Scoreboard: John Milledge tops Tattnall 28-21 to tie state win streak record

In a battle that went down to the wire Friday night, John Milledge Academy took down Tattnall 28-21 to tie the Georgia record for consecutive wins.

The win was JMA’s 47th straight victory, tying the record held by Buford High School for longest winning streak in Georgia high school football history.

“It means a lot of hard work by the guys every year,” head coach J.T Wall said after the win. “But we got three more games to worry about… the streak means nothing if we can’t get the last win of the season.”

The win also gave JMA the regular season GIAA District 6 region championship over Tattnall.

With the winning streak on the line, quarterback Briggs Eady put the team on his back offensively. He tallied 147 yards and two TDs on the ground along with 113 passing yards and two TDs through the air.

Eady’s biggest play, however, came on the defensive side of the ball.

As Tattnall drove and attempted to tie it with less than two minutes to play, JMA’s Kolt Mcmichael batted a pass into the air. Eady plucked the duck out of the air for the turnover, sealing the win for his Trojans and making history.

“He’s the dude, he’s a great leader, leads by example,” Wall said. “He’s a competitor, super proud to have this guy on our side.”

While the win was historic for JMA, Wall still had playoffs on his mind.

“We got a lot of things we have to clean up,” he said. “We feel like there’s a lot of ‘almost’ plays that we could’ve had.”

Both teams had a solid opening half despite some flaws. JMA forged consistent drives down the field thanks to Eady’s rushing ability, while Tattnall relied on two explosive plays for its two touchdowns.

JMA’s biggest shortcoming came in the form of penalties, including one drive that featured four consecutive false starts. Tattnall was not consistent on offense, failing to form a fully-fledged drive but keeping pace thanks to two touchdown plays of more than 50 yards.

Despite another big play to start the second half that led to a touchdown, Tattnall could not find its groove on offense.

With JMA’s defense locked in, the one score from Eady in the fourth quarter was all the Trojans from Milledgeville needed. That and the game-sealing interception, that is.

Both teams will look to capitalize on strong seasons in the playoffs.

Other Scores:

• Peach County 49, Jackson 14 (Peach County wins region)
• Thomas County Central 24, Northside 14 (Thomas County Central wins region)
• Spencer 16, ACE 6 (Spencer wins region)
• Stratford 49, FPD 40
• Houston County 70, Veterans 21
• Lee County 46, Tift County 14
• Dutchtown 44, Ola 0 (Dutchtown wins region)
• Warner Robins 52, Locust Grove 0
• Jones County 30, Union Grove 0 (Jones makes playoffs)
• Mary Persons 46, Pike County 10 (Mary Persons makes playoffs)
• Perry 34, West Laurens 0
• Central 24, Southwest 6
• Baldwin County 33, Griffin 7
• Northeast 51, Rutland 13 (Thursday)
• Westside 34, Howard 33 / OT (Thursday)

This story was originally published November 4, 2022 at 11:02 PM.