John Milledge Academy (5-1) pulled out a 31-28 nail biter last Friday night at Trojan Field in Milledgeville against the Brentwood Eagles, thanks to key plays by Bryce McDonel and Asa Wall in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
“It was good,” said Trojans head coach J.T. Wall. “It’s a rivalry game, we knew they were jacked up for this game to play us. I think they might have been a little more up for it than we were, but that’s the good thing about our guys right now is that they’re taking it week by week because with our schedule we can’t afford to lock in on one game four weeks down the road, we’ve got to lock in on what we’ve got right now. But I’m really proud of the way our guys responded.”
In the first quarter JMA failed to move far enough down the field to score. Instead, they surrendered a long drive by the Eagles offense that led to a field goal and a 3-0 lead for Brentwood. On the next possession, after being sacked, JMA quarterback Lewis Cheney tossed a 13-yard touchdown pass to Bryce McDonel to give the Trojans their first lead of the night, 7-3. JMA quickly added on to the lead when Asa Wall completed a 29-yard rushing touchdown to make the score 14-3.
Brentwood answered back before halftime, however, with a 54-yard touchdown pass that cut the Trojans’ lead to 14-10.
The scoring continued with JMA getting its second touchdown in the final five minutes of the half when Cheney connected with Asa Wall on a 25-yard touchdown pass to take a 21-10 lead into halftime.
“We thought we were just going to come out in the second half and just lean on them and put them away,” JMA coach Wall said after the game. “But Coach Moore does a great job of motivating his guys over there and they kept fighting and it was a heck of a game, and we’re just proud of the way our guys played.”
Brentwood showed strong fight early in the third quarter, driving to the Trojans 18-yard line before kicking a 28-yard field goal to chip away JMA’s lead to 21-13.
In the fourth quarter, Brentwood broke down the door, scoring 15-straight points to reclaim the lead. For the first time their first drive of the opening quarter.
Down 28-24 in the final minute of the game, the Trojans were able to reach the redzone, and with a 15-yard pass from Cheney to McDonel, the Trojans reclaimed the lead. JMA then held the Eagles offense at bay on the final play with a sack by Wall to run out the clock. to improve the Trojans record to 5-1.
“They’re a good ball club,” Wall said of Brentwood. “I don’t think we had a ton of self-inflicted wounds like we’ve had up to this point, I just think it had more to do with how good they are. They’re the best team in double-A by far.”
JMA will host the Stratford Eagles at Trojan Field this Friday for its first region game of the 2025 season. The Trojans and Eagles both head into the matchup with five wins and.