MOULTRIE — The Colquitt County boys basketball team will take a 7-3 record into tonight’s Region 1-AAAAA opener against Houston County and the Packers should not confuse the Bears with the Thomas County Central team they defeated by 21 points on Tuesday.

The Bears were the Region 1-AAAAA runners-up last year and advanced to the second round of the state tournament before being eliminated by Stephenson.

And while Houston has lost four of its last five and has dropped its only region game to Lowndes, the 8-5 Bears will be a challenge.

“If the kids respond, we can compete with anybody,” said Packers first-year coach Kirven Davis.

Colquitt County girls will be facing their counterparts from Houston County for the first time since the Lady Bears won the region tournament championsip over the Lady Packers 63-44 last February.

Houston went into the tournament as the No. 1 seed and went on to defeat Windsor Forest in the first round of the state tournament before being eliminated by Redan.

Coach Sid Baxley’s Lady Bears are 9-4 overall and defeated Lowndes 55-38 in the two teams’ region opener back on Dec. 16. Houston has won seven of its last eight games.

The Lady Packers are 8-4 after a 47-42 victory over Thomas County Central on Tuesday as they face their region opener.

Colquitt County girls coach Joe Parker inserted Taquella Coates into the starting lineup against the Lady Jackets on Tuesday and the 6-foot sophomore responded with 10 points to help key the win, which was not as close as the five-point margin might indicate.

Coates, who is averaging 8.3 points, will join All-Region center Jessica Lemus in the front court.

Lemus, who underwent off-season knee surgery, is averaging 8.8 points.

The backcourt starters are veterans Ashley Stafford, Dorothy Strong and Nikki Hudson.

Stafford leads the Lady Packers in scoring, hitting 11 points a game. Hudson is averaging 7.3 and Strong is scoring at a 6.2 clip. Stafford led the Lady Packers with 13 points in the victory over Thomas County Central on Tuesday, a game in which 10 Colquitt County girls scored.

Freshman Nicole Thomas will be in the game early. Thomas is averaging 7.4 points a game and is second on the team with eight 3-pointers. Laquita Smith and Tiffany Troupe also will see considerable court time as the Lady Packers begin their chase for a region championship.

The Colquitt County boys basketball team will take a three-game winning streak into tonight’s game and the Packers have won five of their last six.

Davis, who will be facing his first Region 1-AAAAA game since taking over the Packers this season, says the adjustment period has been smooth so far.

On several occasions Davis has voiced his pleasure with his players and on Thursday said he said his team’s ability to accept responsibility has been exceptional.

“The kids have been very receptive,” said Davis, who has been known to take part in drills himself to get his points across.

“I’ve done some running with them,” he said. “I think it helps that they know I can do it.

“I enjoyed the coaches that I had who could demonstrate,” Davis said.

The Packers will start junior Andrew Wallace and senior James Trimble in the front court and Orion Ponder, Jeremy DeBruce and Antwan Tuff at the guards.

Tuff, the 6-foot-2 senior guard leads the Packers in scoring, averaging 15.0 points a game.

Trimble, a senior center, is averaging 11.2. DeBruce, also a senior, is averaging 10.8. Wallace, a junior, returned to the lineup against Thomas County Central after missing the East Gadsden game with a sore knee and scored eight points. He is averaging 9.4 points.

The Packers appear to have added to their depth at guard with the addition of Corey Goss, a senior playing for the first time who scored 10 points against Central.

“He’ll be an asset,” Davis said. “He’s a kid who’s got a second chance. And what I like is that he’s a student of the game.”