Class 6A Blog: McEachern football is poised for huge year three under coach Reid

McEachern has won a region title and produced back-to-back winning seasons in head coach Kareem Reid’s first two seasons at the helm, but the goals for year three of Reid’s tenure are set far higher than the combined 13-10 mark experienced over the last two campaigns. The 2023 season was defined by a resilient team that overcame an 0-4 start with seven-straight wins and earned a No. 1 seed in the playoffs before falling short to Camden County. In 2024, McEachern took a 6-4 record into the playoffs and dropped a heartbreaking 30-29 loss to Newton. Falling by one-point to a great Rams team in the first round and the narrow losses to Region 3 rivals Harrison (28-12) and Hillgrove (30-23) that resulted in a No. 3 seed were an unfortunate draw. All of that being said, the foundation under Reid has been firmly established during his first two seasons and now the lessons learned and experience gained is carrying over into 2025. 

The result is an ultra-talented roster with 40 total seniors, several newcomers that have transferred over to McEachern after leading their former teams and a healthy supply of underclassmen that are ready to step into the spotlight and contribute on both sides of the football. McEachern is a storied program that rarely flies under the radar because of its supreme talent, however, all of these positive elements combined with Reid entering year three is why I am considering the Indians to be one of the more underrated contenders heading into 2025. It is also why I predict this season to be the year that the grind and coach Reid’s vision will manifest itself in big ways. 

On paper, McEachern has the size, talent and ability to be great this season and the mindset of the team is another boost as Reid said it is his group’s mission each and every day to wake up and ‘choose violence’ and his offensive and defensive line parroted that motto and talked about their eagerness to impose their will on opponents this fall. Offensively, McEachern is led by third-year starter and Indiana-commit Jayreon Campbell. 4-star receiver and Nebraska-commit Nalin Scott is also back and will have Calvin Pittman returning at quarterback. On the offensive line, junior is a returning starter and will help the Indians accomplish their goal of establishing the run and playing a physical brand of football. Defensively, the Indians are perhaps even more talented and these two sides of the football have been going at it all offseason. Class of 2028 super star Casey Barner has come over from Douglass-Atlanta and will roam in the secondary, while the defensive line is stacked with Zakir Abdul-Salaam and Pebblebrook-transfer Darryl Rivers. 

McEachern is built to be a disruptive defense and if they can excel at stopping the run, then the Indians have the elite pass rushers, depth of rotation and top tier secondary to win a lot of games this fall. The Indians will be kicking off their 2025 season at Mercedes-Benz Stadium against the Walton Raiders and Reid will look to win his first season opener after dropping games to Brookwood and North Gwinnett the past two Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classics.