MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga — If you take a look at the John Milledge football offensive stat sheet through 13 games, it will tell you the longest pass play of season is a 48-yarder from Trevor Evans to wide receiver Ford Roberts. What the stat sheet doesn’t tell you however, is how extraordinarily important that play was to the Trojans’ season.

On Oct. 21 the undefeated JMA football team took the 15-minute drive up U.S. Highway 441 to face the rival Gatewood Gators for the region championship in their football venue aptly named, “The Swamp.” The Trojans had barely been challenged up to that point in 2016, and results against common opponents pointed toward another easy victory for the squad. That would in no way be the case when the two teams took the field that Friday night.

The potent John Milledge offense was bottled up through much of the game, including being shut out through the first two quarters. An almost five-minute offensive drive out of halftime produced only three points and things were not looking good for the unbeaten Trojans. Circumstances became worse shortly thereafter when the Gators put together an impressive drive of their own that resulted in a 9-yard TD run to put them up 10-3 with just over a quarter remaining in the game. Although they gave up that score, the Trojans’ defense is to be commended for holding Gatewood to only 10 points on the night.

John Milledge’s offense had shown very little signs of life and would have to turn things around quickly in order to come out on top. A perfect regular season, region championship, a rivalry victory, and home field advantage throughout the playoffs hung in balance.

The Trojans took the ball with good field position on the Gatewood 45-yard line with just over eight minutes remaining in the ballgame. The drive featured penalties from both sides and broken plays, but Evans would eventually hook up with wide receiver Mike Francis for an 8-yard score that tied the most important game of the year at 10 points apiece with only four minutes to play.

The contenders went back and forth on the ensuing drives with neither able to muster a score of any kind. An interception thrown by Gatewood on fourth down near midfield resulted in the Trojans getting the ball on the Gators 48-yard line with only 20 seconds remaining and the game still tied. Evans dropped back on first down looking for Francis once again, hoping to get his team into kicker Riley Denton’s field goal range. The pass fell incomplete and Francis, the team’s leading pass catcher, was gassed.

“I was just standing on the sidelines praying that someone would catch the ball,” JMA senior Ford Roberts said.

With Francis no longer a viable option, head coach J.T. Wall looked to Roberts, who had only one touchdown reception at that point in the season, to try and get the Trojans in field goal position.

“We’d thrown a couple of fades to me throughout the year in the red zone,” Roberts said. “I told Coach Wall earlier in the game, ‘I can catch a ball over the top. I know I can.’ He believed in me and called my number and sent me in.”

Evans took the snap, dropped back, and looked downfield toward the right sideline where Roberts was doing battle with a Gator defender. The signal caller released the football and the rest, as they say, is history.

“The original plan was to catch it and get out of bounds, but I caught the ball and thought I was going to get pushed out of bounds,” said Roberts. “I thought I would feel his hand pushing me, but I didn’t feel anything so I just ran up the sidelines.”

The senior who before that play had only scored one touchdown that took place in the team’s third game of the season against Piedmont and just a few receptions on the year crossed the goal line with only three seconds on the clock to give John Milledge the undefeated regular season, region championship, and home field advantage in the state playoffs.

Without that touchdown, the two teams most likely would have gone to overtime and no one could say what the outcome would have been if that were to have happened. The game was one for the ages and will be talked about for years to come.

“Oh yeah, it’s always going to be with me,” Evans said when asked if he could still envision the play from his point of view.

Since that touchdown catch, Roberts has emerged as a credible threat to opponents by scoring four touchdowns so far in the playoffs. His six TD receptions now put him at second on the team behind Francis.

The two outstanding teams ended up on opposite sides of the bracket and as destiny would have it will meet again tonight to decide the GISA Class AAA state championship. The game is scheduled to kick off at 8 p.m. at Mercer University’s Five Star Stadium.