HARTWELL — Coming into Friday night’s region championship-deciding game between the Jefferson Dragons and Hart County Bulldogs, it was the offenses that had all the attention as the driving forces behind both teams’ 9-0 records.
But the Dragons’ defense proved true the old adage, “defense wins championships.”
With under two minutes left in the game, the Dragons’ defense held the Bulldogs out of the end zone on four straight plays from the 5-yard line to propel Jefferson to a 21-14 victory, a perfect season and, most important, the Region 8-AAA championship.
The Dragons are the No. 1 seed and will host Franklin County next Friday in the first round of the Class AAA state playoffs.
“It was a tremendous ballgame,” Jefferson head coach Ben Hall said. “We fought adversity tonight.
“We had our backs against the wall. We played a fine football team in Hart County.”
Jefferson (10-0, 6-0 Region 8-AAA) lost two of four fumbles on offense, but the defense picked them back up, snatching two interceptions in the third quarter and shutting out the powerful Bulldogs’ (9-1, 5-1) offense in the second half.
Cooper Young and Tradd Porter recorded the interceptions.
“We had turnovers and we overcame that. (The) defense stepped up, they responded. Huge goal-line stand down (at the end) and we were able to move the ball and get a first down when we needed to and seal the win,” Hall said.
Porter’s interception turned into seven points as the Dragons’ offense capitalized on the opportunity. They knotted at 14-14 with 8:40 left in the game as senior quarterback Evan Shirreffs orchestrated a 10-play 65-yard drive and connected with senior tight end Hunter Gatlin for the go-ahead 4-yard touchdown strike.
“We just had a little play-action,” Shirreffs said. “The outside (linebacker) that was supposed to be covering him (Gatlin) came up to tackle Sammy (Williams), so I just dumped it over his head.”
He added that he didn’t watch the goal-line stand, but waited for the reaction of his teammates and fans to answer the question for him.
Shirreffs finished the night with 193 passing yards and two touchdowns. His first touchdown was to senior wide receiver Dalton Hill for 10 yards. Hill finished the game with five catches for 46 yards and one touchdown.
Senior running back Sammy Williams tallied 27 carries for 117 yards and one touchdown.
Hart County was led by quarterback Cameron Fouch’s 184 total yards (123 passing, 51 rushing) and one touchdown. Wide receiver Anthony Turner hauled in nine catches for 51 yards.
Hill scored the game’s first points as he caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Shirreffs on the game’s opening possession to put the Dragons up 7-0 with 7:42 left in the first quarter.
However, the lead was short lived as the Bulldogs put together an 18-play, 70-yard drive, capped by a Keenan Dillon 1-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7-7 with 1:28 left in the first quarter.
The Dragons’ next possession moved smoothly until a fumble after the catch at the Bulldogs’ 29-yard line ended the drive.
The Bulldogs cashed in the Dragons’ miscue, putting together a stellar 12-play, 71-yard drive which ended when Fouch pounded his way into the end zone from 2 yards away to give the Bulldogs a 14-7 lead. The scoring drive included five first downs.
The Dragons got back on track before halftime, putting together a 75-yard drive that ended when Williams scored on a 1-yard run to tie the game at 14-14 with 2:51 left in the half. The drive included three first downs and a fourth-and-1 conversion as Shirreffs hit T.J. Skelton for a 19-yard gain.
Skelton finished the game with two catches for 45 yards.
The third quarter saw three turnovers, a Jefferson fumble and the two Hart County interceptions. The game’s first punt was booted by Hart County on its first second-half possession.
Gatlin scored the game’s final touchdown in the fourth quarter.