Two members of Colquitt County football teams who played in state championship games for the Packers are on the Thomasville High School staff that is heading into a second-round Class AA home game on Friday against Heard County.

Tyler Brown, who quarterbacked the Packers to the 2010 state championship game against Brookwood, and Bull Barge, a starting linebacker on Colquitt County’s 2014 state champion, joined Zack Grage’s staff this season.

“I love being able to have those guys on the staff,” says Grage, who was a Colquitt County assistant coach from 2009-2014 and has kept in touch with the former Packers.

Brown still ranks second on the Packers all-time passing yards list with 6,197. He threw 44 touchdown passes in his career.

As a senior in 2010, he threw for 3,358 yards and 28 touchdowns to lead the Packers to the state championship game.

Brown, who graduated from Georgia, was working in finance in Atlanta when he told Grage he was interested in moving back to south Georgia and perhaps becoming a community coach.

“He said he wanted to help change kids’ lives,” Grage said.

Right before this season started, Thomasville’s receivers coach left and Grage hired the former Packer to take the spot.

Brown is currently teaching social studies at Thomasville High, Grage said, and is working on being certified.

He has been a big part of the Bulldogs’ 10-1 record and No. 2 ranking in the state among Class AA schools.

“He has been learning on the fly,” Grage said.

Barge was a starting linebacker on the Packers 2014 team that went 15-0 and won the state championship.

He went on to play football at South Alabama and in 2020 was on the staff at Valdosta High.

After joining the Thomasville staff, he appeared to have a shot at a graduate assistant’s job at South Alabama, but decided to remain with Grage to run the Bulldogs’ weight room.

And Grage is more than pleased.

“If we continue to have success, Bull’s the x-factor,” Grage said. “He is awesome with the kids. He is a mentor, coach and friend.

“And he is so smart. He never makes the same mistake twice.”

And the weight room coordinator is an important post.

“It’s a tough job,” Grage said. “But he has taken it and run with it.”

Thomasville, the Region 1-AA champion, defeated Washington County 42-7 in its playoff opener.

Of this and that:

• Former Moss Farms Diving and Colquitt County High standout Kelliann Howell will miss the remainder of her senior season at the University of Georgia after suffering a shoulder injury.

Howell had a fine career at Georgia, twice reaching the SEC Championships and twice competing in the NCAA Zone championships.

Nolan Lewis and Timothy Fagan, former Diving Tigers and Howell’s teammates on the Georgia swimming and diving team, are performing well in their freshman seasons in Athens.

Lewis scored a NCAA Zone-qualifying 310.35 on 1-meter in the Nov. 5 meet at Auburn.

Fagan turned in a 285.68 in the recent meet at Florida.

• Orion Bonner caught a 43-yard touchdown pass for Glenville (W.Va.) State last Saturday in the Pioneers’ 43-13 victory over West Virginia Wesleyan.

A freshman, Bonner also had another pass reception for 18 yards for the Pioneers, who finished their season with a 3-7 record.

• Two former Packers played in Georgia’s 41-17 victory over Tennessee last Saturday in Knoxville.

Jay Blakely, the Volunteers’ senior defensive end, was credited with a pair of pass breakups.

Georgia running back Daijun Edwards had three carries for five yards.

Tennessee, 5-5 overall and 3-4 in the SEC, will be at home to face South Alabama this Saturday.

Georgia, 10-0 overall and 7-0 in the SEC, will be between the hedges to face Charleston Southern.

• Ryan Fitzgerald kicked field goals of 22, 27 and 29 yards to help lead Florida State to 31-28 over Miami on Saturday in Tallahassee.

He also converted after two touchdowns as the Seminoles raised their record to 4-6 overall and 3-4 in the ACC.

The Seminoles will travel to Boston College on Saturday.

• Freshman defensive tackle Zy Brockington had a solo tackle and an assist in Memphis University’s 30-29 overtime loss to East Carolina on Saturday.

The Tigers, now 5-5, will play Friday at No. 17 Houston.

• Steven Krajewski came off the bench to complete 6-of-12 passes for 26 yards in UConn’s 44-7 loss at Clemson last Saturday.

The Huskies, now 1-9, will play at Central Florida on Saturday.

Krajewski will soon be playing for former Atlanta Falcons and UCLA head coach Jim Mora, who has been announced as the Huskies new head coach.

• UT-Martin defeated Tennessee Tech 42-3 last Saturday to raise its record to 9-1.

Shawn Shamburger had a solo tackle and a pass breakup for the Skyhawks, who will play at Southeast Missouri this weekend.

Nyquan Washington had a solo and an assisted tackle in the game for the Golden Eagles, who fall to 3-7.

Tennessee Tech will play at Austin Peay on Saturday.

• John Samuel Shenker had two catches for 14 yards in Auburn’s 43-34 loss to Mississippi State.

Auburn, now 6-4 overall and 3-3 in the SEC, will play at South Carolina on Saturday.

• In LSU’s 16-13 overtime loss to Arkansas last Saturday, the Tigers’ Jay Ward had four solo tackles and a forced fumble.

Now 4-6 overall and 2-5 in the SEC, the Tigers will play at home on Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe.

• Texas A&M-Commerce will head into Saturday’s NCAA Regional quarterfinal coming off a 30-10 victory over Eastern New Mexico.

Dee Walker had two assisted tackles in the win.

• Parker Hardigree, a senior on the SMU swimming and diving team, is already Zone qualified after scoring a 310.30 on 1-meter in a recent meet.

The former Colquitt County High and Moss Farms alum was the high point diver at the SMU Classic.

Johanna Holloway, who dives for the SMU women’s team and is a 2020 All-American on platform, got a win on the 3-meter springboard with a Zone-qualifying score in a recent meet against New Mexico State.

• Auburn sophomore Hunter Kebler scored a 337.95 on 3-meter in a recent home meet against Kentucky to qualify for NCAA Zones.

• James Madison freshman Abi White scored a 266.0 on 3-meter in a meet that included teams from William and Mary, Delaware and UNC-Wilmington.

Former Moss Farms divers Isabella Grayson and Maggie Merriman are competing for Davidson and Purdue, respectively.

• Former Packer Cameron Erving, who had been the starting left tackle for the Carolina Panthers, is on the injured reserved list after suffering a calf injury.

• Former Lady Packer ZaNautica Downs is playing at Troy University in this, her junior season.

She scored four points in the Lady Trojans season-opening 101-81 victory over Talladega College. She started her team’s second game and scored four points.

Downs played last year for UNC-Wilmington an averaged 14.6 points a game.

• Janiah Ellis, who played at Troy last season, has transferred to Clark-Atlanta, but will sit out this season while recovering from surgery.

• Diamond Hall is playing her senior season at Alcorn State.

Five of Colquitt County 2021 opponents won first-round playoff games and another, Alcovy, received a bye and and will play Carrollton this week.

• Region 1-7A champion Lowndes eliminated Harrison 45-35 and will play host to Norcross on Friday.

• Northside-Warner Robins beat Lakeside-Evans 35-3 in its playoff opener and will play Douglas County this week.

• Lee County, Colquitt County’s scrimmage opponent, is the Region 1-6A champion and defeated Grovetown 59-12. Next for the Trojans is Cambridge.

• Cedar Grove opened the Class 3A playoffs by blowing out the Tim Cokely-coached White County Warriors 79-0.

Cedar Grove will play host to Southeast Bulloch this week.

• Westlake beat Effingham County 49-3 in the first round and will play Kennesaw Mountain next.