CHULA — The GIAA Class 3A tournament opens Friday night at the Panther Pit, with No. 2 Tiftarea Academy playing No. 7 John Milledge Academy in this quarterfinal round.

This will be second meeting between the teams this year. On Aug. 30, the Panthers breezed past the Milledgeville club, 46-21, their first ever win in the series.

Winning over a team twice in one season is difficult, said head coach Erik Soliday.

“It’s always tough,” he said. “Obviously, [the Trojans] are going to make some adjustments. You’ve got to make some.”

However, that’s what the Panthers will have to do to keep going in the bracket. Of the seven other teams competing in the 3A playoffs, TA has played six this year. The only exception is the No. 5 seed, Lakeview Academy, who is at Deerfield-Windsor.

Should the Panthers win, they would host either Valwood or Frederica Academy. The other playoff, the 1-8 matchup, is Terrell Academy at Westfield.

Being No. 2 means Tiftarea has ensured they will stay home until the finals, should they make it that far.

“They’ve done everything they needed to do,” Soliday said. Tiftarea leapfrogged Valwood in Sunday’s final power rankings to get to this position. “Now we have that opportunity. We just have to take advantage of it.”

Soliday is also keeping his eyes on the weather. Wednesday and Thursday have high chances of rain. Friday is a 24% chance.

The first game between the two saw John Milledge quarterback Kolt McMichael injured. He’s missed most of the season, but returned in their regular season finale, a 28-17 victory over Mount de Sales. McMichael threw for 210 yards over MDS, with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

The win — only John Milledge’s second of the year — was enough to bump them to seventh place in the power rankings. Though their overall record is well under .500, their strength of schedule was enough for the playoff boost.

It’s a different situation for the Trojans, who had a state-record 62-game winning streak snapped in the state championship game a year ago. This is their first true road playoff game since 2018, which was also in Chula. This will be the first time they won’t finish with a winning record since 2010.

In four games this year, McMichael has 758 yards and four touchdowns. He didn’t run last game, but was mobile earlier in the year, with 31 carries for 121 yards and six touchdowns, according to MaxPreps stats.

Cole Vining is their rushing yardage leader at 768. Both he and Asa Wall have three touchdowns in that department.

Wall is also their receiving leader at 295, but now that McMichael is back under center, backup QB David Todd can get back to catching passes. Todd has 19 receptions for 284 on the year, four of them going for scores.

Just a freshman for the Trojans, Wall is already making a colossal impact. Their MaxPreps stats indicate he’s their best blocker and best tackler, averaging eight stops per game. He leads in tackles for losses.

In comparison, Tiftarea’s numbers are a bit flashier in 2024.

J.R. Walker has nearly identical numbers as a passer and runner, 1,371 in the former and 1,340 in the latter. Walker has run for 24 touchdowns and passed for 16. He’s eclipsed 100 rushing yards in seven of 10 games this year.

Complementing Walker on the ground are Caden Grier and Kaiden Richardson. Grier has 690 yards, averaging 8.1 per touchdown. Richardson has 360, mostly in tough situations where his power is required.

Half of Walker’s passing touchdowns have gone to John Jackson, who has eight this year to go along with 864 yards. Though he’s the primary target, he’s not the only one. Temond Marcus is at 153 yards, always popping up when needed the most. Ridley Monk and William Garner are a shade under 100 yards each. All three have two scores each.

Defense has been a revelation for Tiftarea.

Two years ago, they surrendered 44 points per game. Last year, that was cut to 33 and is almost of that this season, 17 points per game.

Brody Seagraves and Marcus lead the charge, both at over 80 tackles, and both have 60 solo stops. Jack Brand and Grier have four sacks apiece. Jackson Parrish patrols the airwaves, with four interceptions. John Jackson’s pick sealed the Valwood game last week.

Tiftarea’s leap from 1-9 two years ago to 9-1 now has been the rise of a young team, Soliday said. Tradition helps. They were a final four squad as freshmen and got their feet fully wet with an elite eight appearance last year.

“They’ve seen playoff football,” he said. “They know what it takes.”

And it should continue. Walker, Marcus, Jackson and Seagraves are seniors, but many key players will return, including Grier, Richardson and Parrish.