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THE JACKSON HERALD
- CLASS AAAA STATE CHAMPIONSHIP -
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2020
MARIST 30, JEFFERSON 14
DRAGONS' ROAD TO THE FINALS
Jefferson captain Carter Stephenson (left) meets with Marist’s Henry Clark for the coin toss for the Class
AAAA state championship game Tuesday (Dec. 29).
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Jefferson’s Malaki Starks turns upfield against Marist Tuesday (Dec. 29) in the Class AAAA state finals.
Jefferson 61,
Central Gwinnett 7 — Sept. 11
Malaki Starks scored on touchdown runs of 65,20 and 71 yards, as Jeffer
son steamrolled Class AAAAAAA Central Gwinnett 61 -7 in its season opener.
Jefferson 28,
Rabun Co. 14— Sept. 18
The Dragon defense held Rabun County's Gunner Stockton, a South Caroli
na commit, to 8-of-20 passing for 127 yards and one touchdown and 19 yards
rushing on nine attempts in a 28-14 victory.
Jefferson 40,
Mountain View 7—Sept. 25
Starks rushed for 128 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries, including a
73-yard touchdown run, and also threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to Kolton
Jones in the Dragons' 40-7 rout of Class AAAAAAA Mountain View.
Jefferson 26,
Hart Co. 19—Oct. 2
Starks threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Spencer Neese with 26 seconds
to win a close one in Hartwell, 26-19.
Jefferson 40,
Flowery Branch 10 — Oct. 9
Starks ran for 131 yards on 14 carries and scored three touchdowns in a 40-
10 rout of No. 6-ranked Flowery Branch. The dominant performance included a
third-quarter field goal block from Nick Evans-Cofer that was returned by Kam
Robinson 70 yards for a touchdown.
Jefferson, East Hall
— Oct. 16 (forfeit)
East Hall forfeited its mid-October region matchup with Jefferson due to
COVID-19 issues.
Jefferson 49,
Cedar Shoals 0—Oct. 23
Jefferson's dominant defense posted its first shutout of the year in a 49-0
region win over Cedar Shoals. The Dragons, who led 42-0 at the half, limited
the Jaguars to 105 total yards and forced two turnovers on homecoming night.
Jefferson 67,
Chestatee 12—Nov. 5
Jefferson rushed for 477 yards on just 47 carries and posted a season-high
for points score in a 67-12 rout of winless Chestatee.
Jefferson, North Oconee — Nov. 13
North Oconee forfeited against Jefferson due to COVID-19 issues. The win
clinched the Region 8-AAAA title for Jefferson.
Jefferson 47,
Madison Co. 0 — Nov. 20
Kam Robinson enjoyed a career night, scoring on three first-half punt return
and once in the second half on an option pitch in Jefferson's 47-0 win over
Madison County. He finished with 326 all-purpose yards.
Hound I, state playoffs
Jefferson 65,
Mt. Zion-Jonesboro 0— Nov. 28
The Dragons built leads of 28-0 after a quarter and 56-0 at the half in an
easy 65-0 win over the outmatched Bulldogs.
Hound 2, state playoffs
Jefferson 35,
Hapeville Charter 0 — Dec. 4
The Dragons posted theirthird-straight shutout, dominating No. 9-ranked
Hapeville Charter 35-0 in the second round of the state playoffs. The Dragons
limited Hapeville Charter to just 126 yards of total offense.
Quarterfinals, state playoffs
Jefferson 28,
Carver-Columbus22—Dec. 11
The Dragons outlasted No. 3-ranked Carver-Columbus 28-22, overcoming a
high-powered Carver-Columbus team that threw for 219 yards and outgained
them by nearly 100 yards (380-287).
Semifinals, state playoffs
Jefferson 42,
Benedictine 35—Dec. 18
In a performance that will go down in Dragon lore, Starks rushed 30
times for 321 yards and four touchdowns, threw for another touchdown
and secured the game-sealing interception in a 42-35 Dragon win over
Benedictine in Savannah to advance the team to the Class AAAA state
finals. Starks' final touchdown of the night — a 65 yarder—tipped the
scales in a 35-35 game.
Finals continued from IB
Photos by Ben Munro
Jefferson coach Gene Cathcart discusses a call
with an official during Tuesday’s state finals.
The Dragons were also
hurt by an uncharacteristic
slow start.
A Marist punt return to the
Dragon 12-yard line set up
the War Eagles’ first score
— a 3-yard touchdown run
from George Parker — to
put Marist up 7-0 with 8:45
left in the first quarter.
The War Eagles scored
again just over four min
utes later when quarterback
Champ Davis went 12 yards
for a touchdown on a mid
line play, pushing the lead to
14-0 at the 4:09 mark.
“There was a moment
where it looked like we were
getting the doors blown off
and ‘crank the buses early,’”
Cathcart said. “(But) I never
expected them not to fight
their way back in.”
Jefferson rallied with a
70-yard touchdown drive,
capped with a 9-yard scor
ing run from Jordan Perry
with 11:22 left in the second
quarter. Perry added a sec
ond touchdown at the 5:23
mark in the second quarter
with a 4-yard run after elud
ing three tacklers behind the
line of scrimmage. His score
was set up by a 67-yard run
from Kam Robinson on a
third-and-nine.
But Marist turned the
game in the third quarter
with a punt at the 7:44 mark
that pinned the Dragons at
their own 8.
Two plays later. Robinson
was taken down in the end
zone for a safety.
“The second half was
such a story of field posi
tion.” Cathcart said. “That’s
just football. That’s not an
excuse. That’s not taking
anything away from Marist
because they made that hap
pen.”
Disaster then struck the
Dragons on the first play of
the fourth quarter as a Rob
inson fumble set up the War
Eagles on the Dragon 3.
Marist — after a penalty—
cashed in two plays later
with 6-yard touchdown run
to increase the lead to 23-14
with 10:58 left in the game.
Marist essentially put
the game out of reach with
an 18-yard touchdown run
from Andrew Mannelly,
who bounced off a pair of
tacklers en route to the score,
putting the War Eagles up by
16 points with just 5:45 re
maining.
While Corkery, who had
8 tackles in the game, said
he felt the defense played
well, “we gave up some
late touchdowns that we
wouldn’t have given up.”
The Dragons’ finals ap
pearance came eight years
after Jefferson won its first
state title. They were domi
nant in their run to the cham
pionship game, winning
eight games by 30 points
or more, and had enjoyed a
14-0 start for the first time in
school history before falling
to Marist. Jefferson’s senior
class finishes with a 42-9
record with two trips to the
quarterfinals and this year’s
state finals appearance.
“I think I’ll be proud, not
just of myself, but all these
boys,” Corkery said when
asked to reflect on the sea
son. “They came out here
and fought, and they fought
all season. 14-1 isn’t any
thing to shrug at. Great
memories were made this
season, and it’s something
I’ll hold dearly for the rest of
my life.”
While the Dragons missed
out on a title this year. Jef
ferson will return a number
of top-line players next year,
including Starks, Perry and
Kadin Bailey, as it hopes to
be one of the top teams in
Class AAAA again in 2021.
This year’s team, however,
will hold a special place with
Cathcart.
“They made me want
my feet to hit the floor ev
ery morning and come to
work,” said Cathcart, who
took a moment to gather his
thoughts when asked about
this year’s team. “... And
share in their life and their
football season, and I don’t
know that there’s a greater
gift to give a coach than to be
the kind of team you dream
about coaching.
“Ring or no ring, they’re
champions, and I love them
with all my heart.”
Congratulations, Dragons!
You Make
Us Smile!
Thank you for all your hard work this year,
Dragons - what a FANTASTIC season!
Your season and run
through the
playoffs is inspiring.
We are proud of you and
wish you all the best in your future.
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