The Dodge County Indians hosted the Jefferson County Warriors this past Friday night in Eastman at Memorial Stadium. The Indians (2-2) were seeking their second region win of the year against the Warriors (2-3).
Dodge won the coin toss and deferred to the second half for the kickoff.
Jefferson County started their opening drive with first and ten on their 38-yard line. After two consecutive first downs, the Warriors were met by a tough Dodge defensive line and were forced to punt and the Indians took their first drive of the game into Jefferson territory with a huge punt return. The Indians moved the ball quickly and on first and goal on the 8-yard line, D’Eric McNair (#11) threw a pass to Leonard Floyd (#83) for a touchdown.
The extra point attempt by Walt Turner (#86) was no good and Dodge took the lead 6-0 in the first quarter.
After the kickoff, the Warriors began a long drive from their 24-yard line and moved the ball methodically down-field with four consecutive first downs to the 50-yard line. The Warriors converted a huge fourth and one play and moved into Indian territory to the 34-yard line. The Warriors scored a touchdown on the sixth play of the drive to tie the ballgame. The extra point attempt was good and Jefferson County took the lead 7-6 at the end of the first quarter.
Dodge settled in to play action and D’Eric McNair (#11) pushed the Indians into Jefferson territory with two consecutive first downs to the 30-yard line. The Indians failed to convert on fourth and two on the 30-yard line. The Warriors took over, first and ten on the 30-yard line. Long drives by both teams ate away the time clock in the second quarter. Jefferson County quickly moved the ball down field for a touchdown run. The extra point attempt was good and the Warriors controlled the first half with a score of 14-6.
After halftime, Dodge received the kickoff and began third quarter play on their 21-yard line. Dodge moved the ball with four consecutive first downs to the 31-yard line of Jefferson County, but was forced to punt on fourth down. The Warriors took possession on their 19-yard line. A few plays later, Jefferson County scored a touchdown with a huge run into the end zone. The extra point attempt was good and Jefferson County extended their lead 21 to 6.
The Indians began another long drive down field eating away the time clock. Quarterback D’Eric McNair (#11) was injured on a play and the Indian’s backup quarterback, Cole Honeycutt (#16), entered the game. Honeycutt threw a 40-yard pass to Leonard Floyd to position Dodge County on the 1-yard line of Jefferson County. Dodge scored on the next play and the extra point attempt by Turner was good. Dodge cut the lead to 21-13.
Fourth quarter play was dominated by Jefferson County. The Warriors kept the ball most of the fourth quarter. In the final minutes of the game, Dodge held Jefferson County and would take possession of the football and quickly scored a touchdown cutting the lead to 21-19. Dodge tried for yet another scoring opportunity, but was stopped by Jefferson County late in the final minutes of the game. Final score was Jefferson County 21 and Dodge County 19.
The Indians (2-3) will travel to South East Bulloch (1-5) in Statesboro this Friday night for the fourth region game of the season. South East Bulloch has not won a region game this season. Game time is 7:30 p.m. Wear red and show your support on the road!
