Our Game of the Week takes us to Memorial Stadium for easily the biggest game we’ve seen this season. A true region title game, and the field littered with D1 talent.

JEFFERSON

The Dragons began the season 1-2, and those who didn’t know the details maybe counted Jefferson out. But Calhoun and Peach County represented former State Championship programs, were top-5 ranked, and hosted those two games. In both, the Dragons stormed back and lost the first by two points and the other by seven. Jefferson then pitched FIVE straight shutouts while averaging 32.4/game in that span. That includes running clocks in three of those games and putting on the brakes in the second half offensively. If you’re not paying attention, this is as good a Jefferson defense as there ever has been, and a more variable offense than the Dragons have had in many years.
KEEP AN EYE ON: Max Brown (3* LB – Clemson), Shyne Parham (3* DB – Michigan State), Carter Perrin (’28 WR/DB), Austen Kitchings (’29 WR/DB)

NORTH OCONEE

The Titans may not be AS dominant as they were a year ago, but North Oconee is still a favorite to play in the state championship game in a little over a month. The lone loss was a 6-point drop to Jackson County, who has 4-star QB Ben Musser. Against the very Calhoun team that Jefferson lost to, the Titans beat 38-0. Against Oconee, who Jefferson beat 20-0, the Titans beat 42-21. This roster is brimming with true Power 4 talent – see the list below.
KEEP AN EYE ON: Nicholas Pollack (3* TE – Clemson), Harrison Luke (3* S – Clemson), Kelvin Millington (3* CB – South Carolina), Braden Autrey (3* LS – Vanderbilt), Izak Koep (S – 4 D1 offers), Eli Fincher (’29 TE – UGA/Florida State offers)

BY THE NUMBERS

JEFFERSON

• 7-2 (4-0 IN 8-AAAAA)
• Region Standings: 1st
• 33.3 OFFENSE AVG
• 8.7 DEFENSE AVG (#3 in 5A)
• #7 State Ranking

NORTH OCONEE

• 8-1 (4-0 IN 8-AAAAA)
• Region Standings: 1st
• 38.3 OFFENSE AVG (#6 in 5A)
• 10.6 DEFENSE AVG (#6 in 5A)
• #3 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 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. To win this game, the defense needs to take control as it has for each of the past six games. Jefferson will need to have lengthy drives that bleed the clock, and finish those drives in the end zone. The crowd needs to be LOUD all night, and no turnovers are permitted here. It must be a near flawless night for the Dragons to earn this win. North Oconee, in order to win, will need to score first and get up by 10-plus. If the Titans are ahead by double digits, it’s as good as over. They’re too good on both sides of the ball to bow a double-digit lead. OFFICIAL PICK

DO WE BRING LUCK?

For Jefferson, the Dragons have gone 28-6 in our 34 games covering them. That includes going 16-1 in all games NOT including the last two state title games. That lone loss came to this same North Oconee team.

DETAILS OF THE MATCHUP

TIME: 7:30 PM
PLACE: Jefferson HS / Memorial Stadium / Jefferson, GA
LAST MEETING: 2025: #1 North Oconee 35, #1 Jefferson 0
ALL-TIME RECORD: Jefferson leads the all-time series 6-5
RECORDS: #7 Jefferson Dragons (7-2) vs #3 North Oconee Titans (8-1)
HEAD COACHES: Travis Noland (236-99; 29 Seasons); Tyler Aurandt (95-28; 10 Seasons)

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

These teams have squared off 11 times in total. The Dragons won each of the first four meetings from 2004-09, though three of those were fairly tight. North Oconee won back-to-back games in 2010 and 2011, again both being close. After a 5-year hiatus, the series renewed in 2016 in a Jefferson 42-14 win. They won again the next year by a 44-0 final. The game was supposed to be played in 2020, but COVID altered that one. In the only three games since, North Oconee squeaked out an 11-6 win in 2021, and blasted the Dragons 35-0 in both 2024 and 2025. Legendary coach Travis Noland is 5-3 all-time against North Oconee (5-1 at Oconee County, 0-2 at Jefferson).

TEAM LEADERS (2026 Stats)

*Stats accumulated by team-published data on Ga MaxPreps

JEFFERSON DRAGONS

PASSING
Boone Horn – 1,471 yds, 15 TD, 1 INT, 63% passing

RUSHING
Max Brown – 543 yds, 8 TD
CJ Hays – 519 yds, 8 TD
Boone Horn – 211 yds, 6 TD
Sean Moon – 210 yds, 4 TD
Jacob Berardinelli – 132 yds, 1 TD
Eli Primm – 113 yds, 2 TD

RECEIVING
Austen Kitchings – 531 yds, 7 TD, 29 rec
Carter Perrin – 386 yds, 4 TD, 30 rec
Zyon Peterson – 138 yds, 1 TD, 7 rec
Chrystian Little – 118 yds, 1 TD, 6 rec
Nick Emerson – 83 yds, 1 TD, 6 rec
Jacob Berardinelli – 63 yds, 1 TD, 3 rec
Max Brown – 45 yds, 0 TD, 3 rec

DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Max Brown – 87 TKL, 13 TFL, 4 Sacks, 1 FF
Eli Primm – 78 TKL, 4 TFL, 1 FR, 1 FF
Jacob Berardinelli – 67 TKL, 2 TFL, 2 INT
Dylan Berardinelli – 55 TKL, 6 TFL
CJ Hays – 54 TKL, 11 TFL, 1 Sack, 2 FR
Caleb Graham – 38 TKL, 2 TFL
Bo Parker – 31 TKL, 2 TFL, 1 Sack, 2 INT
Zacari Elder – 23 TKL, 3 INT, 2 FR, 2 FF
Shyne Parham – 24 TKL, 4 TFL, 1 INT

NORTH OCONEE TITANS (partial stats)

PASSING
Harrison Luke – 529 yds, 2 TD, 0 INT, 65% passing

RUSHING
Joby McCannon – 639 yds, 9 TD
Brodie Wiepking – 121 yds, 4 TD
Harrison Luke – 96 yds, 2 TD
Carson Thoms – 52 yds, 1 TD

RECEIVING
Carson Thoms – 238 yds, 1 TD, 16 rec
Logan Phelps – 94 yds, 0 TD, 9 rec
Kelvin Millington – 85 yds, 1 TD, 3 rec

DEFENSIVE LEADERS
*No Published Stats