John Milledge Academy (4-0) continued its winning ways last Friday with a crushing 63-13 victory over Frederica Academy (1-3).
The JMA Trojans had six players reach the Knights’ end zone, led by senior quarterback Briggs Eady and freshman running back Carsyn Baker.
Eady and Baker combined for six touchdowns in the lop-sided victory. Eady finished the contest completing 3-of-7 passes for 85 yards and a TD. He also had two rushes for 67 yards and two scores. Baker had a breakout game, rushing for a team-and-career-high total of 161 yards on 11 attempts with three touchdowns.
“Carsyn’s learning how to play. He brings a lot to the table as far as athleticism, speed and power,” Trojans head coach J.T. Wall said. “He’s becoming the complete (running) back, learning how to block and catch. His vision is really good for a 9th-grader, and he’s got some breakaway speed that he is not afraid to use.”
JMA did what it does best against Frederica Academy, which is score fast and score often.
The Trojans didn’t waste any time, putting up 29 points in the first quarter, and then adding 21 in the second to lead the Knights of St. Simons Island 50-0 at the half.
John Milledge scored on its opening drive, going 70 yards in just a matter of minutes. Trojans’ junior running back Javian Butts broke off a long run, and a few plays later Eady punched it in from 3-yards out. Jacob Noles then tacked on the PAT.
Frederica’s first possession started on its 29-yard line and the Knights would gain some ground as quarterback Sutton Ellis connected with Jordan Triplett, setting them up inside JMA territory at the 40-yard line. But the Trojans’ defense stood tall, forcing a turnover on downs a few plays later.
Eady took matters into his own hands again, but this time going for a 64-yard rushing TD. Eady then converted a 2-point conversion with his feet, placing all the pressure on Frederica Academy as JMA jumped out to a 15-0 lead.
The Trojans forced the Knights to punt on the next drive. They continued their dominance as Baylen Zielinski then showed off his footwork, rushing for a 25-yard score. Noles drilled the PAT and JMA led 22-0 at the 3:45 mark of the first quarter.
It didn’t get any better for the Knights, as 5-foot-9, 160-pound defensive back Bud Veal went up and grabbed his second interception of the season on Frederica’s next possession. Then Butts added insult to injury as he evaded defenders and found his way into the end zone. His 32-yard TD run gave the Trojans a 29-0 lead after Noles’ made the PAT.
Eady’s only TD pass through the air came at the start of the second quarter after he stood tall in the pocket before eventually finding Butts for a 46-yard, run-and-score play to make it 36-0.
The Knights offense still couldn’t find a successful way to move the ball in the second quarter. Ellis was constantly pressured by the fast-moving JMA defense until Kolt McMichael came up with a big stop on fourth down for another turnover on downs.
It didn’t take long for Andrew Mullis to cross the goal line, becoming the fifth Trojan player to score to that point. JMA led 43-0 with six minutes left in the first half. Baker capped off the high-scoring, first-half frenzy with a 2-yard rushing TD.
Baker’s explosiveness in-between- the tackles led the freshman running back to break off a long run in the middle of the third that led him to the end zone on a 63-yard TD rush. His final score would come in the fourth quarter with eight minutes remaining, as Baker took a handoff and went 40 yards to the end zone.
Frederica Academy was limited to 271 yards of total offense. The Knights’ high-powered rushing attack averaged only 3.7 yards per attempts against the Trojans.
Meanwhile, JMA scored a season-high 63 points. The Trojans also racked up 498 yards of total offense against the Knights, which also marked a season-high for the team. Their explosive offense is averaging 50.25 points through their first four games of the 2022 season.
On the other hand, the Trojans’ defensive unit has also been dominant. They are only allowing an average of just 6.75 points per contest to opposing offenses through four games.
JMA obviously is in good shape heading into its matchup with the Brookwood Warriors (2-2) this Friday.
“Coach (Shane) Boggs does a great job of trying to attack you through the air,” Wall said of his Brookwood counterpart. “They throw it on almost every down. He does a great job of trying to create mismatches and find holes in opposing defenses. So, defensively we’ve got to be prepared to be in the right spot and play sound defense.”
According to the Georgia High School Football Historians Association, the last time these two programs met was in 2012 when the Trojans bested the Warriors 30-6 in that matchup.
This will be JMA’s first real road test of the season. The Trojans will travel nearly four hours south to Thomasville for this GIAA matchup with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m.