Colquitt County: Not many good memories of Norcross

Published 6:21 pm Saturday, December 5, 2020

MOULTRIE – Think the 13 penalties Colquitt County had to overcome on Friday in its 35-12 playoff victory over Walton was disappointing?

How about this: Norcross, which will play host to the Packers on Friday in a Class 7A quarterfinal, was flagged 23 times for 204 yards in its 40-20 second-round win over Roswell.

Both the Packers and Blue Devils will want to clean up their acts before meeting at Blue Devil Stadium.

Each is undefeated – Colquitt 9-0, Norcross 12-0 – and each voracious for a semifinal berth.

The Blue Devils have the early advantage, having won the Georgia High School Association’s universal coin toss, forcing the Packers to do the traveling in the matchup of No. 1 seeds.

Few of the current Colquitt County players and coaches are aware of the visceral disappointment the Packers suffered on the natural surface in Norcross in 2012 and 2013.

A history lesson might provide some incentive to settle a score or two on Friday.

But first, this is how they got to where they are this season:

Colquitt’s season of fits and starts continued unabated with the curious win over Walton.

The game was not two minutes old when sophomore linebacker Antwan Daniels intercepted a pass and returned it 22 yards for a touchdown and a quick 7-0 lead.

Three snaps later, Jaheim Ward picked off a Raiders pass and returned it to the Walton 3.

Could the Packers jump out to a 14-0 lead in the first three minutes?

No. Colquitt quarterback Zane Touchton made it three straight pass completions to players from the other team and the Packers were unable to build on their lead.

Walton got a field goal with 5:36 left in the half and trailed just 7-3 at intermission.

The Raiders got another field goal six minutes into the second half and were down only 7-6 to the unbeaten Region 1 champs.

Nineteen seconds later, however, the Packers’ lead had grown to eight when Charlie Pace emerged from a dogpile near the line of scrimmage and fled 80 yards for a touchdown.

Two more interceptions returned for touchdowns – another by Daniels and one by TJ Spradley – put Colquitt up 28-6.

With just over four minutes left, Touchton appeared to hand the ball to Pace, who rushed for 119 yards, but kept it himself and scored the Packers final touchdown from four yards out.

It looked like Colquitt would get through a second-straight playoff game without allowing a touchdown, but Walton, on the Packers 4 with four seconds remaining, called a timeout and got a short scoring run that cut their final deficit from 29 to 23.

For those who wondered how these Packers – who have cuffed their previous eight opponents pretty handily – would play when faced with some existential threat, this is how they did it: Defense. Four interceptions and five sacks. A long Walton gain of 29 yards and that came on a fake punt. Just 94 rushing yards allowed on 35 carries.

Colquitt is likely to need a similar effort when they get off the bus in Norcross next Friday.

On a sloppy field – one that the 2013 Packers can most assuredly relate to – the Blue Devils rang up 490 yards, including 402 on the ground in their bruising of Roswell on Friday.

Two Norcross backs eclipsed the century mark: Jahni Clarke ran for 206 yards and three touchdowns and Mason Kaplan added 110 and another score.

Kaplan also threw for 88 yards and a touchdown to eliminate the Hornets, who finish 8-3.

Norcross led 27-6 at the half in the chilly Gwinnett County evening.

This is clearly Keith Maloof’s most talented team since his 2013 state champion.

The Blue Devils have put up 500 points, averaging 41.6 a contest and have scored more than 40 points eight times in 12 games. They have hung 59 on Meadowcreek, 54 on Berkmar and 56 on Duluth.

Maloof has coached at Norcross since 1999 and is 176-76 in that time, winning state titles in 2012 and 2013. The Blue Devils knocked off the Packers at home in the semifinals each of those years.

In 2012, Norcross had Alvin Kamara, currently playing for the New Orleans Saints, carrying the football.

The Blue Devils rolled up 392 yards, much of it by Kamara, to beat the Packers 41-27.

That loss was easier to stomach than the one a year later when the weather turned the field into a quagmire and lightning forced the officials to pull the players from the field with 10:18 and Colquitt holding a slippery grip on a 9-7 lead.

After an hour delay, play resumed.

With six minutes left and Norcross at the Packers 19, Myles Autry took a short pass, crossed the field and made it to the end zone to give the Blue Devils a 14-9 lead and, eventually, the victory.

Norcross defeated North Gwinnett 31-14 the next week to win their second-straight state championship.

The Packers then duplicated that feat themselves, winning titles in 2014 and 2015.

Colquitt played for the state title in 2017 and 2018, coming up a total of three points short of two more state championships. Norcross has not come that close since 2013.

The Packers’ 2017 season opened with a 20-17 victory over Norcross in the Corky Kell Classic at Georgia State Stadium.

A nice start to the season and a vindication of sorts.

But Colquitt County fans probably would like a more definitive response to those galling losses in 2012 and 2013.