Jefferson Dragon Football ~ 1948

Jefferson High School opened in August with 823 students - 277 in high school.

In 1948 Jefferson was in the new statewide regional football program. The new setup put 42 teams into competition according to region and classification. Jefferson was in the fourth region with class B Commerce, Winder, Monroe, Madison, Greensboro, Thomson, Elberton, Covington, Hartwell, Lavonia, Toccoa, Eastonollee, and Clarksville.

The Jefferson “Mud Turtles” opened play on the night of September 10 in Cornelia. The Wildcats defeated the Turtles 10 -0.

On September 17 the locals traveled to Monroe where they were beaten 26 - 0.

The first home game game of the season saw the JHS team lose a heart-breaking 7-6 game to Stephens County.

A home game against Clarksville on October 1 resulted in a 33 - 0 pounding for the Turtles in a driving rain.

A trip to Elijay on October 8 saw the JHS team soundly beaten by the home team 52 - 0.

Lavonia poured it on the locals in another rainstorm by a lopsided 52 - 0 score on October 15.

The Mud Turtles traveled to Toccoa on October 22 to face yet another unbeaten Hurricane team. They played well, but fell to the North Georgia powerhouse 27 - 0.

In Cornelia on November 5 the JHS team fell 27 - 0.

Morgan County handed the locals their ninth loss of the season by a 20 - 0 score in Madison on November 19.

On a Wedesday night at Shankle Field in Commerce the Tigers rolled past the Locals by a 38 - 6 score.

The Mud Turtles had closed out their second consecutive winless season at 0 - 10.

Coach Snyder would comment at the team football banquet on December 3 that he felt the team was close to entering the victory column. He praised them for their tenacity, intensity and refusal to quit at any time during the season.

The starting team for the Mud Turtles were: LE - Curtis Segars, LT - Garnette Parks, LG - Jack Shumake, C - George Davis, RG - Bobby Loggins, RT - James Medlin, RE - Ray Adams, QB - Billy Sailors, LHB - L. G. Jackson, RHB - M. O. Simmons, and Fullback - Captain Joe Glosson.

The team had ran a straight T formation with a lot of misdirection and counter plays. They were outweighed by 30-pounds per man in some games, making their running game completely ineffective.