Trojans trounced

Joe Allen
The Union-Recorder

October 12, 2007 11:28 pm

— John Milledge Academy took to the field Friday night to take on Tattnall Square Academy, looking to get win number four of the season and start its region schedule on the right foot. The game remained close through the first half, but Tattnall opened up the lead after the break and never looked back. Tattnall won 35-7.
“Our guys went out there and played hard and with a lot of emotion,” said JMA assistant coach Gary Sanders. “We played hard but we still had too many penalties.”
The game started off with several fumbles and turnovers. On JMA’s second punt Andre Smith returned the ball 35 yards to set up a drive for Tattnall that would result in a touchdown on a 41 yard run. The point after was wide right but Tattnall went up 6-0.
After the kickoff, JMA pushed for two first downs before the first quarter came to an end. John Milledge managed to keep the ball and burn seven minutes off the clock before having to punt late in the second quarter. Several offsides penalties and sacks hindered the JMA drive. After the punt Tattnall kept possession the rest of the half putting Tattnall on top of JMA 6-0 at halftime.
Fresh on the field after halftime John Milledge wasted no time starting a solid drive. Daniel White pushed through the middle of the line for a first down. Landon NeSmith broke free around the end to run for a long 66-yard touchdown. Josh Hartzell came on to kick the point after to put John Milledge up 7-6.
After the kickoff, Tattnall retaliated quickly. The first play from scrimmage resulted in a 15-yard first down.
Several plays later Tattnall earned a first down on a penalty against JMA. After the first down, a Tattnall running back pushed through the line for a touchdown.
The following two point conversion was good to put Tattnall up 14-7.
Tattnall drove down the field on their next set of downs going 80 yards on six plays to score again and go up 21-7.
On the first play of the fourth quarter Tattnall intercepted a pass and received an extra 15 yards on the play on a JMA personal foul. After just two plays and one first down Tattnall scored again on a 20-yard run around the end by Colby Vaughn.
The touchdown put Tattnall up 28-7.
JMA fumbled the ball away on their next possession, and an 8-yard gain put the Tatnall team just five yards from another touchdown. Tattnall scored on the next play to cap off the win.
“Their numbers got us in the end,” said Sanders. “They’re dressing 70 plus guys and we were going hard with some guys playing on both sides of the ball all night.”
The Trojans will Travel to Riverside next Friday. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
The Trojans were without their head coach, Ken Johnson, who is recovering from a hip injury.
“With coach Ken not being on the sideline, it didn’t have that much of an effect,” assistant coach Gary Sanders said. “But having him here, sitting down there near the field house, it gave the kids a lot of motivation. They were playing for him.”

Correspondent Joe Allen can be reached at (478) 453-1465 or sports@unionrecorder.com