JEFFERSON, Ga. – Gavin Markey’s 68-yard TD run late in the fourth quarter was the exclamation point on Jefferson’s 42-28 win over Cherokee Bluff Friday night at Memorial Stadium.
The win sends the Dragons into the Class 3A semifinals for the second straight year. They’ll take on LaGrange at home. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and can be heard live on FM 102.9 WDUN.
“We don't have a lot of Division I football players on this team,” said Jefferson head coach Travis Noland. “We just got a bunch of average guys that really care about each other and really care about the team. And, you know, they find a way to make plays when they need to and are just really pleased.”
One of those “average” guys is Markey, who had a far-from-average night.
Markey racked up 227 yards on the ground and 46 through the air. He accounted for 273 yards of the team's 426. He’s posted 505 yards rushing, 123 yards passing and 13 total TDs in the playoffs.
“They're a really good football team, and they brought the fight tonight," Markey said about Bluff. “Our team just executed really well, and we never gave up. I think our guys wanted it. I'm so proud of our team and how they handled adversity, and we got it done.”
The No. 8 Bears (11-2) went toe-to-toe with the top-ranked Dragons (10-3) from the opening drive, but late in the fourth, Jefferson was able to pull away after scoring back-to-back touchdowns.
"I felt like we needed to control the ball, which we did," Noland said. "We just needed to get a few stops, and we finally got a couple there in the second half, and you know, the offensive line played great again. So, we just got to keep trying to find a way to be the best each week."
Markey was responsible for both touchdowns, scoring on a two-yard rush before ripping off a 68-yarder on the following drive.
Senior LB Rett Hemphill also had another big night, snagging two interceptions and scoring a 12-yard rushing TD.
Markey spoke to the resiliency of this football team being the driving force behind the Dragons ability to pull away late.
The first half was back-and-forth, with neither team able to pull away or maintain the lead for more than a few minutes.
Jefferson struck first and held onto a 14-6 lead until Cherokee Bluff scored and scored a two-point conversion to things up with 8:08 left in the second quarter. Bluff would score on a 21-yard FG by senior kicker Garret Hyder on the following drive to gain their first and only lead of the night, putting them up 17-14.
Just before the half, Hemphill snagged his first pick of the night and set the Dragons up to retake a 21-17 lead with six seconds remaining.
The slugfest continued in the third quarter as Bluff struck first on another Hyder field goal to cut the Dragons' lead, 21-20. Jefferson answered back to push ahead 28-20 on a Markey 13-yard run. Then Bluff jabbed back when QB Brooks Brien walked in for a one-yard TD and converted the two-point play to tie the game 28-28.
But it was Markey who scored on a 13-yard run set up by the Hemphill interception for the lead. Markey answered again on a 68-yard sprint to put the game out of reach.
"This team has continued to get better," Noland said. "I want to think that we've had to win a lot of different ways against some really good people throughout the season, and so, hopefully, we can find a way to win one more.
Bears senior QB Brooks Brien completed 23 of his 39 passes for 287 yards while also throwing two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Senior WR Kaden Thompson hauled in nine receptions for 82 yards, and junior WR Malcolm Millsap caught three passes for 79 yards to lead the Bears.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2024/11/1274532/football-jefferson-scores-late-tds-to-get-past-bluff