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Jefferson Wins In Last Minute

By KATHERINE SMITH

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 27, 2008

TAMPA - Jefferson quarterback Quentin Williams stood at midfield and struggled to put into words what his team had just done.

The Dragons' come-from-behind 17-14 victory over Gaither reduced the sophomore to tears.

"This is a new beginning," Williams said as tears flowed down his face. "It's a new era."

Williams, who was 15-of-21 for 254 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, has played a big part in that resurrection. With the game tied at 14 and 53 seconds remaining, Williams hit senior wideout Devion Falconer for the play of the game.

Falconer, who had missed three days of practice because of a death in the family and all of last season while he rehabilitated a broken neck, hauled in a 39-yard reception that helped set up the winning field goal.

Jefferson got the ball back when Gaither failed to convert on fourth-and-4. The Cowboys' go-to guy, senior tailback Jarvis Giles, was stopped for no gain. Playing in his first game of the season after he was sidelined for three weeks with a severe groin strain, Giles led the Gaither offense with 22 carries for 163 yards and one touchdown.

Giles marched Gaither down the field on their first possession, capping a 97-yard scoring drive with a 57-yard touchdown run. But Jefferson's defense was able to pretty much contain Giles in the second half and came up big with the fourth-down stop.

Jose Rodriguez, a converted kicker, became the unlikely hero when he nailed the 25-yard field goal with 14 seconds left in the game. Jefferson coach Mike Fenton said Rodriguez, who normally plays wide receiver, has had an up-and-down year, but he hit a 25-yarder at practice on Thursday, so they felt comfortable with that range.

Another thing Jefferson feels comfortable with is the amount of confidence a win like this produces as they prepare to play Armwood next week.

"We're playing an all-universe team and we're going to get an opportunity to do something maybe no one has done in a long, long time," Fenton said. "Great things have happened in sports throughout the years, you know, the United States beating the Russians. We're going to have that opportunity."