MONDAY NIGHT MASSACRE: Trojans thrash Pinewood 55-0

Oct. 4—Friday night, Thursday night, or Monday night. It doesn't matter to the John Milledge Trojans.

The three-time defending GISA AAA state champs are now 6-0 and winners of their last 43 straight after thrashing the Pinewood Patriots 55-0 in a rare Monday night affair.

Hurricane Ian forced a rescheduling of the non-region contest, not once, but twice. The switch was first made to last Thursday until Pinewood, which is located in Southeast Georgia, decided on Wednesday to close its campus Thursday and Friday. It was then that the Monday date was set up.

Monday's atmosphere more resembled a preseason scrimmage than a regular season game. That was likely due to both the noncompetitive nature and the 5:30 p.m. Monday kickoff.

"It was weird," John Milledge senior quarterback Briggs Eady said of playing on a Monday, "but we knew we had to stay focused because we knew we had a good team coming in. We stayed focused and got the job done tonight."

JMA head coach J.T. Wall called the last few days a rollercoaster, but he was glad his guys got to play so they can get in a full regular season slate.

"I know we've got to deal with the weather, but these guys work their butts off," Wall said. "They get 10 regular season games a year. Monday's not ideal, but we've got to try to get them in anyway we can."

Monday's meeting was a rematch of last year's GISA AAA state championship game played at Mercer, which was a 21-0 JMA victory. Watching the two teams Monday, only John Milledge looked anything like one of those contenders. Pinewood was reportedly playing without multiple starters, so if the Trojans see the Patriots again this postseason — like they did in 2016 and 2021 — then there could be a few wrinkles the second time around.

But that's down the road. The host Trojans on Monday had their sights set on the task at hand. They won the toss and received the opening kickoff, as is tradition under Wall, and Eady and the offense started on their own 30. The second-year starter at QB took the snap, pulled the football from his running back's belly, made one man miss, and shot down the left sideline for a 70-yard TD to get things started.

"We knew going in that this play could go to the house if we blocked it right and Pinewood gave us the right look," Eady said. "Luckily they did."

John Milledge would go on to be 7-for-7 scoring touchdowns in its first half possessions. Eady found Zielinski for the second six-pointer. Junior running back Javian Butts toted the rock for two rushing touchdowns. Freshman running back Carsyn Baker had some big runs and scored the team's final TD of the first half. He would add a second touchdown in the third quarter.

The JMA defense had little to no trouble stopping Pinewood's throw-first spread attack. The Patriots' best drive, their first, ended earlier than they hoped as Trojan junior defensive tackle Brandon Watson fell on a fumble. John Milledge forced a second turnover later in the opening period as Jalan Butts skied for an interception deep down the visitor's sideline. He would catch the ball as an offensive player immediately after and score a 61-yard TD.

Put all that together, and you get a mercy-rule running clock with still about 10 minutes to go in the first half and a game that was complete in under two hours.

Wall's Trojans are off this Friday as they will now prepare for a four-game stretch against their region opponents, the Macon schools. Stratford, FPD, Mount de Sales, and Tattnall are back in the private school ranks after having played in the GHSA. At 5-1 Stratford is the first test on Oct. 14.

Asked how playing Monday affects his team moving forward, Wall said, "The way we were looking at it is we've already lost four and a half days to get prepared for this region stretch. We would've loved to have had a practice day today to introduce a couple of teams and look at them this bye week. So we've got to make the best we can of this bye week and start getting to work because we've got our hands full these next four games."

Helping the cause is the fact that the Trojans are expecting to get back 2021 All-State linebacker Banks Eady. He's been out with a broken collarbone suffered just before the start of the season. Barring any setbacks, his addition will add another element to an already dangerous team.