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It will be a heavyweight showdown in Jefferson on Friday as the LaGrange Grangers are set to do battle with the Jefferson Dragons on the road in the GHSA 3A semifinals. 

“Every game from here on out is a big game and we know that Jefferson is one of the premier programs in the state,” LaGrange coach Matt Napier said after last week’s game. “It’ll be a tough road environment, but our guys know how to handle it and I expect the Granger faithful will make the trip.”

The two teams come in with similar resumés. Both are 10-3 and have won each of the three playoff games by a double-digit margin. The two also beat a team that they lost to in the regular season in the playoffs — LaGrange fell to Sandy Creek 27-7 in the regular season before beating the Patriots 38-22 in round 2 of the playoffs while Jefferson lost to Oconee County 32-30 in overtime during the regular season before crushing the team 42-6 in the second round of the state playoffs.

Both teams are looking to add a trophy to their mantleplace as Jefferson seeks its second state title and the first since 2012 while the Grangers are hunting lucky number seven and the first since 2004. 

The Dragons have come close to a second state title on numerous occasions since 2012 including a state runner-up finish in 2020. Jefferson is in its second consecutive trip to the state semifinals after falling 28-17 to Creekside in the 5A state semifinals last season for its first loss of the season.

This is LaGrange’s first semifinals trip since 2008 which was subsequently the last time the team made it out of the second round of the playoffs until this season. 

The resumés are not the only DNA these two teams share in common as both are run first teams. The Grangers will rely on superstar running back Malachi Fannin-Render, a Liberty signee that has totaled 2,285 yards and 33 total touchdowns. His statlines for the opening three games of the 3A state playoffs look like this: 17 carries, 201 yards, 3 TDs vs. Lumpkin County; 29 carries, 224 yards, 3 TDs, 3 catches, 16 yards, 1 TD vs. Sandy Creek and 6 carries, 261 yards, 3 TDs vs. North Hall.

However, the Dragons rely on their senior quarterback Gavin Markey to carry the load on offense. The senior has offers from Murray State and Tennessee-Martin among others and is a true dual-threat. Markey has thrown for 1,283 yards with 1,445 yards rushing and 37 total touchdowns to just six interceptions as he is playing at an All-State level. 

The Grangers will need a big game from senior defensive lineman Spencer Stroud, who produced the best game of his career against Sandy Creek in the second round with three sacks and a forced fumble. Stroud has enjoyed a breakout season with 13 sacks and got to rest the second half of last week’s blow out of North Hall.

The LaGrange defense will also have to keep an eye on second leading rusher Dallas Russell, who has 808 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. Tyler Childress and Dalton Dye are the dynamic pairing at wide and have 494 and 419 receiving yards, respectively, with no other Dragon cracking triple figures on the season.

The linebackers, Corn Brown, Hezekyah Avery and Harris Grace, will be key in trying to take away the Dragons dominant rushing attack and force them into a pass-first team. The trio has been outstanding in the playoffs with Avery having a standout game against North Hall last week with a team-high nine tackles, a sack, a PBU and a forced fumble. Brown has been a tackling machine this season and leads the team with 70+ total tackles. Grace missed last week’s game with an injury, but should be ready to go on Friday night against Jefferson.

“Coach (Burton) Thomas puts a great game plan together each week on defense, and those guys have been attacking and executed really, really well this season,” Napier said. 

While the Grangers rely heavily on Fannin-Render, they also have a dynamic dual-threat quarterback of their own in Dylan Barber. The junior has thrown for over 1,000 yards while nearly eclipsing 1,000 yards on the ground. His connection with Kalvin Snowberger was extremely potent against North Hall as the latter registered 112 receiving yards and two touchdowns in just the first half as most of the starters were pulled early in the third quarter with LaGrange controlling a big lead against North Hall. 

The undersized, but extremely skilled offensive line has been at the heart of the Granger offense this season. Led by standouts like Carson Shattuck and Clanton Reisinger, the offense line has been allowing Fannin-Render, Barber and second-string running back Caydin Thomas acres of space to run into.

“That was probably the most growth of our team overall,” Napier said. You go all the way back to spring, all the way to the last spring practice and, well, we were really struggling trying to find answers in that role,” Napier said. “They aren’t the biggest, but they play like they are. Coach (David) Pleasants has really done a tremendous job of getting those guys ready each week.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Jefferson High School on Friday night. The winner of that game will play either Calhoun or Stephenson for the GHSA 3A State Championship in Mercedes Benz Stadium on Dec. 18 at 4 p.m.

“This is a proud moment for our kids, our school and our community,” Napier said.