ATLANTA — Mother Nature thought she had other plans for Jefferson's season opener at Marist on Friday, halting play for one hour and a half at Hughes Spalding Stadium.
Lightning delayed the game with 1:25 to go in the third quarter following the Marist (1-0) touchdown drive, which put the War Eagles back in front, 10-7.
When the game resumed just before 11 p.m., it was all Marist for the final 13:25 of action, knocking off the Dragons 23-7 in the delayed season opener.
The War Eagles triple-option offense didn't miss a beat, picking up where they left off before the delay to rush ahead 17-7 on a Chris Haertel one-yard full-back dive early in the fourth quarter.
The Dragons' (0-1) offense was without starting quarterback Gavin Markey for almost 3 1/2 quarters due to injury. They issues getting into rhythm on offense most of the night, and the turnover bug caught up with them on their final two drives of the fourth quarter.
Marist would cash in one of those fumbles, a two-yard run from Trace Gaynes, giving the Dragons a 23-7 lead late in the contest.
In the first half, both offenses had trouble finding the endzone. Marist led 3-0 at halftime on a 38-yard field goal from Drew Linnihan.
But the Dragons showed some hope to start the third quarter, quickly shutting down Marist's opening drive of the second half and finding a groove on offense on the ensuing drive.
QB Colton Grant fired a quick 35-yard pass to senior fullback Joshua Causey to start their drive off. Then Rett Hemphill boosted the Dragons at running back behind the offensive line's push, setting up the Dragons' first TD of the game. Grant found RJ Hinton down the seam on a 21-yard pass, and Hinton darted into the endzone to lift the Dragons to a 7-3 lead.
However, the War Eagles returned the favor, with senior RB Trace Gaines ripping off a 10-yard and 49-yard rushes, setting up quarterback Jack Euart on the next play for a 19-yard run to paydirt and a 10-7 lead.
The Dragons travel to Panther Stadium next Friday to take on Jackson County. Gametime is set for 7:30 p.m.
