The Week Five Game of the Week takes us to Memorial Stadium in Jefferson to catch a top-5 showdown of unbeatens.
RELATED
JEFFERSON
The Dragons gave up a season-high 14 points against Stephens County, but still came out with a win. #1-ranked Jefferson overcame turning the ball over three times, and a really rough third quarter, to get the victory. The top-10 ranked defense showed a little bend, though to be fair, one of the scores was on a short field. Offensively, Max Brown has been spectacular, and Logan Edmunds has truly emerged as a solid WR option alongside Dalton Dye.
NORTH OCONEE
The Titans are just as dominant as they were a year ago (also State Runner-Up like Jefferson was). At 45.7 points per game (2nd in the state) and 2.3 per game allowed, it’s the ultimate team. JT Doster is the bell-cow back on offense, and QB Harrison Faulkner makes great reads. The defense is loaded and stingy. This team is stacked.
BY THE NUMBERS (2025)
JEFFERSON
- 4-0 (0-0 IN 8-AAA)
- Region Standings: 1st
- 28.3 OFFENSE AVG
- 6.8 DEFENSE AVG (5th in 3A)
- #1 State Ranking
NORTH OCONEE
- 3-0 (0-0 IN 8-AAAA)
- Region Standings: 1st
- 45.7 OFFENSE AVG (2nd in 4A)
- 2.3 DEFENSE AVG (1st in 4A)
- #2 State Ranking
HOW THEY STACK UP
We typically make a case for both, with our official pick linked below. Let’s begin with the Dragons. Full stop – they must protect the football. Giving the pigskin away three times like last week won’t get it done. Zero turnovers to win this game, and we’ll say about 20-plus points at minimum. The defense has to play a clean game and keep from giving up 20-plus yard plays. North Oconee – it sounds simple, but just doing what they have been. 40-0 over Clarke Central, 41-0 over Oconee County, and 56-7 over Dalton. These are great on paper against solid teams. Jefferson is another animal completely, but you could say the same for North Oconee.
STATS
For Jefferson, in 29 games, the Dragons are an unreal 25-4. 13 of our last 14 games we’ve seen Jefferson, the Dragons have won!
DETAILS OF THE MATCHUP
TIME: 7:30 PM Kickoff
PLACE: Memorial Stadium / Jefferson, GA
LAST MEETING: 2024: #5 North Oconee 35, #2 Jefferson 0
ALL-TIME RECORD: Jefferson leads the all-time series 6-4
RECORDS: #1 Jefferson Dragons (4-0) vs #2 North Oconee Titans (3-0)
HEAD COACHES:Â Travis Noland (225-97; 28 Seasons); Tyler Aurandt (78-26; 9 Seasons)
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
Since 2004, these teams have played quite a bit, as Jefferson holds a 6-4 advantage in the series. Winners of the first four meetings, the Dragons didn’t lose until back-to-back times in 2010-11. Jefferson won the next two in 2016-17. The scheduled meeting in 2020 never happened with the wild COVID year. In 2021, North Oconee continued the win streak with an 11-6 low-scoring game at Memorial Stadium. Then last year, it was a 35-0 shocking defeat of #2-ranked Jefferson that was a launching pad for both teams.
TEAM LEADERS (2025 Stats)
*Stats accumulated by team-published data on Ga MaxPreps
JEFFERSON
PASSING
Colton Grant – 275 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT, 70% completion
RUSHING
Max Brown – 427 yds, 4 TD, 10.2 YPC
Colton Grant – 116 yds, 3 TD, 4.8 YPC
Eli Primm – 107 yds, 2 TD, 3.3 YPC
Griffin Drake – 85 yds, 2 TD, 4.0 YPC
RECEIVING
Logan Edmunds – 192 yds, 2 TD, 12 rec
Dalton Dye – 94 yds, 1 TD, 3 rec
Carter Perrin – 50 yds, 0 TD, 8 rec
Darren Pinkard – 37 yds, 0 TD, 2 rec
Jordan Robinson – 6 yds, 1 TD, 1 rec
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Max Brown – 43TKL, 11 TFL, 1 FR, 1 FF
Eli Primm – 31 TKL
Dylan Berardinelli – 24 TKL, 2 TFL, 1 INT
Jacob Berardinelli – 21 TKL
Darren Pinkard – 17 TKL, 8 TFL, 4 Sacks
Jordan Robinson – 12 TKL, 2 TFL
Chance Payne – 12 TKL, 2 TFL, 1 Sack, 3 INT
NORTH OCONEE (stats are for 2 out of 3 games)
PASSING
Harrison Faulkner – 279 yds, 4 TD, 0 INT; 76% completion
RUSHING
JT Doster – 151 yds, 3 TD, 8.9 YPC
Harrison Faulkner – 52 yds, 0 TD, 7.4 YPC
Griffin Nau – 49 yds, 1 TD, 24.5 YPC
RECEIVING
Dallas Dickerson – 141 yds, 2 TD, 4 rec
JT Doster – 52 yds, 1 TD, 2 rec
Braxton Goolsby – 45 yds, 1 TD, 3 rec
Seth McElveen – 26 yds, 0 TD, 2 rec
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Defensive stats not published
