CHULA — Tiftarea Academy is back in the final four. The Panthers earned their fifth trip to the GISA/GIAA Class 3A semifinals in seven years with a 35-21 victory over John Milledge in the first round of the state tournament Friday behind three rushing touchdowns by J.R. Walker.

The win, Tiftarea’s 10th of the season, did even more. This was the second time they had beaten the Trojans in the 2024 campaign, but the first in the state tournament. Before this year, they had met six times at state; JMA won all six.

Head coach Erik Soliday said it felt good to send John Milledge on the long ride back home after years of having it happen to Tiftarea in Milledgeville.

“That was a big win,” he said. “I’m proud of these boys.”

Tiftarea will have another rematch next week in the final four: Valwood. The Valiants took a big lead early on Frederica Academy and never let go, winning 35-14. The Panthers won their first encounter, 28-21, just a week ago.

Though they are back in the semifinals yet another year, it’s not the end goal, Soliday said.

“We don’t want the final four,” he said. “We want to win next week and see what we can do.”

Soliday was thrilled with the work of his offensive line, which ate up 310 rushing yards unofficially, plus another 100 passing. Tiftarea did not complete a pass after halftime.

Though JMA had a tough season, they Trojans pulled to a 21-21 tie on the last play of the third quarter, a 21-yard pass on fourth down from Kolt McMichael to David Todd.

Getting the ball back at the Trojan 34 to start the fourth, the Tiftarea line did the heavy lifting on a four-play, 66-yard drive that ended with J.R. Walker running straight up the gut for an 11-yard score at 10:34.

Harrison Powell booted the fourth of his five extra points and the Panthers were back up at 28-21.

The Trojans were not done, however. Cole Vining’s legs had pickups of 11 and 33 yards as John Milledge went from its own 36 to the 23 in four plays. But then disaster struck.

Brody Seagraves knocked the ball free on an eight-yard run, Ridley Monk cradling the pigskin at his own 14. “Some different people stepped up,” said Soliday. “That’s what I really liked. It was a real team effort tonight.”

Though the Panthers had to punt on the series, it was obvious how much the line was wearing down their opposition as the drive included a 29-yard run by Walker.

When JMA got the ball back at the 23, 6:32 remained in the quarter and since the Trojans spent two timeouts in the third frame, they were in four-down territory, almost regardless of field position.

Vining picked up two on third down at his own 39 and the Trojans indeed went for it. Caden Grier read the play perfectly, breaking up a McMichael pass to turn it over on downs at 4:19.

The Panther line was in command. Walker gained 12 yards to the 28 as the clock went under 3:00. Two snaps later, it was a 10-yard Walker run to get inside the red zone at the 17.

“They did a great job,” Soliday said of his linemen. “They kept plugging away. In the end, they wore them (John Milledge) down.”

Tiftarea’s clock-bleeding was a little too much, knocking them to the 22 on a delay, but that would not matter.

Walker exploded for a 22-yard touchdown on the next play. At 35-21 with 1:37 to go, a comeback was now next to impossible for the visitors.

John Milledge made a drive of it. Running a hurry-up offense, McMichael passed them from the 41 to the TA 33. With seconds flying off the clock, he threw as deep as he could, but only found Jackson Parrish in the end zone for an interception as the horn sounded.

The Trojans wanted the ball to start the game and it paid dividends quickly. Asa Wall ran for an 11-yard touchdown at 10:30. Jacob Noles had the first of his three extra points for a 7-0 lead.

That would be the only time Tiftarea trailed Friday. Walker and Grier had big gains on the ground and Panthers also picked up a fourth down at the JMA 43 on a nine-yard pass to Parrish.

Walker polished off the drive by going untouched on a 22-yard touchdown run at 7:09. Powell kicked the point for a 7-7 tie.

Downs gave the ball back to the Panthers two minutes later at their own 30.

Monk moved the sticks on two catches, one for 18 yards. When the quarter ended, John Jackson’s 16-yard catch spotted them on the 16.

On third down, the Panthers were at the 13. Jackson was covered well all night, but found himself with one-on-one coverage. Walker threw for the back of the end zone and Jackson reeled it in at 10:04. Tiftarea went ahead for the first time at 14-7.

After being gashed on the first two drives, Tiftarea’s defense found its groove, forcing a pair of punts. After the second, the Panthers got 59 yards on a drive to reach the 21, but had two seconds left when Soliday called time. They attempted a 38-yard field goal but were short as the half ended.

Ryan Murphey ended the first Panther possession of the new half with a pick, setting up his team at their own 41.

Wall made them pay, with a 10-yard touchdown run at 9:33, tying the score at 14-14.

The offensive line that did Chula people proud made their first big marks on the next drive, a seven-snap affair that featured only one pass attempted.

Grier had a monster 23-yard run that saw him twisted down inside the 1. Soliday let him finish what he started and Grier went in from the 1 at 7:42. Powell’s kick put them back ahead at 21-14.

Neither side did anything over the next 4:30. The Trojans then began on their march to re-tie the game. Todd had a 19-yard reception to get them started and Vining and Jamel Cooper worked between the tackles.

Todd got the catch in the middle of the field for the touchdown that ended the quarter and temporarily kept the Trojans afloat.

Walker finished with an unofficial 200 rushing yards on 25 attempts, with three touchdowns. He completed 9 of 18 passes for 104, with a TD toss to Jackson.

Grier added 72 yards and a score on 10 rush tries. Jackson led receivers with four receptions for 52 yards and a touchdown.

In other first round matchups, No. 1 Westfield outlasted Terrell Academy, 15-6, and Deerfield-Windsor flooded Lakeview Academy, 35-12. They’ll meet in Perry in the other semifinal.