Cougars Fall to AAA John Milledge
It was a matchup of two of the better teams in their respective classifications Friday night in Milledgeville and while the Piedmont Academy football program is certainly past the point of moral victories, this one certainly qualified if any ever did.
The Cougars, a AA program, went toe-to-toe with Class AAA heavyweight John Milledge for four quarters only to eventually fall, 56-42. The Trojans are the favorite to win the Class AAA title this year and have been impressive in each one of their outings.
Coach Wes Tanner’s Cougars challenged John Milledge, however, and gave the home team what may turn out to be its toughest competition of the regular season.
“I am proud of our kids,” Tanner said. “We had nothing left in the tank after it was over. We gave them all they wanted and then some.”
While never pleased with a loss, the Piedmont coach said the team could certainly take various things from the game.
“We knew it would be a good test to see where we stood at this point,” Tanner said. “We saw some good things, especially offensively, and saw some things we still need to get better at.”
Piedmont’s offense compiled 206 yards on the ground and another 133 through the air. Hunter Knox rushed 26 times for a bruising 149 yards while Zach Beggs was 11-of-23 passing for 133 yards and four touchdown throws.
Knox, who now has 723 yards rushing for the season, scored a two-yard touchdown while Jeremiah Dave caught a five-yard pass for a score and rushed for a one-yard touchdown. Michael Edwards had a 16-yard reception for a touchdown in the first quarter while Hank Strickland caught a 19-yard pass from his quarterback in the third quarter.
Edwards hauled in another pass for a score in the fourth quarter on a 10-yard completion from Beggs.
Dave finished with 62 yards on the ground and a touchdown on six attempts.
John Milledge led 13-7 after the first quarter and 34-28 at halftime. Both teams scored three times in the second quarter.
The Trojans proved to be very efficient on offense grinding out 511 yards on the ground with another 63 through the air. Piedmont did not have any turnovers in the contest while John Milledge lost two fumbles.
Piedmont returns home this week to face the team which may be the most improved in the GISA for 2014. The Windsor Academy Knights, after going 0-10 in 2013, are 4-1 entering Friday’s game and have scored more than 40 points in each of their wins.
Windsor, coming off a 60-20 thrashing of David Emanuel last week, will be another strong non-region test for the Cougars.
“Windsor is the most improved team in the GISA,” Tanner said. “They believe in their coach. They stayed with him through some tough times. He is building the program after having start at the bottom.”
A key defensively for Piedmont this week will be to play “sound, assignment football,” its coach said.
“We didn’t do that very well against John Milledge,” Tanner said. “We have to play better and to play more aggressively.”
Even with the productive night offensively, the Cougars can still improve in that area.
“It’s all about continuing to expand and perfect our system,” Tanner said. “We also have to establish some depth. We have to keep pitting the pieces into the puzzle.”
The homecoming contest is set for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff Friday at Cougar Field.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:
•Offense: Zach Beggs and Hunter Knox
•Defense: Zach Wilson
•Special Teams: Hunter Pope
•Overall: Hank Strickland
STATS vs. JMA
•Hunter Knox: 26 carries for 149 yards, 1 TD
•Jeremiah Dave: 6 carries for 62 yards, 1 TD
•Zach Beggs: 11-of-23 passing for 133 yards, 4 TDs
•Hank Strickland: 5 receptions for 73 yards, 1 TD
•Michael Edwards: 3 catches for 39 yards, 2 TDs
•Jeremiah Dave: six solo tackles, seven assists
•Hank Strickland: four solo tackles, three assists