After scoring 35 points in the second quarter and 42 in a half against Dawson County, Jefferson’s first-string found a comfortable spot on the bench as spectators in the third and fourth quarters. They didn’t take a snap the rest of the way as Jefferson rolled to a 3-0 start with a 42-14 win
(click here for pictures).
Jefferson coach T. McFerrin — whose team hosts Hart County Friday at 7:30 p.m. for homecoming — was even caught a little off guard by the Dragons’ relatively trouble-free win over the Tigers, which was Jefferson’ sixth win in a row dating back to last year.
“I’m surprised,” he said. “They’ve really got a good quarterback (Tyler Dominy) and their wide receiver, no. 80 (Bruce Clark), is excellent,” McFerrin said. “I was proud of how our guys played. Our no. 1 defense got a shutout.”
While the Dragon defense was preventing points, Jefferson’s offense was Drequn Sewell scored all three of his touchdowns in the explosive second quarter. Tristen Jackson also broke free for a 34-yard touchdown while Bryant Shirreffs threw a 23-yarder to Cole Givens, who made a circus catch to give Jefferson a 42-0 lead heading into the break. The only score that didn’t come in the second quarter was a one-yard keeper from Shirreffs in the first quarter.
McFerrin gave a lot of credit to the offensive line for Jefferson’s week three dominance. Kevin Selleck had the highest grade on the offensive line, while Dylan Simmons, Dustin Casey, Collin Anthony and Carson Newman “all played well,” McFerrin said.
Behind standout line play, Jefferson still managed to put up 322 yards despite the first-teamers playing just one half of football and having an abbreviated clock in the fourth quarter.
Jefferson, however, expects a very different football game this week when Hart County rolls into Memorial Stadium for the Dragons’ homecoming. McFerrin called Hart County, which has qualified for the state playoffs for eight straight years, the best team Jefferson will have played so far.
McFerrin said he was very impressed with the athleticism of Hart County’s quarterback (Chris Ayers) and two tailbacks (Stephon Eades and Michael Curry), who wore down the Dragons in the fourth quarter last year.
The coach isn’t quite sure what defense Hart County will run, saying the Bulldogs have offered multiple looks. Like offense, the Hart County defense has plenty of good athletes.
“They’re going to have weapons like they always do,” McFerrin said.
This game is huge for Jefferson’s postseason ambitions. Only the top three teams out of each subregion qualify for the region playoffs. Jefferson finished fourth last year while Hart County finished third and ultimately went to the state playoffs.
Hart County is simply a team the Dragons will have to go through if it wants to be playing football on into November.
“It’s a very big game,” McFerrin said. “We’ve got to win this game if we want to have a chance to go to the playoffs this year. I think it’s going to be really hard to go to the playoffs this year.”
