Football: Jefferson shocked by Oconee in overtime

WATKINSVILLE, Ga. – Oconee County scored with less than a minute left to force overtime and then had a huge goal-line effort to hold on for a 32-30 victory over top-ranked Jefferson on Friday night.

Despite the loss, the Dragons will still be the top seed from Region 8-3A even when tiebreakers are factored in.

Jefferson struck first as the Dragons went 65 yards on their opening drive, capped by a Dallas Russell 13-yard rush score to take a 7–0 lead. After the Warriors answered, Gavin Markey found Talan Childress for a 25-yard score to regain the lead early in the second quarter.

The Dragons kept the momentum going with an Eli Primm interception and set up a 35-yard Taylor McCall field goal to extend the lead to 17-7 with just over four minutes left in the first half, but Oconee County responded and tied the game. up in the middle of the third quarter.

The two sides remained quiet offensively until Markey woke up the Dragon fans with a one-yard dive with just over four minutes left, but once again Oconee County answered and scored with 33 seconds left to force overtime .

After the Warriors scored and converted the two-point conversion for a 32-24 lead, the Dragons answered with a touchdown of their own. However, Oconee County’s defense stole the show at the end of the game, stopping Markey on the doorstep to earn the victory.