THE JEFFERSON DRAGONS ~ 1962

A Jackson Herald Staff Report

Only three more weeks remain before Jefferson will lift the lid on the 1962 season. The first game will find Georgia Industrial at Jefferson, followed by Winder and then Commerce. Jefferson will play one of it’s toughest schedules ever this year.

The team puts on full uniform Monday for the first time as all varsity candidates are being put through a camp routine at the high school. Each member of the squad reports at 9:00 a.m. for lectures, workout on the field in shorts, a noon meal, rest and then an afternoon workout in full pads. The coaching staff feels that this type training is of more value than normal workouts,

In evaluating the team. Coach Davis says, “The end positions are really looking good. Our four B boys ( Harold Bone, Thomas Bond, Cecil Buffington and Gary Brooks ), are looking good along with younger players Steve Wilson and George Kesler. All are looking good catching the ball. As they sharpen up their blocking abilities, they will be a strong asset to the team.”

Commenting on Jefferson’s offense, Davis said, “To have a passing attack there must be someone around to throw the ball. Mike Cotton, Roger Jackson, Walton Halski, Rod Johnson, Jack Wilson, Rod Johnson and Damon West are working hard to improve their throwing. One of these boys should be able to get the ball into the hands of our tall receivers.”

The blocking of the interior linemen should be greatly improved over last year. Led by Earl Tompkins, Mike Arnold, John Parks, Terry Marlow, Mike Welborn, Danny Glenn, Howard Sauls and John Davis the line should be very strong.

Early indications are that the running attack will be adequate. Rod Johnson, Buck Tolbert, Terry Cotton, Damon West, Gerald Foster, and Billy Duke should be able to move the ball behind a strong line. Ronnie Johnson should help the running game this year.

Terry Cotton has also developed into a fine punter and is expected to excel in that department.

The coaches also expect a first year back, Eddie Watson, from North Jackson to develop into a real breakaway threat. “If he can gain the necessary confidence and understanding of what it takes to play ball in this region, with his speed, he will be a threat to break a play at any time.” Said Davis.

Coach Davis is pleased with the early workouts of the team and is high on the year’s outlook.

The Dragon Squad for 1962:

Thomas Bond, Mike Arnold, Earl Tompkins, Buck Tolbert, Roger Jackson, John Parks, Ronnie Johnson, Dennis Wright, Mike Cotton, Gary Brooks, Terry Cotton, Rod Johnson, Howard Sauls, Harold Bone, Cecil Buffington, Walton Halski, Larry Fletcher, Jerry Gearin, Mike Welborn, George Kesler, Steve Wilson, David Gooch, Jerry Love, Eddie Watson, John Davis, Billy Duke, Doyle Strickland, Richard Gearin, Gerald Foster, and Bob Gilbert.

Coaches were Coach John Davis, Coach Charles White and Coach Martis Robinson.

Georgia Industrial Institute - 6 - 0 - Friday - September 7, 1962 in Jefferson.

The 1962 Dragons opened the season in their new stadium on a breezy, crisp night in Jefferson before a huge gathering. It appeared every one in Jefferson wanted to be a part of witnessing the first game played in the beautiful new stadium.

The Dragons put on a fumbling exhibition that you would have to have seen to believe. Eight times the locals put the ball on the ground and on five occasions their opponent was able to recover the loose ball.

The Dragons were able to score mid-way through the first quarter when “Hardrock” Jackson threw to Gary Brooks for a five-yard touchdown. The first touchdown to be registered in the new stadium. An off-side penalty on the extra point attempt pushed the ball back to the eight-yard line where Jackson threw high and incomplete to an open Cecil Buffington in the end zone. Jefferson led early 6 - 0.

On their second possession fullback Damon West broke loose for a 30-yard run to the Green Hornet 40-yard line. Harold Bone pulled in a Jackson pass at the 20. West cracked to the 17 before the Dragon offense began to literally fall apart.

A holding penalty killed the drive and two Jackson passes fell incomplete to Brooks and Bone on third and fourth down.

The Dragons managed to lose another fumble before halftime but managed to hold a 6 - 0 lead at the intermission.

At times the Dragon offense showed flashes of brilliance as West pounded the middle, Cotton skirted the end and Jackson, who complete 11 passes out of 16 throws, threw to Brooks, Bone and Buffington for good gains. Jefferson had 116 yards through the air. Their most air yards in a game in almost three seasons or 24 games.

In the fourth quarter, Jefferson mounted it’s final drive of the game as Cotton and West moved the ball on the ground and Buffington pulled in a 30-yard pass from Jackson that carried the ball to the Hornet four-yard line.

On second down Jackson fumbled at the three and the Hornets recovered their fifth fumble of the game.

The closing seconds of the game saw the Hornets quickly move the ball down the field on passes of 29 and 32 yards from quarterback Jake Galotti to Ben Mock and Alex Sanders. With a first and 10 on the Jefferson 11-yard line with 56 seconds left on the clock, Galotti threw four incomplete passes with Cotton batting down the last attempt with 12 seconds left in the game.

Jefferson ran one play and the game ended.

The Dragons had managed 15 first downs to 11 for Georgia Industrial Institute.

West ran for 73 yards with Cotton adding 39 more of the Dragons 129 rushing yards. The Hornets had rushed for only 63 yards.

While Jefferson threw for 116 yards on 11 of 16 passes, the Hornets had completed only 7 passes out of 18 throws, but managed 91 yards through the air.

Cotton had punted twice for an average of 36.5. Georgia Industrial had punted on five occasions for a 31.3 average.

Coach Davis had praise for John parks, Earl Tompkins, John Davis and Terry Marlow on the defensive front. Terry Cotton and Buck Tolbert had played well in the secondary. He pointed out that he was pleasantly surprised with the passing of quarterback Jackson in his first game. He also stated that as the season progressed he expected the passing game with Gary Brooks, Cecil Buffington, Harold Bone and Thomas Bonds to be a team strong point.

Winder-Barrow - 6 - 19 - Friday, September 14, 1962 at Winder.

Throughout the Jefferson ~ Winder-Barrow series over the years, the Dragons had usually found a way to win the game when the two rivals met on the gridiron. Jefferson went into Winder fully expecting to win on this reasonably warm night in 1962.

Winder was coming off a 19 - 6 loss to Commerce after opening their season with a tough 19-13 loss to Gwinnett County rival Central Gwinnett. It was a hungry Bulldog team that took on the Dragons on this night.

Jack Wilson, who had sat out the first game of the season for the Dragons with a back injury was cleared to play early in the week. He had practiced with the team on Wednesday and Thursday and was expected to get serious playing time after a good season in 1961.

Steve Griffeth was a 140-pound defensive end for the Winder-Barrow Bulldogs. He had fairly decent speed, so he was usually assigned to provide coverage on the wide receiver or flanker on the Bulldogs opposition. He had played three years for the Bulldogs and had two interceptions. On this night against the Jefferson Dragons he had three, running two of them back for touchdowns.

The Dragons probably deserved a better fate.

They had 12 first downs for the game to 9 for Winder-Barrow and out rushed them 123 yards to 101.

It was primarily the pass interceptions, two off of Jack Wilson and one off “Hardrock” Jackson along with a Damon West fumble and a Terry Cotton blocked punt that sealed the doom for the Dragons.

The only sustained drive of the night came in the fourth quarter when Jefferson drove 53 yards for it’s only touchdown of the game.

The Dragons came into the game wanting to throw the ball. With the ball on the Jefferson 29 in the first quarter, a Wilson screen pass to Damon West was picked out of the air by Griffeth, who carried the ball in for the first Winder-Barrow score and an eventual 6 - 0 halftime lead.

In the second half, unable to do anything with the Winder-Barrow defense, the Dragons took to the air. Wilson tried a pass to Buffington on a slant that Griffeth picked off and ran back 23 yards for a second score. After a Jimmy Greeson run for the point after it was Winder-Barrow 13, Jefferson 0.

After an exchange of punts, the Dragons again tried to punt the ball from their own end zone. Billy Healan, a 200-pound Bulldog guard broke through to block the Terry Cotton punt. Darrell Mauldin fell on the ball at the one-yard line. Greeson scored on the next play to put the final points on the board for Winder-Barrow.

Late in the third quarter Jefferson started a drive from their own 38. After West ran for 6 yards, Jackson tried to hit a button-hooking Gary Brooks on the Dragon 48. Linebacker Tim Wayne managed to bat the ball away from Brooks and, wouldn’t you know it, directly into the hands of Griffeth. He was tackled at the Dragon 32 after his third interception of the night.

Late in the fourth quarter Mike Arnold recovered a Bulldog fumble on their 47-yard line. Cotton and Rod Johnson ran the ball well to move it to the Bulldog 6-yard line Where Wilson threw to Harold Bone for the touchdown off a fake running play. The extra point pass attempt to Gary Brooks was incomplete.

Jefferson tried an unsuccessful on-side kick before Winder-Barrow ran two plays to end the game.

Jefferson had thrown the ball on 14 occasions with six completions for 73 yards. Three of the passes had been intercepted by the opportunistic Griffeth of Winder-Barrow.

The Dragons had seen their won-loss record evened out at 1 - 1 on the young season.

Next in line was the undefeated Commerce Tigers in Jefferson.

Commerce - 7 - 32 - Friday, September 21, 1962 at Jefferson.

Old Dragon nemesis Roger Love had the high flying Tigers off to a 3 - 0 start with wins over Stephens County 20 - 14, Winder-Barrow 19 - 6 and South Habersham 20 - 0.

Love had ran for six touchdowns in the three games.

All week in practice, Coach Davis had used Dragon freshman speedster Eddie Watson to emulate the Commerce star in practice sessions. While the Jefferson youngster was comparable to Love in speed, he lacked the experience and football moves that made the Tiger great one of the most feared running backs in Georgia early on in 1962.

The Dragons won the toss and chose to receive. Terry Cotton returned the opening kick-off to the Dragon 36. Fourteen plays later they cashed a touchdown ticket when Wilson fired a seven-yard pass to Gary Brooks all alone in the end zone. Key plays in the drive were a 14-yard run by West and a 16-yard pass to Cecil Buffington that carried to the Tiger 12-yard line.

After a three-yard sweep by Cotton, Wilson threw for the score. Cotton ran wide to score the extra point and give Jefferson a momentary 7 - 0 lead.

David Smallwood of Commerce returned the kickoff 46 yards to the Dragon 40 before Cotton brought him down. Four plays picked up 24 yards to the 22-yard line of Jefferson. On the next play, Quarterback Steve Castellaw faked a handoff to Love and threw a swing pass to Buford Howell, who went in untouched for the Tiger score. Smallwood scored the extra point to tie the score at 7 - 7.

Cotton took the kickoff for no return. Wilson tried to hit Brooks and Buffington on successive downs, but Howell and Smallwood made good defensive plays to knock the passes down. Cotton punted to the Tiger 39.

The Tigers didn’t wait long to dent the scoreboard. With Love and Howell carrying the ball, the Tigers moved to the Dragon 39. On third down, Love took the pitch and ran 39 yards for the score. He was injured on the play, but managed to leave the field without assistance. Martin Kicked the point after to put Commerce up 14 - 7.

The Dragons failed to move the ball on their next possession. Cotton punted to the Tiger 11-yard line.

Howell was brought down on the 13-yard line of Commerce. On the next play, Fullback Smallwood plowed out to the 21-yard line. Howell then took a Castellaw pitchout and darted wide to the left side. He cut back to the middle of the field and ran 79 yards for the score to make it Commerce 19, Jefferson 7. Martin’s extra point kick was wide leaving the score at Commerce 20, Jefferson 7.

With Love on the sideline, Halfback Doc Savage took a pitch on the Tigers next possession and ran 71 yards for another score and a 26 - 7 Tiger halftime lead.

The Dragons moved the ball fairly well after the break as West and Rod Johnson found room inside for good yardage. On two occasions the Dragons had drives stopped by 15-yard penalties on second and third down. On another, Wilson had Cecil Buffington wide open on the Commerce 20 and threw the ball short and into the ground.

Early in the fourth quarter, Love returned to the game after Cotton kicked out of bounds on the Tiger 13-yard line. On first down the fleet Tiger back took a pitchout and ran 87 yards for his second score of the game. Love had rushed for 143 yards on only eight carries. The Tigers had rushed for 309 yards in the game.

The final of 32 - 7 was on the scoreboard.

Wilson came out throwing with three minutes left in the game. From his own 35, he hit Buffington for 17 and 12 yards, Brooks for nine and Buck Tolbert for seven as Commerce gave the Dragon receivers plenty of room as the game wound down. A pass to Buffington carried to the Commerce 19 as the clock moved to 0.00.

The Tigers had soundly defeated their cross county rivals.

Commerce would move to number six in the Class A rankings after their fourth win of the season. Not one Jefferson or Commerce fan dreamed that this would be their last win of the season.

The following week the Tigers were upset by Monroe at home 20 -14. Losses to Madison County 33- 13, Central Gwinnett 28 - 13, Tucker 52 - 14, White County 41 - 12 and Lovette 20 - 7 followed to leave them with a 4 - 6 record.

The Dragons quickly tossed aside the Commerce loss and got the Oglethorpe County Indians on their mind for a next Friday night tilt in Jefferson.

Oglethorpe County - 25 - 0 - Friday, September 28, 1962 at Jefferson.

The Indians of Oglethorpe County brought a 2 - 2 record to Jefferson. After losing to Madison County 25 - 0 and East Hall 35 - 7, they had won two games from the Athens High B-team 18 -6 and Georgia Industrial 20 - 6.

Coach Davis stressed the Georgia Industrial score to his charges all week. He reminded his team how hard it had been to defeat the Green Hornets in the season opener.

The headline in the Jackson Herald read “Dragons pass to victory over Indians.” No one could remember the last time Jefferson had thrown the ball 20 times in a game. All agreed it had been some time back.

On this night Coach Davis Turned Jack Wilson loose and he responded with 14 completions in 22 attempts for 174 yards and two touchdowns.

After the Indians failed to make a first down on the opening possession, Wilson and the Dragons started from their own 41-yard line. Passes to Thomas Bond for 11 yards, Gary Brooks for 14 yards and a seven-yard pass to Buck Tolbert moved the ball to the Indian 23-yard line. On second down from the 21, Wilson fired to Cecil Buffington, who made a diving catch just across the goal to give the Dragons their first score. Damon West ran for the point after making it Jefferson seven, Oglethorpe County 0.

The Indians made two first downs before punting to Cotton at the Dragon 23-yard line. He was knocked down on the 31. A 12-yard pass to Harold Bone after two rushes netted six yards moved the ball to the Dragon 49-yard line. On the next play, Wilson threw to Buffington, who had button-hooked about eight yards down the field. He tossed the ball back to Buck Tolbert, who ran for an apparent score. The Dragons were called for illegal motion on the play and it was called back. West and Cotton came up four yards short of the first down so Cotton punted to the Indian 25-yard line.

Oglethorpe County started it’s best drive of the night at this point. They steadily moved the ball down the field to the Dragon 42-yard line.

Quarterback Jerry Tiller tried a pass down the middle that freshman defensive back Eddie Watson stepped in front of on the 26-yard line and intercepted. Young Watson gave Jefferson fans an indication of what might just lie ahead in the future with a beautiful 74-yard touchdown return. John Davis tried a drop-kick for the extra point that was blocked. Jefferson led 13 - 0 at the half.

On their first drive of the second half the Dragons came out throwing the ball. After seven completions in 10 attempts on the drive to five different receivers and five first downs, the Dragons scored again. Dragon Senior Harold Bone pulled in an 11-yard pass from Wilson for a 19 - 0 Dragon Lead. Davis again tried a drop-kick that failed.

With a backfield of “Hardrock” Jackson at quarterback, Rod Johnson at fullback, Eddie Watson and Billy Duke at halfbacks, the Dragons scored a final touchdown with just over four minutes left in the game. It was all on the ground. Johnson scored the touchdown on a six-yard run. A Jackson pass to George Kesler was incomplete on the point after attempt.

The Dragons had evened their record at 2 - 2 on the season with Morgan County coming into Memorial Stadium next week.

Morgan County - 6 - 40 - Friday, October 5, 1962 at Jefferson.

The number one ranked Morgan County Bulldogs rambled into Jefferson after shutting out their first five opponents and piling up 179 points. They had wins over Newton County 33 - 0, Monroe Area 19 - 0, Thomson 47 - 0, Jackson 40 - 0, and Monticello 40 - 0.

With their brother backfield combination of Bill and Bob McWhorter carrying the ball they simply mauled all opposition.

Bill McWhorter had scored 14 touchdowns in five games.

The Jefferson Dragons dared to dream in the first half of the game as they fought and scrapped to keep the Bulldogs close. It was 13 - 7 at half-time.

The McWhorter twins proved to be the expected difference between the two teams when all was said and done.

Jefferson won the toss and elected to receive. Unable to move the ball, they were forced to punt to the Bulldogs on their own 21-yard line. Fullback Troy Lancaster ripped for three yards to start the Morgan County offensive push. On their second play, Bill McWhorter ran 66 yards to score the touchdown. He broke about four tackles on the run. Lancaster ran for the point after to make it 7 - 0, Bulldogs.

Late in the quarter after the ‘Dogs had ground out two first downs, McWhorter bobbled the ball after an Earl Tompkins hit at the ‘Dog 45 yard- line. Gary Brooks of the Dragons took the ball out of the air and ran 55 yards to score. Rod Johnson failed on the point after try and it was Morgan County 7, Jefferson 6.

A Morgan County miscue with their center snapping the ball over McWhorter’s head as he went back to punt resulted in good field position for the Dragons on the Morgan County 38-yard line. Two runs by West and Cotton picked up four yards and two passes from Wilson to Brooks and Bone were incomplete, so the ‘Dogs took over on their own 34-yard line.

Bill McWhorter took a pitchout, started to his left, cut back to the middle and then back outside again and ran for a 69-yard touchdown and a 13 - 6 halftime lead.

After intermission, Wilson promptly fumbled on his own 30-yard line going back to pass with Morgan County recovering. Two plays later, Eddie Watson intercepted a pass in the end zone to stop that ‘Dog threat.

Jefferson ran two plays and tried a screen pass to West that was batted down. Cotton punted to the Morgan 35 where Bob McWhorter returned it to the Dragon 41-yard line. Three plays later Bill McWhorter scored from the 16-yard line. Lancaster again ran for the point after.

A Wilson punt attempt failed when the snap was short and into the ground, resulting in a Morgan County recovery at the Dragons 13. Three plays later Lancaster scored from the one-yard line to make the score 26 - 6, Morgan County.

In the fourth quarter Candler Hunt ran nine yards for a Morgan County score and Bill McWhorter scored his fourth touchdown of the game and eighteenth of the season with a 19-yard touchdown run.

For the game Morgan County had 24 first downs to only three for Jefferson.

The Bulldogs had rushed for 328 yards with Bill McWhorter leading the way with 202 yards on 14 carries. Bob McWhorter had 46 yards on only six carries.

After throwing the ball so well the previous week, Jack Wilson only completed two passes for 17 yards. He attempted 14 passes for the game.

Jefferson lost two fumbles, while Morgan County lost one.

Eddie Watson had another interception for Jefferson, while Wilson did not throw an interception, he was clearly off target. Much of his inability to throw successfully was the rush from the Morgan County line and close coverage by the ‘Dogs defensive backs on Brooks, Buffington, Bone and Thomas Bond.

Earl Tompkins had 12 tackles in the game. West had eight. Both were linebackers, so it was evident the Dragon front line was not able to make that initial stop of the Morgan County backs on the line.

Coach Davis singled out Mike Arnold, Gary Brooks and John Davis as having good games on both sides of the ball.

The second half, Morgan County was able to do just about anything they wanted to do. They were far superior in all facets of the game as they executed their blocking scheme and power plays to perfection. Once McWhorter broke into the clear, there was not a Dragon defensive player that could catch up to him. He clearly showed the potential to be a solid candidate for Class B Back of the Year and a repeat as a member of the All-State team.

Morgan County would defeat Washington-Wilkes 3 - 0 and finish the season 14 - 0.

They won playoff games over Rabun County 27 - 6, Rockdale County 26 - 7, Manchester 32 - 6 and finally stomped Hawkinsville 39 - 7 to win the 1962 Class B State Championship.

Bill McWhorter would receive a scholarship to Georgia where he played for the Bulldogs. Somehow Johnny Jenkins of Claxton, who also attended Georgia, was named the Class B back of the Year despite 31 touchdowns from McWhorter for the season.

Guard John Shockley was also an All-State performer for the Bulldogs with eight Bulldogs receiving honorable mention.

East Hall - 6 - 16 - Friday, October 12, 1962 at Gainesville.

All week in Practice Coach Davis played up halfback Robert Jett as being as good as Roger Love and Bill McWhorter. He said he was taller and would be harder to tackle due to his knee pumping running style.

East Hall entertained Jefferson on a cool night in the backwoods of Hall County where East Hall High School was located.

The Vikings entered the game on a wave of victories over North Hall 24 - 0, Oglethorpe County 35 - 0, Lumpkin County 20 - 7, Pickens County 41 - 6 and a resounding previous week’s pounding of South Habersham 45 - 13. Only a 27 - 13 loss to White County on September 28 marred their record.

The Dragons went into the East Hall Stadium confident of a victory. After 85 yards in penalties, two pass interceptions and three lost fumbles they were lucky to have come out of the stadium with any sense of accomplishment. They continually shot themselves in the foot with mistakes.

Two early drives were stalled with killing clipping and holding penalties, another with a fumble at the East Hall seven-yard line and even another with a pass interception at the East Hall 21.

Damon West ran for 49 yards and Terry cotton trudged for another 37, but on only one drive was the Dragons able to cross the goal line.

In the latter stages of the third quarter, West, Rod Johnson and Terry Cotton took advantage of an East Hall fumble recovery at their own 29 and drove the ball to the Viking 11. On first down, Jack Wilson faked a handoff to West and fired the ball to Cecil Buffington at the five-yard line. Buffington took the ball in stride and was literally flipped into the end zone by the East Hall defensive back. He held on for the score and Jefferson was on the board. A pass attempt to Brooks was broken up on the extra point.

East Hall had scored in the first quarter on a short drive after an early pass interception when their fine running back Robert Jett had scored from the eight-yard line. They added a 21-yard field goal by Bobby Elliott in the third quarter after another Dragon fumble recovery. Their final score came on a 56 yard-punt return by Jerry Pettit in the first minute of the fourth quarter.

The final score was 16 - 6 with the Gainesville team coming out on top.

Jefferson had managed only seven first downs. The Viking had 11.

Jack Wilson had thrown nine passes with two interceptions. Both interceptions were of screen passes intended for running backs. East Hall did a good job of covering the Jefferson receivers for the most part of the night. Wilson was thrown for a loss trying to pass on three occasions totaling 22 yards. Wilson had completed only two passes with one going for the Dragons only score.

Lavonia - 12 - 6 - Friday, October 19, 1962 in Jefferson.

There were many that just could not take Lavonia seriously in the year 1962.

They usually sent around 20 to 22 players onto the field to represent their football interests. Lavonia brought a 3 - 4 record into Jefferson in 1962. They had wins over Talullah Falls 13 - 0, Lumpkin County 20 - 0 and a stunning 20 - 14 upset win over the State bound Rabun County Wildcats on their home turf.

Coach Davis tried to keep the confidence level of his charges on an even keel during practice that week.

The Dragons were able to put together four good drives in the game, but were able to cash in only two of them. Thankfully, that was one more than Lavonia could complete.

The Dragons took advantage of a Lavonia Fumble recovery by John Davis early in the second quarter at the Lavonia 44-yard line. West and Cotton provide the ground work and Gary Books and Harold Bone pulled in short passes to keep the drive going. Brooks made a fourth down and seven catch at the Bulldogs six to set up a four-yard West touchdown run two plays later. A pass to Brooks on the extra point was broken up to leave the score at Jefferson 6, Lavonia 0.

Lavonia cashed in midway through the third quarter on a short run by their fine running back Ronnie Bryan. Earl Tompkins and Terry Marlow stopped Bryan short of the goal on the extra point attempt.

The score was tied with 8:00 showing on the Memorial Stadium clock.

Eddie Watson returned the kickoff to the Dragon 31-yard line. West ran for four, John Davis showed up in the backfield and took a lateral from Wilson for four yards to the Dragon 39. West ran for seven and a first down at the 46. On first down Wilson rolled out for six, West crashed for the first down at the Lavonia 39. Cotton lost one on a mishandled handoff. On second and 11, Wilson passed to Bone at the Bulldog 28-yard line for a first down. After West was stopped after a two yard gain, Wilson dropped back and hit a wide open Cecil Buffington at the 10-yard line. He scored easily after the catch. A pass attempt to Bone was incomplete on the extra point attempt. Jefferson now led 12 - 6 with less than 3:00 left in the game.

Lavonia never quit. After bringing West’s kickoff back to the 35, they pulled out the old playbook. A double reverse went for 18 yards, a single reverse picked up another 22 to the Dragon 25-yard line.

Bryan was hit after a three-yard gain, a quick pass on second down was almost intercepted by Eddie Watson at the Dragon 14. On third down, safety Jack Wilson picked off a Jerry Kinsey pass at the nine and brought it back to the 14-yard line.

That was the ball game.

Jefferson ran three plays, picking up a first down as the game ended.

The Dragons had 14 first downs for the night while Lavonia had 8.

West had ran for 59 yards, Cotton 33 and Eddie Watson for 24 on his busiest ball-carrying night of the season.

Jefferson had rushed for 144 yards and passed for another 65 yards. Wilson was six for 10 throwing the pigskin.

Mike Arnold, Terry Marlow, John Davis and Earl Tompkins had stood out on defense. Young Watson had four tackles from his defensive side-back position.

It was a good win for the Dragons. Their record was now at 3 - 4 with Thomson, Royston and Washington-Wilkes left on the schedule.

Thomson - 0 - 0 - Friday, October 26, 1962 in Jefferson.

The usually strong Thomson team had suffered through a dismal season by their standards.

After an opening win over Royston 14 - 12, they had taken it on the chin with losses to Warren County 27 - 0, Morgan County 47 - 0, and Swainsboro 13 - 0, before belting Lavonia 31 - 6. Three more losses followed as Screven County beat the Bulldogs 28 - 0, Washington-Wilkes destroyed them 40 - 0 and just last week Elbert County had shut them out 19 - 0. The Bulldogs had scored 45 points in 8 games, ( all in two games ) and had failed to score in six games.

Thomson was not used to this kind of season.

Coach Davis felt going in that his defense could hold the Bulldogs, but the Dragons had to put some points on the board.

It was tremendously cold that night at Memorial Stadium. The temperature was 22 degrees on the 8:00 p.m. kickoff. The wind was unbelievable.

It was parents night. All the parents were seated and bundled up on the track on the far side of the stadium in fold-out chairs. There were no stands on that side of the Stadium at this time, only the concrete bleachers on the press box side.

Jefferson could manage only six first downs for the night with three of those on a second-quarter drive that started on the Dragon 35. On the drive West and Cotton managed to pick up 52 of the Dragons 96 rushing yards for the night. Wilson threw three of the five passes he attempted on the night. On a third and six on the Thomson 34, he threw to Bone for 13 yards to the ‘Dogs 21. West and Cotton pounded the ball to the seven when a fourth-down pass to Cotton came up short of the goal on the Jefferson two-yard line. The Dragons never crossed mid-field again.

Thomson was struggling offensively as they made only four first downs all night and were able to advance the ball inside the Dragons territory on only one occasion. That was to the 23-yard line in the fourth quarter. On a fourth down and three, Thomson quarterback Tim Harberson tried a quick pitch to fullback David Kitchens that Damon West and Terry Marlow saw from the beginning. They stopped the 175-pound back for a six-yard loss. Thomson would not threaten again.

Both teams were plagued with mishandled snaps from center to quarterback. Coach Davis attributed some of this to the freezing weather. A strong wind may have contributed to both teams choosing to keep the ball on the ground on most plays.

Both teams lost a fumble.

The game had 11 punts with Thomson kicking on six occasions for a 28.6 average. West, Cotton and Wilson punted for Jefferson on their five occasions with an average of 29.8.

The Jefferson interior defensive line played well all night limiting Thomson to 69 yards rushing.

Brooks, Bond, Bone on the ends, Mike Arnold, Mike Welborn, Terry Marlow, John Parks, Danny Glenn and Howard Sauls were mentioned by Coach Davis as playing extremely well.

The Dragon linebackers, West, Earl Tompkins, Rod Johnson and John Davis did a good job on run defense support.

The secondary of Eddie Watson, Terry Cotton, Jack Wilson and Billy Duke all played well.

It was a good defensive effort.

Royston - 7 - 6 - Friday, November 2, 1962 at Royston.

The Royston Purple Hurricane entertained the Dragons on a miserably cold night in Royston.

The Royston team had won only two games as they prepared to meet the 3 - 4 - 1 Dragons. They had started out the season with a tough 14 - 12 loss to Thomson followed by a 7 - 6 win over Lavonia. A 6 - 6 tie with Rabun County was followed up with another heartbreaking 7 - 6 loss to Tallulah Falls. Washington-Wilkes downed the Purple Hurricanes 48 - 14. Oglethorpe fell 20 - 0 to give the Royston team their second win of the season. Madison County won 13 - 7 before Georgia Industrial squeaked out a 13 - 6 win over the hard-luck Purple Hurricanes. In their game the past week the number-ranked Morgan County Bulldogs had eked out a thrilling 32 - 20 win over them in Madison.

It was easy to see where Royston could have very easily have had seven wins on the season with any luck in their close games.

Their two best players were junior quarterback Keith Whitlow and senior halfback Reeder Baskin. Both were good athletes that could put together good games at times. They were certainly a major threat to the up and down Dragons.

Probably the worst field in the state of Georgia that year could very well have been the Royston football field. Not only was it terribly cold on that early November night, but the hard, bare in many spots, dug up and pebble infested field, made it an uncomfortable place to stage a football game.

Almost every Jefferson player that played in the game would have badly skinned elbows and scraps caused by the rugged field conditions.

After a 0 - 0 first half, the Purple Hurricanes took a 6 - 0 lead on a Reeder Baskin seven-yard touchdown run with only three minutes gone in the second half.

On the extra point a Keith Whitlow extra point kick was blocked by Terry Marlowe . This would prove to be the biggest defensive play of the game.

Jefferson had a hard time moving the ball against the ‘Canes. Their game plan called for putting a big rush on Jefferson quarterback Jack Wilson.

They also brought a blitz on virtually every play in the game. Wilson just didn’t have time to throw the ball. He was 0 - 3 the first half and threw three more incomplete passes before hooking up with Gary Brooks for six yards early in the fourth quarter.

After a Royston fumble recovery at the Dragon 49, Damon West took over for the Dragons. He ran for 16, 12 and nine yards on successive carries to the ‘Cane 14-yard line. Cotton went for three, Watson for four and West got the first down at the Royston four-yard line. On first down, Wilson ran the option, pitching out to West, who ran in for the score. Coach Davis went with what was hot. He called the same play on the extra point and West delivered to give Jefferson a 7 - 6 lead with 5:16 left in the game.

Whitlow filled the air with passes after the kickoff, completing two for two first downs before four consecutive incomplete passes gave the Dragons the ball at their own 43.

Two West crashes into the line ended the game with the Dragons improving their record to 4 - 4 - 1 for the season.

Earl Tompkins, Mike Arnold, Gary Brooks and Harold Bone was cited by Coach Davis as having outstanding defensive games on the line, while Cotton, Wilson, Duke and Watson had played well in the secondary against a good passing quarterback.

Royston had made 12 first downs in the game, Jefferson had only nine.

The Dragons had rushed for 93 yards with West accounting for 61 of those.

Wilson had completed two of 12 passes for only 14 yards.

Wilson had punted exceptionally well with an average of 38.5 on six kicks.

The Dragons had played mistake free ball while Royston had lost one key fumble in the game.

The Dragons season record now stood at 4 - 4 - 1.

The Dragons had scored only 75 points all year ( 8.3 points per game ), with 25 of those coming against Oglethorpe County. Only one other game produced multiple touchdowns. That was the two scores ( 12 - 6 Dragon

win ) against Lavonia.

Now the very powerful Washington-Wilkes Tigers were all that was left for that 5^th win that would salvage a winning season for the ’62 Dragons. It was going to be tough.

Washington-Wilkes - 6 - 33 - Friday, November 9, 1962 at Washington.

The past Friday night, the Morgan County Bulldogs and the Washington-Wilkes Tigers had met in Madison with the winner assured of the region championship.

In an epic defensive battle, the Bulldogs had won a hard-fought 3 - 0 game with a game-winning field goal in the third quarter.

During the season the Tigers had lost their first game to Class C power Lincolnton 20 - 7. They would then win seven straight games, 31 - 0 over worth County, 24 - 0 over Elbert County, 48 - 14 over Royston, 7 0 0 over Hart County, 40 - 0 over Thomson, 41 - 0 over Swainsboro and 27 - 7 over Lavonia. With the loss to Morgan County they brought a 7 - 2 record into the Jefferson game.

Washington-Wilkes was led by a 235-pound tackle named David Bentley. You simply didn’t run the ball to his side of the line. At linebacker they had 196-pound junior offensive powerhouse Mac Edwards. They had shut out five opponents during the season allowing only 44 points with 20 of those by Lincoln County.

They were led offensively by 175-pound Johnny Talkington, a 5’11” junior, that would join Edwards in the All-State backfield in 1963.

Talkington was in the mold of Johnny Gresham and Billy Cloer as a driver of the Tigers single wing offense. He could score from any point on the field at any time.

It had started snowing in Washington about 4:00 pm on game day. The Dragons and Tigers would play in a mixture of snow and sleet that made it hard to concentrate on the game due to the severe weather conditions.

Jefferson won the toss and Coach Davis decide to let his charges play defense first.

With Johnny Talkington at tailback and Mac Edwards at fullback, it may have been a bad decision. But then again, the Tigers would have eventually gotten the ball, and the Dragons could not contain their two fine running backs.

Washington-Wilkes drove 63 yards for the first score with Edwards taking the ball over from the six-yard line. Bobby Darby kicked the extra point making it 7 - 0, Tigers.

For the game Jefferson could only manage seven first downs. With the rainy/sleeting conditions, the Dragon attempted only seven passes, completing two. Both screen passes to Damon West and Terry Cotton for a combined 12 yards.

Only one pass was thrown beyond the line of scrimmage. It was intercepted by Tiger defensive back Ricky Minton at the Dragon 37.

Talkington scored three plays later on an 11-yard sweep.

On the night Talkington rushed or 106 yards and three touchdowns on runs of 11, seven, and 14 yards.

Edwards scored on a six-yard run and second-string tailback Billy Kilby scored on four-yard dive in the fourth quarter.

With a third and three at the Dragon 46-yard line midway of the third quarter, quarterback Jack Wilson faked a handoff to West, rolled out to his left and ran untouched for the Dragons only score of the night. The Tigers were completely faked out on the play.

The Dragons could not move the ball and the Tigers moved it at will. On seven possessions the Tigers scored with drives of 44 to 75 yards. They never punted.

Two lost fumbles stopped them on their other possessions.

It was total dominance by the Tigers on this night.

Jefferson ground out only 116 yards with 54 of them coming on the Wilson touchdown scamper.

The Dragons put the ball on the ground five times, losing three of them. The Tigers fumbled three times, losing two of them.

Cotton punted five times for an average of 30.6. One slid off the side of his foot and covered only 16 yards.

The 33 - 6 bashing was not unexpected.

Coach Davis had experienced his first losing season at Jefferson with a 4 - 5 - 1 record.

While victories over Winder, East Hall and Thomson were within the realm of possibility, the Dragons inept offense did not allow them any cushion of margin in a game. It was just about shut out the opponent or get beat.

Harold Bone, Mike Arnold, Roger Jackson, and Mike Welborn would graduate and be lost for next season.

A large class of seniors in 1963 would greatly enhance the chances of a return to winning ways in 1963.

The Dragons starting lineup for 1962;

LE - Harold Bone, LT - Mike Arnold, LG - “Hardrock” Jackson, C - Earl Tompkins, RG - John Davis, RT - John Parks, RE - Gary Brooks, QB - Jack Wilson, HB - Terry Cotton, HB - Buck Tolbert, FB - Damon West.

When ‘Hardrock” Jackson was seriously injured in an automobile crash that took the life of Dickie Storey on October 6, ( Jackson would miss the rest of the saeson with a broken arm), Terry Marlow moved into a starting slot at Guard.

Buck Tolbert was injured in the same accident, and missed the East Hall and Lavonia game before returning for the rest of the season. This meant increased playing time for Eddie Watson in the secondary and on offense.

Musing with Cecil Buffington:

It was my first year of playing football at Jefferson. I had not planned on playing football, but spending my time working and concentrating on basketball.

I decided to go out for football after a conversation with my dad in mid-summer of 1962. We were tossing a football around in the yard when he said, “You gave any thought to playing football this year? My dad was a real football and baseball fan. He didn’t care much for basketball.

I asked him, “Dad, do you want me to play football this year?”

He replied, “Now you know that’s up to you, but I do think you could help them.”

I reported to football practice at the beginning of summer practice in 1962. I had not played the game since the eight grade, over two years.

With Harold Bone, Thomas Bonds and a newly arrived Gary Brooks on the scene, I really didn’t expect to play that much. At least not my first year.

By the middle of the season I was probably the go to receiver for the Dragons. I was used primarily on passing downs. Rarely played defense. When I went into a game, I could hear the defensive players yell to each other, “Buffington’s in the game, watch a pass!”

I loved to catch the football, but I must admit, I was somewhat lazy in the other parts of the game. Coach Davis would later tell me that if I would work as hard on all parts of the game as I did on catching the football, I would be as good as anyone in the region.

Our 1962 team was fairly good defensively. We didn’t have the traditional running back star that Jefferson was noted for like a Jeff Davis, Gary Duke, Billy Ricks or Don Tompkins. Damon West was adequate, but was not a breakaway back as we were accustomed to having in Jefferson.

Jack Wilson was an excellent passer, but our line didn’t always give him the needed time to throw the ball accurately.

We had simply run out of all-star type football players in Jefferson. We were average at best.

I think we could have beaten Winder-Barrow, Thomson and East Hall if we played up to potential and had thrown the ball more in those games. The shot-gun was not used at that time, but I firmly believe that Jack Wilson could have performed extremely well out of that particular set. If given time, he was extremely accurate.

As for Morgan County and Washington-Wilkes, we were not in their class on the night we played them. Commerce would have been a far reach for a possible win.

I remember trying to tackle Bill McWhorter on his 66-yard run that night in Jefferson. He left me sprawling on the field along with about three or four other Dragon players that tried to tackle him. He was the best I saw during that year. A tremendous running back.

As we looked forward to the 1963 season, I think all of us that returned fully expected to be a region contender the next year.

We expected Washington-Wilkes with Edwards and Talkington to be the team we had to beat. That would prove to be true.