John Milledge Academy capped off homecoming week with a dominant 49-7 performance over Loganville Christian Academy last Friday night at Trojan Field in Milledgeville.
JMA dominated on both sides of the ball throughout the first half and scored 28 points in the opening quarter, alone.
Asa Wall had three scores in the first quarter. He got the Trojans started with a one-yard rushing touchdown on their first drive for a 7-0 lead. Quarterback Nathan Snow then threw two touchdown passes from 32 yards and 82 yards to Wall for the Trojans’ second and fourth TDs. Wall also blocked a Lions punt, which was then recovered by Parks Higham for the Trojans’ third touchdown of the quarter.
JMA running backs Jamel Cooper and Cayden Wingfield scored rushing TDs in the second quarter on carries of 60 and 22 yards, respectively. The Trojans scored all of their 49 points in the first half, allowing all starters to sit out the rest of the game.
Trojans head coach J.T. Wall said he was pleased with his team’s performance, especially given the distractions of Homecoming.
“We had a good week of practice. These guys have really been locked in, even though it was homecoming week, which is the most distracting week ever,” Wall said. “They locked in on the game and kind of understood what the focus was.”
Asa Wall’s performance could be considered his best so far this season, though some of his stats may not suggest it. Wall might not have made a lot of tackles or put up high rushing numbers; however, he did post four TDs in the first half, plus a blocked punt that led to a Trojans touchdown on the same play. Wall had a season-high 197 yards receiving on just four receptions, giving him 391 receiving yards on 15 receptions through five games so far this season.
The elder Wall is happy with his son’s performance but knows he’ll need to continue getting better each week if the Trojans are going to make it through their rigorous region schedule.
“He’s playing well,” Wall said of Asa. “He’s doing what he’s supposed to do. He’s gotta keep getting better each week, cleaning his craft up, whether it’s blocking, catching, playing defense, special teams. He’s trying to get better each day.”
Another Trojan with a great performance last Friday was Snow, who completed four-of-five passes for 149 yards passing and two touchdowns to bring his season total to 512 yards passing and five TD passes. But Wall still sees both Snow and Lane Rhodes, who played the second half against Loganville Christian, as quarterbacks 1A and 1B.
“He’s done a great job,” Wall said of Snow before adding, “Lane Rhodes has done a good job when he’s in there, too. He (Rhodes) threw a touchdown pass right there in the second quarter. Both guys still give us different aspects of the offense, so we’re still trying to figure all that out.”
The Trojans now turn their focus to hosting Brookstone. The Cougars went to the GIAA Class AAAA state title game with a 10-3 record last year, but they already have four losses this season.
The 1-4 Cougars have faced just two GIAA opponents and earned their first win of the season last week with a 58-0 rout of Central (Macon). Brookstone has shown potential on offense and is a run-heavy team.
Senior tailback Dillon Terry powers the Cougars’ running game with 501 yards rushing and eight touchdowns this season. Brookstone also has multiple defensive players with 40-plus tackles this season, including Charlie Peak with 2.5 sacks through five games.
JMA and Brookstone will kick off at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Trojan Field in Milledgeville.