With their most recent win over the Mount de Sales Cavaliers, the John Milledge Academy Trojans are just one win away from capturing their 21st all-time region title.
The Trojans and Cavs played a close first quarter last Friday, but JMA pulled away before halftime to lead 56-12 en route to a 63-12 victory, improving their record to 9-0.
Now, the Trojans will prepare for their toughest test of the season, as they head back to Macon to meet the Stratford Eagles for the region title. The Eagles are 7-1 and have gone undefeated since their loss to GHSA member Whitefield Academy on Sep. 11 of this year. The Eagles have the secondbest defense in points allowed, trailing only JMA, which allows an average 8.5 points per game. But, the Eagles do hold the advantage for most points per game with a 39.8 points average, good enough for the third-most among all GIAA schools. JMA averages 37.9 for the seventh-most among all GIAA schools.
The two programs have a short history with each other, though, having met only nine times. The Trojans will look to knot the all-time series at five wins apiece on Friday night.
Getting back to last Friday night’s Mt. de Sales game, the Trojans’ ground game was led by a running-back-by-committee after Jamel Cooper was sidelined by an ankle injury in the second quarter.
Cooper had six carries for 55-yards and one touchdown. Grayson Kile was the biggest surprise for the Trojans on Friday night. The freshman tailback rushed for a team-leading 97 yards and one touchdown on nine carries in the second half.
Quarterback Nathan Snow completed five-of-seven passes for 161 yards and two TDs, both to tight end Asa Wall. Wall caught three passes for 106 yards, while also rushing for 44 yards and two scores.
However, the biggest highlights of the night came on the defensive side of the ball, where Parker Soltay and Abe Gainous both intercepted passes for touchdowns extending the Trojans’ leads to 21-6 and 56-12, respectively.
The Trojans sacked the MDS quarterbacks twice and made eight tackles for loss, holding the Cavs running game to -19 yards rushing.
JMA head coach J.T. Wall said he was pleased with his team’s performance aside from some early mistakes.
“Minus the 12 points we gave up early on, but they were two busts,” Wall said. “That’s what’s kind of scared us, we’ve had some busts all year and they’ve led to touchdowns so that’s something we’ve got to clean up if we want to win this whole thing and we’ve got our hands full this week with Stratford.
“They’re the toughest team we’ve seen all year. We know it’s gonna be a war next week.”
Regardless, Wall added that he was very pleased to see his defense bounce back from the early mistakes and was impressed by the reserve players who pitched a second-half shutout to preserve the 63-12 victory “They played really well,” Wall said. “Those guys practice everyday just like everybody else. Good to see those guys flying around and scoring some points and making some tackles.”
Wall also gave praise to his team’s senior-led offensive line, which led the way for 230-yards rushing on Friday night.
“A lot of credit to those guys up front, those senior guys up front on senior night to block the way they’ve blocked all year,” Wall said. “You can do a lot of things when you’ve got a front like that.”
The younger Wall echoed his fathers sentiments, saying he doesn’t believe their best is behind them but ahead of them.
“I think we’ll play a better game throughout the year," Asa Wall said.