John Milledge Academy is heading back to Mercer’s Five Star Stadium in Macon to play for the state title for a fifth-straight season after defeating Valwood 49-14 on Friday.
The Trojans jumped on the Valiants early and led 35-0 at the end of the first quarter, leaving JMA head coach JT Wall pleased with how his team performed.
“It was one of those games where we had everything going early. In all phases of the game,” Wall said. “The ball was bouncing our way and the guys were doing what they were supposed to do [on the field]. They were clicking and kudos to these guys.”
The Trojans received the ball to start the game and scored in just a couple of plays. They moved the ball methodically against Valwood’s defensive unit on the first drive and capped it off with running back Javian Butts scoring from 14 yards out.
JMA’s defense forced a three-and-out on the next drive and resumed possession with good field position. That’s when senior quarterback Briggs Eady connected with Bud Veal for a 59-yard run-and-score. The Trojans led 14-0 early in the first quarter.
The Valiants again couldn’t get anything going offensively on the next drive and punted it away, which led to a third consecutive TD for JMA. This time it was Jalan Butts scoring from two yards out on a toss sweep, putting the Trojans up 21-0 with 4:45 left.
Wall explained it’s beneficial having multiple offensive weapons that can reach the end zone.
“We were able to get multiple looks on both sides of the ball,” Wall added. “The more things we can make people prepare for, it makes us harder to defend [against].”
JMA would score two more TDs before the end of the first quarter. Senior Andrew Mullis would follow up Butts’ score with a pick-six on the ensuing Valiants’ drive. He caught the ball off a teammate’s helmet and raced toward the goal line.
After forcing another punt, the Trojans drove the ball down inside Valwood’s red zone. Javian Butts again crossed the goal line, scoring from 10 yards out. Jacob Noles tacked on his fifthstraight extra point and JMA held a commanding 35-0 lead.
Eady tossed his second TD pass of the night in the second quarter. He hit Jalan Butts for a 57-yard connection that went for six. Javian Butts then reached the end zone and capped off the scoring for the Trojans with a two-yard TD rush.
Wall highlighted that his players didn’t think about the historic win the week before and came in ready to play and focused on facing a “tough” Valwood squad.
“The way they’re playing and the way they’re responding to the coaching is excellent,” Wall said. “Good job to the assistant coaches, too, on getting the guys in the right spot.”
Eady finished the night 4-of-5 passing for 159 yards and two TDs. The senior signal-caller also rushed for 56 yards on three attempts, averaging 18.7 yards per carry.
Javian Butts led JMA in rushing with 68 yards on eight attempts with three scores. His brother, Jalan, scored two TDs, with one coming via the air and the other on the ground. He finished the contest with 60 all-purpose yards on Friday night.
The Trojans (12-0) now move on to the GIAA Class AAA state title game against Deerfield-Windsor (10-2). The Knights are coming off a 26-21 win over Brookwood.