With just four weeks of regular season football left, the Jefferson Dragons appear to be in good shape for a post-season shot.
The Dragons are one of three teams in the region to go undefeated thus far in the season, with East Jackson and North Oconee being the other two.
Those three teams will face off in the last three weeks of the season.
But this week, Jefferson must concentrate on the task at hand, as they will play host to the Leopards of Banks County Friday night.
Just like the Dragons, Banks County comes to town after a bye week. They are looking to break a two-game losing streak after dropping their Oct. 2 game to East Jackson 21-6.
On paper, Jefferson holds the clear advantage.
The Dragons have scored 272 points so far this season, an average of 45.3 per game. Banks County has scored 89 points, an average of 14.8 points per game.
The Leopards have allowed 160 points to be scored against them so far this year, an average of 26.7 per game, while Jefferson has allowed 91 points to be scored, an average of 15.2 per game.
In their last pairing, Jefferson pulled out a 34-22 victory in October of last year.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Not only was last week a bye week, but it was also fall break for Jefferson High School. Coach T. McFerrin said it gave his team a chance to catch their breath.
“I said let’s just give them the whole week off and hope they come back in some degree of conditioning,” he said. “(Monday) we had practice in the gym, and they had a lot of life and a lot of enthusiasm. The ones I talked to said it really helped them get their legs back under them. We’ve pushed them pretty hard and had long practices, we’ve played six physical games, and I’m looking at it as a very positive thing.”
McFerrin also pointed out that it wasn’t just a break for the players.
“The coaches had some time off,” he said. “We work seven days a week, and we’re up there on Saturday and Sunday. It gave the coaches some time with their families, which we don’t have a whole lot of during the season.
“I think it gave everybody a little bit of fresh air.”
Now, with the last four games of the regular season looming on the horizon, McFerrin said the Dragons’ focus will be on exactly the same things they were on for the first six games of the season.
“We take one game at a time,” he said. “I told the players yesterday these next four games are the most important part of the season. It’s the second part of the season, and we hope there’s another third of the season, that’s the playoffs. To be successful in the playoffs, we need to be successful in these last four games.”
For more on this story, see Wednesday's edition of The Jackson Herald.
