Gil Pound/The Union-Recorder

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — Most everyone has seen it coming for a while now.

As soon as the field cleared at Mercer University the night of Nov. 18, 2016, fans on both sides knew the next time the John Milledge Academy and Gatewood football teams met that the stakes would be high. They were most certainly right because here both teams stand at 9-0 overall with 3-0 records in Region 4-AAA play before their bout scheduled for Friday night in Milledgeville that will decide the region championship and seeding for the state playoffs.

“With the guys they had returning from their team last year we expected them to be in the spot they’re in,” JMA head coach J.T. Wall told The Union-Recorder in his office early Monday morning. “I said the whole preseason that in my mind they’re probably the No. 1 team going into the season in the state with what they had coming back. With the potent option attack they have, when you bring back your quarterback, fullback and tailback, you’ve got a pretty good chance to be pretty dang good and they are. Coach [Jeff] Ratliff does a great job getting his guys ready to play. We knew they would be where they’re at. We were still trying to take it one game at a time. This is why we schedule this as the last game of the year.”

The two rivals met twice last season in both the regular season finale and again with the GISA state championship on the line. The Trojans took the regular season meeting 17-10, also for the region championship, on Gatewood’s home field thanks to a clutch play by the JMA offense. Seventeen would be the magic number for John Milledge once again in the state title rematch, but instead the Trojans shut the Gators out 17-0 en route to the school’s first-ever football championship. 

Most recently John Milledge faced its toughest opponent this season to date in the Augusta Prep Cavaliers. The Trojans allowed one blemish in the fourth quarter, but came away with the 31-6 win to lock down at least a No. 2 seed and the right to host at least their first game of the state playoffs. Wall’s offense was once again very balanced in reaching the 30-point mark for the eighth time this season.

Like JMA, Gatewood, under head coach Jeff Ratliff, has not found a real challenger yet this regular season. The Gators have scored no fewer than 34 points in 2017 and have put up more than 50 points on six occasions. The triple option attack led by senior quarterback Reid Sasser has kept opposing defenses on their heels as one of the only offenses of its kind in the GISA. Sasser has two very good options other than himself in fullback Yale Stapp and tailback Brandon Belans. Wall said Gatewood is not just an offensive stalwart, though.

“Offensively, defensively, and in the special teams game they are as fundamentally sound as you’ll find,” he said. “They do not make mistakes and they’re well-coached. … Defensively they fly around to the football and cause turnovers. Offensively nobody’s been able to stop the option. They run it to a T. If you give those guys a crease they’ll take it 80 or 90 yards.”

Throughout this season’s region schedule, the Gators have defeated opponents by an average of 38 points while the Trojans have averaged a margin of 35. Offensively, Ratliff’s unit has averaged an astronomical 52 points per game while only allowing 11.9 on defense. For the Trojans, Wall’s offense has scored 41 points per game while defensive coordinator Justin Mills’ unit is allowing less than five. This week’s beast is of a completely different color for JMA though, because although some teams the Trojans have played this season might run the option, they have not played anyone whose offense was based solely around it. 

“You’ve got to be disciplined,” Wall said on stopping the option. “Each player on defense has got to be disciplined. Each player’s got a job and a responsibility. They can’t try to do too much. If they try to do too much then you overrun it and give them a seam. If you give them a seam or a crack then they’re gone — especially Sasser. He’s probably the best quarterback in the state, if not the best athlete in the state, with the way he’s playing football right now. These guys are putting up 50-60 points a night every night. … There’s not many chinks in their armor, if any.”

Wall believes the upcoming contest will come down to three key areas: turnovers, composure and hitting. Winning the turnover battle, keeping players on an even keel emotionally, and physicality will very likely determine the region champion, home field advantage for the playoffs, and a big time rivalry win. Friday’s contest isn’t for all the marbles, but it is for a lot of them.

Kickoff between the Trojans and the Gators is set for Friday at JMA at 7:30 p.m.