MOULTRIE – Colquitt County did exactly what it needed to do on Friday to claim a first-round state playoff football game.

The Packers scored 17 first-quarter points and allowed Tift County just one touchdown in a 31-6 victory that gives them the No. 2 seed from Region 1-7A and the opportunity to play host to the No. 3 team from Region 3 on Friday, Nov. 12, in the first-round of the state playoffs.

The Packers, stung by a 52-31 loss at Lowndes the previous week, rolled up 121 yards on the ground and 121 yards through the air in the first 24 minutes, leaving the Blue Devils, content to keep the ball on the ground, no chance to make a game of it.

Tift County elected to play with its quarterback under center much of the game and run what Packers coach Justin Rogers called “old-school football.”

Despite trailing 17-0 at the end of the first quarter and 24-6 at the half, Tift ran the ball 32 times for an unofficial 100 yards.

“They wanted to play keep-away, but our defense wouldn’t allow it,” Rogers said of the Senior Night victory.

Tift finishes 1-2 and in third place in the region and will take a 6-4 overall record into the playoffs, where it will travel to play the Region 3 runner-up.

Blue Devils quarterback Jackson Strickland attempted 14 passes, completing just four for 91 yards, 62 of which came on a short throw that Tyre West, the All-State defensive lineman who was inserted to play tight end, rambled with to the Packers 23 with just over three minutes left in the third quarter.

The Blue Devils were unable to take advantage of their longest gain of the night when, on the second play of the fourth quarter, Colquitt’s Marcus Ponder intercepted an ill-advised pass attempt on a botched field goal attempt.

Ponder rumbled 42 yards with the ball to discourage any hopes of a Blue Devil comeback.

Colquitt finishes the regular season with an 8-2 overall record and a 2-1 record in the region.

“We got off to a fast start offensively and defensively and our defensive played with a chip on their shoulder,” said Packers coach Justin Rogers, who is now 26-6 since taking over the program in 2019.

The Tift County defense only lived up to its reputation in the second half when it held the Packers scoreless until Neko Fann hit Qway McCoy with a 7-yard scoring pass with 2:53 left in the game.

Charlie Pace, the region’s leading rusher finished with 84 yards on 15 carries and scored his 12th rushing touchdown of the season in the first quarter.

Fann was 12-for-17 for 142 yards and also threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Landen Thomas to cap the Packers first drive of the game and a 5-yarder to Zay Williams with 54 seconds left in the first half.

The sophomore quarterback has now thrown 27 touchdown passes in his first 10 varsity starts.

Colquitt took the opening kickoff and drove 75 yards in just five plays to take a quick lead.

Fann found Thomas unencumbered in the Blue Devils secondary and the sophomore tight end shook off an attempted tackle and raced to the end zone.

A 22-yard Pace run set up the touchdown.

Brett Fitzgerald got the first of his four extra points less than two minutes into the game.

Pace had another 22-yard run three carries later and he took it to the end zone with 7:37 left in the first quarter to help give Colquitt a 14-0 lead.

A holding penalty slowed the Packers next possession, which ended with Fitzgerald kicking a 37-yard field goal.

Tift County got its plodding offense in sync in the second quarter driving to the Packers 15, where Strickland connected with Tyler Parker at the Packers 6.

Parker fumbled the football when he was hit and teammate Antavio Pierce recovered in the end zone.

Tift was unable to execute the point-after attempt after what turned out to be its only touchdown and only cut the Packers lead to 17-6.

The Packers scored later in the second quarter on what was essentially a gift from the Blue Devils.

On a fourth-and-2 from the Tift County 4, Fitzgerald’s 21-yard field goal attempt was wide left, but the Blue Devils were flagged for roughing the kicker.

Given a fresh set of downs, Colquitt scored on a third-and-goal pass from Fann to Williams.

Fitzgerald converted with 54 seconds left in what was the final point until Fann connected McCoy with just under three minutes remaining.

The Packers had nine first downs in the first quarter, but only seven the rest of the way as the West-led Blue Devil defense found its footing.

Colquitt punted four times in the final three quarters.

Also on Friday, Lowndes finished undefeated in the region when it escaped Camden County, winning 35-29.

The Vikings are 8-2 and 3-0 in the region; Camden County is 4-6 and 0-3