Football: Jackson Co., Jefferson football series to continue

Jackson County and Jefferson, separated by only a couple miles apart, have signed on to play in 2012 and 2013.

This year’s meeting is set for Sept. 7 in Jefferson, according to football schedules recently released by both schools.

“I think it’s good for our community, anytime you can get a rivalry game like that, that adds that atmosphere on an early fall night or a late summer night,” Jackson County athletic director Jason Holcombe said.

The series will continue despite Jackson County’s move up to 8-AAA following the most recent reclassification. Jefferson will stay in 8-AA. But with both teams playing seven-game region schedules next year, it left three open dates to fill.

“I knew right away the no. 1 game we needed to get was Jefferson,” Holcombe said.

The teams met the last two years as members of Region 8-AA, ending a 25-year lapse in play. Jackson County and Jefferson have played four times overall. Jefferson leads the series 4-0.

“It’s something I know our community was wanting,” Holcombe said of the continuation of the series.

Geography played a big role in the decision as far as Jefferson was concerned.

“A lot of things go into play trying to put that schedule together,” Jefferson athletic director Tim Corbett said. “In a lot of ways, it’s fortunate that we were able to do that because, obviously, we’re right beside each other.”

Many of Jefferson’s scheduling options out-of-region would have required longer drives.

“It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to schedule a ball game an hour down the road when we can drive right across the street,” Corbett said.

Of course, there’s naturally community interest in that game, which was also a factor in the decision.

“I don’t think we’ll have any trouble to get fans out to watch it,” Corbett said.

Jefferson will need those kind of returns at the ticket gate because the new Region 8-AA is vastly spread-out, stretching from the Georgia mountains (Rabun County and Union County) to the Lake Oconee area (Greene County). That will require long drives from fans, which could potentially hurt ticket sales.

“I hope time will tell that it’s not this way, but I think that our region is not going to be a big huge moneymaker for football,” Corbett said. “This (the Jackson County game) would be a huge shot in the arm for us.”

Jefferson’s other non-region games are against longtime intra-country rival, Commerce (Aug. 31) on the road, and nearby opponent North Hall (Sept. 14) on the road as well. Jefferson’s region schedule includes Greene County (away), Washington-Wilkes (home), Rabun County (away), Oglethorpe County (home), Social Circle (away), Riverside Military (home) and Union County (home).

Jackson County’s 8-AAA region isn’t as spread out, but the Panthers still filled their non-region allotment with area teams in addition to Jefferson. Jackson County opens with an old rival, Winder-Barrow (Aug. 31), at home and plays Athens Christian (Sept. 14), a scrimmage opponent the last two years, at home.

“Right now, it’s a good fit to try and see if we can get those local games in there,” Holcombe said.

The Panthers region opponents include North Oconee (home), Franklin County (away), intra-county rival East Jackson (home), Hart County (away), Oconee County (away), Elbert County (home) and Morgan County (away).

Holcombe likes the home-away set up of this year’s schedule. The Panthers only played four home games last year.

“Now, we have a balanced schedule,” Holcombe said. “We have five home games. We have five road games.”