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FAYETTE — For those who thought that South Pike High School was going to take care of Jefferson County High School like it had the rest of the competition heading into this MHSAA Region 7-3A showdown, apparently they forgot just how good Jefferson County is.

Led by a stingy defense and an offense led by quarterback Royale Shelvy, the Jefferson County Tigers upset the South Pike Eagles 20-8 last Friday night in the Tigers’ Senior Night game to knock South Pike from the ranks of the undefeated.

“Defense. The defense was stellar. They completely shut down South Pike’s run attack and forced them to throw the ball, which is something they’re not good at,” Tigers head coach Roderick Holmes said.

Holmes added that speed was a factor – specifically the Tigers’ speed on defense, which he said was too much for the Eagles to deal with.

“They couldn’t really get a hold of us,” Holmes said.

Jefferson County scored two touchdowns on offense and led South Pike (7-1, 1-1) 12-0 at halftime. The Eagles’ lone touchdown came in the third quarter, but the Tigers responded with a touchdown of their own in the fourth quarter.

“We were able to produce two touchdowns on offense. When you’ve got a quarterback like Royale Shelvy and a defense like we’ve got, two touchdowns is all you need,” Holmes said. “This was another good week of planning and preparation by my coaching staff.

Jefferson County (6-2, 3-0), the defending Region 7-3A champion, will have a bye next week before traveling to Wesson to take on the Wesson Attendance Center Cobras on Thursday, Oct. 31 at 7 p.m. and that game will likely involve two teams that will have a lot to play for.