MOULTRIE – Mo Dixon didn’t leave the cupboard bare at George Walton High.

Under first-year head coach Daniel Brunner, the Walton High Raiders turned around last season’s 4-6 record to the current 11-0 mark, Region 4-7A championship and the right to host a second-round playoff contest. Brunner replaced Dixon, who spent three seasons as leader of the eastern Cobb County program with a record of 15-16 and is now Colquitt County High’s defensive coordinator.

This first season in Moultrie working for Rush Propst has been like a Homecoming/Reunion tour for Dixon. He already faced his longtime boss Bob Sphire when the Packers played at Camden County. This weekend, 8-3 Colquitt County must go three hours plus north for the second week in a row to face, yes, Walton High. Walton had a 28-14 tangle in the first round at Raider Valley against a bit of a heated rival, North Cobb, while the Packers were in the southern part of the county dismantling Pebblebrook High in Mableton 49-7.

Walton’s season so far has been about its offensive firepower with the main skill players all in the junior class. That’s quarterback Austin Kirksey with almost 2,300 passing yards and 21 touchdowns, receiver Dominick Blaylock (committed to Georgia) with 14 total touchdowns (seven each running and catching the football) and running back D.J. Soyoye, a 1,000-yard rusher with 14 touchdowns. They will also get points out of seniors like Stephan Jean-Francois and Chandler Smith, Jean-Francois getting his sixth TD of the season in the North Cobb win and Smith equaling Blaylock’s number (seven) in the passing game.

“I definitely thought they were going to be pretty good,” said Dixon. “We kept talking about when Blaylock’s group was in 8th grade that these guys had a chance to be good down the road. I didn’t think we’d be running into each other so quick, but I’m really not surprised. I knew they had that potential.

“They’re really hard-working kids. They’re a lot like our kids. They’re really close.”

Brunner was a part of Dixon’s staff all three years as special teams coordinator and defensive line coach.

“He’s outstanding,” said Dixon. “He sort of fell in my lap when I got there. He’s a Roswell guy. He came in and said he’d like to work with us. He played college ball, and he’s just a super person. He’s also the weight room guy.”

Bill Letton, Walton’s associate head coach and offensive line coach, is also a holdover from Dixon’s staff.

Kirksey is a first–year starter at quarterback and was involved in a battle over the offseason with senior Avery Cybul to replace departing senior Addison Shoup, now at Brown University.

“Kirksey’s a real good athlete,” said Dixon about the player who also has 10 rushing touchdowns. “He’s strong kid. He’s got confidence.”

Blaylock missed Walton’s first two games and the entire summer of workouts including 7-on-7 competitions against schools like Colquitt County with a broken ankle. That injury was suffered during Walton’s spring baseball season on a slide into second base. While this is a negative situation for anyone, Dixon said there were some positives coming out of it in the development of other players.

“Now he’s back better than ever,” said Dixon. “He’s the real deal. He’s bigger than what you think he is. He’s solid, probably 190, 195 (pounds). He’s just got some natural ability. His dad is (former Atlanta Hawk) Mookie Blaylock. His two twin brothers played at Kentucky.”

Jean-Francois was Dixon’s starter at running back last year. He said Soyoye’s turned his game on big this season to give the Raiders the same kind of 1-2 backfield punch the Packers own. Dixon added that Soyoye is also the smaller scatback type Packer fans have witnessed run the ball for them over the years.

“D.J. runs with a lot of power,” he said.

Put it all together, and you have a Raider offense that’s gone over 40 points eight times in 11 games. The 28 vs. North Cobb was the season low, the previous low being 31 in a 31-28 triumph over North Gwinnett (a region champion) at the Corky Kell Classic. Walton beat another eventual region winner in week No. 2, Brookwood, 42-35.

Dixon said the last two games were more tighter for Walton, not just the North Cobb tilt, but Woodstock hung with them only to fall 42-37.

“They have a very multiple offense like we do,” said Dixon. “They make big plays. Everybody’s involved. They do a good job up front. They are a spread offense that runs the ball well.”

The personnel challenges Walton brings forces the defense, Dixon said, to make decisions. Do you put another guy in the box to stop the run? If they are four or five wide, you have to spread, but then Kirksey is so athletic he once returned punts and kickoffs and plays basketball.

“They can go empty and still be a threat to run on us,” said Dixon. “We broke down 111 formations. Eleven different alignments. You start doing keys, usually you start pulling a set of maybe three formations, trips, these look a little different. Try to pull 111 together.

“We’re going into a hornet’s nest. It’s got all the buildup.”

This is the first football game between Colquitt County and Walton, but there were a pair of times before when this matchup was close to happening in the postseason.

In 2011 under Rocky Hidalgo, Walton had its best season, a 14-0 start all the way to the state championship game. It fell to Grayson High who, in the semifinals at home, put together a late fourth-quarter drive to knock out the Packers 35-31.

Dixon’s best success at Walton was a 9-2 season in 2015. The Raiders finished second in its region and lost in the first round to Central Gwinnett. Central Gwinnett was then one of the Colquitt County victims on its way to a state title and 15-0 repeat season.