After a week off, Jefferson gave host Musselman enough offensive punches to overcome a near-lethal dose of ground offense the Applemen threw at it last Friday in Bunker Hill. Air raid sirens could have been sounded as the Cougars won a 41-26 decision that moved them to 2-0 overall.

Christian Johnson, who limped and was hobbled throughout the season-opening victory against Millbrook, caught four touchdown passes from Isaac Myers as the Jefferson quarterback threw for five scores and 351 yards against a sometimes reeling Musselman defense.

Johnson had eight catches for 273 yards while Myers completed 23 of his 33 passes. Jeffrey Gaskins caught Myers’ fifth TD aerial.

Both offenses were explosive right from the outset as Johnson ran 76 yards for a score with a short reception on Jefferson’s second play. The Applemen answered almost immediately when Jacob Northcraft rambled 78 yards for a score on his team’s second play.

Johnson’s second TD reception and field goals of 32 and 36 yards by Musselman’s Ben McDonald left Jefferson with a 14-12 lead by halftime.

The pace of the scoring picked up throughout the second half.

Johnson’s third scoring catch and the return of a interception for more points had the Cougars ahead, 27-12.

Musselman ground out a 63-yard drive to move within eight points of the lead, but Myers fled away from a rush and hooked up with Gaskins for a 33-19 Jefferson lead.

It was only a 33-26 Cougar lead after Michael Valentine scored on a 13-yard run.

Back came Johnson.

He got away from a tackler after taking a short pass from Myers and sprinted 74 yards to extend the Cougar lead to 41-26.

In the late going, Musselman lost a 54-yard apparent touchdown to a penalty and had a 59-yard play erased by another penalty.

Jefferson suffered the most in the penalty department, being flagged 12 times for 115 yards.

The teams used different methods to move the ball and to score. Jefferson did very little along the ground but cruised through the air. Musselman accomplished very little with its 11 pass attempts, but ground out 314 rushing yards while losing for the second time in its three games.

Johnson was healthy. Myers knew it. The twosome played enough pitch and catch to drown the Applemen in overhead points.