Behind big plays from its offense and special teams, Jefferson moved to 2-0 with a 38-28 win over Class AAA North Hall at home.
The Dragons jumped out to a 28-7 halftime lead and held off the Trojans — who were playing in their season-opener — for the non-region win. North Hall pulled to within 35-28 late, but Jefferson tacked on a 25-yard field goal from Asher Orr to seal the win.
Jefferson quarterback Bryant Shirreffs completed 6-of-11 passes for 155 yards, including a 62-yard touchdown pass to Cole Givens. He added approximately 70 yards rushing.
The Dragon win avenged a 24-21 loss to the Trojans last year. It also marked Jefferson's fifth-straight victorydating back to the 2010 season.
North Hall led 7-0 in the first quarter, before Jefferson reeled off 28 unanswered points to end the first half.
Shirreffs opened up the scoring with a one-yard touchdown run and then hit Givens for the 62-yard touchdown pass to give Jefferson a 14-7 edge at the end of the first quarter. Tailback Tristen Jackson broke loose for a 36-yard score in the second quarter to up the lead to 21-7, then special teams came up big. Carson Newman blocked a punt and Cole Givens scooped it and ran it in for a 25-yard touchdown to give the Dragons a three-touchdown edge over North Hall heading into half time.
North Hall cut the lead to 28-20 in the second half, but Jefferson's Drequn Sewell scored from two yards out in the fourth quarter to give the Dragons a 35-20 edge with 11:15 left in the game.
Kody McDonald led all Jefferson tacklers with 16 stops, including two tackles for loss, followed by Wesley Simonton (12 tackles), Kamen Johnson (10 tackles) and Drew Carson (nine tackles).
Jefferson travels to Dawson County next week in Region 8-AA cross-over action.
