LEXINGTON — The Jefferson Dragons topped the 50-point plateau for the second time this season in a 54-14 win against Oglethorpe County on Friday at Patriot Stadium.
“They (Oglethorpe) have a heck of a quarterback,” Dragons coach T. McFerrin said. “We had some trouble tackling but we made some big plays and I’m certainly proud of the way the offense played and I’m glad we were able to win the game. I give Oglethorpe credit because they kept playing hard the entire game.”
The game was never in doubt as the Dragons (4-0, 3-0 Region 8-AA) raced out to a 28-0 lead on a near 40-yard Caleb Meek run with 5:49 remaining in the second quarter.
J.J. Damons and Lucas Redd were also involved in the offensive onslaught accounting for six of the Dragons eight touchdowns.
Redd, coming off a three touchdown performance against Fannin County, put his stamp on the game early in the second half following a three-and-out by the Dragons defense which kept Patriots quarterback A.J. Perlotte uncomfortable for much of the night.
On first down from the Patriots 36-yard line, Redd took a handoff from Darius Minor and outran the defense into the end zone. The Patriots would respond with a score, but on the ensuing kickoff, Redd answered right back with a 90-yard touchdown run that put the game out of reach.
Redd shied away from making any bold predictions following the blowout victory.
“We just have to keep taking every game as it is,” Redd said. “We can’t look ahead to anything and we just have to go one game at a time because anybody can beat anybody.”
Damons’ role has also increased this season following the loss of key players to graduation.
His 66-yard touchdown reception from Minor with 1:54 remaining in the third quarter capped off another solid game as he also saw action on defense, where he intercepted a Perlotte pass.
“Hopefully we can keep this going each week until the end of the year,” Damons said. “On the touchdown, I saw the free safety coming down and I was just trying to show him some speed and get to the end zone.”
The Dragons defense was not interested in allowing the Patriots to see the end zone for much of the game as two defensive stops inside the 10-yard line, which resulted in zero points for the Patriots, were the story of the game.
Chris Jackson, who McFerrin said has improved each week, made a diving interception on fourth and goal with 8:28 remaining to end the Patriots’ drive.
“Chris makes big plays,” McFerrin said. “He’s a big play guy and he’s also a good runner. He played so much defense that we really couldn’t run him much tonight.”
Dragons sophomore Drequn Sewell took advantage of this and managed to score a touchdown late in the game when given the opportunity as the Dragons cruised to the win.
The Dragons must now prepare for Union County which comes to Jefferson next Friday. McFerrin said the message to his team is quite clear.
“We’ve got to play better on defense and really adjust to this spread offense,” McFerrin said. “It’s going to be more of the same so we have to be ready to play.”