Bulloch Academy head coach Aaron Phillips said before the season he felt his team may have the toughest schedule in the GIAA this year. The Gators are currently 3-0 with wins against their rival Pinewood, last years state champs Brentwood, and last Friday they pulled off an impressive 48-14 win over then No. 2 ranked Tattnall Square.

“We played a little sloppy in the first half but still led 28-14 at halftime,” Phillips said. “We were able to come out in the second half and create five turnovers on a team that threw the ball over 50 times. We had three interceptions, two fumble recoveries and they only had 24 yards rushing. We’ve been able to do a pretty good job against the run ,allowing only 89-yards so far. We come out of the ball game healthy and we are excited for the opportunity to play this week against a really great opponent.”

This week the Gators take on a John Milledge team who are currently ranked No. 1 in Class AAA and are 3-0. The Gators lost at home last year to JMA 27-18 and Phillips feels like this could be a matchup between the top two teams in GIAA regardless of classifications.

They are really big and physical and they’re going to line up and say here we go and you have to try and stop it,” Phillips said. “They have an unbelievable coaching staff just like us with coaches that have been head coaches on the public and private school levels. These are the games that you remember and tell your kids about. You don’t remember the games that you win by 40 or 50 points. They’re fun to play and it is cool to have those, but games where you get an opportunity to play these caliber players is a measuring stick for you to see where you’re at.”

Phillips knows one key to a win Friday is to try and contain tight end Asa Wall. The 6-3, 240-pound junior has already committed to UGA and gave the Gators fits last year as a sophomore.

He is a four-star tight end who plays running back as well and is hard to contain or bring down,” Phillips said. “He’s the number six tight end in in America so you know he’s a phenomenal athlete and then when you’re giving him the ball, you know 10 to 15 times a game back there he’s tough to tackle because of how athletic and how big he is. We may not be able to stop him but we have to try to slow him down.”

Bulloch Academy and JMA are scheduled for a 7:30 start in Milledgeville.