This is the team's fourth away date of the year already. The Dragons have faced Commerce, North Hall and Hart County on the road.
“It’s tough; it wears down on you,” Dragon defensive back Jason Demos said. “But it feels good if you can beat them at their place. But we’ve just got to execute.”
Jefferson got a respite last week with an off date, so that will help the Dragons roll into a game against a North Oconee squad that’s clobbering foes by an average score of 40-5. The Dragons are seeking their first subregion win of the year.
“Yeah, I feel like we’re more fresh and more mentally prepared and ready to play North Oconee,” Demos said.
The off week allowed Jefferson time to heal some of its wounded.
Those nursing various injuries include tight end-defensive end Hoytes Damons and linemen Collin Anthony and Dylan Simmons. Jefferson coach T. McFerrin said the Dragons may get two of those players back this week, but didn’t want to speculate on which two those might be.
“We’ll see how practice goes today,” McFerrin said Monday.
Jefferson has seen North Oconee on film, but the Titans may have looked even better live Friday when Dragon coaches scouted North Oconee’s win over Hart County.
“We were really impressed,” McFerrin said. “They’ve got a great football team. Their running back may be the best we’ve seen all year.”
The running back to which McFerrin refers is Lane Thompson, who gashed Hart County for 150 yards in the Titans’ 28-16 win.
In addition to Thompson, North Oconee presents other problems for the Jefferson defense. The Titans play up to three different quarterbacks and show various looks out of their multiple-I and spread attack.
“They run every formation known to man,” McFerrin said.
Though North Oconee’s multi-faceted offense is averaging a staggering 40 points a contest, the Titans are just as stout defensively. North Oconee has surrendered just 23 points all year — 16 of them coming last week — and forced four turnovers in its victory over Hart County.
All that has North Oconee off to its second straight 4-0 start.
Demos said North Oconee plays sound, fundamental football overall.
“They’re really disciplined,” Demos said. “They’re pretty big. They’re not going to mess up. They’ve got a pretty shifty running back. He’s going to be good. So we’ve got to break down and make our tackles.”
Demos agreed that North Oconee will be the best team the Dragons have seen thus far.
“Oh yeah, I watched Hart County and North Oconee play,” Demos said. “I think they’re better than Hart was, but not by much. I think we compare good against them.”
And the Dragons hope that translates into a win as Jefferson is trying to avoid an 0-2 start in subregion play.
While he’s certainly aware of the subregion implications, Demos said he doesn’t think that will affect how Jefferson approaches this game.
“I don’t want to lose, but it’s not in my head,” he said. “I’m expecting to win. My whole team is expecting to win every game. I feel like the coaches have prepared a good game plan for us.”
NOTES
•McFerrrin said Jefferson got in two good practices last week and put in some good running work. The off week also allowed Dragon coaches to recharge as they gear up for the final six games of the regular season.
“Since Aug. 2, we’ve been going seven days a week … The coaches have,” McFerrin said. “So it was good to get a little time off.”
•McFerrin said North Oconee’s roster is filled with good players, and that includes those along the lines of scrimmage.
“They’re all very good players,” McFerrin said. “They’ve got some huge offensive lineman, some of them are 280, 270 and 260-lbs, and they’ve got some very good defensive linemen.”
