Trojan-Trojan battle in Macon Friday

Published 3:10 pm Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Two football teams with basically mirrored seasons are set to meet when John Milledge travels to Tattnall Square Academy in Macon Friday.

The JMA Trojans went 1-1 to begin the year, but have dropped all six of their games since, giving them a 1-7 mark. The TSA Trojans, meanwhile, lost their opener to Brookstone of Columbus and have gone on to win six straight. Their 6-1 record includes an impressive 28-12 victory against Stratford last week, the same Stratford team that defeated John Milledge 42-7 a few Fridays ago.

Tattnall Square sits fourth in the GIAA Class 4A rankings, likely putting them safely in that playoff picture, while head coach JT Wall and JMA are fighting for their postseason lives as they hold the eighth and final slot in the AAA ranks.

Probably unhappy with the current rankings are the 5-2 Piedmont Academy Cougars, who sit ninth. But John Milledge has played the most difficult schedule of all AAA teams while Piedmont has the weakest, at least according to the website MaxPreps that handles the rankings through its power rating system.

The JMA Trojans’ strength of schedule likely isn’t going down after this week’s game at Tattnall Square. The Trojans of Macon boast a balanced offense that has produced just as much yardage through the air as it has on the ground.

Senior athlete Antone Johnson is their main playmaker. His is a name John Milledge is familiar with after having seen him in each of the last two seasons. Johnson is just shy of 900 yards rushing with 10 touchdowns, and has lined up at quarterback and thrown the football on occasion.

“It feels like he’s been there forever,” JMA head coach JT Wall said of Johnson. “He’s everywhere on the field. He gets involved in the run game and helps eliminate opponents’ passing game as a safety.”

Tattnall also has two senior wide receivers who have caught the football for 300 or more yards. Ty Hunnicutt is the leader with 531 yards and seven TDs on 24 receptions.

Limiting big plays from guys like Johnson and Hunnicutt will be key for the JMA defense this week.

Halting opposing playmakers was something the unit did extremely well in the past, but it has been a challenge so far in 2024. Opponents have had their way with the John Milledge defense that’s allowing 37 points per night, and the JMA offense has been unable to keep up at just 16 points per game.

Unforced errors have been the Trojans’ enemy. Last week it was bad or mishandled shotgun snaps.

“The high snap, rolling snap, the dropped snap – that and a costly penalty or two kills a drive,” said Wall. “We’ve got to eliminate the negative play.”

Those types of miscues will need to be kept to a minimum versus a Tattnall Square team that has allowed opponents to reach the 20s just twice this season. John Milledge will try to be the third. JMA and Tattnall Square will square off at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Macon.