FOOTBALL: Jefferson dashes West Laurens title hopes in state semifinal

JEFFERSON – Some inspired defense gave West Laurens a shot, but a slight edge on offense and special teams lifted the Jefferson Dragons to their second-straight state title game berth in Friday’s GHSA semifinal. 

Both worthy teams, whose defenses were among the top five in AAA, duked it out over four quarters of minimal scoring. The Dragons’ proved just a bit too stiff as the Raiders fell 17-13, bringing their undefeated run to a close in game 14.

Jefferson advances to take on unbeaten Sandy Creek in a matchup of the bracket’s top two seeds for the state crown Dec. 17 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. 

West Laurens had to do mostly without its top rusher Ty Cummings, who played, but was severely limited on an ankle he injured late in the quarterfinal round vs. Jenkins. 

A resilient defense answered the call to keep the Raiders competitive in the scrum. But in the end, they couldn’t move the football well enough to overcome a major disadvantage in field position, which was an 8-ball West Laurens started out the game behind, and could never manage to get in front of. 

“I don’t know if you attribute that to us playing badly, or that they were just really good, but we couldn’t really get anything going, and we were still in it,” said Raiders head coach Kip Burdette. “We played hard on both sides of the ball. Defense, we played extremely well tonight. I’m really proud of that. It kept us in the game. That’s what they say, defense travels. The weather gets like this, defense has gotta win it for you. They gave us their best shot to try to do that tonight.” 

Seven of Jefferson’s 13 possessions started in West Laurens territory, and two more  eventually reached it. 

The Raider defense, through all that, gave up only two touchdowns and a field goal, forcing six punts, two turnovers and a couple more holdups on downs. 

Jefferson only had 186 yards, rushing for 119 with tailback Darren Pinkard (its overwhelming leader on 21 touches for 100) and quarterback Colton Grant scoring both touchdowns in the first half. 

“We played good through all three phases, they just got some in on us,” junior linebacker Leroy Mack, who led the defense with 13 tackles. 

What felt like a dominant performance by the Dragons owed mostly to the discrepancy in field placement, which had them in near-constant position to score… and West Laurens what seemed like light years away. 

On the same number of possessions, the Raiders’ average starting position was their own 18-yard line, and they never snapped the ball on Jefferson’s half of midfield. 

Outside of a single big play, as J.D. Hogan hit the team’s only double-digit rushing play on an 81-yard sprint for the lone offensive touchdown, West Laurens gained only 72 yards, 51 of them on the ground. 

Many of the night’s looming what-ifs revolved around the health of Cummings, whose injury proved to be too much of a hindrance. 

The senior made good on promises he’d be ready to go, but seemed unable to run with any of the confidence or explosiveness he’s known for. 

Cummings touched the ball six times, on four carries totaling a yard, a catch of three and an incomplete pass attempt while functioning mostly as a diversion in the gameplan. 

Carrying the offense in his stead fell to a committee of skill athletes. 

Hogan, taking his first major carries since September, netted out at 105 yards and scored his first touchdown since game 1 against Groves to help quickly equalize the score, and give the Raiders a much-needed jolt of confidence and momentum, late in the first quarter. 

A fellow sophomore in Braylen Robinson led the rest with nine carries for a total of 36. 

But aside from the Hogan breakaway, which amounted to a playmaker making a play, there wasn’t much to work with against a Jefferson defense that routinely defeated blocks, or simply outnumbered them, on tackles for minimal yardage. 

The Dragons, in particular, came intent on taking away the perimeter run game that West Laurens desperately needed to establish. 

Safety Mack Gaddis, sitting on the jet sweep all night, racked up 10 tackles and four for loss, plus a sack, to lead their defensive campaign. 

Eli Primm (with the team lead of 12 stops, plus one for loss) and Dylan Berardinelli (10 and two) took care of most everything else inside and just off-tackle. Jefferson’s Jordan Robinson and Tylek Rucker also collected sacks. 

As it was, the West Laurens defense – which put up the only other points of the night on a pick-six by Jayce Blash in the first half – would have needed a second defensive touchdown in order to win the game. 

To its credit, the group nearly scored another one on a second of back-to-back sacks of Grant on Jefferson’s first two plays of the second quarter, with the score tied at 7. The Dragon QB, after losing his footing amid a collapsing pocket, got nailed from the back side by a barely-blocked Mack while studying the field on the next play. 

His impact sent the ball tumbling into the open backfield, where Ethan Cason-Guyton was prepared to scoop it up for an easy touchdown return just as whistles sounded to declare it an incomplete pass. 

At a glance, different video angles of the play couldn’t conclusively deem it a pass attempt or no. However, footage did clearly show that the ball came out at a backward angle for what should have still been a fumble. 

The questionable call will be a second-straight to mar a postseason trip to Jefferson for West Laurens fans who still recall the blatant kick-catch interference foul that was missed on their visit during the second round in 2016, resulting in a fumble and eventual Dragon touchdown (though hardly the difference in a game of similar offensive struggles where the Raider offense spent a good bit more time in scoring range, but was kept much further away from points in a 21-0 shutout). 

This go-ahead opportunity that might have been loomed large as West Laurens repeatedly struggled to gain any offensive traction, all the way to its last two gasps in the fourth quarter. 

Hunter Castellaw made a fourth-and-one tackle in the red zone to halt a Jefferson drive and get the football back for the Raiders with six minutes left for what was essentially a do-or-die situation, down four. 

Shannon Adkins took his first two carries of the game for a total of 11 yards to quickly move the chains. But on the next series, Jefferson would stand tall to stuff him with a yard to go on third and fourth downs at the Raider 31. 

The Dragons consumed most of the remaining clock, but picked up a first down a little too quickly after taking over, as Pinkard broke loose on their first play from scrimmage and got inside the West Laurens 15. 

The Raiders, with one timeout saved, stopped the clock just under 30 before holding firm on a fourth and very short at their 3. 

But barring a miracle, there was little hope left from their deepest corner of the night. 

After two incompletions, Cason Pollock found Juvon Hill on a final play that began with seven seconds left. But the senior wideout was tackled, with no options nearby for a lateral to extend the play, and all zeros on the clock. 

Even to the last second, the Raiders were never further than a score behind, or out of the game. 

“We struggled at times tonight offensively, but I never heard a negative word out of anybody,” Burdette said. “Everybody just kept battling. Normal teenage behavior is to let things go bad, and you see some kind of reaction, and I never saw anything tonight. There was no frustration. There was nothing like that. It was just alright, what have we got to do next? Let’s just find a way to get in this thing.” 

Jefferson’s most underrated weapon was reigning region special teams player of the year Taylor McCall, who banged three of his four kickoffs for touchbacks, and hit six punts for an average of over 45. 

Besides the Dragons’ ironclad defense, he was the single biggest reason that West Laurens could only advance as far as its own 42… and that on just the second possession of the ballgame as what was shaping up to be another three-and-out turned unexpectedly to a new set of downs as Hogan ran for an impromptu first down on a busted punt protection. 

But a loss, a Jefferson pass break-up and a sack sunk the next series, forcing West Laurens to punt it for real, and a lengthy Dalton Dye return started Jefferson on the Raider half of the field for the first time. 

The Dragons were held on a third down and punted away with a yard to go, but the decision paid off as West Laurens quickly kicked it back, and the home team wound up starting four yards further ahead than where it left off. 

This time, Jefferson hit two big plays immediately. Dye caught a pass in the flat for 18 yards, then Pinkard found a lane up the gut, broke a tackle and dashed the remaining 19 to get the Dragons first on the board. 

The Raider response came immediately, and unexpectedly. 

After a yard loss on first down of the next drive, Hogan headed right off a direct snap, but quickly rerouted away from defensive traffic and cut his way back left, outrunning everybody to the edge and up the sideline to the end zone. 

“That’s my second touchdown of the year in the semifinal, as a 10th grader… It felt pretty special,” Hogan said. 

The sophomore handled a wide snap expertly to put it down for Duggan Malone’s point-after attempt, which tied the game at 7. 

A trade of punts – West’s from deep in its end zone thanks to an intentional grounding penalty – put Jefferson in its best starting spot all night at the plus-25. 

The Dragons had to grind out a short yardage third down, but got it to the 1 on a Pinkard carry to set up Colton Grant’s QB sneak for the touchdown to go back on top. 

The response again came somewhat out of the blue after West Laurens, with little progress from its own 20, punted it once more. 

The Dragons, who had more misfortune than success on attempts to drop back and pass, turned it over on some miscommunication as Grant threw one toward the seam for a receiver who never turned his head. 

Jayce Blash was right in position to tip the ball to himself for an interception, and ran it back easily from midfield for a 51-yard pick six. 

Though the PAT drifted wide to allow Jefferson to maintain the lead, the score was a virtually even 14-13. 

Two more West Laurens drives ended in familiar fashion to close the half, as both of Jefferson’s remaining possessions threatened. But two more ill-fated pass attempts cost the Dragons a shot at adding points. 

They got aggressive on a third-and-short, and Castellaw batted down a Grant pass at the line of scrimmage before they passed up yet another short fourth-down opportunity to punt. 

The Raiders’ decision to go to the air on a second-down pass attempt, similarly deflected at the line of scrimmage, left the door ajar as Jefferson called time to get it back with another chance. 

But then Shannon Adkins intercepted a Grant pass over the middle, and West Laurens ran out the rest of the half. 

Jefferson’s starting passer was 4-of-11 for 31 with the two picks. Backup Boone Horne, entering briefly in the first half and again late in the second, threw strikes on both his attempts for 35. 

The field position trends didn’t improve after halftime, even though the Raiders managed to force another much-needed punt after only three Jefferson plays. 

Another close call with disaster worked out beautifully for the Dragons as McCall – in a microcosm of the night’s good fortune – went to his left to collect a bad snap, and somehow bought enough time to blast a 57-yard mortar that started West Laurens back at its own 10.

The cycle continued with three more short possessions, leading to Raider punts. 

Those were once again followed by gritty defensive stands, though Jefferson – taking the first of those at the plus-42 – did capitalize for a handful of points as McCall knocked through a 39-yard field goal after a Maxx Chafin tackle for loss that helped stand up its second series of downs. 

Fears of rain, which had passed on through the area by kickoff, didn’t limit a turnout from West Laurens fans who traveled awfully well to see their program’s first semifinal game in history. The hundreds of bundled Blue and White supporters seemed to have nearly standing room only on the visitors side of Memorial Stadium. 

“It was an excellent crowd. They were out here before we got to pregame warmups,” Burdette said. “The Raider faithful showed out big time tonight.” 

The trip, what many hoped might see more history that was not to be, brought a conclusion to this fall’s storybook ride carrying West Laurens to a record 13 wins, the 4-AAA championship and its deepest playoff run ever.

For the Raiders’ fourth-year head coach, the many memories and experiences making up this remarkable season – and not just those measures of success – were what made it so rewarding. 

“This has probably been my best year of football,” Burdette said. “I was a part of two national championship teams at (Valdosta State) and some really good teams at Mary Persons, and this one was just special, man. It was really special.” 

While the loss, to cut short a prospective state title bid, will definitely sting for the team’s 20-or-so seniors who had dreams of going out on top, it was only an opportunity for its returning underclassmen whose thoughts, upon parting from the postgame assembly, had already turned toward a mission of climbing back to this summit in the near future. 

“I think it’s gonna motivate us a lot to try and get back here, because we see… how hard it is to get here, and how much hard work it (takes) during the summer, and everything,” Hogan said. “I think it’s just gonna drive us to get here next year.” 

“It helps us get in good position,” Mack said. “We’ve just gotta work more.” 

Tears were shed and hugs were exchanged on the field as players, families and fans shared in a sense of heartbreak that was probably less about falling a win short of the state finals than the disappointment over the fact that this week’s practices and game marked their last for the fall. 

As the Raiders slowly left the field, Montgomery Gentry’s “My Town” could be heard echoing through the stadium from the PA as an anthem equally fitting for Friday’s guests as it was the Jefferson faithful reveling in victory. 

Even in a losing cause, the night couldn’t have been a prouder one for West Laurens and Dexter, which the Raiders of 2025 firmly established as a landmark on the Georgia high school football map. And it figures to be there to stay, though the hoped-for chance to bring home a coveted state championship will have to wait a little bit longer. 

“You get a little greedy when you win, and you want to keep winning,” Burdette said. “But there isn’t but one way to end a season that’s not a loss, and that’s to win the big one. We’ve got some steps to take before we do that. But I’m really proud of this team. I’m at a little of a loss for words right now, but I’m really proud. I was just hoping we could play one more.”