Jefferson County flexed its muscles Friday, taking sole possession of first place in the region with a convincing win over previously unbeaten Hephzibah

Kydran Jenkins rushed for 2 touchdowns and forced a fumble in Friday's win.

Jefferson County created and capitalized on three consecutive Hephzibah turnovers to turn a 20-7 halftime advantage into what became an insurmountable 36-7 third quarter lead on the way to its fourth straight win and its twelfth consecutive region victory. Friday's 44-28 result put the Warriors (4-2, 4-0) one game ahead of Hephzibah (4-1, 3-1), Harlem (3-3, 3-1), Screven County (5-1, 3-1) and Westside (3-2, 2-1) at the halfway point of the class 2A, region 4 schedule.



Kydran Jenkins rushed for two touchdowns as well as a 2 point conversion, highlighting an impressive all around performance by the Purdue bound senior linebacker. Jenkins also forced and recovered a fumble, he recorded a sack, and he logged numerous tackles at and behind the line of scrimmage, spearheading a defense that surrendered only 59 rushing yards.

The most important play Jenkins made might have been his strip of Hephzibah quarterback Marshall Chambers inside of Jefferson County's 5 yard line with less than a minute remaining in the first half that preserved a two-score Warrior lead at the break. Fellow linebacker Jacques Lewis then intercepted a pass by Chambers on the second play from scrimmage of the third quarter, which set up a 28 yard rushing touchdown by Jenkins. And on the ensuing possession, Nick Jordan, who also recorded two sacks and a hurry in the game, recovered another Hephzibah fumble and returned it for a touchdown to give the Warriors a 36-7 lead with just under 7 minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Hephzibah responded in the final 18 minutes with three touchdowns, one on a 14 yard pass from Chambers to Jaiden Wofford, another on a 60 yard strike from Chambers to Erick Harris, and the third on a short run by Jalen Gibson. But a 3 yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter by Kydran Jenkins that was set up by a 54 yard gain by Azarell Jenkins put the Warriors ahead 44-15 and ensured that the outcome would not be in doubt during the final quarter.

Jefferson County's Captains: Jacob West (90), Desmond Beale (2), Cincere Whidbee (78)

Jefferson County played a nearly flawless first half, scoring touchdowns on three of its first four series and forcing three consecutive three-and-outs on Hephzibah's opening possessions. The Warriors' highly regarded offensive line cleared the way for a scoring drive on Jefferson County's first series when quarterback Carlton Brown rushed for 40 of the drive's 42 total yards, including a 7 yard score. On the next series it was Jefferson County's other quarterback, sophomore Izaiah Gaines, who accounted for the majority of the yardage, picking up 38 on a run up the middle and finishing the drive with a 3 yard touchdown run.

Jefferson County's final scoring drive of the first half came after Desmond Beale took a short pass from Gaines and ran 48 yards to Hephzibah's 23 yard line. Later on third and 15 Gaines and Jenkins barely missed connecting in the end zone. But on the next play the two tried again and that time Jenkins came up with the catch to put Jefferson County ahead 20-7.

Hephzibah's only score in the first half came on a 6 yard touchdown run by Enoch Howard that was set up when the Warriors muffed a punt on their own 14 yard line right before the end of the first quarter.

Stay tuned for coverage of this Friday's action because this will be the first week when EVERY team in the area will be fully engaged in region play!