TO THOSE around the state, this might register as a top-notch upset. To those inside the Jefferson locker room, this was a team fulfilling its destiny. The number one team in the state just happened to be standing in the way.
Jefferson seniors Bryant Shirreffs, Wesley Simonton and Tyler Cole hoist the Class AA state championship trophy after the Dragons beat Calhoun 31-14 Saturday at the Georgia Dome. Photo by Ben Munro
STATE CHAMPS! Jefferson whips Calhoun for school's first-ever title
The Dragons (14-1) thumped top-ranked and defending state champ Calhoun 31-14 in the grand Georgia Dome setting Saturday in the Class AA finals to capture the school’s first-ever state championship.Click here for pictures.
“We have a saying, ‘we believe,’” Jefferson linebacker Wesley Simonton said. “I think we do believe that we can win. Every time we get to step onto the field, we know that we’re going to win. We have that confidence that we are going to win.”
True to that creed, Jefferson built a 21-7 halftime lead and never relinquished its stranglehold on this game in dethroning the Yellow Jackets (14-1), who carried a 29-game winning streak into this contest and were making their fifth-consecutive finals appearance.
Perhaps the prevailing thought prior to the game was that Calhoun would continue its dominance in the state. Not so fast, said Jefferson.
“We’ve been the underdogs so many times, it doesn’t faze us,” Simonton said. “I don’t think we get the respect that we really do deserve. Hopefully, after that performance (we will). I mean, you just don’t keep on getting lucky, you don’t just keep on beating good teams. Obviously, we’re a good team and that’s why we won the state championship.”
Jefferson coach T. McFerrin agreed that his team dominated the game.
“I like that word,” said McFerrin, who came out of retirement in 2009 to take over the Dragon program. “Isn’t that amazing? They average 44 points a game and the defense held them to 14. And they’ve been giving up eight points a game, I think, and we scored 31. You can call it that (dominating) if you want. You’ve got my permission. I like that word.”
Jefferson finished with 472 total yards — 284 rushing and 188 passing.
Dragon quarterback Bryant Shirreffs ran for 120 yards and three touchdowns while also throwing for 188 yards on 14-of-18 passing as Jefferson won its 14th-straight game. Tristen Jackson also topped the century mark, running for 101 yards and a touchdown.
Make no mistake, this team came to win, according to Shirreffs.
“I knew we were going to win,” Shirreffs said. “I think everybody knew we were going to win. We put that in our brains the whole week, and the fact that we did it was awesome.”
The Dragons iced the game with a 36-yard field goal from Chandler Schlutow early in the fourth quarter — which put Jefferson ahead by three possessions — and then an interception from Isaiah Blake with 8:19 left in the game.
“We knew coming in here that we had every ability to beat this team,” Jefferson receiver McKay Dickens said. “They were ranked no. 1 and hadn’t lost a game all year and we came out here and we did it.”
With the game firmly in hand, the Jefferson student section broke out the “state champs” chant with about a minute half left. When the clock ran out, Jefferson players and coaches joined in a celebration that not only culminated a 15-week season of success but the journey of the program to get to this point.
“Amazing is all I can say,” Dickens said. “Just amazing. We’ve worked hard from back in the spring. It obviously paid off.”
Despite some momentum swings, the Dragons — blown out 39-6 last year by Calhoun in the playoffs — pretty much stayed in control of the game from the opening kickoff.
Jefferson set the tone immediately with a 74-yard, 5:24 drive capped off by a one-yard touchdown from Jackson to take 7-0 lead. Calhoun tied the game with 29 seconds left in the first quarter when quarterback Taylor Lamb threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Logan Walraven. That score was set-up by the Yellow Jacket defense, which forced a fumble on the Jefferson 29.
But, as they did all night (and all year), the Dragons responded.
Shirreffs directed a 10-play 70-yard drive and scored from three yards out with an acrobatic leap into the end zone to put Jefferson up 14-7. The Dragons then closed the first half with an 86-yard drive that ended with a one-yard score from Shirreffs.
Perhaps the most crucial sequence of the game unfolded mid-way through the third quarter. Looking to build on its 14-point lead, Jefferson instead turned the ball over when Calhoun’s Carter Edwards picked off a pass at the Yellow Jacket 25.
One play later, Lamb connected with standout receiver Tydus Curtis on a 75-yard touchdown strike to trim the Jefferson lead to 21-14 with 5:29 left in the third quarter.
On their next possession, the Dragons turned the ball over again — this time via fumble — on the Calhoun 37, giving the Yellow Jackets the ball and the momentum.
The moment was short-lived though.
Jefferson’s Micah Carpenter intercepted Lamb on the very next play and retuned the ball to the Calhoun 16. Three plays later, Shirreffs bounded off a pair of Yellow Jacket tacklers and into the end zone for a one-yard score to up the lead to 28-14 with 2:44 left in the third quarter.
Schlutow, who went 4-for-4 on PATs, gave Jefferson a commanding 17-point lead when he nailed his 36-yard field goal at the 10:12 mark in the fourth quarter.
“The field goal was huge,” McFerrin said. “That made it a three-score game.”
Blake all but made the win official with his interception at the Dragon 25.
When it was over, Jefferson players hoisted McFerrin, now a two-time state champion, onto their shoulders and carried the legendary coach to mid-field. McFerrin and several Dragon seniors then took the podium for television interviews and the trophy presentation. The rest of the players soaked in the atmosphere on the field and later on around the locker room.
“This community, they deserve it — every bit of it,” Jefferson linebacker Kody McDonald said. “I’m just glad we can give back to it. They’ve been great supporting us. They’ve come to so many games. We’ve had a huge crowd. They’ve just really lifted us.”
McDonald also recalled a guarantee he made during media/picture day back in August that Jefferson would win the state title.
“I keep my word, don’t I?” McDonald said.
McFerrin said he’s been proud of several teams at many schools during his 38-year run as a head coach, “but I’ve never been any prouder,” he said.
“This is something special.”
And now, a new chapter has been written in Jefferson football history.
“Just like that Brantley Gilbert song said, ‘it’d be a miracle if we won a state championship,’” Simonton said, referring to the lyric by the Jefferson alum and current country music star. “He’s going to have to change it now.”
“We have a saying, ‘we believe,’” Jefferson linebacker Wesley Simonton said. “I think we do believe that we can win. Every time we get to step onto the field, we know that we’re going to win. We have that confidence that we are going to win.”
True to that creed, Jefferson built a 21-7 halftime lead and never relinquished its stranglehold on this game in dethroning the Yellow Jackets (14-1), who carried a 29-game winning streak into this contest and were making their fifth-consecutive finals appearance.
Perhaps the prevailing thought prior to the game was that Calhoun would continue its dominance in the state. Not so fast, said Jefferson.
“We’ve been the underdogs so many times, it doesn’t faze us,” Simonton said. “I don’t think we get the respect that we really do deserve. Hopefully, after that performance (we will). I mean, you just don’t keep on getting lucky, you don’t just keep on beating good teams. Obviously, we’re a good team and that’s why we won the state championship.”
Jefferson coach T. McFerrin agreed that his team dominated the game.
“I like that word,” said McFerrin, who came out of retirement in 2009 to take over the Dragon program. “Isn’t that amazing? They average 44 points a game and the defense held them to 14. And they’ve been giving up eight points a game, I think, and we scored 31. You can call it that (dominating) if you want. You’ve got my permission. I like that word.”
Jefferson finished with 472 total yards — 284 rushing and 188 passing.
Dragon quarterback Bryant Shirreffs ran for 120 yards and three touchdowns while also throwing for 188 yards on 14-of-18 passing as Jefferson won its 14th-straight game. Tristen Jackson also topped the century mark, running for 101 yards and a touchdown.
Make no mistake, this team came to win, according to Shirreffs.
“I knew we were going to win,” Shirreffs said. “I think everybody knew we were going to win. We put that in our brains the whole week, and the fact that we did it was awesome.”
The Dragons iced the game with a 36-yard field goal from Chandler Schlutow early in the fourth quarter — which put Jefferson ahead by three possessions — and then an interception from Isaiah Blake with 8:19 left in the game.
“We knew coming in here that we had every ability to beat this team,” Jefferson receiver McKay Dickens said. “They were ranked no. 1 and hadn’t lost a game all year and we came out here and we did it.”
With the game firmly in hand, the Jefferson student section broke out the “state champs” chant with about a minute half left. When the clock ran out, Jefferson players and coaches joined in a celebration that not only culminated a 15-week season of success but the journey of the program to get to this point.
“Amazing is all I can say,” Dickens said. “Just amazing. We’ve worked hard from back in the spring. It obviously paid off.”
Despite some momentum swings, the Dragons — blown out 39-6 last year by Calhoun in the playoffs — pretty much stayed in control of the game from the opening kickoff.
Jefferson set the tone immediately with a 74-yard, 5:24 drive capped off by a one-yard touchdown from Jackson to take 7-0 lead. Calhoun tied the game with 29 seconds left in the first quarter when quarterback Taylor Lamb threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Logan Walraven. That score was set-up by the Yellow Jacket defense, which forced a fumble on the Jefferson 29.
But, as they did all night (and all year), the Dragons responded.
Shirreffs directed a 10-play 70-yard drive and scored from three yards out with an acrobatic leap into the end zone to put Jefferson up 14-7. The Dragons then closed the first half with an 86-yard drive that ended with a one-yard score from Shirreffs.
Perhaps the most crucial sequence of the game unfolded mid-way through the third quarter. Looking to build on its 14-point lead, Jefferson instead turned the ball over when Calhoun’s Carter Edwards picked off a pass at the Yellow Jacket 25.
One play later, Lamb connected with standout receiver Tydus Curtis on a 75-yard touchdown strike to trim the Jefferson lead to 21-14 with 5:29 left in the third quarter.
On their next possession, the Dragons turned the ball over again — this time via fumble — on the Calhoun 37, giving the Yellow Jackets the ball and the momentum.
The moment was short-lived though.
Jefferson’s Micah Carpenter intercepted Lamb on the very next play and retuned the ball to the Calhoun 16. Three plays later, Shirreffs bounded off a pair of Yellow Jacket tacklers and into the end zone for a one-yard score to up the lead to 28-14 with 2:44 left in the third quarter.
Schlutow, who went 4-for-4 on PATs, gave Jefferson a commanding 17-point lead when he nailed his 36-yard field goal at the 10:12 mark in the fourth quarter.
“The field goal was huge,” McFerrin said. “That made it a three-score game.”
Blake all but made the win official with his interception at the Dragon 25.
When it was over, Jefferson players hoisted McFerrin, now a two-time state champion, onto their shoulders and carried the legendary coach to mid-field. McFerrin and several Dragon seniors then took the podium for television interviews and the trophy presentation. The rest of the players soaked in the atmosphere on the field and later on around the locker room.
“This community, they deserve it — every bit of it,” Jefferson linebacker Kody McDonald said. “I’m just glad we can give back to it. They’ve been great supporting us. They’ve come to so many games. We’ve had a huge crowd. They’ve just really lifted us.”
McDonald also recalled a guarantee he made during media/picture day back in August that Jefferson would win the state title.
“I keep my word, don’t I?” McDonald said.
McFerrin said he’s been proud of several teams at many schools during his 38-year run as a head coach, “but I’ve never been any prouder,” he said.
“This is something special.”
And now, a new chapter has been written in Jefferson football history.
“Just like that Brantley Gilbert song said, ‘it’d be a miracle if we won a state championship,’” Simonton said, referring to the lyric by the Jefferson alum and current country music star. “He’s going to have to change it now.”
Jefferson has always thought it was better than Commerce but it's not so on the football field. Never has been, never will be.