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FAYETTE — Jefferson County High School jumped out to a big lead in the early goings of its MHSAA Class 3A South State Playoffs first-round game against Southeast Lauderdale High School and never let up as the host Tigers routed the visiting Tigers 62-6 last Friday night.

Thanks to a combination of the ground game and its aerial assault, Region 7-3A No. 1 seed Jefferson County jumped out to a 28-0 lead on Region 5-3A No. 4 seed Southeast Lauderdale. After that, it was just a matter of how many points the host Tigers would end up winning by.

“It was over in the first quarter, pretty much. We came out hot off our win last week. We got the game started with our run game. Our quarterback, Jabari Watson, scored our first touchdown of the game on the ground,” Tigers head coach Roderick Holmes said. “We kept it on the ground a lot, but we threw it a lot. After the second quarter, we didn’t throw it anymore. We just ran it.”

The Tigers then put another 22 points in the second quarter for a commanding 50-0 halftime lead. While their offense let off the gas some in the second half, their defense tried their best to preserve the shutout.

One skill player who stepped up for Jefferson County was wide receiver Jadavis Galtney, who had two receiving touchdowns. Another offensive standout was Royale Shelvy, who ran for a touchdown, caught a touchdown pass, and threw a TD pass.

In addition to those two, Luke Bolin, JJ Claiborne, Jaylin Brown, and De’Anthony Miller each scored a touchdown for the host Tigers. Meanwhile, it was a tough go for the visiting Tigers from Meridian — especially their offense.

“I think the defense may have allowed just two first downs,” Holmes said. The one bright spot for Southeast Lauderdale (2-9) was that it did score late in the game to avoid being shut out.

“We want to take this momentum into the second round. We’re just waiting to find out who our opponent will be,” Holmes said. “We will likely face Magee.”

Indeed, Jefferson County (7-3) will play host to the Region 6-3A No. 2 seed Magee High School Trojans next Friday at 7 p.m. Magee held on to defeat Perry Central High School 48-40.