Cougars Fall to John Milledge

Piedmont Academy’s football program is long past the point of moral victories, but last Friday’s matchup with Class AAA heavyweight John Milledge qualified for one if any game did.

The Cougars went toe-to-toe with the undefeated Trojans, trailing by only a point at 21-20 after the third quarter. Eventually, John Milledge posted a 35-20 win at Cougar Field but not before knowing it was in its toughest battle to this point in 2015.

“It was a great effort,” said Piedmont coach Wes Tanner. “We came out with a puncher’s mentality and punched every time we had a chance. We went out and gave it all we had and just about came out on top.”

As close as the final score turned out to be, the Cougars trailed only 28-20 deep into the fourth quarter and had moved inside John Milledge territory before stalling. The Trojans added a final score with two minutes left but even that didn’t make the final score as one-sided as their previous contests this season.

After John Milledge took a 14-0 first quarter lead, the Cougars responded with two touchdowns runs by Mack Brady from one and eight yards out. Caitlyn Young added the point after kicks following both scores.

The game was tied at 14-14 at halftime and the battle continued throughout the third quarter. John Milledge regained the lead on a four-run in the third quarter but Piedmont once again answered on a 22-yard run by Ben Davis. The Cougars continued to trail 21-20 after the conversion failed.

“It was very similar to last year’s game,” Tanner said. “They jumped out on us and threatened to run away with it. Our team doesn’t have any quit in it, however.”

The Trojans added two fourth quarter touchdowns to make the final different 15 points, but they knew they had been in a battle unlike any they had seen in 2015.

Brady had a breakout night for Piedmont at quarterback, rushing for 89 yards on 20 attempts and throwing for 142 on a 16-of-26 performance. Michael Edwards had six receptions for 73 yards.

Both teams lost one fumble in the contest. Piedmont had 13 first downs as compared to 12 for John Milledge.

“All of their hype didn’t bother us,” Tanner said. “We treated them like a faceless, numberless opponent. We did a good job of believing in our game plan. We wanted to play hard and get after it and that’s what we did.”

The Cougars will return to the road this Friday as they venture to Windsor Academy in Macon for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. Windsor is 3-1 overall and defeated Dawson Street 55-0 back on Sept. 11. The Knights have also recorded wins against Dominion Christian (51-8) and Bethlehem Christian Academy (48-15) in 2015 while falling to Bulloch Academy 43-7.

“Our first two days of practice this week will be very important,” Tanner said Monday. “We have to play our assignments. Last week is over. Even as well as we played, we want to continue moving forward. This week is just another step in a season-long process.”

The Piedmont coach said the Windsor Knights will be a challenge.

“It will be a four-quarter contest again,” the Cougar head coach said. “I don’t foresee it being anything different. They are very athletic. We can’t take plays off or they will take it to the house. They have a system and they believe in it. They don’t run a ton of plays, just go out and execute every week.”

JOHN MILLEDGE 35

PIEDMONT 20

TOP INDIVIDUALS

RUSHING: Piedmont: Brady 20 carries for 89 yards.

PASSING: Piedmont: Brady 16-of-26 for 142.

RECEIVING: Piedmont: Edwards 6 catches for 73 yards.

Players of the Week:

Offense: Clay Kirkpatrick, Mikey Weatherly, Nolan Cleary, Jared Autry and Chris Cain

Defense: Zach Wilson

Spec. Teams: Dalton Whitley