Game of the Week: No. 1 Jefferson faces tough North Oconee for region title

JEFFERSON, Ga. — Gene Cathcart knows this one will be a heavy-weight fight. 

It'll be the toughest test of the season when top-ranked Jefferson takes the field against North Oconee for the Region 8-4A championship on Friday at Memorial Stadium. 

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

Cathcart took a deep breath and went into what into the keys to a win on Friday. He looked up and said, "I've used this line before ... to realize that we're going to taste a little bit of our own blood."

He went straight for a boxing analogy as he spoke about the upcoming fight with the Titans. 

"Any time you have a good heavyweight fight, both folks are going to land punches," he said. "They've been in games this year where they've taken shots to the face. You know, honestly, I don't know if we've been in any. We've kind of had to stand toe to toe and absorb blows a lot."

While it's true the Dragons haven't truly been tested in the last 10 weeks of the season, they opened the 2021 campaign with a back-and-forth contest against Class 2A No. 1 Rabun County -- the last time they've faced a barrage of hits to the face. 

On Friday, the Dragons will step into the ring with a North Oconee team that is clicking, averaging almost 40 points per game in the last five games. The Titans' non-region schedule was brutal, playing last season's Class 4A semifinalist Benedictine, Class 3A runner-up North Oconee and Class 6A Cambridge. 

"They have three losses to three of the most outstanding teams in the state," Cathcart said. "We certainly know how good Benedictine is, and Oconee County experienced their first loss since 1812 last week. They are battle-tested. They're playing well."

Sophomore quarterback Max Wilson Jr's return to the team has been a big reason the Titans are in the hunt for the region title. Wilson was a perfect 18-of-18 against Chestatee and 13-of-14 against Cedar Shoals. His go-to receiver, Khalil Barnes, has back-to-back 100-yard games, and running back Dominic Elder is approaching the 1,000-yard mark. He rushed for 122 yards and three touchdowns against Cedar Shoals last week. 

It'll be a handful for Class 4A's No. 2 defense. 

"Max does a great job of throwing it around and is very mobile," Cathcart said. "They're probably the most RPO team that we'll play, and that always puts stress on you. Probably, if anywhere, they're underestimated upfront. They're bigger and most experienced on the line of scrimmage than folks realize." 

Cathcart will count on Austin Redmon (58 tkls), Jordan Perry (30 tkls), Isaiah Copeland (24 tkls), Tre Reece (18 tkls) and Dawson Crawley (15 tkls) to lead the defensive effort. 

He said the Titans are the most multiple formation team they've faced since Benedictine in the 2020 semifinals. He said they'll have to identify the small nuisances of North Oconee's run-pass-option offense.

"You've really got to limit yards after the catch with those guys and make them line up and snap it again," Cathcart said. "They're looking to keep the chains moving -- get above the sticks," Cathcart said. "So, we've got to tackle well. This is a very diverse and very skilled offensive team." 

The Dragons have been without leading rusher Sammy Brown (58-753 yards, 11 TDs) and Georgia-commit Malaki Starks (34-303 yards, 5 TDs) for a large part of the schedule. It's been a big loss, but they have managed to continue racking up yards, leading Class 4A in a 336-yard rushing average per game. 

"We've had some guys step up, but we're fortunate to have we have really good depth," Cathcart said. 

Trey Reece (31-355 yards, 6 TDs), Jordan Perry (14-69 yards, 1 TD), Kadin Bailey 11-92 yards, 3 TDs), Reese Johnson (32-232 yards) and Isaiah Copeland (19-144 yards, 3 TDs) have all stepped up to share the load. 

"We always have wanted to distribute the ball well," Cathcart said. " We emphasize to our guys that it's the quality of touches not the quantity of the touches, and our guys have been unselfish and appreciate that."

Regardless of the Xs and Os, the two region foes will pull out all the stops to win the important top-seed in next month's state playoffs. 

"At some point, we are going to have to trade physical blow for physical blow, and they're going to have to answer and we're going to have to answer," Cathcart said. "How we respond to be to being back in one of those football games, because it's been since Marist or Benedictine, honestly, and, again, I'm not disrespecting anybody that we've played, because we've played some good teams. But to be able to take a couple of shots to the jaw and maybe stagger, but not stumble, and be able to answer that, I think is going to be the thing Friday night."