Our Game of the Week takes us to Jefferson for the first time this year for what’s become a highly-contentious matchup with the Dragons and Oconee County.

JEFFERSON

The Dragons are fresh off a 30-0 dominant win against Jackson Maynard. #6-ranked, they have had by far the toughest non-region schedule in our area. The two losses came on the road to top-5 ranked opponents Calhoun and Peach County. Those tough contests were decided by a combined nine points. Both instances, Jefferson rallied in the second half and locked it down on defense. The wins have been by at least 30 points. In total, they’re averaging 31.8 points against 18.0 allowed. Boone Horn has been slinging the ball around the yard, and an emerging star to note is Austen Kitchings. Top next-level prospects are Max Brown (4-star Clemson LB commit) and Shyne Parham (3-star CB committed to Michigan State).

OCONEE COUNTY

The Warriors are 2-2 like Jefferson. Oconee has won two in a row coming in, so things are starting to click. RB Josh Woefl is the dude to look out for. They’ve played two ranked opponents, losing by 21 to #4 North Oconee but beating #4 Morgan County 36-15. In all, Oconee County is good for 25.5 points while giving up 21.0. Players of note include 3-star TE Mason Hall (committed to Virginia) and unranked prospect Gavin Bray (OT – committed to Furman).

BY THE NUMBERS

JEFFERSON

• 2-2 (0-0 IN 8-AAAAA)
• Region Standings: N/A
• 31.8 OFFENSE AVG
• 18.0 DEFENSE AVG
• #7 State Ranking

OCONEE COUNTY

• 2-2 (0-0 IN 8-AAAA)
• Region Standings: N/A
• 25.5 OFFENSE AVG
• 21.0 DEFENSE AVG
• N/A State Ranking

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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 and Oconee County 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. Right now, the defense has been fantastic, particularly in the second half. But the offense deserves a lot of praise, especially the passing game. Jefferson is throwing the ball far more than in prior years, and that makes them even more dangerous. If they just stick to their brand of ball, they win this one almost every time. However, it’s Oconee County who loves to give Jefferson fits. Last year, the Dragons won 24-19 in the regular season finale. The year prior, Oconee won 32-30 in three overtimes. Plus, both of these head coaches have added motivation to go all out on this one (both going against their formal schools). If the Warriors can protect the football, churn out long drives, and have a ‘bend-don’t-break’ defensive approach, they have a shot to come out of Memorial Stadium as winners. OFFICIAL PICK

DO WE BRING LUCK?

For Jefferson, the Dragons have gone an impressive 27-6 overall in our 33 games covering them.

DETAILS OF THE MATCHUP

TIME: 7:30 PM
PLACE: Jefferson HS / Memorial Stadium / Jefferson, GA
LAST MEETING: 2025: #3 Jefferson 24, Oconee County 19
ALL-TIME RECORD: Jefferson leads the all-time series 15-12
RECORDS: #6 Jefferson Dragons (2-2) vs Oconee County Warriors (2-2)
HEAD COACHES: Travis Noland (236-101; 29 Seasons); Ben Hall (115-49; 14 Seasons)

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

This series has been played out 27 times all told. Jefferson holds the edge at 15-12, and lately things have been pretty intense. The first-ever meeting came in 1968. It was a Dragons’ win, as were the first seven meetings up to 1976. Between 1977 and 2015, the teams met up 11 times, with Oconee County establishing its dominance with eight wins in that span. In 2014-16 (3 meetings), Ben Hall was the Jefferson coach going up against Travis Noland of Oconee County. The Dragons won two of those meetings. Noland continued being on the Oconee sideline against Gene Cathcart’s Dragons from 2017-19, and then came the ironic change where Noland came to Jefferson and Hall went from Flowery Branch to Oconee. In the renewed meetings, five of them prior to this one, the Dragons are 3-2, and four of the meetings both teams have been ranked.

TEAM LEADERS (2026 Stats)

*Stats accumulated by team-published data on Ga MaxPreps

JEFFERSON DRAGONS (from 3 games)

PASSING
Boone Horn – 748 yds, 8 TD, 1 INT, 60% passing

RUSHING
Max Brown – 165 yds, 2 TD
CJ Hays – 158 yds, 1 TD
Sean Moon – 72 yds, 3 TD
Jacob Berardinelli – 68 yds, 0 TD
Eli Primm – 60 yds, 1 TD
Boone Horn – 28 yds, 2 TD

RECEIVING
Austen Kitchings – 303 yds, 4 TD, 17 rec
Carter Perrin – 155 yds, 2 TD, 15 rec
Zyon Peterson – 68 yds, 1 TD, 4 rec
Jacob Berardinelli – 63 yds, 1 TD, 3 rec
Max Brown – 44 yds, 0 TD, 2 rec
Griffin Drake – 37 yds, 0 TD, 5 rec

DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Jacob Berardinelli – 31 TKL, 2 INT
Eli Primm – 30 TKL, 1 TFL
Dylan Berardinelli – 23 TKL, 2 TFL
CJ Hays – 23 TKL, 4 TFL
Max Brown – 22 TKL, 5 TFL
Amire Barnes – 16 TKL, 1 TFL
Shyne Parham – 5 TKL, 1 TFL, 1 INT

OCONEE COUNTY WARRIORS

PASSING
Brady Fountain – 368 yds, 3 TD, 4 INT, 58% passing

RUSHING
Josh Woefl – 371 yds, 5 TD
Darius Darden – 163 yds, 1 TD
Mason Hall – 140 yds, 2 TD

RECEIVING
Mason Hall – 151 yds, 1 TD, 8 rec
Josh Woefl – 93 yds, 1 TD, 8 rec
Blake Thomas – 83 yds, 1 TD, 6 rec
Tyler Osborne – 60 yds, 0 TD, 6 rec

DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Darius Darden – 15 TKL
Wyatt Elsner – 14 TKL, 1 TFL
Aiden Huici – 14 TKL
Griffin Patterson – 11 TKL
Brooks Chastain – 10 TKL, 2 INT
Traynor Mooney – 10 TKL, 1 TFL, 1 FF
John David Marable – 9 TKL, 1 TFL, 1 Sack, 1 FF
Robert Evans – 8 TKL, 3 TFL, 1 Sack