John Milledge Academy (JMA) kicked off its 2025 season in Bethlehem against the Bethlehem Christian Academy (BCA) Crusaders in what looked on paper to be a pairing of pretty evenly matched teams.
It turned out to be a dominant night for the Trojans, however, as JMA rushed for five touchdowns and one through the air in a 49-6 victory.
The Trojans’ running game was spearheaded by tight end Asa Wall, who spent much of his night at running back garnering 135 yards rushing on eight carries and scored four rushing touchdowns. He averaged 16.9 yards per carry for the night.
Though the Trojans’ offense was unable to score on its first possession after receiving the opening kickoff, their defense came up big by forcing a fumble that was recovered by cornerback Malek Dorsey on the Crusaders’ 30-yard line.
JMA quarterback Lewis Cheney quickly completed his one-andonly touchdown pass of the night on a 21-yard completion to wide receiver Bradyn Harrison. Kicker Allman Burrell then added the extra point to secure an early 7-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Dorsey continued to make big plays on defense, intercepting a Crusader pass for a 55-yard, pick-six to double the Trojans’ lead to 14-0.
After forcing a punt, the Trojans’ offense got jumpstarted again by a 71-yard run by Wall, who eventually scored from six yards out to extend the JMA lead to 21-0.
Just before halftime, Wall struck again with a six-yard rush, as did Burrell with his fourth extra point, leading to a 28-0 Trojans’ lead at the break.
JMA didn’t skip a beat in the second half as the offense continued to dominate the run game. A big run from Javaris Hurt put JMA deep into Crusaders territory before Wall again punched it into the endzone for the team’s fifth touchdown of the night, making it 35-0 early in the third quarter.
The JMA defense eventually gave up a touchdown in the final three minutes of the fourth quarter, but the extra point was unsuccessful.
Wall added one more touchdown about halfway through the fourth quarter, followed by a final rushing score by Cheney, while Burrell remained a perfect 7-for-7 in extra points as the Trojans went home with a convincing 49-6 road victory to open their 2025 campaign.
“I was impressed with our effort in all three phases of the game,” JMA head coach JT Wall told The Baldwin Bulletin. “I thought we ran the ball very well and that we played really good team defense.”
Cheney, a senior who transferred from Northeast (Macon) over the summer, began his career as a Trojan by completing eight passes on 12 attempts for 176 yards as well as scoring a passing and rushing touchdown.
“He had a really good performance in his first outing for us,” Wall said. “He kept his composure and made plays when he had to.”
On defense, the Trojans had five sacks, five tackles for loss, one interception, and three fumble recoveries. Still, Wall said there remains work to be done.
“We saw a ton of things that we need to get better at,” he said. “We have to be able to tackle better on defense and finish blocks on offense.”
JMA will play Augusta Christian at Trojan Field in Milledgeville at 7 p.m. this Friday and will host Tiftarea Academy on Aug. 29 at the same start time.