Trojans stop losing skid in McMichael’s return

Published 12:16 am Saturday, October 26, 2024

It’s not often that a 2-8 regular season record is cause for celebration, especially for a program that has won five of eight state championships since 2016.

But celebrate the 2-8 John Milledge Academy Trojans (1-3 region) did after defeating the Mount de Sales Cavaliers (0-4 region, 3-7 overall) 28-17 at Ted S. Smith Stadium Friday night. The win put a stop to what was a seven-game losing streak, the program’s longest since a winless 2010 campaign.

“They say the valleys make the peaks feel a lot sweeter,” JMA head coach JT Wall said. “It’s true. It feels good, but at the same time we know there’s a whole lot of work to do. Our goal is to win three more, then who cares about the record.”

There was reason to celebrate beyond just getting the victory Friday. The Trojans have been trending upward on the field in recent weeks. Added to that is the fact that they got their All-State QB back in senior Kolt McMichael. He had been out with a knee injury since the week 3 loss at Tiftarea Academy. Wall said his starting quarterback returned to practice Monday. There was some rust on McMichael’s part Friday night, but he also threw some beautiful balls versus the Mount de Sales defense to provide John Milledge with a dynamic it had been missing.

“It was a welcomed sight. I think it was a close race between me and David Todd for who was happier,” Wall said, talking about his other senior who had been taking most of the snaps in McMichael’s absence. “We’re glad to have him back. He brings some more energy and helps us expand the playbook greatly on offense.”

McMichael playing coupled with the Trojans being the healthiest they have been all season could make them a tougher out in the playoffs than opponents had been thinking – should they make it. More on that later.

Friday’s scoring got started pretty quickly as JMA sophomore athlete Jamel Cooper scampered 31 yards for the first TD just over two minutes in. Mount de Sales answered with a 43-yard field goal off the foot of junior kicker Landon Frawley five minutes later. At 10:15 left in the second it was McMichael finding flourishing freshman Asa Wall for a touchdown reception that covered 63 yards. The son of the head coach has come into his own this season as he’s gained more experience at the varsity level. For McMichael, it was his first touchdown pass since the second quarter of the Tiftarea loss.

Trailing 14-3, Mount de Sales cut the Trojan lead to four on a short TD rush with four minutes remaining in the half.

The visitors from Macon got the football coming out of halftime. Their third-down conversion attempt was stopped when junior defensive back Bryce McDonel cut a Cavalier receiver down short of the line to gain. The ensuing punt was a monster though, covering more than 50 yards and forcing John Milledge to start on its own 3.

Turned out the Trojans were up to the task. McMichael hit Cooper in the middle of the field to move the sticks the first time. A Trojan ballcarrier fumbled on the next play, but sophomore offensive lineman Kellen Eady hustled and wrestled the football away from an MDS defender in what first looked to be a sure turnover. The drive was still alive and the Trojans continued moving thanks to three chunk pass plays, one an over-the-shoulder reception by Todd. Next was a misdirection screen to Asa Wall that covered 13 yards. The exclamation point was another McMichael-to-Todd connection down the middle of the field for a 25-yard score. A Jacob Noles extra point brought the home team’s lead back to two scores at 21-10 midway through the third period.

Mount de Sales and sophomore quarterback Zavion DeShazier mustered only one first down on the ensuing drive before punting again. John Milledge’s turn was helped by two big Cavalier penalties. The possession ended on first-and-goal at the 6 when the freshman Wall, taking the snap out of the wildcat, faked like he was going to run the football before tear-dropping a pass over the defense’s heads into the end zone where it found the waiting arms of Todd, 28-10 Trojans at 2:10 to play in the third.

The JMA defense had to make a stand to hold on to its three-score lead. Early in the fourth, MDS reached the red zone before junior Cohen Brooks sacked DeShazier on third-and-2. The Cavs then went for it on fourth-and-8, but fared no better as the visiting QB’s pass wound up in the hands of John Milledge freshman defensive back Brayden Faulkner for an interception.

Mount de Sales would get that score back following a McMichael pick thrown under pressure. The Cavaliers got six on a short TD pass with 6:24 remaining in the game and opted for the extra point to make it 28-17 JMA.

The Trojans took over at their own 30 after the kickoff and would never allow the Macon private school to hold the football again. They killed over a quarter of clock to clinch the victory.

“Whenever we can line up and run the football even when they know we’re running it, it’s a good feeling,” the head coach Wall said.

Now his Trojans are in wait and see mode. With an eight-team GIAA Class AAA state playoff approaching, John Milledge is eighth in the MaxPreps power rankings, which determine postseason seeding. Next week is a slate of makeup games for teams who missed one due to Hurricane Helene when it roared through the state late last month. JMA was not one of those teams, so it will have to wait until next Sunday, Nov. 3 when the rankings and seedings are finalized to see if their season will continue.

“We have no idea,” said Wall. “We may jump to 7. We may stay at 8. We may drop to 9. We won’t know until next Sunday because there’s still some teams left to play.”

The Trojans’ head coach said his team will hit the practice field next week and focus internally since a possible playoff opponent will not yet be known.