SHENANDOAH JUNCTION, W.Va. — A second one-score victory over George Washington allowed Jefferson to set a new benchmark in program history. The No. 4 Cougars scored four touchdowns in the game’s final three quarters to defeat No. 5 George Washington, 28-21 in the Class AAAA quarterfinal round.
The semifinal appearance is the first for the Cougars. They had been eliminated in the quarterfinal round in each of the last four seasons.
“The work is not done. But in order for the work not to be done, we had to get over the hump. We finally got over the hump,” said Jefferson head coach Craig Hunter. “This team has shown resiliency. We have been resilient all year long after starting out 0-4 and then rolling off eight in a row to get to the point where they are now. If any team is going to be able to do it, it is this team right here.”
Jefferson (8-4) defeated GW (9-3) in Charleston, 34-33 in Week 7. That game was the second victory in the Cougars’ current eight-game winning streak.
Jefferson head coach Craig Hunter addresses his team after securing the school’s first semifinal appearance with a 28-21 win over GW: #wvprepfb pic.twitter.com/OylGtX5MI2
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The Patriots led 7-0 after the opening stanza. A 9-play, 64-yard drive was capped by a 1-yard touchdown tote from Jaden Black. However, the Cougars answered early in the second quarter. Facing fourth-and-10, Jackson Rockwell connected with Tony Allen, Jr. on a 21-yard scoring strike, tying the score at 7.
“Having Tony back after missing him for pretty much five weeks, that’s huge. He’s at full strength and once he gets going, he is hard to catch. That fourth down play, we kind of saw something and we thought it was going to be there. And it was. And defensively, he kind of takes part of the field away.”
Jefferson took the lead late in the half when Rockwell capped an 11-play, 79-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run. The Cougars led 14-7 at halftime.
The teams traded touchdowns in each of the final two quarters. Rockwell’s second touchdown run, a 1-yard tote in the third quarter, gave JHS a 21-7 lead. GW answered when Cy Persinger connected with Sameje Wesley on a 47-yard touchdown. The Patriots trailed 21-14 through three quarters.
However, Rockwell’s third touchdown run of the game capped a 17-play drive in the fourth quarter, once again giving the Cougars a two-score lead at 28-14.
“We made it work. 99 yards, and we made it work.”
With running back Trevon Ledbetter lost to injury early in the game, Rockwell and several other backs picked up the slack for the Cougars.
“We went to [Rockwell] a little bit more because we lost a running back. Andy Roberts did a good job stepping in. Leeland Benner did a good job of stepping in when we needed him. We don’t know what is going to happen with [Ledbetter] for next week. But we found some people that can fill in those spots along with Jackson running the ball. And we still have Tony [Allen] we can put back there.”
Jefferson will face the winner of Saturday’s Morgantown/Spring Mills game in the semifinal round next weekend.