Our Round Two Game of the Week takes us to Jefferson for the fourth time this season as the Dragons go to battle against Hiram. Buckle up – this is a bona fide top-5 matchup in the second round. About 10 DI players will be on the field, 5-6 of whom will play in the Power 5.

JEFFERSON

The Dragons are 11-0, ranked #2 in the state, and have a top-5 ranked offense and defense. Offensively, almost all season Jefferson has leaned on Sammy Brown, a 5-star Clemson commit who is the top linebacker in the nation. He has been a bulldozer on both sides of the ball. But when a play is needed on offense, it goes to Brown. He has 1,542 rushing yards and 27 TD coming into this one, and 194 receiving yards with 4 TDs. He also has over 100 tackles on the season. But there’s more than just Brown. Gavin Markey has started to get hot in the last couple of games, and to date has 1,307 passing yards and 20 TD, completing nearly 55% of his passes. He’ll run when he needs to, and has 5 TD on the ground. He’s been finding Zay Minish a lot lately, and the WR has 471 receiving yards and 8 TD with back-to-back incredible games. The Dragons are fresh off a 48-14 win over Maynard Jackson in which the team pulled away in the second half. The defense allows only 9.64 points per game, only surrendering more than 14 twice all season.

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HIRAM

The Hornets are a team that is making history. This is only the third time Hiram has ever advanced to the second time, and never before have they gotten to the quarterfinals. This is by far the best team they’ve had in program history though. Talent-wise, you might be scared to look at the roster. 4-star ATH Chase Tyler is a Duke commit. 4-star TE Walter Matthews is commited to USC. 3-star linemen Jameson Riggs (OL – Georgia Tech) and Clinton Richard (OG – Wake Forest) are anchoring the line. Point blank, this team is flooded with playmakers.

BY THE NUMBERS (2023)

JEFFERSON

• 11-0 (8-AAAAA Region Champions)
• Region Standings: 1st
• 39.82 OFFENSE AVG (4th in Class 5A)
• 9.64 DEFENSE AVG (2nd in Class 5A)
• #2 State Ranking

HIRAM

• 9-2 (7-AAAAA Runner-Up)
• Region Standings: 2nd
• 41.09 OFFENSE AVG (2nd in Class 5A)
• 19.0 DEFENSE AVG
• #5 State Ranking

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Be looking for highlights post-game late tonight as well as a story recapping Round Two. 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. For Jefferson, offensively they will need to get going quickly. The sooner the Dragons can get points on the board, that will make Hiram play ketchup, and going against the 2nd-best defense in the state will make that a near impossible task. Start quick, make necessary stops on defense, and be opportunistic with takeaways, penalties, field position, etc. That’s the recipe for Jefferson. The Hornets meanwhile will need to come up with the big homerun plays. Those chunk yards are going to be the key. However, they will also need to know when to slow it down a bit and drain that clock. Hiram can put a lot of pressure on the Dragons by keeping the ball and letting that clock bleed, then converting when in the red zone. OUR PICK: SEE HERE

DO WE BRING LUCK?

For Jefferson, we have caught 20 games dating back to 2013. In that span, the Dragons are a robust 17-3, with our last loss we saw them have was against another Hornets team – Hapeville Charter in the opening round of the 2021 playoffs. But last year and this year, we have yet to see Jefferson fall, winning the last 5 we’ve been in attendance.

DETAILS OF THE MATCHUP

TIME: 7:30 PM Kickoff
PLACE: Jefferson HS / Jefferson, GA / Memorial Stadium
LAST MEETING: N/A
ALL-TIME RECORD: 1st-ever meeting
RECORDS: #2 Jefferson Dragons (11-0; 8-AAAAA Champs); #5 Hiram Hornets (9-2; 7-AAAAA Runner-Up)
HEAD COACHES: Travis Noland (208-92; 26 Seasons); Pete Fominaya (26-38; 6 Seasons)

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

No history here, so it will be made tonight! Noland is an experienced coach with over a quarter-century of big games under his belt. His teams have made the playoffs in all but 3 of his 26 years, and he’s made it past this point 3 times. This is a hard wall to climb for any coach. Fominaya is enjoying his best season of his career, all spent at Hiram. This is only the second time he’s gotten this far, but not yet has he reached the quarterfinals.

TEAM LEADERS (2023 Stats)

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

JEFFERSON

PASSING
Gavin Markey – 1,307 yds, 20 TD, 6 INT; 54% passing

RUSHING
Sammy Brown – 1,542 yds, 27 TD, 9.7 YPC
Mickell Pittman – 255 yds, 2 TD
Gavin Markey – 124 yds, 5 TD, 4.6 YPC

RECEIVING
Zay Minish – 471 yds, 8 TD, 21 rec
RJ Hinton – 223 yds, 1 TD, 8 rec
Sammy Brown – 194 yds, 4 TD
Talan Childress – 194 yds, 4 TD, 9 rec
Christopher Law – 168 yds, 3 TD, 9 rec

DEFENSIVE LEADERS (1 game missing in stats)
Sammy Brown – 94 TKL, 8 TFL, 1 Sack, 1 INT, 2 BLK
Jayden Yang – 85 TKL, 2 TFL
Rett Hemphill – 81 TKL, 9 TFL, 2 Sacks, 1 INT, 1 FR, 1 BLK
Terry Willis – 47 TKL, 1 TFL
Skyler Zimmerman – 41 TKL, 6 TFL, 5 Sacks, 1 FR, 1 BLK
Kelan Butler – 40 TKL, 5 TFL, 4 Sacks, 1 FR, 1 FF, 1 BLK
Jaden Butts – 36 TKL, 4 TFL, 3 INT, 1 FF
Hunter Walker – 31 TKL, 2 TFL, 1 FF
Max Brown – 26 TKL, 1 TFL, 1 FF, 1 BLK
Aiden Jackson – 24 TKL, 5 TFL, 4 Sacks, 1 FF

HIRAM

PASSING
Ryan Strickland – 1,187 yds, 12 TD, 3 INT; 59% passing

RUSHING
Kaden Hamilton – 1,057 yds, 18 TD, 9.0 YPC
Dashaun Williams – 703 yds, 4 TD, 7.5 YPC
Kendarious Brown – 604 yds, 9 TD, 8.2 YPC
Jemarion Whatley – 200 yds, 3 TD, 7.1 YPC
Amari Lindley – 195 yds, 2 TD, 7.5 YPC
Ryan Strickland – 170 yds, 2 TD, 4.6 YPC

RECEIVING
Chase Tyler – 516 yds, 7 TD, 30 rec
Walter Matthews – 303 yds, 1 TD, 23 rec
Kaden Hamilton – 213 yds, 2 TD, 12 rec
Dashaun Williams – 142 yds, 2 TD, 6 rec
Garrison Hilliard – 65 yds, 2 TD, 4 rec
Kendarious Brown – 26 yds, 1 TD, 2 rec

DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Jason Gyebi – 102 TKL, 6 TFL, 1 Sack, 5 FF, 3 FR
Willie Brown – 73 TKL, 1 TFL, 2 FF, 1 FR
Isaiah Swan – 64 TKL, 11 TFL, 2 Sacks, 3 INT, 1 FR, 1 FF
Josiah Pope – 56 TKL, 4 TFL, 4 Sacks, 1 FR
Deontae Pettway – 47 TKL, 12 TFL, 4 Sacks, 4 FF, 1 FR, 1 BLK
Brandon Davis – 31 TKL, 1 TFL, 4 INT
Messiah Jeremiah Hogan – 29 TKL, 2 TFL, 5 Sacks, 2 FF, 1 FR
Davion Jackson – 17 TKL, 5 Sacks, 1 FR