MOULTRIE – The need for payback in this high school football series may never come to an end.

Roswell High didn’t like losing the 2015 Class 6A state championship game. Colquitt County High surely didn’t feel good after one of the more convincing losses of the tenure of head coach Rush Propst, 34-3, at the home of the Hornets last year.

Maybe it’s about seeking revenge, or maybe it’s just the next step for a program looking to start 4-0 against a brutal non-region schedule. Either way, Colquitt County’s undefeated Packers are hosting a 1-1 Roswell squad under new management with a new assortment of skill players all trying to mesh together for another playoff run. It’s a program that’s endured in essence three overtime games in a row going back to the 23-20 loss to Grayson for the 7A title.

John Ford left Roswell for Buford High after that game, and in came Matt Kemper from John’s Creek. Kemper had to replace, as his predecessor’s offensive leaders, Malik Willis and Sheldon Evans, a pair that carved things up on the Packers one year ago.

But how about the ‘3’ on the other side of that final score?

“Last year was the only time I felt we got manhandled,” said Colquitt offensive coordinator Jeff Hammond. “We had zero success.

“Their staff has changed. They’re not running the same scheme, but a lot of the same players are still there. These kids don’t have any fear of us and they know they can play with us.”

The base, according to Hammond, is a 3-4.

“They are an all-around good fundamental football team,” he said. “They have a couple of big-time players at outside linebacker who have a couple of offers. They are sound in every facet.”

The two overtime games for Roswell so far came in the Corky Kell Classic, which was a 17-14 setback to South Forsyth; and last weekend’s 27-21 win against Central Gwinnett.

“Nothing has jumped off the table,” said Hammond about how these other teams offensively are able to stay with the Hornets. “They have not been big-played yet. They have a bend but don’t break defense. Their defense has kept them in football games.”

Mo Dixon, Colquitt’s first-year defensive coordinator, can talk about his history of matching up with Kemper from his days at Walton and North Gwinnett. Kemper was also once head coach at Pope High in Cobb County.

“He’s an outstanding offensive line coach,” said Dixon. “They still have players without a doubt. They had a move-in from out of state (Cordel Littlejohn) who’s a really good quarterback. You are pretty much going to see the same guy at quarterback as far as athleticism, ability to run and throw the football they’ve had the last two or three years.”

Dixon said Roswell will be multiple on offense using athletes on the perimeter. Not only is there a good running back, Kamonty Jett, but Dixon said there are two other good ones the Hornets will put in the backfield. Jett rushed for 200-plus yards on Central Gwinnett.

“They run the ball well, and they block very well,” said Dixon. “We have to have a lot of guys moving around, and we can’t let them get the angles on us. They do a good job of adjusting the blocking scheme on the move. They know where to go with their eyes.”

Colquitt’s defense is adjusting well to Dixon as a new coach. Is Roswell taking longer to get in sync with a new boss?

“Even though (the offense) looks similar, it is still a new offense,” said Dixon, who even studied John’s Creek film from last season. “As a group, it is a new staff. Again, you have a transfer quarterback. They are probably just getting to know each other. They played a tough South Forsyth team, and Central Gwinnett has a lot of athletes.

“They have been tested. This is their first big road game.”

TUCKER LOOKBACK

Some of the sayings are that a light bulb went off or somebody finally flipped the switch, but the Colquitt County offense was a lot more electric in the second half of Friday’s home win, 35-21, against Class 6A’s then No. 1 Tucker. It was like the way the Packers started games earlier in the season, but instead in that second half the offense scored on three straight drives and four times overall.

“We just went out there and executed,” said Hammond. “At halftime we hadn’t played our best football, and the kids decided they were going to go out and execute. They picked their pace up and made plays.”

Quarterback Steven Krajewski showed some of his potential with 14 straight completions, three going for touchdowns. Overall, the senior was in the 80s percentage-wise at 22-for-26 passing. Senior receiver Cam Singletary had his breakthrough game as well with nine catches for 149 yards and two scores.

There was also the 125 rushing yards for junior back Ty Leggett. He scored two touchdowns and broke a big 54-yard gain when it appeared he was stopped for a big loss on the second Packer scoring drive of the third period.

“What gets lost in him doing all of that is the receivers blocking down the field that sprung it for another 30 yards,” said Hammond. “We played pretty good offensive football. When everybody does their job, we have a chance.

“Eighty percent of big plays are made by receivers. Either catching or springing a last-minute block.”

Now, against Roswell, will Krajewski keep his consecutive completions streak alive, if such a streak officially carries over from game to game?

“If he keeps finding the right guy open and is fundamentally sound, he has the capability to do that in more than just one ball game,” said Hammond. “He did a great job of running our offense.”

Dixon was just happy to beat Tucker.

“When you play Tucker, you can’t run away from being physical,” he said. “Tucker is one of the most physical teams in the state. It was a good test for us. We bent a little bit, but didn’t break. We got just as physical with them as they did. We matched them toe for toe, face to face, pound for pound.”