

The teams have played 13 times, FPD leading 9-4. Pinewood won in 2022 — the first meeting since 2007 — 34-28, the Vikings getting revenge 28-14 a year later.

Pinewood has been a poster child for stability. Head coach Keith Wasson has been there since 2004, succeeding Buck Cravey after 10 seasons.

Banks Booth is one of the top quarterbacks in the GIAA, completing 51 of 71 for 581 yards through three games with five touchdowns and an interception. He’s also a running threat with three rushing touchdowns.

FPD’s final non-district game is next week against visiting Westfield, before Region 6-3A play begins a week later at Mount de Sales.

-Michael A. Lough

Other key games

Stratford will try to stay undefeated on the road against Frederica Academy. Head coach Paul Carroll has the Eagles at 4-0 as the last unbeaten teams in Bibb County, though they still have games with cross-town rivals like FPD and Tattnall left on the schedule.

Windsor continues its foray back into 12-man football this week with a home game against Trinity Christian from Dublin this week. After an off week, the Knights will try and improve on their 2-1 start and bounce back from a tough loss to Augusta Day Prep in their most recent game.

Covenant plays Westminster Schools of Augusta this week at home, avoiding travel to the northeast in favor of hosting. The Rams are 1-2 thus far and may face a challenge, as the Wildcats scored 54 points in their win last week.