Ware County kicks off Region 1AAAAA Friday night hosting winless Groves inside the hallowed grounds of Memorial Stadium.
The Gators (1-2) enter the matchup off a heart-breaking 13-7 loss when Richmond Hill’s linebacker Jaylon Deal blocked the last-second, gamewinning field goal attempt and senior Eli Grant rambled 95 yards for the touchdown. The victory was the first in 10 tries for the Wildcats against Ware County.
“They (Wildcats) do a tremendous job of blocking kicks,” said Ware County head coach Jason Strickland. “They blocked three against Effingham County and two against Jenkins (Savannah).”
The Gators’ 1-2 worksheet is the first time they have lost two of their first three games since Strickland’s first season in 2019. It’s just the third time in the past 11 seasons.
The two-game slide is Ware County’s second in four years (2023). The Gators have not lost three straight since beginning the 2017 season 0-4.
With the 1-2 ledger, Ware County has split its last 10 games and are 8-10 since a 2023 loss to Coffee in the regular season finale.
With key injured players working back into game shape, Friday’s matchup with Groves (03) could be just what is needed to wake up a struggling offense. The Rebels, who have lost 99 of their last 107 games since posting a 6-4 record in 2014, enter riding a 19-game losing streak dating back to 2024.
“Groves has a new football coach (Howard Jordan),” said Strickland. “He’s trying to put his stamp on the program and give the team an identity. I think he is still searching.
“We’re not going to make any excuses using injuries or youthfulness causing us to struggle. We’ve just got to execute better, we’ve got to coach better and we’ve got to play better. We can’t point fingers — it’s all 100 people inside the locker room from players to coaches.
“Right now, it’s everybody working together to figure this out. We’ve got to truly trust one another and play for one another.”
Jordan served as the defensive coordinator and assistant coach at Westside High School in Macon before being hired to lead the Rebels. He was also co-defensive coordinator at Irwin County High School (winning back-to-back state titles in 2019 and 2020), plus he had stints at Hephzibah, Lithonia, and Greenville.
Groves has been outscored 49.8 to 13.1 during its recent skid including 44.7 to 8 this season after falling 36-24 to Islands, 63-0 to Brunswick and 40-0 in its last outing to Beach. Over the past 107 games, the Rebels have lost by an average score of 42.9 to 8.9.
The meeting is the first since 2013 when the two teams were Region 3AAAAA members. The two teams have split the four-game series with Groves winning 20-14 in 1966 and 49-6 in 1967. The Gators rolled 41-0 in 2012 and 62-6 in 2013.
Junior D.J. Ferraro directs the Rebels’ offensive scheme, which operates in the spread and out of the Pistol. Senior Taff James is the featured back.
“They are doing a lot things offensively while searching as to what suits them,” Strickland said. “Right now, we’re not worried about what Groves does because there are so many things we have to do better on both sides of the ball.
“We’ve (coaches) have got to figure out us. We played pretty good on the defensive side of the ball against Richmond Hill. Miscues on special teams hurt us.”
Defensively, the generous Groves’ 4-3 scheme is led by its linebacker corps. Sophomore Jabary Pickney (two tackles for loss, one fumble recovery) and junior Erin Brown lead the team with 11 tackles apiece. Junior Tyler George has seven stops.
In the secondary, sophomore cornerback Marquis Bostick has eight stops. Senior free safety Jamarie Mozone has two interceptions. Junior cornerback Jeremiah Washington also has an interception.
“We had our best night offensively against Richmond Hill and scored one touchdown,” said Strickland. “We had 300 yards of offense. We’re not finishing drives because of execution and mental mistakes.
“We get down to the one and think we’re going to punch the ball in. We end up having to try and kick a field goal because we couldn’t get one yard for a touchdown. There are a lot things that need correcting.”
Strickland said Friday night will be about the Ware County Gators.
“It doesn’t matter if its Groves or Statesboro or Benedictine on the other side,” said Strickland. “We’ve got to go in with a mindset of us being ready to play and execute in all three phases of the game — offense, defense and special teams. It’s one game at a time now. We can’t worry about who the opponent is.”
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