The Dragons were opportunistic and put a sluggish first half in the rearview mirror in a 42-21 victory over Hiram at Memorial Stadium, advancing to the first Quarterfinals since 2020. The top-5 matchup saw #2-ranked Jefferson overcome a 14-7 halftime deficit with a dominant 21-point third quarter against the #5 Hornets. Sammy Brown scored 4 rushing TDs and added a passing TD as well, and the defense came up with a pair of interceptions, forced a botched punt, 3 missed field goals, and 2 turnover on downs.

After a missed FG on the opening drive for Hiram, Jefferson needed just one play to Brown, who went 80 yards for the opening score. It wasn’t until 9:15 left in the second when the Hornets’ Anthony Pittman scooped up a fumble by Brown and went 50 yards to the end zone to tie it up. A quick series for the Dragons led to Hiram going one play with a TD from Ryan Strickland to 4-star athlete Chase Tyler (Duke commit) for a 35-yd TD to put the Hornets up 14-7.

Hiram missed another field goal later in the half, and Brown came up with a ricochet interception just before the break to keep it at 14-7 going into the locker room. It was all Dragons in the second half. Jefferson scored 28 unanswered in the second half, starting with a 41-yd TD by Brown on the first drive of the third. Ater a big interception by Dashaun Keith got Jefferson back in the red zone, the Dragons called in a trick play. Gavin Markey hit Brown in the flats, who found a wide open Zay Minish for a 9-yd TD and the 21-14 lead.

Later in the quarter, Markey found Talan Childress on a deep ball, good for a 65-yd TD that gave the Dragons a dominant 28-14 lead. Brown then notched a 48-yd TD run early in the fourth to make it a 35-14 lead. Hiram responded with just over 6 minutes left on a 6-yd TD run, but Brown put the finishing touches with a 69-yd run for pay dirt.

The Dragons are now 12-0 on the season and back into the Quarterfinals, while Hiram (9-3) has hit the end of the road.