Notebook: JMA talks nothing of streak on verge of tying record; Hardy finds a football home, but ...; a Greg Moore appreciation

 By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

            When JT Wall was a player, he was a punishing fullback in college, and a two-way pounder in high school.

            Preparing for Tattnall all week took him back to those high school days at John Milledge, and it wasn’t a good memory.

            He hopes it’s not repeated.

            John Milledge can tie the state’s overall record for consecutive wins of 47 held by Buford on Friday when it visits Tattnall, and multi-position athlete and threat Brayden Smith.

            Son of Nathan Smith, a Tattnall standout back in the day. When Wall was the same at JMA.

            “I still have nightmares of his dad playing running back at Tattnall,” Wall said. “My last high school game was on that field. They hit us in the semifinals with him playing tailback.”

            That was in 1997. JMA went 8-2 in the regular season, and knocked off Monroe Academy and FPD 19-7 and 16-13 to get Tattnall, which lost to Mount de Sales in the regular-season finale, and then popped Augusta Christian and Southland 42-14 and 34-0 to get the Trojans from Milledgeville.

            The Trojans from Macon won 33-20, and then beat Mount de Sales 36-35 in overtime to win the GISA Class AAA title.

            John Milledge has won 46 straight since losing 48-0 to Frederica in the 2018 state championship. And it’s arguable that their best competition – perhaps by a chunk - since that game will be across the field on Friday.

            The streak doesn’t get mentioned at John Milledge. Winning this Friday night – every week – does, and Wall knows what’s ahead.

            “They spread the ball out,” Wall said of the 6-3 Trojans, whose losses are to two ranked GHSA teams, Schley County by seven and Bowdon by 13 – and a GHSA team that’s 4-5, by one. “They don’t lock in one one guy. They’ve got playmakers.”

            Brayden Smith is one, whether it’s stretching a defense catching passes or stretch a cover team returning kicks or coming out of the backfield. He averages – stats in MaxPreps haven’t been updated – about 30 yards rushing, 55 yards receiving, and almost 100 return yards a game.

            Antone Johnson, Demario Wilmore, Cam Person, and Donovan Duncan are among the other weapons on offense.

            “It’s really hard to key in and try to stop one thing,” said Wall, whose offense is loaded with weapons with the last name of Eady and Butts and Baker and Zielinski. “You’ve got the balanced and you’ve got to trust the guys to be in the right spot.”

Hardy finally lands, but …

            The senior season of Zavion Hardy lasted a little more than a game.

            Hardy ended up where he started his high school career, at Howard.

            A complex family situation led to the former Tattnall defensive lineman not being enrolled in school until early October, and Howard was something of last resort, after rumors of him landing at Jones County, and then at Warner Robins, and then at Central Fellowship.

            Upon enrolling and being cleared by the GHSA, Hardy then had to go through five days of conditioning and acclimation, which were huge.

            “He hadn’t done a lot,” Howard head coach Paul Carroll told The Sports Report almost two weeks ago, on the Monday after Hardy’s first game. “But I think the light’s been turned on. He’s gotten better.”

            Carroll said at the time there were some adjustments in mechanics and techniques necessary, not a surprise for somebody who hadn’t had a team, and all that comes with that, like practice and a weight room.

            Hardy had told Tattnall head coach John Abernathy early in 2022 that he was likely headed elsewhere, so he then basically lacked access to a weight room, proper conditioning, contact, and any camps, for the entire offseason and almost the first two months of the season.

            Hardy, a 6-5, 270-pounder, played less than a half-dozen snaps in his first game, a 35-16 loss at Griffin. He had a better night last week against West Laurens, with eight tackles, five hurries, and a batted pass. Thursday’s loss to Westside ended the Huskies’ season after two games, and Hardy’s after a little more than two.

            Hardy committed in August, without a school or team to South Carolina, but odds are strong he’s headed to a junior college.

FPD to celebrate Moore

            Friday night is likely to be Greg Moore’s final home game as head coach at FPD.

            A night later, the school will pay tribute to the longtime Viking at the First Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall on Mulberry Street.

            Moore announced in mid-August that the 2022 season would be his last as head coach. He’ll remain as the school’s athletics director.

            He enters Friday night’s regular-season finale against Stratford with a 163-108 record. He has been at FPD for 34 years.

            The Vikings will make the GIAA playoffs despite a 2-7 record overall. The GIAA has three classifications for the regular season, but has split Class AAA into two classes, AAA and AAAA for the playoffs. It mostly uses MaxPreps rankings for seedings, and FPD is currently ninth in the 10-team AAAA field.

            That means it will, barring several upsets, be on the road as long as it’s playing.