Northeast Raiders Open 2025 Season With High Expectations Taking on Peach County in 2024 rematch
The Raiders are coming off a 12-3 season where they fell short in the GHSA A D-1 State Championship, taking on the Peach County Trojans in our Week One Game of the Week
MACON, Georgia – (41NBC/WMGT) – When it comes to Middle Georgia high school football, few programs have proven themselves more recently than the Northeast Raiders.
The boys from the east side are coming off their first-ever GHSA Class A Division I state championship appearance in school history and are hungry to return.
The Raiders approach the 2025 season without 13 seniors who were critical to last year’s 12-3 team, including offensive standouts Nick Woodford and Zahkie Denson, as well as defensive playmaker Santana Balkcom.
Head coach Jeremy Wiggins, entering his eighth season, said he believes his defense can help put the offense in good positions this year. Three defensive players earned All-State honors from Recruit Georgia, senior defensive lineman Amari White and junior defensive backs Keiland Miley and Kortnei Williams.
Northeast will take that defense on the road Friday to face Peach County in a rematch of last year’s season opener, a loss in the Gridiron Classic at Fort Valley State University.
Wiggins said the team has made big strides since that loss and hopes they can make it back to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for another shot at the title.
“Just different guys, different faces that you’ll get to see this year,” Wiggins said. “We want to keep the same goals and standards each year, take it game by game, win the region, get to the playoffs and make a run. We had a good summer workout, so we’ll be a whole lot more prepared going into the Peach County game. Peach County has a rich tradition of winning, so we just want to go out and compete at a high level and play four quarters of good football.”
Senior linebacker Tayvon Shivers said the team’s mindset is clear.
“The expectation this year is basically step up everything, clean up some of our minor mistakes from last year and try to win the state championship,” Shivers said. “We’re super hungry this year, looking to get some get-back. Our defense’s expectations are up here, and we’re trying to stay there, keep up our work and stay consistent. We’re ready to go crazy.”
Our Week One Game of the Week matchup between the Northeast Raiders and the Peach County Trojans is Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Trojan stadium. Tune into to 41NBC news at 5, 5:30, and 6 p.m. for live pregame coverage.
