38 Football Preview 2020
Road
paved
for
Trojan
repeat
By GIL POUND
No one did it better than
the John Milledge
Academy football
team in the 2019 season.
The Trojans thrashed
basically every opponent they
faced on their way to a perfect
13-0 record and the GISA
AAA state title, the school’s
second in four seasons. With
12 out of 15 All-Region selections
and five out of seven All-
State honorees returning for
2020, John Milledge football
could be staring back-to-back
championships right in the
face. Here’s a look at the Trojans’
2020 slate as they try to
become the first AAA school
to repeat since Westfield did it
in 2013 and 2014.
Big picture
The Trojans’ schedule is divided
up between non-region
and region opponents. The
outside region competition
stacks up well record-wise as
those schools combined to go
65-20 in 2019, good for a .765
win percentage. Looking at
those opponents though, six
out of the seven fell to John
Milledge during its perfect
run a season ago. After those
seven games will be an open
week followed by the region
slate, one that doesn’t exactly
inspire much fear even though
the region brings some new
faces this year. Those three
schools went just 5-27 last
year, which comes out to a
.156 win percentage.
The GISA is employing a
power rating system to determine
playoff seeding this year,
so region records only determine
region championships.
Week-by-week
After a two-week pushback
in the season, John Milledge
is set to open its title defense
at home Sept. 11 against AA
opponent Brentwood.
Last year’s showdown in
Sandersville was actually the
Trojans’ closest by victory
margin the entire season at a
21-10 final score.
The following week will
bring the first road trip for
head coach JT Wall and his
troops when they head southeast
to face Pinewood. They
handled the Patriots 38-6
in Milledgeville last season
even though Pinewood won
nine games and played in the
AAA state semifinals. Week
3 on Sept. 25 is an intriguing
matchup for the Trojans as
they are set to travel to GHSA
Class A-Private opponent
Savannah Christian who was
8-4 last year, including a trip
to the state quarterfinals.
It will be John Milledge’s
first contest against a GHSA
foe since they beat GMC
Prep back-to-back years in
2016 and 2017. The Trojans’
non-region stretch continues
with a trio of familiar foes
in Bulloch, Gatewood and
Valwood respectively. Bulloch
was a 28-14 road win for JMA
last year and everyone knows
about the lopsided state
championship win versus
Valwood. The game in the
middle of that sandwich will
pit last year’s AAA champion
against the AA champion
in an unfamiliar spot in the
schedule.
John Milledge and Gatewood
traditionally play one
another to open their seasons
and squared off at the end
when they were in the same
region, but that pattern has
been altered as the Trojans
will travel to the Gators for
week 5 on Oct. 9. The Trojans
finish up non-region play at
home Oct. 23 against Community
Christian, a team that
has given them little trouble
these last couple years. JMA
gets its Friday night off Oct.
30 before beginning region
play at Bethlehem Christian.
The Trojans have dominated
that matchup in the past
including last year’s meeting
that saw them win 51-0. Next
up is a newcomer to John
Milledge’s region, Creekside
Christian Academy, who
like Bethlehem went just 1-9
in 2019. The Trojans end
the regular season on their
home field against on-again,
off-again region foe Westfield
who has struggled ever since
the 2016 season.