Colquitt County overcomes Valdosta's defense; Packers win region crown

Locked in a 3-3 tie late in the first half, Colquitt County scores just before intermission and gradually pulls away in the second half

VALDOSTA, GEORGIA – Defense has been Valdosta’s calling card all season.

Through nine games, the Wildcats defense had allowed just 52 points, but even it was no match for a red-hot Colquitt County team that seized a lead in the third quarter and pulled away late en route to a 24-6 win to claim the Region 1-AAAAAAA championship.

Valdosta’s defense was as good as advertised in the first half. The two south Georgia powers were deadlocked at 3-3 late in the second quarter, but the Packers managed to break through with the game's first touchdown with just 44 seconds left in the half.

Packers quarterback Neko Fann hooked up with Za’Mari Williams for a 29-yard score in the closing seconds and that gave them a 10-3 advantage over the Wildcats heading into halftime.

The first major swing of momentum came early in the third quarter when the Wildcats stopped a fake punt attempt inside Packer territory. The great play by the Packer defense, however, shut down the Wildcats' offense and forced a 43-yard field goal attempt that was successful to trim the lead to 10-6 with 10:14 left in the third quarter.

That score held going into the fourth quarter.

With just one touchdown scored between the two teams through three quarters, the Packers scored their second with just under nine minutes remaining in the game on a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Day’Shawn Brown.

The score gave the Packers some much-needed breathing room, at 17-6, and things only got better from there for the travelers.

Two plays into Valdosta’s ensuing offensive possession, sophomore quarterback Todd Robinson was intercepted by Colquitt safety Lyric Thomas. On the very next play, Fann delivered a deep pass to Georgia commit Ny Carr down to the Valdosta 1-yard line and Brown scored from one yard out again to extend their lead to 24-6 with 7:41 remaining in the game.

The stout Packer defense was able to hold things down from there and finish the game without allowing a touchdown. The Packers held Valdosta to a season-low 144 yards of offense and held the Wildcats to just 3 of 14 on third down.

As for the Packers' offense, Fann finished his night 11 of 22 for 168 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 21 yards. Carr was the leading receiver with four catches for 57 yards.

The win gives the Packers their ninth win over the Wildcats over their last 10 meetings and gives them their seventh region championship over the same time period.

Colquitt will now look to complete a perfect 10-0 regular season when they face Richmond Hill next Friday. The Wildcats’ regular season ends with an 8-2 record after starting the season 8-0. They will now have two weeks off before their first-round playoff game.