JEFFERSON — Senior running back Colby Wood had his usual game rushing for 201 yards and three touchdowns for Jefferson.
But it was his defensive play that was game-changing Friday night against his old coach Ben Hall and his new Flowery Branch team as the Dragons held on for an emotional 35-29 win at Memorial Stadium.
Falcons junior wide receiver Jalin Strown had torched the Jefferson secondary for 192 yards and one touchdown on just four receptions into the fourth quarter to help Flowery Branch pull away for a 22-13 lead just 6 seconds into the final period.
But Jefferson coaches switched Wood, who doubles as a defensive back, to the other side to cover Strown in an almost desperate move.
“They dialed up No. 2 (Strown) several times and he was wearing us out,” Jefferson coach Gene Cathcart said. “Guys were cramping and we needed someone and Colby stepped up.”
Strown would touch the ball just once more -- a 14-yard pass with just a minute left and the Falcons trailing 35-22 -- and Wood made the play of the game midway through the fourth quarter when Strown looked to have gathered in a 30-yard scoring strike on fourth down in the end zone only to have Wood strip the ball at the last second.
It would have given Flowery Branch a 29-20 lead. Instead, it ignited Wood, who accounted for 42 yards of the ensuing 70-yard drive, including a 2-yard touchdown run, to reclaim the lead for good for the Dragons, 28-22, with just 4:08 left.
“Whatever the coaches want me to do I’ll do,” Wood said. “It looked like (Strown) had caught it but I felt like I could knock it out and I was able to make the play.”
Hall said they had chances to win a game few expected them to be in.
“We had some opportunities to steal the game but we’re still learning how to finish,” he said. “That was the first time this season we’ve had to play a full four quarters with our main guys so it’s a learning process. But the kids are believing and I feel like we’re making progress every week.”
Hall was making his first appearance at the school he helped win its first state title in 2012 and coached at for eight seasons, including the last four as head coach, and hugged his good friend Catchcart for more than a minute afterwards.
Cathcart said another key move was at halftime when he apologized to his team. They went into the lockerroom trailing 16-6.
“I was coaching angry in the first half so I came in and told them I was sorry and that we would get back to what we know how to do. That was all I said.”
The Dragons opened the second half with a 14-play, 75-yard drive in 6:11, capped by a 1-yard plunge by Wood to pull within 16-13. Wood accounted for 58 yards (57 rushing) on the drive.
Flowery Branch answered with an 11-play, 80-yard drive behind Malik Damons. The junior running back had 9 carries for 24 yards and converted a pair of 4th-and-1 plays, including his 1-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter to push the lead back to 22-13. A 53-yard hitch to Strown to the Dragons 20 set up that score.
The Dragons answered right back behind the arm of senior quarterback Bryce Moore, who was 2-for-3 for 17 yards, incluing a 9-yard touchdown pass to Zac Corbin. Moore also had a 41-yard scramble to the Falcons 13 to set up the score to pull them back within 22-20.
The next Flowery Branch drive saw Woods turn the game with his touchdown-saving strip and after his TD run gave them the lead he broke up two passes to Strown that forced the Falcons to turn the ball over on downs with 3:21 left. Woods provided the knockout blow accounting for all 36 yards on the ensuing drive, capped by an 8-yard touchdown run for a 35-22 lead with 1:47 left.
“Their counter play hurt us and we just couldn’t stop it when we needed to,” Hall said.
The big-play capability of Strown was the difference in the first half. He hauled in a 49-yard pass to set up one score and then added a nifty 84-yard touchdown catch of his own to help Flowery Branch take a 16-6 lead into the intermission.
But initially the Falcons used their ground game to great effect on the opening drive. Damons carried the ball 10 times, including on eight straight plays, for 49 yards to move them to the Dragons 9. But Damons was stopped on a 3rd-and-4 as the Jefferson defense held to force a 25-yard field goal by Alexander Sanchez for a 3-0 lead with 5:13 left in the first quarter.
The teams then traded turnovers, though the Dragons gained 40 yards in the exchange.
Flowery Branch junior cornerback Zarion Brawner had a beautiful tip and then interception of a Moore pass at the Falcons 38 to thwart the Dragons first drive.
But two plays later the Falcons fumbled with Jefferson’s Colby Clark scooping up the ball to give the Dragons the ball at the Branch 38.
Moore connected with Corbin five plays later for a 9-yard touchdown to give Jefferson a 6-3 lead after a missed extra point with 11:04 left in the half.
Flowery Branch answered back on its next drive when sophomore quarterback Elijah Gainey hit Nick Lance across the middle for a 19-yard touchdown to reclaim the lead 9-6 after another missed extra point. The key play was a 49-yard bomb from Gainey to Strown to the Dragons 27.
After the Falcons defense forced the only punt of the half on the next possession, the Falcons needed just three plays to add to their lead. Gainey found Strown on a simple hitch to the right but Strown spun out of an attempted tackle and then outraced the entire Jefferson defense the final 79 yards for an 84-yard score with 1:56 left for a 16-6 lead.
SCORING SUMMARY
Branch.........3.....13....0....13 -- 29
Jefferson.....0......6....7....22 -- 35
First Quarter
B -- Sanchez 25 FG 3-0, 5:16
Second Quarter
J -- Corbin 9 pass from Moore (kick failed) 6-3, 11:04
B -- Lance 19 pass from Gainey (kick failed) 9-6, 7:09
B -- Strown 84 pass from Gainey (Sanchez kick) 16-6, 1:56
Third Quarter
J -- Wood 1 run (Kilgore kick) 16-13, 5:49
Fourth Quarter
B -- Damons 1 run (kick failed) 22-13, 11:54
J -- Corbin 9 pass from Moore (Kilgore kick) 22-20, 8:44
J -- Wood 2 run (Elegreet pass) 28-22, 4:08
J -- Wood 8 run (Kilgore kick) 35-22, 1:47
B -- Damons 5 run (Sanchez kick) 35-29, 0:49
