MOULTRIE – “Super athletes.” “Never beaten them.” There’s nothing but respect shown towards Norcross High School football when the Colquitt County High Packer coaching staff looks ahead to Saturday’s Corky Kell Classic showdown at Georgia State Stadium.

When word came out that this year’s Kell Classic would be held outdoors in the middle of August, it was all about the sure-to-be sweltering heat in the middle of the day. August has been hot enough this past week in south Georgia, so what do we have in store for us on game day in the capitol city? The weather.com forecast says it will be sunny, high of 91 degrees, a 58 percent humidity and seven mph winds.

So what about the opposition? The history between the Packers and the Blue Devils is clear, one-sided in favor of Norcross usually with playoff implications. The current situation for the Blue Devils and head coach Keith Maloof is, like Colquitt County, a brand-new starting quarterback on offense. That could be a 6-4, 181 pounder named Louis Williams.

Around the QB, Norcross does have reported experience at skill positions plus two returning offensive linemen. Like Colquitt County, the strength may be in a two-headed running attack (Clay Harris and Omar Sinclar).

“They claim to be a one-back offense,” said new Packer defensive coordinator Mo Dixon. “They’re pretty scary. They will put two backs there also. The son is now the offensive coordinator, I’m sure with dad at a close eye.

“Norcross is Keith Maloof. Very, very high powered. Always going to be senior-laden and very physical. I’ve gone against him eight times now. I go to another school and end up having to play him there, too.”

And in the Corky Kell. Norcross dismantled Dixon’s Walton High team in the Georgia Dome one year ago prior to Colquitt County’s game against Mill Creek.

“They have the long athlete. They have the big athlete,” said Dixon. “The big lineman. The quick lineman. Ever since we’ve played them, (Blue Devils) go to USC, Alabama, Florida, Miami. We played against the Brice Butlers, (Alvin) Kamara. Seen it all up close and personal.

“We’ve got our hands full. Not only are we inexperienced, we’re not really big. We have to move around a lot. We only have three kids over 200 pounds on our defense. We have to clog the middle up, go get them and hang on.”

And Dixon has no doubts Norcross saw what happened in the Packer scrimmage with Coffee High where a Trojan converted linebacker ran over the middle time and again in three drives of pure ball control (one scoring drive lasting 17 plays, 14 on the ground).

“We’re like the young guy going to school and there are bullies all around,” said Dixon. “They are going to try you. People who don’t run a lot of double tight are going to run double tight on us. People are going to try to soften us up. We have to play low.

“If we were boxers, we’d have to get off the stool before the bell rings, take a run just as it rings and give them a good pop. We have to have a lot of guys to the ball.”

Going back to the Aug. 10 home scrimmage with Coffee, Colquitt County won the game scoring on the first three series and blocking a punt. But Saturday is the debut in a varsity game that counts for senior quarterback Steven Krajewski, who was the leading rusher in the scrimmage while throwing a touchdown pass. Daijun Edwards, a sophomore; and Ty Leggett, a junior, all rushed well and got into the end zone as they approach their second year as backfield starters.

What are they looking at from the Norcross defense? There’s a college prospect up front, Nazir Sy, who recorded 6 1/2 quarterback sacks last year. The unit as a whole allowed 14.6 points per game in 2016, and returning are three members of the starting secondary but only one starting linebacker.

“They’re good at what they do,” said Packer offensive coordinator Jeff Hammond. “They stay with the same scheme that I can remember from playing them back in 2012. They’re playing a bunch of seniors; out of the 22 starters, 18 are seniors.”

Hammond, like his colleague on defense, sees Norcross as big and athletic while seeing the Packers as a young bunch.

“We have to execute,” said Hammond. “We can’t worry about who they are. We have to do our job. Whatever happens on each play, it’s over, good or bad, and we have to line back up and play the next one.

“(Krajewski’s) put in a lot of hours in preparation. This will be his test. How is he going to react in a big-time football game? We’ll find out who he is. I think he’ll be fine.”

Krajewski showed in that scrimmage that he can make big yards with his legs if needed. Hammond said if it takes him being the leading rusher to win a game, so be it.

“It’s whatever a defense gives us,” he said. “We have a lot of guys who can run with the football, catch the football. If he’s the leading rusher, great. If it’s one of our backs, that’s good, too. We can’t force the ball to one person.”

Colquitt would certainly not take a backseat to anyone in the kicking game department with the continued progress of Ryan Fitzgerald, entering his junior season. He’s adding punting to his placekicking chores.

On the opposite sidelines Saturday, Norcross won’t be sluggish in special teams either. Jake Camarda is reportedly committed to Georgia after averaging  41.5 yards on 40 punts in 2016.