THOMSON — Jefferson coach Gene Catchcart was looking for a measuring stick Friday night against Thomson.
He got it, though the Dragons dropped a heartbreaker to the Bulldogs, 20-14, in a battle of Class AAAA top-ranked teams.
Jefferson (2-1) lost a pair of games to the Bulldogs in 2016 and was hoping a solid performance, and a victory, would show the rest of Class AAAA that the Dragons are contenders for the state title.
They got one of the two.
“It was a great measuring stick for us and I think this game showed that we’re a legitimate team,” Catchcart said. “We still have some work to do but I was very proud of our guys and how they fought back.”
The fourth-ranked Dragons fell behind 13-0 early in the first half courtesy of a turnover deep in their territory that turned into a Thomson (3-0) touchdown.
But senior Colby Wood got going. He scored on a 16-yard run late in the second quarter to trim the lead to 13-7 and then added a 1-yard scoring run in the third quarter to give Jefferson the lead. His second score was set up by a nifty 38-yard halfback pass from Zac Corbin to Bryce Moore.
But they couldn’t hang on as the defense of the second-ranked Bulldogs forced a crucial stop on third own and then got a Bubba Murray game-winning touchdown with just 30 seconds left.
“Our defense was just on the field too long in the fourth quarter,” Catchcart said. “We needed a couple of yards for a couple of first downs and then we can put the game away. But that’s part of the learning process and overall I thought we played a good game.”
Jefferson will take a week off before playing host to Flowery Branch and former coach Ben Hall on Sept. 15 at Memorial Stadium.
