JEFFERSON — For 15 minutes, Jefferson tried to make its first-ever meeting with Gainesville one to forget for the Red Elephants.
For the next 33 minutes, the Dragons had to hold on for dear life to escape with a 31-28 win at Memorial Stadium in one of the most anticipated matchups in northeast Georgia in recent memory.
“We would love to play Gainesville every year,” Jefferson coach Ben Hall said. “Great crowd and a playoff atmosphere. Just hanging on at the end.”
The Dragons (4-1) used their powerful ground attack behind Colby Wood to devastating effect early building a quick 17-0 lead three minutes into the second quarter. But they then watched as Gainesville unleashed its spread aerial attack over the final two-plus quarters.
The Red Elephants (2-2) rallied to within 17-13 in the third quarter and then 31-28 with 6:22 left in the game on the third DJ Irons touchdown pass of the game to Jim Barnett.
Jefferson was poised to run out the final six minutes using 11 straight running plays to move to the Gainesville 27 with 1:16 left. But the Red Elephants defense stopped Wood on 4th-and-2 to give Irons and the offense one last chance.
Two Irons’ passes got Gainesville to the Dragons 42. But one attempt in the end zone sailed just over Barnett’s hands and then a short pass to Andy Hayes to the Dragons 30 left Gainesville with one last shot with 2 seconds left.
But Jefferson’s Cole Compton batted down the pass in the end zone to preserve the victory.
“I was proud of the guys for not getting down and giving up when (Jefferson) jumped out to the big lead like that,” Gainesville coach Bruce Miller said. “They were gashing us but we made some adjustments at halftime.”
The key matchup was whether a smaller Gainesville defensive front could handle a bigger, stronger Jefferson offensive line. Early on, the unit of Logan Garner, J.T. Middleton, Hunter Griffith, Nick Holman, and Caleb Chandler set a dominating tone for the Dragons.
They opened huge holes for Wood, who had 84 yards on eight carries, and freshman quarterback Colby Clark, who added 41 yards on nine carries, in the first half.
“When you have guys like those guys up front leading, you feel pretty good,” Hall said. “We came out strong to start but Gainesville has good coaches too and they made some adjustments.”
The Dragons wasted little time. Wood, also getting a lead block from defensive lineman-turned-fullback Dontae Wilson, raced 57-yards on the third play of the game for a 7-0 lead just 1:19 into the game.
The Jefferson defense then stoned the Red Elephants on their first possession with a three-and-out, highlighted by a Jonathan Paolozzi sack of Irons, and the Dragons offense went back to work.
Sparked by a 22-yard gain from Clark, with Wilson again leading the way, Zack Boobas capped a 6-play drive -- all on runs -- with a 6-yard touchdown run for a 14-0 lead with just six minutes gone.
Jefferson extended its lead to 17-0 early in the second quarter on a 27-yard field goal by Hayden Kilgore that capped a 12-play drive.
The Jefferson defense also forced three punts on the first three Gainesville drives and it looked like the Dragons were ready to make quick work of the Red Elephants.
“We may have let up a little after that,” Hall said. “But our guys have been there before and they found a way to get it done.”
The Red Elephants got a spark late in the first half when Irons connected with Roadarius Timmons on a 40-yard strike to the Dragons 8 and Irons capped the quick drive with a 6-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 17-7 just before the half.
In the second half, both teams showed off their strengths.
Gainesville continued the momentum when Timmons returned the second half kickoff 55-yards to the Jefferson 43. Irons capped another quick 6-play drive with a 16-yard pass to Barnett but a bad snap resulted in a failed 2-point pass attempt to make it 17-13 with 10 minutes left in the third quarter.
Jefferson answered with an 11-play, 67-yard drive, capped by a 13-yard touchdown run by Wood, his second of the game, to push the lead back to 24-13.
The Red Elephants answered that three minutes later when Irons connected with Red Davis on a 20-yard touchdown strike to pull back within 24-20 with 58 seconds left in the third quarter.
But the Dragons responded on their next drive with Boobas capping another run-dominated, 7-play drive with a 6-yard score with 10:12 left in the game for a 31-20 lead.
Another key matchup was again across the line, this time with a young Gainesville offensive line trying to hold off the likes of Wilson and Chandler and the Jefferson front-seven.
“I think that group may have grown up some tonight,” Miller said of his offensive line. “I also thought our defense came up big there at the end to give us a chance. To stop those guys on a 4th-and-2 was something.”
Wood finished with 208 yards on 27 carries and two touchdowns. Clark added 70 yards on 14 carries, and Boobas ran it 10 times for 63 yards and two scores for Jefferson.
Irons had one of his best games of the season finishing 21-for-32 for 259 yards and three touchdowns and no interceptions. Barnett had four catches for 80 yards and two TDs, Timmons caught four passes for 54 yards, and Red Davis finished with three catches for 23 yards and a score. Irons connected with nine different receivers for the game. But, Gainesville managed just 36 yards on the ground.
"(Jefferson) did a good job of limiting our runners so we just decided that if we had to throw the ball every play to win, that's what we would do," Miller said. "We really did a good job protecting DJ. That was a real positive for us."
Gainesville will play host to Marist next week in its final non-region tune-up before jumping into Region 8-AAAAAA play.
Jefferson will open its Region 8-AAAA schedule next week on the road against a vastly improved Madison County team.
SCORING SUMMARY
Gainesville.......0....7....13....8 -- 28
Jefferson........14....3......7....7 -- 31
First Quarter
J -- Wood 57 run (Kilgore kick) 7-0, 10:41
J -- Boobas 6 run (Kilgore kick) 14-0, 5:56
Second Quarter
J -- Kilgore 27 FG 17-0, 9:09
G -- Irons 6 run (Reyna kick) 17-7, 2:05
Third Quarter
G -- Barnett 16 pass from Irons (pass failed) 17-13, 10:10
J -- Wood 13 run (Kilgore kick) 24-13, 3:59
G -- M. Davis 20 pass from Irons (Reyna kick) 24-20, 0:58
Fourth Quarter
J -- Boobas 6 run (Kilgore kick) 31-20, 10:12
G -- Barnett 11 pass from Irons (Davis pass) 31-28, 6:22
