Football Recap: Tyler Niehr Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Wheeler + How To Watch

North Paulding won the last time they faced Wheeler and things went their way on Friday too. The Wolfpack strolled past the Wildcats with points to spare, taking the game 43-29. Given the Wolfpack's advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia football rankings (they are ranked 49th, while the Wildcats are ranked 127th) , the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

North Paulding's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Tyler Niehr led the charge by throwing for 169 yards and four touchdowns. Those four passing touchdowns gave Niehr a new career-high. North Paulding's leading receiver Presley Carr was Niehr's top target yet again, picking up 90 receiving yards and three TDs.

Wesley Rakestraw

Sacks

10/17/25 @ Wheeler	3
10/03/25 vs Etowah	0.50
09/19/25 vs North Cobb	1
09/12/25 @ Cherokee	2
08/22/25 @ East Paulding	2

North Paulding's defense stepped up as well, laying out Patrick McCollough 6.5 times. In that department, Wesley Rakestraw was the leader with three sacks. Thanks to that big game, he is now up to 8.5 sacks on the season. North Paulding got some further help from Grant Henderson: he picked up 1.5 sacks and made five total tackles (3.0 for loss).

Despite the loss, Wheeler still got an impressive performance from Greg Kendrick, who rushed for 257 yards and three scores while picking up 15.1 yards per carry, and also picked up 66 receiving yards and one touchdown. Kendrick really tore up the turf during one magnificent 75-yard run. Another player making a difference was McCollough, who threw for 178 yards and one TD.

North Paulding is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games. That's provided a nice bump to their 6-2 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 38.0 points over those games. As for Wheeler, their loss was their third straight at home, which dropped their record down to 3-6.

Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. North Paulding will host Walton at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The Wolfpack will need to watch out since the Raiders have now posted at least 31 points in their last four contests. As for Wheeler, they will get a bit of extra time to process the defeat as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on North Cobb at 7:30 p.m. on the 30th.