Caption
Northeast running back Nick Woodford (6) leaps over a defender during the Raiders’ 46-14 win over Fitzgerald in Friday night’s GHSA state semifinal game.
Credit: Jason Vorhees / The Melody
Section Branding
Header Content
Northeast dominates in semifinal to earn Bibb County’s first GHSA Football Championship game berth in 49 years
Primary Content
The shoulder-to-shoulder crowd at Thompson Stadium in East Macon, likely one of the biggest turnouts the joint had seen in decades, warded off the cold in a variety of ways during the Northeast Raiders’ dominant semifinals performance Friday night.
Hoodies underneath jackets, ski masks and even pea coats could be spotted as temperatures dropped into the 30s at kickoff. But the most eye-catching out of all the cold weather apparel were the Northeast varsity jackets.
Many of the alumni in the stands donned the red-and-yellow coats, most with a graduation year emblazoned on the sleeve: some from as recently as 2023, others from years beginning with 19.
Raiders head coach Jeremy Wiggins wore his varsity jacket — a jacket pilling with age and seemingly well-loved, a jacket with no graduation year but instead patches denoting postseason wins from his days as a player — on the sideline as his Northeast squad rolled to a historic victory, defeating powerhouse Fitzgerald 46-14 to become the first Bibb County team to reach the championship game in 49 years.
“It felt good. Every time you got on social media in the past two days, you saw… ‘Come out and support Northeast,’” Wiggins said of seeing varsity jackets in the stands. “Everybody was excited, and they showed up. The traffic was backed up, the concession stand line was long, getting in with two gates it was long, but it was worth it. Now we’re playing for a state championship.”
That last championship appearance — the Central Chargers in 1975 — was also the last trophy a Bibb County school ever snagged, as Central won the chip that fateful year. Northeast will look to end the drought in the title bout against Toombs County Dec. 17.
Wiggins repeated one simple mantra to an elated Northeast huddle after the final horn sounded.
“Four down, one to go.”
Star running back Nick Woodford highlighted the Raiders’ offense yet again. He finished with 315 rushing yards and five total touchdowns, four in the ground and another on a pass. The Raiders and their high-powered offense jumped out to an early lead and never looked back.
“He did a good job of being patient… but the guys up front, man, if they give him a crease, one or two creases, he’s gonna find it because he’s a complete running back,” Wiggins said of his star. “We’re excited for him and for the o-line.”
Wiggins said the reality of the win never set in until the last two minutes. Woodford had a different take.
“The first play of the game, when I broke for (48 yards), I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m warmed up. I see they ain’t ready to play tonight on defense,’” Woodford said. “From there we just had to continue to attack and just do what we do. Short and sweet.”
The star rusher’s gut feeling was right. Northeast’s offensive line had its way with the Fitzgerald defensive front, opening running lanes for Woodford with ease. Quarterback Reginald “Bam” Glover hit some open holes himself, but two timely touchdown passes were his biggest highlights.
The fans helped out the defense, too.
“I was shocked man, I was shocked,” said linebacker Tailen Sampson, who came up with several key tackles as Northeast managed to shut Fitzgerald out in the first half. “Everyone popped out in all black, we loved it. Got good fans… it brings so much energy, they get us fired up. Make us wanna play harder… and we made history.”
Sampson, an anchor for the Raiders all year along with fellow linebacker Santana Balkcom, helped bottle up Purple Hurricane quarterback Victor Copeland.
The Raiders will take the trip up to Atlanta Tuesday, Dec. 17 to play in the state championship game at the Falcons’ Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Similar to how the blowout victory took a moment to land, it might take a minute for that reality to set in for the Raiders.
“Maybe Monday or Tuesday,” Wiggins said.
The players agreed.
“Yeah, it might take a couple days,” Sampson said. “It hasn’t really hit me yet. But we’re going to the Benz… gotta get that ring.”
Success from start to finish
If not for copious pre-snap penalties, the first half was virtually all Raiders.
Fitzgerald got the ball to start and the Northeast defense came out hot to force a three-and-out. A 48-yard Woodford run positioned the Raiders for a field goal that put them up 3-0 early.
The Purple Hurricane managed one first down on the next drive but still had to punt after just five plays. Some more solid runs by Woodford and Glover moved them downfield before Jackson slipped past three defenders unchecked and snagged Glover’s pass for the game’s first touchdown from 51 yards out.
With a 10-0 lead, the Raider defense stayed locked in. With the help of a blindside block by Fitzgerald, it was another quick punt for the Purple Hurricane.
Northeast took its next drive into the second quarter with some chunk plays, but a barrage of penalties set them back too much and forced the first Raiders punt of the night.
Both teams traded empty possessions before Fitzgerald made a dire mistake midway through the second quarter. On a handoff inside the Purple Hurricane’s own 20-yardline, Copeland fumbled the ball back to the Raiders to give them great field position. Northeast needed just one play, a great fake QB run that ended up a pass from Glover to Woodford, to punch it in from 27 yards out.
Everything was going the Raiders’ way — even a botched PAT became a two-point conversion when Jackson reeled in a wobbly pass from the holder to make it 18-0.
Still, Northeast had plenty of chances to tack on before the first half ended. A whopping 12 penalties set the Raiders back handily. Another Copeland fumble gave Northeast a good scoring chance, but Glover fumbled it himself right at the goalline to let Fitzgerald off the hook and keep the score at 18-0 going into the locker room.
Woodford finished the first half with 170 rushing yards and a touchdown reception.
The Raiders looked crisp after the break, getting the ball back and punching it in to make it 25-0.
Just then, though, came Northeast’s only blip of the night. Copeland finally broke away for an 80-yard touchdown run in one play on Fitzgerald’s next drive. The Purple Hurricane drew closer after the Raider offense stalled on the ensuing drive, as another touchdown made it 25-14 with about eight minutes still left in the third quarter.
The momentum swing would not last, however, and Nick Woodford made sure of it.
After an onside kick luckily bounced out of bounds before Fitzgerald could recover, Woodford took the ball on four straight plays and marched 64 yards all by himself. His last run brought him to paydirt and extended Northeast’s lead to 32-14 with three minutes left in the quarter.
From there, Northeast found its footing again. The defense kept making stops and Woodford made two more house calls before coming out of the game for good in the fourth quarter. The Purple Hurricane managed no more points and the Raiders came away with the 46-14 win.
This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with The Macon Melody.
Secondary Content
Author
Bottom Content
