MOULTRIE – Surely someone driving north on I-75 on Friday to attend Colquitt County’s football opener against Marietta will turn to his shotgun rider and ask, “Remember when we went up there in 1991?”

That should elicit a smile, regardless of whether traffic is breezing along a brisk 10 mph near the McDonough exit.

Yes, it’s been 30 years since Colquitt County defeated Marietta at Northcutt Stadium with 3 seconds left in overtime to advance to the state championship game back in Moultrie the following week.

The Packers lost to LaGrange on a late field goal the next Friday night, but after a few days of well-earned anguish, Colquitt County fans began to look back at that remarkable season more fondly.

Yes, the Packers have won three state titles since 1991, the first just three years later. Colquitt has played in three other championship games in the ensuing years.

But when Sharone Roberts caught that 2-yard pass from Parks Hughes for a touchdown that helped give Colquitt County a 21-17 victory over the Blue Devils that early December night, it marked the first time in 28 years that a Packers team had qualified for a state championship game.

It was the season of milk jugs filled with pennies being shaken from Tifton to Warner Robins to Hinesville to Marietta as the Packers, who had dropped three regular-season games, took over the hearts of their long-suffering fans as the Georgia weather cooled.

Of course, the season was not for those whose hearts were faint.

Earlier in the season, Parks Hughes, the efficient quarterback and son of head coach Jim Hughes, had completed a 33-yard pass to a double-covered Christopher McCranie on the final play of overtime to secure a one-point win over Lowndes.

That win came in front of the home crowd that perhaps was first hearing the faint sound of a coming bandwagon.

True, the Packers had lost two in a row before McCranie’s leap trumped penetration to beat the Vikings.

And the next week, Colquitt lost by a field goal at Tift County, but even after a convincing home victory over Coffee that qualified the Packers for the region playoff, they were 7-3 overall and 3-2 in the region and tied for third place.

Perhaps fans got a whiff of things to come when the rematch with Tift County in the region playoff was nothing like the 10-7 loss just two weeks before.

With a chance to reach the state playoffs for the first time since 1972, the Packers scored three times in the first quarter on a 63-yard run by Reggie Scott, a 66-yard touchdown pass from Hughes to Roberts and a 42-yard run by Wesley Ivey.

The Packers rolled up 433 yards of offense in the 42-13 victory and earned the right to take the bus to what was then known as International City Stadium (now McConnell-Talbert Stadium) in Warner Robins for their first Class AAAA state playoff game.

Colquitt dominated, forcing the Demons to punt on nine of its first 10 possessions while winning 21-0.

Nathan Williams ran for 171 yards and scored twice.

The other three times a Packers team had reached the state playoffs – in 1937, 1963 and 1972 – it had won its first game, but lost the second.

That bit of ignominious history went by the board when Colquitt County eliminated Bradwell Institute in Hinesville, 26-14, the following week.

Williams rushed for 176 more yards.

That win set up the date at Northcutt Stadium against unbeaten Marietta.

Coach Dexter Wood’s Blue Devils scored a touchdown in each of the first two quarters and led 14-0 at the half.

But Marietta would not again reach the Packers end zone.

And Williams set the tone for what was to befall the Blue Devils when he took the second half kickoff back 45 yards to the Colquitt 48.

Colquitt drove it home from there with Williams scoring from 2 yards and Hughes converting to cut the Marietta lead in half with 5:54 left in the third quarter.

The Packers tied the game when Williams capped a 73-yard, nine-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown run with 9:40 left in the game. Hughes converted to make it 14-14.

The big play in the drive was a 36-yard completion from Hughes to Roberts, who outjumped two Blue Devils to make the catch.

The score remained knotted at the end of regulation.

As many fans might remember, Georgia High School Association rules at the time called for two five-minute halves to resolve games tied after 48 minutes.

If, after the two halves, the game remains tied, the team with the deepest penetration toward the opponents end zone would be awarded one point and the victory.

McCranie’s catch against Lowndes had given the Packers the penetration advantage and the one-point win earlier in the season.

Marietta caught the first break in the first overtime, recovering a Packers fumble at the Colquitt 31.

The Blue Devil drove to a first down at the Colquitt 4, but with Greg Bright, Tony Davis and Anthony Palmore turning in big plays, the Packers held, forcing a 23-yard Tim Montz field goal, giving Marietta a 17-14 lead.

A number of Marietta fans ran on to the field after the kick, thinking the field goal had won the game.

It had not, but the three-point lead and the penetration advantage nearly held up.

In the second five-minute overtime period, Colquitt took possession on its own 20 with 3:01 left in the game.

There might not be a more memorable three minutes in Packer football history than what then transpired in Marietta.

Parks Hughes, who had thrown four interceptions and lost a fumble, guided the Packers patiently toward the Blue Devils end zone, completing 7 of his 14 passes.

He hit McCranie for 20 yards for one first down; Roberts for 12 yards and another; and, again, he connected with McCranie for 14 yards to put the ball on the Marietta 12.

Twice on the drive Colquitt converted on fourth down, with Williams gaining two yards both times.

The second put the Packers on the Marietta 2 with seven seconds left.

A field goal was no use. Marietta had the penetration advantage. Only a touchdown would suffice.

The Packers had time for two plays.

They only needed one.

Colquitt called time out and sent in Lee Brooks and James Stancil as part of the “heavy” formation the Packers used in short yardage situations.

Williams had converted in two other 2-yard situations. Surely, he could do it again.

As the saying goes, we’ll never know.

Hughes faked the handoff to Williams, who was immediately buried under a scrum of navy jerseys.

Rolling a few steps to his left, Hughes had his choice of either Roberts or Brooks, both of whom were wide open in the end zone.

Hughes chose Roberts, whose catch was his 15th of the night. It also sent the Packers, finally, to the state championship game.

The Packers had rolled up 441 yards of offense and 25 first downs in the victory and held the Blue Devils to 169 yards and just eight first downs.

Amel Jackson, the fine Marietta back, managed just 43 yards on 20 carries by the Packers defense. He was hit in his own backfield four times.

Colquitt also came up with a pair of interceptions.

Hughes completed 21-of-41 passes for 278 yards and was near-perfect down the stretch. His offensive line offered pristine protection. He was never sacked.

The 1991 magic ran its course the next week when LaGrange won the state championship at Mack Tharpe Stadium.

The Colquitt County starters in the game against Marietta were:

Offense

QB Parks Hughes

FB Wesley Ivey

TB Nathan Williams

WR Christopher McCranie

WR Sharone Roberts

C Brian Saturday

G David DeRosso

G Chris Morris

T Gabe Pritchett

T Clay Fitzgerald

TE Wes Mock

Defense

DE Marcus Spradley

DE Allen Dalton

DT James Stancil

DT James Weeks

LB Greg Bright

LB Lee Brooks

LB Anthony Palmore

CB Tony Davis

CB Patrick Mansfield

FS Bobby Hill

SS Jason Taylor

Jim Hughes’s coaching staff included Tim Kelshaw, Randy Gay, James Stancil, Darrell Funderburk, Don Jarrett, Neil Roberts, Mike Singletary, Steve McDiffitt and Brent Brock.