Northeast celebrates first state title game appearance with ‘Raider Walk’
The Northeast Raiders held their first ever 'Raider Walk' to celebrate the football team for making the GHSA State Championship
MACON, Georgia – (41NBC/WMGT) – The Northeast Raiders football team held their first ‘Raider Walk’ Monday morning to celebrate their accomplishment of making the Georgia High School Association Class A Division One State Championship Game for the first time in school history.
The team, led by the Raider Marching Band, Step Team, and Head Coach Jeremy Wiggins, made their way down the hallways of Florence Bernd, Martin Luther King Junior and Burdell-Hunt Elementary Schools, as well as Appling Middle School, and their very own Northeast High School, to be cheered on by fellow east side Maconites, as they prepare to head to Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the site of all GHSA State Championship games, to take on the Toombs County Bulldogs.
The community came together to help cheer on the Raiders squad ahead of the school’s first ever trip to the state championship game. It all started at 9 a.m. at the Northeast High School Cafeteria, when Northeast alum and Principal Donna Walker-Thompson showed her “language of love” and appreciation for the team with a huge breakfast for everyone. Walker-Thompson is excited for the Raiders and “the energy they have brought to this school” ahead of the title game appearance.
“When I say ‘Raider Pride’, it just means so much,” she said. “I’m just really proud, it is a dream come true. I remember talking to Coach Wiggins, probably four years ago, when I started here as a principal, and really talking about really building a program where we can see success along the way, and to be here in this moment, its just amazing!”
The principal went on to speak about the community impact on the future of the east side.
“To really see the community come out and support us in the tremendous ways, and when I say tremendous, it means, like everyday someone is reaching out to me wanting to do something for the school,” she said. “It speaks volumes to the rich heritage we have over here on the east side. It brings a lot of hope to the future and knowing what our kids can accomplish when they put their mind to it. I think even as we walk through the elementary school, and the middle school, what it does is it instills in those kids, ‘Hey, if I keep working really really hard, good things are going to happen for me,, and so it gives you all the feels. I can’t even really describe it, but it does. It’s amazing!”
Kickoff between Northeast and Toombs County in the GHSA Class A Division One State Championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium is set for Tuesday at 1 p.m.
