John Milledge has tough opponent in Pinewood Christian

It was almost a full three months ago when John Milledge opened its football season against Pinewood Christian, a game that has turned out to be one of the Trojans’ toughest tests of the year.

Pinewood actually led John Milledge 20-17 at the half, but John Milledge came back to win 31-20. The two teams meet again Friday night in Milledgeville for the right to make it to the semifinals of the GISA-3A playoffs.

“I have seen the film and they are a much better football team than they were at the beginning of the season,” said John Milledge head coach J.T Wall, whose team is 11-0. “Pinewood has played maybe the toughest schedule of anyone in the GISA and they are battle-tested. They are used to making deep runs in the playoffs, and those South Georgia kids just want to hit you in the mouth. They beat us in the semifinals two years ago, so there will be no looking past them because they are a very good football team.”

Pinewood has struggled a bit this year and is 6-4, but the four losses — Augusta Prep, Deerfield-Windsor and Frederica are the other teams — are to teams with a combined record of 34-8. Pinewood has righted the ship however, with a three-game winning streak, and has outscored those opponents by a 121-35 margin.

Wall is happy where his team is heading into the final three weeks of the season.

“We feel like guys are getting a full understanding about the essence of the plays we are running, and they understand what everyone is supposed to be doing on every play,” Wall said. “Our quarterback, Trevor Evans, has everyone in the right spot, and the defense is also stepping up against the run and the pass. We feel like we are ready to play our best football.”

Evans has completed 66 percent of his passes this year and has 1,197 yards through the air with 22 touchdown passes and only five interceptions. His favorite target has been Mike Francis, who has 26 catches for 381 yards and seven touchdowns.

The running game is led by Gunner Roberts with 633 yards, followed closely by Noah Lavender, who has 623 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Defensively, the Trojans are led by Dawson Huff, who has 124 tackles, 10 for loss. He has also recovered four fumbles.

Several other local GISA teams are still in the hunt for a AAA state championship. Gatewood (9-2) faces undefeated Heritage while Trinity Christian (5-4) will visit Valwood (7-2). In AA action, Windsor (7-5) travels to Terrell, which is is 6-4.

This story was originally published October 31, 2016 at 9:18 PM with the headline "John Milledge has tough opponent in Pinewood Christian."