No. 6 Dragons trounce Elbert to stay unbeaten in 8-AAA <b> (VIDEO) </b>

JEFFERSON -- Jefferson proved Friday night that any road to the Region 8-AAA championship will have to go through the Dragons.<br /> <br /> Jefferson did what great teams do taking advantage of a depleted Elbert County team for a surprisingly easy 52-6 win at Memorial Stadium.<br /> <br /> The win puts Class AAA sixth-ranked Jefferson (6-0, 2-0 Region 8-AAA) into a tie with Oconee County (6-0, 2-0) atop the region. Hart County (5-0, 1-0) was idle this week and also is unbeaten.<br /> <br /> The Dragons close out the regular season with back-to-back games against the Warriors and Bulldogs in what is sure to be a two-week, three-team showdown for the region title.<br /> <br /> Jefferson coach Ben Hall, however, said there was no statement to be made in the region despite the lopsided score.<br /> <br /> "We just take things one at a time," Hall said. "Elbert is a good team but I thought we played well from the beginning. We still have a ways to go and plenty of things to improve on."<br /> <br /> It was a much cleaner performance than last week's four-turnover game against Jackson County.<br /> <br /> "We did a better job of protecting the ball and I thought the quarterback threw the ball well, we ran the ball well, and the defense played outstanding," Hall said.<br /> <br /> The Dragons wasted little time in getting things going.<br /> <br /> Sammy Williams set the tone with a 50-yard kickoff return to start the game and finished what he started with a 2-yard touchdown run to cap the opening drive less than three minutes into the game. Three-plays later Kendrick Robinson intercepted a Turner Banks pass and returned it 30-yards for touchdown to give the Dragons a quick 14-0 lead and the rout was on.<br /> <br /> "Sammy's return was big and got us going. I thought he had a solid night," Hall said.<br /> <br /> Banks was starting for the injured Mecole Hardman, who did not dress while recovering from a knee injury earlier in the season. The Blue Devils have battled injuries through the first half of the season and have struggled without Hardman the past two games scoring just 13 points and going 0-2 during that span. They averaged 31 points with Hardman at the helm of their wing-T attack.<br /> <br /> After Jefferson forced two Blue Devil punts and stopped them on downs on their next three drives, Evan Shirreffs connected with Dalton Hill on a 30-yard touchdown pass with 47 seconds left in the first quarter for a 21-0 lead.<br /> <br /> Elbert County (3-3, 0-2) never recovered.<br /> <br /> The Jefferson defense was dominant again. The Dragons have allowed just 45 points on thye season. They forced three turnovers that led to 17 points. The Blue Devils generated just three first downs in the first half and managed just 3-yards offense on their first two drives and would finish the first half with two turnovers. The second turnover, a fumble with 2:59 left, led to a Gage Lawson 20-yard field goal with 27 seconds left in the first half for a 31-0 lead.<br /> <br /> The second half was more of the same.<br /> <br /> Jefferson stopped Elbert on downs to start the third quarter and then Shirreffs connected with T.J. Skelton on a 77-yard touchdown pass for a 38-0 lead. Tradd Porter would intercept a Banks pass on the next play and return it 27-yards for the Dragons' second defensive touchdown to give them a 45-0 lead with two touchdowns in a 15-second span.<br /> <br /> Wood added his second TD of the game capping a long Jefferson drive with a 1-yard run to make it 52-0 on the Dragons next possession.<br /> <br /> The Blue Devils finally got on the board late in the third quarter on a 5-yard touchdown run by Rantious Reed with 58 seconds left in the quarter to cut the lead to 52-6.<br /> <br /> With a running clock in the second half, the Dragons would run out the final four minutes to seal the win. <br /> <br /> Williams finished with 93 yards rushing on the game to lead Jefferson but did not register a carry in the second half. Wood had 89 yards, most coming in the second half.<br /> <br /> Shirreffs was 7-of-12 passing for 214 yards and the two TDs. Skelton had 107 yards and Hill had 91 yards receiving for the Dragons.<br /> <br /> <b>SCORING SUMMARY</b><br /> <b>Elbert Co.</b>.....0......0......6.....0 -- 6<br /> <b>Jefferson</b>.....21.....10.....21.....0 -- 52<br /> <br /> <b>First Quarter</b><br /> JEF -- Williams 2 run (Lawson kick) 7-0, 9:05<br /> JEF -- Robinson 35 INT return (Lawson kick) 14-0, 8:13<br /> JEF -- Hill 30 pass from Shirreffs (Lawson kick) 21-0, 0:47<br /> <br /> <b>Second Quarter</b><br /> JEF -- Wood 5 run (Lawson kick) 28-0, 4:50<br /> JEF -- Lawson 20 FG 31-0, 0:27<br /> <br /> <b>Third Quarter</b><br /> JEF -- Skelton 77 pass from Shirreffs (Lawson kick) 38-0, 9:28<br /> JEF -- Porter 27 INT return (Lawson kick) 45-0, 9:13<br /> JEF -- Wood 1 run (Lawson kick) 52-0, 3:37<br /> EC -- Reed 5 run (kick failed) 52-6, 0:58

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