MOULTRIE — When the dust settled on Friday night in Region 1-AAAAA, Colquitt County had taken the No. 3 seed in its return to the postseason for the first time since 2005.

And while grateful for the chance to chase a state championship, the Colquitt County football team must have raised its collective eyebrows at its seeding.

If the Packers can get by 7-3 Westlake in Atlanta on Friday, their like second-round opponent would be Region 2-AAAAA champion Stephenson, currently 10-0 and ranked No. 5 in the state.

If Colquitt can get by the Jaguars, it is expected that Region 6-AAAAA champion Lassiter will be lying in wait.

All the Trojans have done since losing to the Packers in their preseason scrimmage is go 10-0 behind record-setting quarterback Hutson Mason.

A state semifinal game could be against North Gwinnett, 10-0 and ranked No. 2 in the state.

All four of those games would come on the road if the Packers can continue to win.

And, of course, if the Packers can make it to the state championship game, it would be in the Georgia Dome on Dec. 12.

“And that’s our motto,” Packers coach Rush Propst said on Saturday. “Five straight weeks to Atlanta.

“After our last loss, we won five in row. We want to do that again.”

Another possibility if the Packers win their first three playoff games would be meeting Northside of Warner Robins in a state semifinal.

And the Packers would certainly relish a chance to play the Eagles again, especially in the light of Friday’s 20-17 loss at McConnell-Talbert Stadium that gave Northside the Region 1-AAAAA title.

The Packers gave up touchdowns on Northside’s first two possessions, then outscored the Eagles 17-6 the remainder of the game.

The Packers were flat in the first quarter and Northside took advantage, marching 80 yards on four plays after taking the opening kickoff to go up 7-0.

After forcing a three-and-out, Northside went 83 yard to score on their next possession and led 14-0 less than eight minutes into the game.

But the 163 yards the Eagles amassed on those two drives turned about to be almost half of the 331 yards they had for the night.

The Packers, on the other hand, were held to just 63 yards in the first half, but got their offense in gear in the final two quarters to finish with 276 yards.

Colquitt scored on two of its final three possessions and on the third drove to the Eagles 35 before throwing an interception with 1:30 left.

Propst said he was disappointed in how his team played in the first half.

“I think we came out with false sense of readiness,” he said. “I think we wanted to win, but I don’t think we wanted to win as much as Northside did.

“They were better prepared.”

Propst was especially disappointed in the way his team tackled in the first half.

“Defensively, it looked like we played at three-quarters speed,” he said. “And we didn’t tackle in the first half at all. And if you’re not going to tackle, you’re not going to win.

“In the second half, we played better, but it was too little, too late.”

Propst also was still having trouble getting over his team giving up a sack when it faced a second-and-8 at the Northside 35 with 2:48 left and the Packers trailing by three.

Propst was hoping to at least get a little closer and send out Tyler Dismuke to attempt a field goal and perhaps send the game into overtime.

“We absolutely cannot give up a sack there,” he said. “That’s the worst thing we can do.

“Our offensive linemen have to know it, our quarterback has to know it and our offensive coaches have to know it.”

His team needs to do a better job in what he calls “the orange zone,” between the opposition’s 25 and 35 yard lines.

Propst was still upset over a call by the officials that gave the Northside possession of the ball on its own 20 after the Packers had run just three plays in a second-quarter series.

Colquitt had just made a first down on the Northside 29, when King bolted for nine yards.

A second-down run gained nothing. And after a similar run on third down, the chains were brought out to measure.

Colquitt was still short, but instead of having a fourth-and-a foot at the Northside 20 with a chance to go for the first down or try a field goal, the Packers were stunned when the officials awarded the ball to the Eagles.

Northside video in the pressbox confirmed the error, costing the Packers a down in the red zone.

Propst said he would send a tape of three-play series to the Georgia High School Association.

“There is no excuse for that,” Propst said. “It’s not going to change the outcome, but there needs to be some accountability.

“We just think they should admit that a mistake was made.”

The Packers rallied from a 20-3 third quarter deficit to pull to within three at 20-17 on the strength of two Quin Roberson touchdowns.

Roberson made a strong case for being the Region 1-AAAAA Offensive Player of the Year on Friday.

He added to region-leading receiving numbers by catching eight balls for 139 yards, including one for 41 yards that went for naught when the officials curtailed the Packers second-quarter drive.

He now has 46 catches for 749 yards this season and moved into a second place tie with Orion Ponder on the Packers all-time receiving list with 88 career receptions for 1,375 yards.

The versatile senior also rushed for 45 yards against Northside and scored twice, giving him a region leading 14 touchdowns to his credit.

It was his nifty 26-yard run to the Northside 6 that led to the Packers first touchdown.

“But we need other folks to step up besides Quin,” Propst said. “We still have a lot of football left to play.”