The Jeff Davis Yellow Jackets opened the 2026 regular season in commanding fashion Friday night, defeating Vidalia 37–0 at the Pinelands.
Jeff Davis established control early and never gave it up, using a punishing ground attack and a strong defensive performance to keep the Indians off the scoreboard. The Yellow Jackets finished with 287 yards of total offense — all on the ground — on 47 rushing attempts, averaging 6.1 yards per carry. Jeff Davis picked up 14 first downs and converted all five of its trips inside the red zone into scores. Vidalia was held to 101 total yards, including just 51 rushing yards.
Jeff Davis took control early as they put together a nine-play scoring drive on its opening possession, with Kobe Hill finishing it on a three-yard touchdown run. The extra point gave the Jackets a 7–0 advantage. Just seconds later, the Jeff Davis defense added two more points with a safety to make it 9–0. The Jackets continued to pull away in the second quarter. Jacob Laney scored on a 10-yard run before Mark Durden added an eight-yard touchdown run, sending Jeff Davis into halftime with a 23–0 lead.
Jeff Davis came out of halftime with more of the same. The ground game kept rolling! Hill scored his second touchdown of the night on an 11-yard run, and Durden followed with his second score, a nine-yard touchdown run, to push the advantage to 37–0.
The Yellow Jackets spread the workload throughout the backfield. Durden led Jeff Davis with 60 yards on nine carries and two touchdowns, while Hill rushed 12 times for 57 yards and two scores. Cam Vann added 55 yards on seven carries, Garrison Coleman finished with 42 yards on seven attempts, and Keylin Biggins picked up 28 yards on just three carries, including a 24-yard run. Laney had 20 yards on two attempts with a touchdown.
While the offense steadily built the lead, the Jeff Davis defense made sure Vidalia never found an answer.The Indians managed only eight first downs and averaged 2.4 yards per rushing attempt. Vidalia completed nine of 22 passes for 50 yards and was unable to reach the red zone. Jeff Davis also forced the game’s only turnover when Cam Vann intercepted a Vidalia pass in the fourth quarter, helping preserve the shutout.
The 37–0 victory gives Jeff Davis an emphatic start to the regular season after two preseason scrimmages and sends the Yellow Jackets into Week 2 with their first win of 2026.
By the Numbers
- Final: Jeff Davis 37, Vidalia 0
- Total offense: Jeff Davis 287, Vidalia 101
- Rushing: Jeff Davis 287, Vidalia 51
- First downs: Jeff Davis 14, Vidalia 8
- Red zone: Jeff Davis 5-for-5
- Turnovers: Jeff Davis 0, Vidalia 1
- Jeff Davis rushing TDs: 5
(Photo Credit: Abi Hernandez; Hazlehurst Now would also like to thank Jim Sewell for providing game statistics and reviewing our recap each week to help ensure our coverage accurately reflects the action on the field)
