Jefferson has the inside track to the Region 8-AA title after its 47-20 win against Riverside Military (4-2, 3-2) on Friday night in Jefferson. The Dragons are looking for the first region title for the school since 1977. It's been noted that Jefferson (6-0, 5-0) is dangerous on offense, hard-hitting on defense, and takes advantage of any opportunity it's given.

One thing that isn't as well-publicized is the fact that Jefferson is doing all this against some good competition. Three of the last four wins for the Dragons are against teams that have winning records and are still in the running to make the playoffs.

Jefferson already has any tiebreaker advantage it could need in the end against Fannin County (5-1, 4-1), Union County (4-2, 3-2), and the Eagles. The Dragons' last big test of the season is against North Oconee (5-1, 4-1) on Oct. 31 at Jefferson Memorial.

Time to rest
Region 8-AA has its bye week for the entire region this Friday. Every team in the region has four games remaining in the regular season.

If the season ended today, Jefferson, Fannin County and North Oconee would all be in the playoffs. Riverside Military, Union County and Banks County all stand at 3-2 in region play. The Eagles already have head-to-head advantage against Banks County. The Eagles visit Fannin County on Oct. 17, and play host to Union County on Oct. 31. Those two games will likely decide their playoff fate.

Another game that will factor heavily into the playoff picture is Fannin County's trip to North Oconee in the regular season finale.

Good idea
Riverside Military coach Chris Lancaster made the decision to move former starting quarterback Julian Suber to running back, and promote Lucas Bersin into the starting quarterback spot two weeks ago, and stayed with that lineup this week.

Fans at Jefferson Memorial on Friday night saw why that wasn't a bad tactical decision for the Eagles as the playoff race heats up.

Suber displayed his breakaway speed against Jefferson with the longest play from scrimmage, a 71-yard touchdown run, in the third quarter. He finished the game with 120 yards rushing.

Bersin also played well, passing for 161 passing yards and two touchdowns.

Takin' shape
The playoff picture in Region 7A-AAA is starting to materialize. North Hall (3-2, 2-0 Region 7A-AAA) and Chestatee (3-2, 2-0) control their own destiny toward earning a playoff spot.

White County (2-3, 0-1) can jump back into the top two with a win against the War Eagles on Oct. 17 in Cleveland.

What a transformation
The Flowery Branch offense has certainly started to find its wings.

The Falcons (5-1, 2-0 Region 7B-AAA) have averaged 48 points in their last two outings. The two previous games, Flowery Branch scored 20 and 24 points respectively.

In the Falcons' last win they seemed to put it all together in a 55-7 win against West Hall. Flowery Branch scored 42 points in its first 4:58 seconds it possessed the ball.

Falcons senior fullback Daniel Drummond set a new school single-game rushing record with 245 yards and three touchdowns, all in the first half.

Flowery Branch plays host to North Hall on Friday night at Falcons Field.