>> JOHN MILLEDGE ACADEMY
The Trojans’ perfect season continued with their first playoff win last Friday, beating the visiting Tiftarea Panthers 48-19 behind a strong game on offense and equally good performance on defense.
The Trojans recorded three passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns, plus a kick return for a score.
John Milledge Academy (JMA) head coach J.T. Wall has been stressing the Trojans needed to score more non-offensive touchdowns and his team finally was able to respond when Jalan Butts went 75 yards for the Trojans’ fourth touchdown.
Quarterback Kolt McMichael threw for three touchdowns against the Panthers, tied for second most in a game for his career. McMichael connected with Jalan Butts once and twice with Bud Veal.
“I felt we came out and played and found a way to win,” Wall said. “We had to kind of change the game plan after the first series. They were adjusted to some of the things we thought we would be able to do, but we felt like our guys made some good adjustments on the fly and came out and played well.”
The Trojans got the ball to start the night but had an unusually bad drive and punted to Tiftarea. The Panthers’ first drive then ended quickly when JMA defensive back Jaden Dorsey intercepted a pass to set the Trojans up at the Tiftarea 33-yard line.
McMichael connected with Jalan Butts for a 31-yard touchdown and the extra point kick by Jacob Noles kick was good. JMA went downfield after Tiftarea’s first punt of the night, leading to McMichael passing to Veal for a 22-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead near the end of the first quarter.
Though all the momentum was on the home team’s side, the visiting Panthers pushed back and went the length of the field. The drive was capped by a John Robert Walker rushing touchdown for Tiftarea to cut the lead to 14-6. Tiftarea attempted a two-point conversion that failed, so the score lasted until the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Javian Butts returned momentum to JMA with a couple of good runs, including a 17-yarder to score and return a double-digit lead to the Trojans, followed by the extra point after to make it 21-6.
With about five minutes left in the opening half, Walker punched through from a couple of yards out to score, but another two-point conversion attempt was turned back by JMA, retaining a 21-12 lead for the Trojans.
That lead expanded, however, as soon as play resumed, with Jalan Butts getting his second touchdown of the night by returning the Tiftarea kickoff for his first special teams touchdown of the season.
The Trojans were not done, though, and headed into halftime with a 35-12 lead after McMichael tossed his third touchdown of the night with a 39-yard pass to Veal.
Jayden Dorsey and David Todd highlighted JMA's second-half defensive performance while Javian Butts and Jamel Cooper both had rushing touchdowns to highlight the Trojans’ dominant second half and secure a spot in the 2023 GIAA state semifinals games.
The Trojans head to the semis for their sixth straight season, where they will face a familiar foe in the Pinewood Patriots. Pinewood survived a high-scoring battle against Brookwood last Friday, pulling off a 68-61 win to advance in the playoffs.
The Trojans defeated the Patriots 49-33 on the road in Bellville earlier this season. This time around, the two teams will face off in Milledgeville at 7:30 p.m. Friday for a chance to reach the state championship game in Macon.