Trojans returning to state title game

Published 11:35 pm Friday, November 23, 2018

CHULA, Ga. — After several big wins by his still undefeated team this season, John Milledge head football coach J.T. Wall has come away saying he and his Trojans do not want those games to be the high point of their season.

Friday night provided the ultimate case-in-point for that statement as the now 12-0 Trojans went on the road and defeated the Tiftarea Academy Panthers 24-17 to earn a spot in the GISA 3A state championship game to be held at Mercer University. The title bout will be a rematch from the 2018 regular season, because waiting on the other side of the bracket are the Frederica Academy Knights, who demolished Heritage 53-7 in the other semifinal. 

“Two years ago it was a relief to finally get there because we had been in the semis so many times. This time I just really feel like we’re rocking and rolling into another week,” Wall said when asked how it feels to be competing for a second state championship. “Nobody really believed we’d be where we’re at right now, and that doesn’t really matter. The only thing that matters is what the guys in that locker room think. I’m sure we’ll be big underdogs again this week, but that’s OK. We like us.”

The scoring in the JMA versus Tiftarea matchup got off to a sluggish start, so much so that the first points on the board came as a safety when the Trojan punter stepped out of the back of the end zone with just over five minutes to go in the first half. Big plays before the second quarter expired helped visiting John Milledge make its mark before the break. A Hunter Noles field goal put the Trojans up 3-2 at the half.

Friday’s semifinal had exactly what you’d expect to see in a game of that magnitude. Both teams found answers when they were behind, starting with that field goal before halftime. The Panthers, who entered the contest undefeated just like the Trojans, kept the answering trend going right out of the break with a long touchdown pass less than two minutes into the third period to give them their second lead of the ballgame. On the ensuing drive, John Milledge star running back Amaad Foston provided the answer after a couple of his offensive mates hooked up on a big gainer with the pass. Foston would score again before the end of the third quarter as the Trojans looked to put the game away, but Tiftarea would not lay down. A rushing touchdown followed by a 2-point conversion brought the game to its first tie at 17-17 with just more than a minute to go in the third. 

In the end though, it was the Trojans who had the final answer. Although they aren’t millionaires, they did earn their spot in the state championship game as senior Jared Prestwood scored what would be the game-winning touchdown with just more than two minutes to play. Sophomore defensive back Patrick McDonel sealed the victory by picking off a pass in John Milledge territory to cement the game’s final score.

This season has been filled with eerie circumstances for the Trojans. When they won their state title two years ago they finished undefeated and faced rematch opponents in both the second round of the state playoffs as well as the state championship. That will be the case again next week as John Milledge will look to knock off Frederica for a second time and gain its second title in three years. 

“We know we’re getting a different Frederica than we got a couple weeks ago,” Wall said. “They’re at full strength and doing really well so we know we’ve got our hands full.”

Next week’s kickoff with the state championship on the line is set for 8 p.m. at Mercer University in Macon.