FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: Braves make a statement; JMA destroys Brentwood per usual; Dawgs drop opener

BALDWIN – 34
PEACH CO. – 13

Well, that certainly was unexpected.

The Braves, who didn't receive a single top 10 vote in any of the six GHSA Class AAAA preseason polls, ran the Trojans out of their own stadium on Friday night.

The same two teams played at this same time last season here in Milledgeville, with Peach jumping out to a 35-6 halftime lead and cruising to a 50-20 victory. Last year, the Trojans had already scored two touchdowns by the time that WMAZ/Channel 13 showed up...

Baldwin's secondary, which got torched by Peach last year, shined bright on Friday night. Included was a pick-6 in the first half...

The Braves spoiled the debut for new Peach County Head Coach Marquis Westbrook, who came over from Warner Robins in the off-season after leading the Demons to four straight state title games.

Senior tailback Micah Welch, who's verbally committed to play for Coach Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes, scored three touchdowns, including a completely ridiculous kickoff return, which only adds to his collection of ridiculous career highlights...

Baldwin Head Coach Jesse Hicks has told the media in recent weeks about how his team made great strides in the weight room during the off-season, and apparently Coach wasn't kidding. The Braves controlled both lines of scrimmage on Friday night in Fort Valley.

Here's how WMAZ/Channel 13 broke down Friday night's Baldwin/Peach contest...

BRENTWOOD – 3
JOHN MILLEDGE – 43

These days, with every JMA win, history is rewritten.

JMA ran its state-record winning streak to 51 games with the win over Brentwood on Log Cabin Road. Keep in mind that high school football has been played in the state of Georgia since 1904, but never before had one program won 50 consecutive games until JMA pulled off the feat last December in Macon.

Junior Jalan Butts scored the first three touchdowns for JMA, which led 28-3 at the half. Colt McMichael, all 6-f00t-3 of him, looked really solid at quarterback. McMichael is taking over this year for Briggs Eady, who graduated last May.

Friday night marked the Trojans' 10th straight win over their rivals from Sandersville. The rivalry has gotten a little lopsided, to say the least, with JMA winning all 10 of those games by double digits and nine of them by at least four touchdowns.

Here's how WMAZ/Channel 13 broke down Friday night's JMA/Brentwood contest...

WHEELER CO. – 41
GMC PREP – 7

Not a whole lot went right for the Dawgs at Davenport Field.

Wheeler, which jumped out to a quick 21-0 lead, finished with 455 total yards compared to GMC's 40. 

A total of 41 players came out for the team this season for GMC, which is a healthy number for a Class A school, but only 13 of those 41 players are juniors or seniors. The Dawgs last May graduated 16 starters, eight on offense and eight on defense.

It was the debut for new GMC Head Coach Bobby Rhoades, who'd spent the previous five seasons as offensive coordinator at Pepperdell High in Atlanta. Prior to that, though, Rhoades was a head coach at two different high schools in Alabama and also spent some time as a college football assistant.

Rhoades took over for Lee Coleman, who'd been the most successful football coach for GMC in almost 90 years. Coleman finished with a 23-20 record in four years. GMC's 20 different head coaches prior to that all finished with a losing record at the school.

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