Trojans take region, share of state record

Nov. 5—MACON — A piece of Georgia high school football history now lies within the city of Milledgeville.

The John Milledge Academy Trojans (4-0 region, 10-0 overall) are owners of a record-tying 47 straight wins after beating Tattnall Square Academy in an instant classic Friday, 28-21.

Tattnall (3-1, 6-4) was at the JMA 29 hoping to tie the game with less than a minute left, but a pair of Trojan quarterbacks came up huge on the defensive side of the ball. Tattnall senior QB Donovan Duncan's pass up the seam was tipped by JMA sophomore Kolt McMichael and picked off on the back end by senior Briggs Eady. McMichael plays linebacker but is also the JMA backup QB while Eady takes the starting snaps and lends his talents at free safety. John Milledge was able to kneel out the final 44 seconds to leave Macon with the win, the region championship, and the program's fifth consecutive undefeated regular season.

JMA is now tied with the Buford High School football team of the early 2000s for the longest win streak in the state. Head coach J.T. Wall still insists upon talking very little about the streak for now. He has his eyes on the playoffs.

"We don't really have a lot of time to sit and talk about it," he said. "We can talk about it in four weeks. We've got three more games to worry about. The streak means nothing, really and truly, if we don't get the last win of the season."

The 47th win did not come easy. The Trojans squared off against a tough, athletic Tattnall Trojan squad Friday, one that would not back down from John Milledge's challenge. For 48 minutes of game time, every single play mattered.

JMA struck first in Friday's heavyweight battle. Facing third-and-5 on John Milledge's side of the 50, Eady hit an open Bud Veal on a deep pass. Veal was caught around the 5 and fumbled the football forward into the end zone. He got to his feet first and hustled to fall on the loose ball for the touchdown less than two minutes into play.

After trading punts, Tattnall got on the board with four minutes to go in the first as Brayden Smith caught a heaved prayer from his quarterback and zipped over the goal line for a 68-yard scoring play.

John Milledge answered early in the second when the Trojans elected to go for it on fourth-and-2 at the Tattnall 17. The play was a QB keeper all the way, and Eady was greeted with a hole big enough to drive JMA's charter bus through. He ran the full 17 yards to put his team up 14-7, kickstarting a big momentum swing in the visitor's favor.

Junior defensive back Jalan Butts ended Tattnall's ensuing drive, tripping up the receiver after he caught a screen. On fourth down the home team's punt was blocked by senior Grayson Waddell, igniting the John Milledge sideline further. The JMA Trojans took over in the red zone, and Waddell was rewarded with a 20-yard touchdown toss from Eady. The extra point dinged off an upright, so the score was 20-7 John Milledge with 8:32 to go in the half. Even with the missed kick, at that point it was starting to feel like a normal Friday night blowout was in the works for JMA.

Needing an answer badly, Tattnall got it after forcing a turnover on downs. Speedy sophomore Antone Johnson got to the edge and flew 58 yards down the home sideline to give his team life at the 3:04 mark in the second. The big play brought Tattnall back to within one score, 20-14.

John Milledge had ample opportunity to get those points back before the half, but could not cash in from the Tattnall 13, leaving the two quarters completed score at 20-14.

"We felt like we squandered some opportunities offensively in the first half with the way our defense was playing, which was lights out," Wall said.

Tattnall scored on the opening possession of the second half to take a 21-20 lead, forcing John Milledge to play from behind in the second half. That's not something that has happened often at all for JMA during its streak, so Wall's team was being tested.

John Milledge passed the test. Providing the answer was Eady, running the football from his quarterback position. The senior weaved his way through the opposing defense, refusing to go down even when being tackled was inevitable. He eventually scored from a yard out and ran the two-point conversion in to give John Milledge back the lead at 28-21 with 1:50 left in the third.

"He's a great leader that leads by example," Wall said of his QB. "He's a hard worker. You can't judge his heart. I'm super proud to have that guy on our side."

Tattnall had three possessions the rest of the night. Only that final one got deep into JMA territory. The first ended on a punt, as did the second after what looked to be the entire John Milledge defensive line combined for a third-down sack.

Tattnall's final drive started at its own 33. The host Trojans went to the air to get down to the JMA 29 before McMichael and Eady teamed up to force the game-clinching interception.

Both John Milledge and Tattnall will now look toward the playoffs where they won't see one another again. Tattnall will compete for the newly-created AAAA state championship while JMA will remain in AAA.

"What we gotta do now is get back focused and get ready to make this playoff run," Wall said.

Rankings have not been finalized, but John Milledge will likely be off next week, giving the team time to heal up for what it hopes to be three more games this season. One more win and the Trojans will have sole possession of the state record for consecutive wins. Two more wins and they will secure their spot in the state championship game. Three more wins and the John Milledge Trojans will be the four-time defending state champs. But who's counting?