JEFFERSON - It's been eight long years for Jefferson fans in their annual battle with cross-county rival Commerce.
The two teams' meet Friday night for bragging rights but this year's game has even more at stake:
First place in Region 8-A.
Dragons' coach Bill Navas, in only his second year, already understands what it means to the town and players.
"They're tired of losing to them. The players are too. We're playing well right now but it's going to take our best game of the year to win," Navas said.
Commerce coach Steve Savage expects the dragons to be ready for his Class A No. 8-ranked Tigers.
"(Coach Navas) has done a great job over there and I'm sure they're hungry to beat us. I expect it to be physical," Savage said.
While the winner virtually locks up first place, the loser could drop as far as fourth in the region, which means getting a region winner in the first round of the playoffs.
"That can be the difference in how far you go (in the playoffs)," Navas said. "Even if we beat Commerce, we still have to beat the other traditional power in the region in Athens Academy. We've got a tough two week stretch ahead."
Jefferson will have to find a way to stop the Tigers duo of quarterback Josh Haynes and running back Dennis Wilder. Wilder has rushed for over 1,000 yards this year.
"They are an explosive pair. The key will be our offense eating up time with some long drives and keeping them off the field," Navas said. "Otherwise it could be a long night for us."
Savage said injuries have kept them from reaching their peak so far on offense, despite reeling off four straight wins by an average score of 40-10.
"Josh was out for a while and we had some other people we to move around. The last two games we finally had everyone in place," he said.
"We're looking forward to the challenge. It should be a great game."
Wednesday
July 2nd, 2025
7:08AM
