With a seventh straight season-opening win in the rearview mirror, Ware County will look to go 2-0 for the sixth time in eight years under head coach Jason Strickland when they meet Class 6A Coffee High Friday night in the 54th playing of the “Border War” at Jardine Stadium. The Gators enter off a hard-fought 22-21 victory over a Bainbridge team under the direction of a new coach and still remembering a 55-7 beatdown to start the 2025 campaign. The narrow win propelled Strickland’s team to a 10th-place slot in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Class 5A Top 10. WCHS was unranked entering the season for the first time since 2019.
Coffee kicked off its season in Atlanta at the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic at Georgia State’s Center Parc Stadium against Parkview. The Tro- No. 10 WCHS meets No. 10 Coffee in Douglas for 54th time jans, unranked in the preseason, rolled to a 49- 14 beatdown to earn a No. 10 ranking in the AJC’s Class 6A Top 10 poll. The last time Ware County (1- 0) split the first two games of the season was 2024. The Gators started that year with a 40- 10 road win at Appling County and followed with a 20-16 road loss at Coffee. The scenario is the same heading into Friday’s contest with W a r e County entering with the seasonopening road win ahead of the trip to Douglas. The Trojans hold a 30- 23 lead in the series dating back to 1970. There has only been two twoyear breaks in the series — 1990-91 and 2006-07 over the previous 57 years.
History between the two programs predates 1970
