GISA AAA title: John Milledge does John Milledge, meaning "over by halftime"

First-half highlights of John Milledge's romp over Frederica in the GISA Class AAA championship game.Video: Michael A. Lough/The Sports Report of Central Geo...

By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

            For several minutes, no doubt some folks were wondering what was going on.

            Frederica was going toe to toe with John Milledge, the Trojans not doing much on offense or showing much crushing on defense.

            That never lasts long in a John Milledge game any more.

            Dawson Smith turned an interception into a touchdown midway through the first quarter, and the scoring floodgates were duly opened as John Milledge steamrolled to a 49-0 win Friday over Frederica in the GISA Class AAA title game at Mercer’s Five Star Stadium.

            “Defensively, we knew there was a chance we could shut them out,” said JMA head coach J.T. Wall, whose team shut them out 50-0 last year in the regular season and shut out eight opponents this year. “Offensively, we had some questions on what game plan was gonna start working when it started working.”

            But the defense put the game clearly in John Milledge’s hands, with Taylor Dixon picking off a pass on Frederica’s next possession to set up a 33-yard TD pass from Grayson Hopkins to Marcus Prestwood, who outmuscled a Frederica defender at the goal line.

            A fumble after a first-down run ended the Knights’ next possession, which ended with quarterback Patrick McDonel starting right, then cutting back left on an option for an easy 4-yard score.

            And thus a close game was a 21-0 game with 2:18 left in the first quarter.

            The shutout was in serious jeopardy late in the first half when Frederica got inside the 10 after a big play.

            “We were pissed off we gave up a first down to start with,” said Wall, whose team gave up 27 points in 2020. “We ended up picking it off.”

            McDonel took the honors, another JMA touchdown following. The toying continued, with a quasi-misdirection pitchout on a reverse to Chaze Goddard went for a fairly uncomplicated 48-yard score en route to a 42-0 halftime lead.

            JMA went crazy, for JMA, in the pass game, going for 230 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Prestwood caught 170 yards worth of those passes, the running game going for 219 yards.

            “We didn’t know they were gonna single up Prestwood,” Wall said. “We saw that, we started trying to take advantage of that.”

            Frederica’s defensive plan opened up some perimeter and option opportunities. And the defense gave up only nine first downs.

            The win capped the careers of 21 seniors, who depart with a four-year record of 46-3, and on a 24-game winning streak.. Wall said there weren’t any 12th-graders in particular he hugged a little harder afterward.

            “Each one of them’s got their story,” the JMA grad and former Georgia fullback said. “That makes them all special.

            “We told them that’s what hurts the most. Not losing great players, (but) losing great people.”