Friday night was about a lot more than just one game for the John Milledge Academy football team, which entered its contest at 9-0. 

On the line was a perfect regular season, a region championship and a first round bye in the GISA AAA state playoffs. The Trojans (10-0 overall, 3-0 region) left no doubt whatsoever as to who the best team is in Region 4-AAA, by demolishing the visiting Augusta Prep Cavaliers 48-7 on Senior Night. 

This marks the third time overall and the second time in three years that John Milledge has finished the regular season undefeated under current head coach J.T. Wall, who is in his eighth season. It’s also the fourth region championship for the team under Wall’s leadership, and the last time the Trojans went undefeated and were crowned region champions (in 2016) they went on to win the state title. Wall was happy for his team after Friday’s win, but he’s been known to quickly turn his attention to the task that lies ahead.

“This feels great,” he told The Union-Recorder after addressing his team. “I’m proud for these kids and the seniors in particular for how they’ve led so far during the season. It’s also a little tough because this is something you kind of want to compartmentalize and look back on this once the season’s over. It’s not something we want to dwell on because we have higher goals, but our guys came out tonight and did a great job. As I’ve said before, we don’t want this moment to be the pinnacle of the season. It’s win or go home now.”

Here’s how the night went in a nutshell for Augusta Prep. Down 21-0 with just fewer than eight minutes to go in the second quarter, the Cavaliers lined up deep in their own territory to punt the football away following an unsuccessful drive. The kick came off as a line drive and found its way to JMA sophomore Patrick McDonel, who wasn’t even lined up at punt returner. He made the most of his opportunity though, scooping the ball up before running about 25 yards for the unconventional touchdown. 

One other telling stat from the game also came from the first half. Augusta Prep’s spread-out, pass-happy offense left their quarterback vulnerable more than it worked. The Trojan defensive front feasted, sacking the signal-caller more times (four) than they allowed a first down (three) through the game’s first two quarters. The Cavaliers’ first play from scrimmage actually resulted in a sack-fumble picked up by JMA defensive end John Michael Sirmans. 

Sophomore stud running back Amaad Foston put together yet another dazzling performance, thanks in part to his offensive line, which gave him plenty of room to maneuver in the first half. He finished with an unofficial 137 yards on 16 carries and a pair of touchdowns in just two quarters’ work. Senior quarterback Brandon Bellflower also had a good night throwing the football and did a good job finding his receivers whenever the team needed a first down in the opening half. 

“This was our main goal for the first part of the season,” Bellflower said, talking about the region championship and perfect season. “I’m proud of the way our guys played. Everybody wanted to get this done for the seniors, and I feel like our young guys really played hard for us tonight, so that was real special.”

Bellflower, Foston and a good chunk of the remainder of the Trojan starters got the second half off Friday night, meaning they will pretty much have had one-and-a-half bye weeks when they take the field next on Nov. 16. John Milledge’s opponent will likely be Bulloch Academy that night, though it depends on what happens in the first round of the playoffs. The Trojans defeated the Gators 29-14 in early October. JMA will know its opponent for the second round following play next Friday night.