MOULTRIE — Colquitt County coach Rush Propst took a moment to talk with a reporter as the Packers’ Wednesday evening practice wound down and he mused about how difficult it was going to be for his team to defeat Northside on the road on Friday night.

A victory could mean a Region 1-AAAAA championship for Colquitt County, its first since 1999.

A loss, and the 8-1 Packers will travel in the first round of the playoffs.

But Northside loses rarely, and rarer still is a loss at McConnell-Talbert Stadium, where the Eagles fell to crosstown rival Warner Robins last Friday.

“I wonder when the last time was they lost two in a row?” Propst asked.

“You show me a coach who’s won 100 or more ball games and has some championships to his credit and I’ll bet after a loss, he wins in the 90 percentile the next week.”

Northside’s percentage may be better than that.

The last time a Conrad Nix-coached Northside team dropped two games in a row was way back in 1992.

The Eagles lost their regular-season finale to 28-21 to Warner Robins then lost in the first round of the playoffs to Baldwin 42-28.

Since 1992, Northside has lost three games in a season twice and two in a season three times, but has avoided two-game losing streaks each time.

And to make the Packers’ Friday assignment even more difficult, Propst said, “they have won something like 43 in a row when they are in their all blues (their home uniforms).

“They are tough to beat up there.”

Offensively, the Eagles rely on the running of quarterback Briar Van Brunt and tailback Shaquille O’Neill.

O’Neill is third in the region in rushing with 775 yards on 142 carries and has scored 11 touchdowns.

Van Brunt has rushed for 543 yards and eight touchdowns.

But those two are not necessarily the keys to the Northside offense, Propst said.

“What they do best is find out where you are gap-weak,” Propst said. “They will find out and sustain your area of weakness.”

The game could turn on how the Packers defense handles first and second down.

“If they get a lot of third-and-ones and third-and-twos, we’ll be in trouble,” Propst said. “They will make 70 to 80 percent of those. We have got to stop them from converting on third down.”

Defensively, the Eagles may put an extra player in the box to stop the the run and go to man-to-man coverage.

If they do, the Packers must be able to capitalize, Propst said.

“We’ve got to make them pay,” he said.

Propst said the Packers could offset whatever advantages Northside has by coming up with a big play or two in the kicking game.

“We have got to win special teams,” he said.

And the Eagles are likely to at the top of their game tonight, especially after having giving up a 20-point fourth-quarter lead and losing to Warner Robin last week and with a region championship on the line.

The Eagles were ranked No. 2 in Class AAAAA for several weeks before last Friday’s 21-20 loss dropped them to No. 7.

The Packers have received little statewide credit for a turnaround that has taken them from a 2-8 record in 2007 to their current 8-1 mark, although the RivalsHigh 100 has Colquitt County ranked No. 66 in the country, three spots above of Northside.

And the Packers could be the hottest team in Region 1-AAAA right now, having won five in a row since dropping their league opener to Lowndes 31-6.

Colquitt County has been especially strong defensively and has given up just 14 touchdowns, six rushing, all season.

Since rallying in the second half to defeat Coffee 31-21 on Sept. 25, the Packers have surrendered 27 points in the last four games.

And while the Packers have clinched a postseason berth — and can finish first, second, third or fourth in the region depending on the outcomes of tonight’s games — Propst is approaching the game as if the playoffs have already begun.

And he has told his players they are not likely to face another team this season as strong as Northside.

“We won’t play anyone in a tougher situation than when we play at Northside,” he said.

And Propst is stressing his team’s mental outlook as well as its physical preparation.

‘This is the time of year when football has to be the most important: between Nov. 1 and December 12,” he said. “We have got to handle the mental side of it.

“That’s the million-dollar question. How will e handle what is going to transpire?”

And he likes how his team has developed over the season.

“I think we’ve become a good football team,” said Propst, who has had many of them, including five Alabama Class 6A state champions. “I think we are one of the 12 or 13 out of the 32 (that will make the playoffs) who can win a state championship. But we’ve got to play great football.”

The Packers will have senior guard Chris Walsh back in the starting lineup with fellow guard Trey Rhymes, tackles Garrett Brewer and Xavier Ward and center Bryce Giddens.

Tommy Marshall is expected to get some work.

Junior Tyler Brown, who continues to lead the region in passing, will be at quarterback.

Brown has completed 109-of-173 passes for 1,558 yards and eight touchdowns. Brown’s passing yards are already the ninth-most in a season for the Packers and his 2,301 career passing yards already rank No. 7.

Fourteen Packers have caught passes this season, with Quin Roberson leading the region with 38 for 610 yards.

Also in the spread positions will be Jacob Propst, Travis Harris, Ty Smith, Tommy Hudson, D’Amonte Ridley and others.

Tevin King, whose sore ankle improves each week, will be at the running back. He is sixth in the region in rushing with 654 yards and nine scores.

Ridley has rushed for 242 yards in the last three games and Tre Cooper also is developing into dependable back.

Roberson also is likely to line up in shotgun position in the Colquitt County version of the Wildcat.

And when the Packers get close, he will operate in a jumbo set that also includes defensive end Tyrell Wright, defensive tackle Nyneson Jeudy and fullback Hakeem Peterson in the backfield.

The Packers have surrendered an average of 12.3 points a game.

The defensive front has shown Wright and Quan Daniels at the ends and Jeudy and Cameron Erving at the tackles.

Rashawn Hunt has made some big plays at end coming off the bench and led the Packers with 12 total tackles in last week’s victory.

Willie McCrary, Stephen Moore, Emory Wheeler and Jamal Davis have received most of the work at linebacker.

William McCrary and Payne Newsome has been the rovers, with Davis Durham at free safety.

Amel Magwood, with four interceptions, and Derrell Ward, with three, are the corners.

Tyler Dismuke continues to send his kickoffs into the end zone and is averaging 38.6 yards per punt this season.

Rich Tyndall is 26-for-28 in extra point attempts and has converted both of his field goal attempts.

Dismuke also has converted two field goals.

Ashley Mead is the snapper and Durham is the holder.

Although the Packers have won eight games for the first time since 2001 and are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2005, Propst is looking for a win to start the playoff run with.

“If we’re thinking right and have a burning desire to win, we’ll have chance,” Propst said.