JEFFERSON — With freezing temperatures, it took a little time for the Jefferson Dragons’ offense to warm up offensively during its Class AAA state playoff opener against the Franklin County Lions.

But once it was primed, it showed it wasn’t going to be stopped.

The Dragons scored on their first six possessions en rout to a dominant 38-7 first-round victory Friday night at Jefferson Memorial Stadium.

The No. 1-seeded Dragons host the No. 3-seed Dodge County Indians from Region 1-AAA next Friday in the second round.

Jefferson head coach Ben Hall said the offense was a “little rusty” coming out of the gate. After a few incompletions and a holding call, which negated a Sammy Williams 26-yard touchdown run, the Dragons settled for a Gage Lawson 32-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead on the game’s opening possession.

After that, the performance was near perfection.

“We had a few drops and that’s to be expected,” Hall said. “That’s the first time we’ve thrown the ball that much in the first half.

“The defense played well. The offense started clicking after the first drive and it was a good win.”

The Dragons’ offense picked up 19 first-half first downs, and finished with 21 for the game.

Jefferson was led by senior quarterback Evan Shirreffs’ 200 passing yards and two touchdowns. He threw the ball 23 times in the first half.

“We definitely did what we wanted to do besides that first little mishap on the first drive,” Shirreffs said. “We wanted to put it to them quick and make a statement for the rest of the playoffs and the teams we play.”

He connected with senior wide receiver T.J. Skelton five times for 78 yards and two touchdowns. Like Williams, Skelton had a 26-yard touchdown called back in the first half.

“It was in Coach Hall’s game plan to pass the ball a lot because of how the defense was playing at the beginning of the game,” Skelton said. “So, we just executed well.”

He said the cold weather didn’t affect any passes his way. Instead, it’s just about “pass and execute.”

“We just (didn’t) let the cold affect our focus,” he said. “We just stayed focused and (caught) the ball. That was about it.”

Senior Dalton Hill hauled in three catches for 42 yards and Rodney Carr snagged four catches for 44 yards.

Freshman running back Colby Wood carried the ball five times for 37 yards and two touchdowns. Williams picked up 42 yards on six carries and one touchdown.

After the Lawson field goal to start the game, the Dragons got on track as Shirreffs found Skelton on a 31-yard touchdown strike to extend the lead to 10-0.

The duo wasn’t finished as Shirreffs then connected with Skelton for a 20-yard pass-and-catch touchdown on the Dragons’ next possession with 1:49 left in the first quarter to bump the lead to 17-0.

The second quarter belonged to the Dragons’ ground attack as Williams found the end zone from a yard away to propel the Dragons’ lead to 24-0 with 8:37 left until halftime.

Then Wood scored on back-to-back 11-yard runs to set the score at 38-0 headed to halftime.

After a scoreless third quarter, Franklin County got on the board when Dylan Smith scored a 32-yard touchdown with 10:24 left in the game.

The Lions were led by running back Conner Williams, who rushed for a game-high 93 yards on 21 carries. Quarterback Tyrique David rushed for 64 yards on 12 carries.

“They (Dodge County) are a physical football team and we have to work hard to get through another round,” Hall said. “It is survive and advance for us now and our kids our excited for the opportunity to play another game.”