FORSYTH — Big plays and turnovers spelled doom for Jefferson Friday night in the Dragons' Class AAAA quarterfinal showdown with Mary Person.
Jefferson turned the ball over five times and the Bulldogs made them pay dearly in a 51-32 win to end the Dragons season.
The Bulldogs (11-2) had four scoring plays of 54-yards or longer against a Jefferson defense that was coming off one of its best performances of the season last week in taking down No. 2 and undefeated Ridgeland, 28-21.
It was a tight game in the first quarter with the two teams trading touchdowns. Jefferson quarterback Bryce Moore had a pair of rushing scores to tie the game at 14 but the Bulldogs exploded for 16 unanswered points to pull away for a 30-14 lead. Moore connected with Zac Corbin with just 14 seconds left in the first half to close the gap to 30-20 by halftime.
The Dragons got to within 37-26 midway through the third quarter but Mary Person answered with 14 consecutive points to put the game out of reach.
Colby Wood, one of the most dynamic players in Jefferson history, rushed 25 times for 110 yards and one touchdown in his final game for the Dragons. He also led the team with 6 receptions for 76 yards and added 6 tackles on defense.
Colby Clark, Noah Mulvey and Zac Corbin had nine tackles apiece for Jefferson.
The 51 points are the most allowed by a Jefferson defense since giving up 57 in a 61-57 Dragons victory over Heard County in the 2013 playoffs.
Jefferson has reached the state quarterfinals in five of its last six seasons.
