Stratford Academy Eagles Aim to Stay Perfect in Week Four Matchup
The 2-0 Eagles look for their 8th win in the all-time series against Wilkinson County
MACON, Georgia – (41BC/WMGT) – As Week Four continues, Stratford Academy is preparing for another matchup on The Endzone Friday night.
The Eagles are off to a 2-0 start, coming off two blowout victories in which they scored a combined 89 points while giving up just 22. Under second-year head coach Paul Carroll, Stratford looks to build on another strong start, much like 2024 when the Eagles opened the year 5-0.
Despite losing eight seniors from last season, Stratford remains a young squad with only five seniors on this year’s roster. One of them, running back Tyler Stephens, has been dominant, scoring four touchdowns last week while averaging more than 150 rushing yards per game. Stephens’ health has been a boost for the Eagles after he battled through a broken leg last season.
Sophomore quarterback Tucker Johnston has managed games efficiently, throwing four touchdowns this season, including several to his brother, Jett, who has three scores of his own. Johnston has turned the ball over just once, matching Carroll’s emphasis on discipline while their defense has forced six takeaways in two games.
Stratford now heads into the eighth all-time meeting with the Warriors, looking to remain unbeaten both in the series and on the season.
“I tell you, you know, the biggest thing this offseason, we’re still in the weight room, trying to get strong,” Carroll said. “We’re trying to get bigger, and the mental toughness is a thing I’m really working on. And then these kids have worked all summer long. They’ve done everything we’ve asked them to do. We did early morning workouts, basically, and they responded in a great way, and it’s helped us out this year, as far as being able to go 2-0. We are a young football team. The biggest thing is, you know, we’ve got to improve each each day and each week. And that’s something that we’re stressin big time. Big thing is, you got to win on the road. And we did that last week and, and it took us a little while to get going. I think, you know, the first half, it was 13 to three and, and all that’s mental. And, you know, I think we had some guys that understood they weren’t ready and taking a long bus ride. And, you know, kids, sometimes they tend to want to look at their their phones a little bit too much. They want to kind of cut up and play. And I think they understand now that we can’t do that. We got to get focused and be ready to play a football game.”
Stephens said Carroll’s approach has pushed the team forward.
“Coach Carroll, he coaches us hard. He makes sure we in the weight room, and off the field, we got a good relationship and other things like that,” Stephens said. “I think I got more physical. I’ve been able to play on the defensive side of the ball, so that’s pretty good. Football all about physicality, whatever I can do to help my team out. You know, the o-line will make some key blocks. I score often, automatic.”
Carroll added that the Eagles will need toughness against their next opponent.
“We got to play physical,” Carroll said. “I mean, they’re a real good football team, even though their record’s not showing it. They’re very explosive on offense, and they’ve got some guys on defense that are running around and can hit you, and we’ve got to hit them back, and we can’t flinch. We got to come out and be ready to play our football game, which is, you know, just tough, hard, nosed football.”
The Stratford Eagles take on the Wilkinson County Warriors Friday, with a kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Tune into highlights from this game, along with several others, on The Endzone on 41NBC News at 11 p.m.
