COMMERCE — It was a short night for the Jefferson varsity squad Friday night against East Jackson.
The Dragons varsity scored 42 of the team’s 49 points en route to an emphatic 49-0 win.
Jefferson (8-0, 4-0) outgained East Jackson 364 yards to 61 in the game and only failed to score on three possessions. The junior varsity players ended the first half and played the entire second half for the Dragons.
“I’m proud of our guys especially the young guys who got to come in and get some significant reps tonight,” Jefferson head coach Ben Hall said. “We challenge our young players when they have an opportunity. There is no mop-up duty; they are all auditioning for future reps.
“Our young guys take pride in that opportunity and gave their best effort. They were mismatched against older guys but they fought when they were in there.”
The Dragons began with a 73-yard opening drive capped by an 11-yard run by Colby Wood, that was their longest drive of the game. Wood left the game between the first and second quarters, he finished with 114 yards on only five carries.
Zack Boobas scored the Dragons next three touchdowns, first with a 20-yard interception return on East Jackson’s first offensive play from scrimmage. Boobas then ended a 65-yard drive with an 11-yard run and a short 30-yard drive with a 5-yard run to extend the Dragons led to 28-0.
“Going into the game we knew our opponent and what they had done in the past but we didn’t take that for granted,” Boobas said. “We knew what we were coming into and we prepared the same way we do every week.
“It was cold so we tried to get out of here, we wanted to score fast so we could put other people in to see the field if they haven’t and then go home and warm up.”
Darrien Hill had a 28-yard run to start the second quarter and a 22-yard run on the next possession to end the varsity’s night with a 42-0 lead. Hill left the game soon after with 80 yards on six carries.
Zac Corbin ended the scoring for the Dragons with a 3-yard run to bring the lead to 49-0 and insure the clock would not stop running in the second half. Before his score, Corbin had a 37-yard run to place the ball at the 3-yard line.
With a running clock in the second half, Jefferson only had two drives both ending without points. The Dragons defense made up of mostly junior varsity players stopped the Eagles offense for minus-4 yards in the second half, sealing the 49-0 shutout victory.
Jefferson goes into an off week giving them a chance to prepare for Oconee County and Hart County the week after. Both teams are near the top of the Region 8-AAA standings with Jefferson in the lead.
“When you have an off week prior to game nine you just want to stay sharp and get an early jump on some future game plans,” Hall said. “With an off week this late in the season you don’t want to do too much, we’re not going to try to reinvent the wheel.”