When they play Friday night, the Bulloch Academy football team will need to rebound from a loss for the first time in nearly two years. Last Friday at Gator Alley, Bulloch Academy fell to John Milledge, 27-18, snapping a 15-game win streak.

The Gators went 12-0 last season and started this year 3-0 before the setback, which head coach Aaron Phillips believes is nothing to be ashamed of as John Milledge  may be the toughest team in GIAA.

“That team has at least two Power-4 players and are well-coached,” Phillips said. “Any time you can go play a team with that much talent, it is going to make you better. I felt we were only really one score away from them but they showed us some things we have to work on in order to be successful against a good team. We had some costly penalties, which really hurt us and we have to clean some things like that up.”

The good thing is JMA is not in Bulloch Academy’s classification and Phillips believes the team is still upbeat as all of their goals remain.

“We want to be region champs and still feel we can compete for a state championship,” Phillips said. “We are far from a finished product and we are still trying to get our younger players experience and the reps they need to improve.”

This week, Bulloch Academy hits the road for Locust Grove for a meeting with the 3-1 Patriots of Strong Rock Christian. The Gators beat the Pats 49-14 last year in Statesboro, but Phillips said this year’s team is much-improved and knows the distractions that can come with a road contest.

“This will be about a three-hour bus ride so that can be challenge,” Phillips said. “They already have as many wins as they had in the regular season last year so we know they have improved. They brought in a new coach in Brad Bowles and he seems to have them in the right direction. I feel like if we can take care of what we struggled with last week and keep our focus we will be fine.”

Bulloch Academy and Strong Rock are scheduled for a 7:30 kickoff in Locust Grove.