Our Week Four Game of the Week takes us to Jefferson for a top-10 showdown between Jefferson and Oconee County! Extra sauce on this one due to last year’s 9-7 final in favor of OC, and the fact that both head coaches are going up against their former programs.

JEFFERSON

The Dragons are looking great so far at 3-0, with everything appearing to click on both sides of the ball. The turnover bug in their last home game seems to be a thing of the past, and since giving up 24 in the first game, Jefferson has allowed only 14 against Wren (SC) and none versus St. Pius X. Gavin Markey is starting to heat up at QB, and Sammy Brown is doing Sammy Brown things! Coach Travis Noland just captured win #200 for his career!

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OCONEE COUNTY

The Warriors are 1-2 overall, but both losses were pretty close against top-10 ranked teams, including a Week 2 loss to Clarke Central by a 38-31 final. A 51-14 win in Week 3 is what this team is capable of, though the defense does appear to be human. Coach Ben Hall has a solid group, and dual threat QB Titus Watkins is the one to keep an eye on.

BY THE NUMBERS (2023)

JEFFERSON

• 3-0 (0-0 in 8-AAAAA)
• Region Standings: 1st
• 35.3 OFFENSE AVG (10th in Class 5A)
• 12.7 DEFENSE AVG (4th in Class 5A)
• #4 State Ranking

OCONEE COUNTY

• 1-2 (0-0 in 8-AAA)
• Region Standings: 1st
• 31.3 OFFENSE AVG
• 27.0 DEFENSE AVG
• #7 State Ranking

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Be looking for highlights post-game late tonight as well as a story recapping Week Four. BLITZ partners with Fox 5’s 11 PM “High 5 Sports” show throughout the season. We make sure to get Jefferson coverage on the big market show! You can also follow us on Twitter (@BlitzSportsGa) for live score updates (5G pending).

OUR PREDICTION

We typically make a case for both, with our official pick linked below. Jefferson has to have this game circled or highlighted from last year. The 9-7 loss for the Dragons sparked a turnaround in which Jefferson won the next 6 in a row afterwards. The Dragons are better than they were a year ago at this point. Playing at home helps. If Gavin Markey can spread the field out with the passing game, that will only open it more for Sammy Brown to do damage on the ground. The defense should be just fine. Oconee County is looking fine as well. The Warriors have a pair of losses to top-10 teams, and both were relatively close. This is a run-heavy team. If they can go 3.3 yards per carry and bleed out the clock and also finish when in scoring position, that would help them. Causing some turnovers also would be crucial for OC if it expects to win. OUR PICK: SEE HERE

DO WE BRING LUCK?

In 18 all-time games we’ve covered for Jefferson, the Dragons have gone 15-3, including 1-0 this season. The last 3 games we’ve been to for JHS, the Dragons have won.

DETAILS OF THE MATCHUP

TIME: 7:30 PM Kickoff
PLACE: Jefferson HS / Jefferson, GA / Jefferson Memorial Stadium
LAST MEETING: 2022 (#7 Oconee County 9, #9 Jefferson 7)
ALL-TIME RECORD: Jefferson leads 12-11 in the all-time series
RECORDS: #4 Jefferson Dragons (3-0; 0-0 in 8-AAAAA); #7 Oconee County Warriors (1-2; 0-0 in 8-AAA)
HEAD COACHES: Travis Noland (200-92; 26 Seasons); Ben Hall (95-32; 11 Seasons)

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

Jefferson and Oconee County have some solid history, spanning 23 games dating back to 1968. The Dragons won that first one and 7 in a row to start the series. It wasn’t until 1977 when Oconee County won, and the Warriors would win 8 of the next 11 counting that one. There was a gap in the series after the 1987 meeting, and they did not square off again until 2014. Since 2014, the Dragons have won 3 of the 7, and Oconee now holds a 3-game win streak in the series. Since 2017, each game has been decided by a TD or less, with the last 2 won by 2 points and 1 point by OC.

Another level to the history here is between the 2 coaches. They’re 2 of the best, and they have squared off 4 times. Last year was unique because it was them going against their former programs. Hall coached at Jefferson between 2013-2016, and during that span he faced Travis Noland’s Oconee County teams 3 times. In 2014 and 2016, Hall and the Dragons beat Noland and the Warriors. A 2OT thriller in 2015 went Noland’s direction. Last year’s 9-7 final was the other meeting. Hall has the 3-1 edge over Noland.

TEAM LEADERS (2023 Stats)

*Stats accumulated by team-published data on Ga MaxPreps from this season

JEFFERSON

PASSING
Gavin Markey – 318 yds, 4 TD, 3 INT, 53% completion

RUSHING
Sammy Brown – 303 yds, 8 TD, 7.0 YPC
Dallas Russell – 113 yds, 0 TD, 5.7 YPC

RECEIVING
Rodney Hinton – 138 yds, 1 TD, 5 rec
Christopher Law – 82 yds, 1 TD, 6 rec
Joshua Casey – 41 yds, 0 TD, 7 rec
Zay Minish – 30 yds, 1 TD, 3 rec

DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Sammy Brown – 34 TKL, 3 TFL, 1 Sack
Rhett Hemphill – 32 TKL, 5 TFL, 2 Sacks, 1 FumRec
Jayden Yang – 22 TKL
Jaden Butts – 19 TKL, 3 TFL, 1 INT
Kelan Butler – 17 TKL, 2 TFL, 2 Sacks, 1 FF
Skyler Zimmerman – 11 TKL, 2 TFL, 2 Sacks

OCONEE COUNTY

PASSING
Titus Watkins – 621 yds, 4 TD, 0 INT, 65% completion

RUSHING
Caiden Wood – 207 yds, 4 TD, 5.4 YPC
Titus Watkins – 162 yds, 3 TD, 4.4 YPC

RECEIVING
James Holland – 189 yds, 1 TD, 17 rec
Caiden Wood – 124 yds, 1 TD, 8 rec
Mason Hall – 83 yds, 1 TD, 6 rec

DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Caleb Smith – 21 TKL, 2 FF
Tyler Garrett – 19 TKL, 1 Sack
Judah Birch – 16 TKL, 1 TFL, 1 Sack, 1 FumRec
Zach Weeks – 16 TKL, 1 INT, 1 FF
Mac Ricks – 16 TKL, 1 TFL, 1 INT