Akeem McKiever

MOULTRIE – Interceptions get you high up the career list, up there with names like … Dextra Polite.

Now he’s the one coaching those Colquitt County High Packer cornerbacks trying to catch him.

The one who entered the 2018 season behind all kinds of talk about his picking off capabilities didn’t do any of that in Saturday’s dominating 41-7 win against McEachern High. But senior Kentucky commit Jay Ward did plenty to talk about, from forcing a series-ending fumble right at the onset to deflecting passes to simply lowering his shoulder and sticking McEachern players all over the Mercedes-Benz turf.

“He’s focused. He wants to do good, wants to do the right stuff,” said Polite. “That’s why he goes hard in practice. So the game is easy to him. He understands what I want … so he can make plays like he did (Saturday).”

To recap, McEachern’s Indians had the football first Saturday at the Corky Kell Classic and executed a play-fake slant that gained them about 26 yards. But Ward hit the receiver downfield, knocking the ball loose for fellow corner Nyquan Washington to recover. The Packers got a field goal off that turnover and never looked back.

“I tell my guys all the time: you get to the ball, good things are always going to happen,” said Polite. “When the guy was going down, he put his hat on the ball. It came out. That’s why I preach ‘get to the ball.’ My guys understand that.”

Co-defensive coordinator Jeff Kent added that Ward made numerous great plays against McEachern’s top receiver, and if any of them went the other way around, we could be looking at a different final.

“He’s a physical kid,” said Kent about Ward. “You look at him and don’t think he’s very physical. He looks like a long corner. You don’t look at Jay Ward and think he’s going to strike you. That’s one thing we pride ourselves on is how physical we play … pushing ourselves to the limit every day to develop that tough mentality to be able to strike and swarm to the ball.”

Somebody did build a good lead in the Colquitt interception department, and was neither Ward nor Washington after all of their picks in the 2017 run to the Class 7A state finals. Instead, senior Akeem McKiever picked off Carlos Delrio-Wilson twice in the second half. McKiever’s one of the versatile members of the Packer defense going from safety to corner.

“He wants to be a corner,” said Polite. “You live on the edge on the corner. It’s a one-man show out there. You have to be good at your position, disciplined. That’s what my guys are pretty good at now, being disciplined and doing little things right.”

To go with the interceptions and forced fumble, Colquitt had the other highlight plays in three quarterback sacks. Two were from linebacker Kendrick Neloms and one by end Kree Herring. It was communication, though, that Kent wanted to highlight.

“They were able to make adjustments and get us in the right calls and out of bad calls,” he said. “We had a few blown coverages, but we corrected them. The defense really rallied together when a player would make a mistake and pick him up. We stayed positive … communicated off the field.”

The McEachern offense was led by Delrio-Wilson, who though being a sophomore already had some big victories under his belt in last year’s state playoffs. That included leading a comeback win at Lowndes High – champions of Colquitt’s Region 1-7A – and reaching the semifinals before falling to North Gwinnett.

This Saturday, it’s the Colquitt County ‘national’ game on Tom White Field at Mack Tharpe Stadium. The opponent will fly in from St. Louis in the Midwest, and they are the Trinity Catholic Titans.

Under new head coach Terrence Curry, Trinity Catholic has yet to play a real game, so this will be the debut of some highly-rated individual players led by senior quarterback Isaiah Williams. Williams, receiver Marcus Washington and linebacker Shammond Cooper are going to the 2018 Under Armor All-America Game.

“There are challenges all over the field with these guys,” said Polite. “They are going to come in hungry to play a team from Georgia. We are eager to play them and see how we match up with them. It’s going to be a great game.”

“We are going to have to tackle better,” said Kent. “We had nine missed tackles (vs. the Indians). We have nine missed tackles vs. this team, you are talking about a chance they have nine touchdowns.”

Trinity Catholic had a scrimmage last Friday, and Kent said they watched that film and saw a physical team that ran through tackles.

“They are going to pass the eye test,” he said. “They are going to look like a big-time program. The biggest thing we are going to face is the speed they have and the talent across the board. You are not sitting there saying ‘I have to stop one player.’ They have a phenomenal quarterback, a big-time receiver and a stable of running backs they can cycle in to keep fresh legs.”

In addition to Williams, Washington and Cooper, Kent said the Titans feature a tackle with Division I talent, 6-5, 320-pound senior Ira Henry. Titan players such as these reportedly are being recruited by Alabama, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Ohio State and of course the big school of their state, the Missouri Tigers.