JMA Trojans win 28-20 over Deerfield-Windsor
It was a night of celebration last Friday night in Macon for the John Milledge Academy Trojans, who captured their fifth state title in the past seven seasons.
The Trojans brought the victory home to Milledgeville by defeating Deerfield-Windsor 28-20, led by an incredible effort from running back Duke Hurt. Hurt rushed for a careerhigh 282 yards on 29 carries and reached the endzone three times.
On defense, Asa Wall led the charge for JMA with 11 total tackles, including nine solo and two assisted, with one tackle for loss.
“We just kept working,” JMA head coach J.T. Wall said after the game. “Our guys have got a never say quit attitude, and they kept working.
“I just can’t say enough about this small group of seniors we’ve got and these underclassmen who grew up this year. They’ve been through a lot of hard games this year, playing the schedule we played, being battle tested with all the teams we played. The region schedule and the non-region schedule got us ready to play for this tonight.”
The Trojans came out playing great football from the first snap. After receiving the opening kickoff, quarterback Lewis Cheney hit wide receiver Bryce McDonel on a 30-yard pass completion to set the Trojans up at the Knights’ 35-yard line. Just a couple of plays later, Hurt had his first score of the night on an 18-yard run to give the Trojans the early 7-0 lead after Allman Burrell’s PAT kick.
Deerfield, though, answered back quickly with their own 18-yard score a few plays later as quarterback Lane Sceals connected with receiver Gabe Daniels. The Knights missed the PAT, however, and trailed 7-6.
That score lasted until late in the second quarter when JMA tight end Wall carried a direct snap 34 yards to scoring position at the Knights’ 34-yard line.
A few plays later the Trojans reached the one-yard line, where Wall received the handoff and dove through the defensive line for the Trojans’ second score of the night, giving JMA a 14-6 halftime lead.
Deerfield received the ball to start the third quarter and made the most of the opportunity, scoring on a 35-yard pass.
In an effort to tie the game, the Knights then attempted a two-point conversion, but the pass fell short, and the score remained 14-12.
The Trojans’ offense stalled out on JMA’s first possession of the second half on a fourth-down conversion attempt; however, the Knights did the same and turned the ball back over to John Milledge with three minutes left in the third quarter.
That was all Hurt needed as he got the Trojans’ offense going with a long run down to Deerfield’s 37-yard line that put the Trojans back into scoring territory. The drive ended with Hurt’s second rushing touchdown of the night and another extra point for a 21-12 lead.
With the Trojans firmly back in control of the game, Hurt helped make sure it was put away with his third and final score on a 20-yard rushing touchdown to give JMA a 28-12 lead with just four minutes left in the game.
Deerfield’s offense did not give up, though, and again scored on a 54-yard touchdown pass to Daniels. The Knights followed up with a successful two-point conversion to make it a 28-20 ballgame, but time was not on their side.
Deerfield attempted an onside kick but failed to recover, so all the Trojans had to do was take a knee to down to run out the clock and win the game and the championship.
However, Cheney bobbled the snap from under center and with just under a minute left on the clock the ball went back to Deerfield.
Inthefinalbigplayof thegame,JMAdefensive back Malik Dorsey intercepted a Knights pass over the middle to effectively secure the win. Cheney then made the final kneel down and the Trojans officially came away victorious in the state championship for the sixth time in the program’s history.
“It was awesome.” Wall said of the emotions on the Trojans’ sideline. “And Malik sealed the deal last week against Frederica with an interception. I just can’t say enough about the way this defense played.”
Wall was also open on his feelings about what this year’s team achieved.
“I think they overachieved immensely,” Wall admitted. “I know that the preseason rankings in MaxPreps, we were number one for some reason, I don’t why. But these guys got better each week.
“We kept saying they (JMA) haven’t played their best ballgame yet, and we felt like tonight they put four quarters together — and we had to put four together — to win. I just can’t say enough about the way they come to work and the way they come to practice every day. I just love every one of them.”