Northeast Raiders Riding Momentum Into Week Six Region Matchup
The 3-1 Northeast Raiders look for four consecutive victories over the 4-0 ACE Gryphons Friday at Perkins Field
MACON, Georgia – (41NBC/WMGT) – As the high school football season nears its halfway mark, Week Six brings another round of region play, and the Northeast Raiders are carrying plenty of momentum into their next test.
The Raiders, now 3-1 under eighth-year head coach Jeremy Wiggins, are riding a three-game region win streak. The East Side squad has scored 100 points so far on offense while allowing only eight total points on defense. Seniors have stepped up on both sides of the ball, including standout defensive back Kortnei Williams, who has made a habit of snagging interceptions.
On offense, Northeast has shown more explosiveness than in past years, with skill players such as Reginal ‘Bam’ Glover, Jordan Durham, and Keandre Jackson fueling the attack. Freshman quarterback Jordan Wiggins has also made his mark, earning back-to-back Macon Touchdown Club honors. He set a county record with six touchdowns in a game earlier this season.
Coming off a bye week, the Raiders now prepare to travel to Gryphon Stadium for the first time since 2022. Last year, they rolled to a 46-0 victory in the matchup and have never lost to the Gryphons in the region series.
“They’re starting to pick up playing a whole lot better than they did Week One,” head coach Wiggins said. “Getting some confidence on the offensive side and defense were kind of flying around a little bit. So just progressing each week, that’s what I’ve been looking for each week, just getting better.”
Despite losing a couple of hard-hitting linebackers, the defense has maintained its physical edge. “We find we got some players that make up for it,” Williams said. “So we really still the same hard-playing physical defense.”
Freshman quarterback Jordan Wiggins admitted he still gets nerves before games. “Like, it’s fun coming from middle school, starting my high school, but like I am nervous before games and being a freshman,” he said. “I just want to go back to state like we did last year.”
The Raiders’ offensive players said this year’s unit brings more explosiveness to the field. “We don’t really run for it no more, we’re really explosive, more than last year,” Durham said. “So we’ll take the top off sometime, we can hand it off sometime. We really just messing it up this year.”
Receiver chemistry has also grown. “Glad I get more targets,” Jackson said. “You get the ball to work at practice. Sure we got chemistry together. We’ll be texting, so it feel great, man.”
Up front, the line is working to keep improving after losing veteran running back Nick Woodford. “We still working on our one trying to cut back like him and stuff, try to read more like him,” Glover said. “We gonna get a little explosive line, getting better blocking, block it down.”
Defensively, Williams remains confident in the Raiders’ ability to control the game. “They cool with their little running team. I watch film on their running team. But other than that, I’ve been seeing no pass play. I guess they disposing it because they know who I am, I’m going to get it. I really just feel confident in everything, just don’t throw the ball to me. Don’t throw my side. I want to see us put a donut on. Lead them to a donut. Gonna be good. Have a good game. Play, physical, hard, physical game and put on a show for the East Side. Man, East Side out loud. man.”
The Northeast Raiders aim for their fourth straight win in the fourth all-time matchup with the ACE Gryphons in The Endzone’s Week Six Game of the Week. Kickoff on Perkins Field at Gryphon Stadium is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Catch highlights from this game and many more, on The Endzone, during 41NBC News at 11 p.m. Tune into live pregame coverage from Perkins Field during 41NBC News at 5, 5:30, and 6 p.m.
