The Week Five Game of the Week takes us to Memorial Stadium in Jefferson to catch a top-5 showdown of unbeatens.

JEFFERSON

The Dragons gave up a season-high 14 points against Stephens County, but still came out with a win. #1-ranked Jefferson overcame turning the ball over three times, and a really rough third quarter, to get the victory. The top-10 ranked defense showed a little bend, though to be fair, one of the scores was on a short field. Offensively, Max Brown has been spectacular, and Logan Edmunds has truly emerged as a solid WR option alongside Dalton Dye.

NORTH OCONEE

The Titans are just as dominant as they were a year ago (also State Runner-Up like Jefferson was). At 45.7 points per game (2nd in the state) and 2.3 per game allowed, it’s the ultimate team. JT Doster is the bell-cow back on offense, and QB Harrison Faulkner makes great reads. The defense is loaded and stingy. This team is stacked.

BY THE NUMBERS (2025)

JEFFERSON

• 4-0 (0-0 IN 8-AAA)
• Region Standings: 1st
• 28.3 OFFENSE AVG
• 6.8 DEFENSE AVG (5th in 3A)
• #1 State Ranking

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NORTH OCONEE

• 3-0 (0-0 IN 8-AAAA)
• Region Standings: 1st
• 45.7 OFFENSE AVG (2nd in 4A)
• 2.3 DEFENSE AVG (1st in 4A)
• #2 State Ranking

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Be looking for highlights post-game later tonight as well as a story recapping the contest. 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. Let’s begin with the Dragons. Full stop – they must protect the football. Giving the pigskin away three times like last week won’t get it done. Zero turnovers to win this game, and we’ll say about 20-plus points at minimum. The defense has to play a clean game and keep from giving up 20-plus yard plays. North Oconee – it sounds simple, but just doing what they have been. 40-0 over Clarke Central, 41-0 over Oconee County, and 56-7 over Dalton. These are great on paper against solid teams. Jefferson is another animal completely, but you could say the same for North Oconee. OUR PICK: SEE HERE

DO WE BRING LUCK?

For Jefferson, in 29 games, the Dragons are an unreal 25-4. 13 of our last 14 games we’ve seen Jefferson, the Dragons have won!

DETAILS OF THE MATCHUP

TIME: 7:30 PM Kickoff
PLACE: Memorial Stadium / Jefferson, GA
LAST MEETING: 2024: #5 North Oconee 35, #2 Jefferson 0
ALL-TIME RECORD: Jefferson leads the all-time series 6-4
RECORDS: #1 Jefferson Dragons (4-0) vs #2 North Oconee Titans (3-0)
HEAD COACHES: Travis Noland (225-97; 28 Seasons); Tyler Aurandt (78-26; 9 Seasons)

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

Since 2004, these teams have played quite a bit, as Jefferson holds a 6-4 advantage in the series. Winners of the first four meetings, the Dragons didn’t lose until back-to-back times in 2010-11. Jefferson won the next two in 2016-17. The scheduled meeting in 2020 never happened with the wild COVID year. In 2021, North Oconee continued the win streak with an 11-6 low-scoring game at Memorial Stadium. Then last year, it was a 35-0 shocking defeat of #2-ranked Jefferson that was a launching pad for both teams.

TEAM LEADERS (2025 Stats)

*Stats accumulated by team-published data on Ga MaxPreps

JEFFERSON

PASSING
Colton Grant – 275 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT, 70% completion

RUSHING
Max Brown – 427 yds, 4 TD, 10.2 YPC
Colton Grant – 116 yds, 3 TD, 4.8 YPC
Eli Primm – 107 yds, 2 TD, 3.3 YPC
Griffin Drake – 85 yds, 2 TD, 4.0 YPC

RECEIVING
Logan Edmunds – 192 yds, 2 TD, 12 rec
Dalton Dye – 94 yds, 1 TD, 3 rec
Carter Perrin – 50 yds, 0 TD, 8 rec
Darren Pinkard – 37 yds, 0 TD, 2 rec
Jordan Robinson – 6 yds, 1 TD, 1 rec

DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Max Brown – 43TKL, 11 TFL, 1 FR, 1 FF
Eli Primm – 31 TKL
Dylan Berardinelli – 24 TKL, 2 TFL, 1 INT
Jacob Berardinelli – 21 TKL
Darren Pinkard – 17 TKL, 8 TFL, 4 Sacks
Jordan Robinson – 12 TKL, 2 TFL
Chance Payne – 12 TKL, 2 TFL, 1 Sack, 3 INT

NORTH OCONEE (stats are for 2 out of 3 games)

PASSING
Harrison Faulkner – 279 yds, 4 TD, 0 INT; 76% completion

RUSHING
JT Doster – 151 yds, 3 TD, 8.9 YPC
Harrison Faulkner – 52 yds, 0 TD, 7.4 YPC
Griffin Nau – 49 yds, 1 TD, 24.5 YPC

RECEIVING
Dallas Dickerson – 141 yds, 2 TD, 4 rec
JT Doster – 52 yds, 1 TD, 2 rec
Braxton Goolsby – 45 yds, 1 TD, 3 rec
Seth McElveen – 26 yds, 0 TD, 2 rec

DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Defensive stats not published

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