While an 11 AM Saturday kickoff was not the usual, the Dragons earning a win at home was all too familiar. #2 Jefferson (4-2; 1-0 in 8-AAA) opened region play with a blowout 49-7 win against West Hall (4-2; 0-1) in a day later due to Hurricane Helene.
The Dragons scored on every first-half possession except the last, in which backups took over with a 49-0 cushion. From the opening kick, Jefferson was in control and never wavered.
The opening kick went to Rett Hemphill. After an initial bobble, the senior picked it off the grass and ran in and out of tackles for a 95-yd TD, quickly setting the tone. On the first real possession for Jefferson, Gavin Markey orchestrated a drive that ended with a 28-yd TD run by Hemphill for the 14-0 lead.
Markey used his legs often but stretched out the field with several passes. The third series also ended with pay dirt, as Markey kept it for a 1-yd plunge with 4:03 left in the opening quarter. The Dragons recovered a shocking onside kick, and Markey hooked up with Childress, Hinton, and Dye on a lengthy drive that was polished off by another 1-yd TD from Markey with 39 seconds left in the quarter and a 28-0 lead.
West Hall continued to get nowhere, and the Dragons got another TD on the board with 8:22 left in the second on Mickell Pittman’s 2-yd TD run. The Spartans fumbled it away on their next play, and Jefferson rolled back down the field, with the drive capped by a Markey-to-Childress 9-yd TD pass to pad the lead to 42-0.
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Dashaun Keith came up with a big interception moments later, and Dallas Russell rushed one in from 3 ticks out late in the half for the 49-0 lead. That held to the break, and the Dragons brought in backups for the final drive of the half. With a running clock in the second half, Jefferson went on to win 49-7.
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