JEFFERSON, Ga. — Molly McCarty and the Jefferson girls have been here before. In fact, three current seniors were on the roster and saw action the last time the Lady Dragons played for a state title in 2022.
Then-freshman Ella Sellers was the starting keeper in a 2-1 loss to Marist in overtime for the Class 4A crown and was an integral part of the Lady Dragons pushing the Lady War Eagles to the extra frame.
McCarty and her staff have quietly built one of the state’s most consistent winners in any classification with four Final 4 appearances and now their second state championship match since 2018. However, one key piece of hardware is missing: a championship trophy.
“Everyone, including all the other teams, want to win the state championship,” McCarty said earlier in the week as they prepared to take on rival Oconee County for the Class 3A state title on Wednesday at McEachern High School. “One of our focal points prior to the season was making each player define what that actively looks like. What I reminded them is that their worth is not summed up in a prize or a win or a loss.”
Jefferson, the Region 8-3A champ and No. 1 overall seed in Class 3A coming into the playoffs, will get another shot at its first state title. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m.
Typically, you would think having a No. 1 overall seed in any tournament would give you a more amenable path. Not in this case. And not in Class 3A.
Of their five playoff opponents in 2025, Oconee County, the No. 3-ranked team in the scorbord.com poll, will be the third straight top 7 team the Lady Dragons (17-3) have had to face.
They took out No. 7 Dawson County in the quarterfinals (9-0) and then held off Bristol Kersh and No. 4 Cherokee Bluff in the semifinals (5-2) last week. They have won six straight since a non-region loss to Buford, who was ranked No. 1 in Class 6A at the time and is playing for the Class 6A state title on Thursday.
“We want to play tough competition during the season to get us ready for these exact big moments in the playoffs,” McCarty said. “Losing early in the season also helped prepare us to find our weaknesses.”
Now, they get the No. 3-ranked Lady Warriors, a team they squeaked out a 1-0 victory against back on March 21 in Region 8-3A.
The No. 15 seed, Oconee County, has had a similar path. The Lady Warriors (16-6) beat Johnson, who had been ranked in the top 5 at one point, 4-1 in the opening round and then pulled off two road upsets, routing No. 5 Sandy Creek (9-1) in the quarterfinals and continued with an impressive 3-1 victory over No. 2 Whitewater in the semifinals.
“During the season and playoffs, numbers and rankings are never talked about,” McCarty said. “At this point, it means nothing. What we focus on is us.”
The real questions in this one are, will anybody be able to score or will it be an offensive showcase?
The Lady Dragons have yielded just nine goals all season, just two in the playoffs. Oconee County has surrendered 17 goals in 2025, but just three during its current six-game win streak, all in the playoffs.
But both teams have shown they can find the net. Oconee County has poured in 101 goals on the season (4.59 goals/game) but has upped that average with 24 goals (6.0 goals/game) in the playoffs. The Lady Dragons have scored 92 goals on the season (4.6 goals/game) with 29 of those (7.25 goals/game) coming in the playoffs.
So what will give, if anything? Both teams are more than familiar with each other.
“There is no doubt the offensive side of the ball will be showcased for (the championship) game,” McCarty said. “But we are not the same team we were in March. You never want to be the same team from start to finish.”
Well, it’s always about the finish and McCarty is hoping to be on the celebrating end of the field this time around after experiencing heartbreak in 2022.
“If we do all the activities around hard work and dedication, and at the end of the day, can honestly answer the question, ‘Did I make myself proud?’ I feel that is all that can be asked,” she said. “Would winning the state championship validate (all the hard work over the years)? Perhaps, but allowing these players to see how important a team is to life -- our motto is One Team, One Heart -- and recognizing their role in it for their future is the ultimate prize of them all.”
