JEFFERSON — With the No. 1 seed and homefield advantage through the first two rounds of the state playoffs, the Jefferson Dragons wanted to take advantage of what they had earned in the regular season and ride through round one.

Jefferson defeated the Kendrick Cherokees (5-6, No. 4 Region 5-AA), 42-8 on Friday night at Memorial Stadium.

"We were worried because they’re so big on offense. They got great running backs," Jefferson head coach T McFerrin said. "They just ran over us the first quarter. We couldn’t stop them.

I didn’t feel good, even at halftime. They made some changes."

Jefferson (10-1, No. 1 Region 8-AA) next plays host to Westminster, which shut out Pepperell 34-0, Friday night in Jefferson.

"It sure beats traveling," McFerrin said. "It’s nice to win the region and be the No. 1 seed because you have homefield."

Jefferson quarterback Bryant Shirreffs led the Dragons’ offense, throwing for 79 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 83 yards.

"Our offense was good. We adjusted, made some changes at halftime and played pretty good. I was really proud of them," McFerrin said.

Jefferson running back Tristen Jackson rushed for 49 yards and two touchdowns. He had two receptions for 25 yards and one touchdown. Sammy Williams added 62 yards rushing and one touchdown for the Dragons’ ground attack.

"We wanted to come out fast; we knew they were athletic, and we knew if they were lingering around they could come out and win," Jackson said. "We wanted to smash them early and take their hope away."

The Dragons’ defense held the Cherokees’ offense to 142 total yards and didn’t allow a completed pass.

"Our defense played much better the second half. I was proud of that," McFerrin said.

Kendrick running back Brandon Wade rushed for a game-high 101 yards and scored Kendrick’s only touchdown.

Shirreffs started the scoring for the Dragons’ offense with his arm, connecting with tight end Donnie Hatfield on a 14-yard touchdown score with 9:01 left in the first quarter.

Then Jackson took over for the Dragons, diving in from the 1-yard line, giving Jefferson a 14-0 lead with 5:43 left in the first quarter.

The Cherokees’ offense heated up and got on the board behind Wade. He scored on a 1-yard run. Instead of kicking the extra point, the Cherokees opted for a two-point attempt and were successful when Wade pounded it in from the 3-yard line. The lead was 14-8 after the first quarter.

The Dragons responded, going on a 28-0 run to end the game, when Jackson scored his second touchdown of the game. This time on a 22-yard run with 8:50 left in the second quarter.

Williams scored his touchdown with 1:32 left in the third quarter.

The fourth quarter saw the Shirreffs’ brothers both throw a touchdown. Bryant found Jackson for a 20-yard score. His brother, Evan, found Dalton Hill for a 23-yard score.