JEFFERSON, Ga. — It’s hard to beat a team twice in one season, and Oconee County figured that out the hard way Friday night at Memorial Stadium.
Jefferson drove that point home hard tonight in an impressive 42-6 rout of Region 8-3A mate Oconee County in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs. The Dragons avenged the Nov. 1 overtime loss in Watkinsville.
Head Coach Travis Noland said it was very important for his team to come out tonight and make a statement.
"I think it's evident how they played tonight,” Noland said on the Hardy Chevy Scoreboard Show. “You know, it was a tough loss. They did a great job when we went to their place, and they beat us in overtime. Our guys felt like we had left some plays on the field the first time, and they wanted to make sure tonight that we didn't do that.”
Well, they left no stone unturned, and to use an overused coaching cliché, the Dragons executed in all phases of the game tonight: a punt return for a touchdown, a blocked extra point try, produced on offense, was physical and stingy on defense, and won the turnover battle.
Oh, and quarterback Gavin Markey, who rushed for 170 yards and three touchdowns and passed for another 74 yards, and the offensive line was virtually unstoppable in the second half.
“Gavin has played great all year. I mean, he's one of the best quarterbacks, in my opinion, in the state of Georgia,” Noland said. “I don't understand why people aren't recruiting him. I think tonight was his 23rd win as a starting quarterback here in two years, and we're really thankful he's on our team.
“And I’m very proud of our offensive line. They’ve been playing well now for about five or six weeks. Hopefully, we can find a way to do it again next week.”
Rett Hemphill led a physical defensive performance, tallying 12 tackles and an interception for a touchdown. He also recorded a rushing touchdown in the second half.
“Yeah, he played great,” Noland said about Hemphill. “You know, he had something he wanted to prove tonight, and we asked him to do a lot, especially defensively, and he did a great job. It was a good win for all of us.”
The Dragons led 14-0 at halftime thanks to Dalton Dye’s 45-yard punt return for a touchdown and Markey’s first touchdown, a four-yard run.
In the second half, Oconee County came out and drove the ball down the field. QB Titus Watkins connected with James Holland on a 55-yard pass, capping the drive with a 17-yard pass to Mason Hall for a touchdown.
After that, the Dragons started rolling again, thanks to Markey. Markey drove the Dragons 69 yards on the next drive, hitting Dye on a 45-yard pass down to the Warriors’ 8-yard line. On the next play, Markey danced his way into the end zone for a 21-6 lead. That drive was the backbreaker for the Warriors and shifted every ounce of momentum to the Dragons.
“Gavin made some plays in that next drive, both with his feet and arm,” Noland said. “He had a great deep ball as well. We’ve got a lot of a lot of guys contributing to our success, and a lot of them don't have big stat lines, but there's a lot of guys doing their job and doing it really well.”
Markey added another rushing touchdown late in the third quarter, and Hemphill rushed in from 14 yards out and snagged a Watkins pass for the pick-6 with 4:45 left.
Jefferson running back Dallas Russell finished the night with 13 carries for 74 yards. Hemphill turned in 29 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Watkins was 16-of-28 for 186 yards passing and a touchdown. Tyler Garrett led the Warriors’ rushing with 18 carries for 63 yards.
Next week, the Dragons (9-3) will face Cherokee Bluff, another Region 8-3A brother, in the quarterfinals at Memorial Stadium.
“We’ve talked to our players about it being a faceless opponent,” he said. “It really doesn't matter if it's somebody we played before or somebody we don't know anything about. It's just about trying to find a way to have more points than the other team at the end of the game, finding a way to win it, and trying to advance.”
