VALDOSTA — It’s a coach’s axiom: The team that makes the most plays wins.

That was certainly on display on Friday at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium where Colquitt County defeated Valdosta 24-6 to clinch the Region 1-7A championship.

Colquitt came up with a handful of consequential plays. Valdosta had only a pair of field goals to show for the night on its home turf.

The 9-0 and No. 2-ranked Packers will now have the opportunity to host at least two Class 7A state playoff games at The Hawg Pen, beginning with the postseason-opener on Nov. 12 against the No. 4 team from Region 2.

The Packers will retain the region title regardless of what it does next Friday in their regular-season finale at Richmond Hill, which lost on Friday to Lowndes 35-3.

The region title is the sixth for Colquitt County since 2014.

“It’s a big win for the program,” Packers head coach Sean Calhoun said after the game, adding that the game was “exactly what I expected.

“We knew points would be at a premium.”

He called the Valdosta defense “elite” and the Packers played “team football” to claim the region crown.

Valdosta finishes its regular season with an 8-2 record, but dropped its last two games, falling 17-14 to Camden County and then not managing a touchdown against a Colquitt County defense bent on dispensing with its underrated reputation.

The Wildcats could only put up a pair of Antonio

Zapeta field goals.

The first gave Valdosta a 3-0 lead with 9:30 left in the first half.

The second pulled Valdosta to with four with 10:14 left in the third quarter, but must have felt deflating after the Wildcats had taken over on the Colquitt 21 following an ill-advised fake punt attempt by the Packers.

But the Colquitt defense swarmed the rest of the evening, allowing just an unofficial 150 yards in a game that was uncomfortably close until the closing minutes for the large contingent of Packers fans in the visiting bleachers.

It was the defense that came up with two of those aforementioned big plays when senior safety Lyric Thomas turned in his fourth and fifth interceptions of the season to help frustrate the Wildcats.

The Packers were unable to take advantage of the first, but the second led to the Packers final touchdown in the fourth quarter.

The Colquitt offense struggled much of the night against a Valdosta defense front that appeared perhaps even better than advertised.

The Packers rushed for just 60 yards and quarterback Neko Fann was often under assault when looking for receivers.

But Fann had some consequential completions that made the Packers outstanding defensive effort matter.

The first came with 44 seconds left in the first half and less than two minutes after a 38-yard Brett Fitzgerald field goal had tied the game at 3-3.

Fitzgerald’s kick came not long after a Jack Luttrell punt was downed at the Valdosta 1, the Packers forced a three-and-out.

Colquitt’s first touchdown came when Fann connected with Za’Mari Williams on a short crossing pattern and the junior receiver sped to the house.

The touchdown and Fitzgerald’s conversion gave the Packers a 10-3 lead with 44 seconds left in the first half.

That score was set up by a sequence in which the Packers allowed Valdosta just three yards on three plays following the Fitzgerald field goal.

Following the field goal and touchdown, the defense ensured the lead would not be threatened.

The second Colquitt County crucial play came midway through the fourth quarter with the Packers tenuously holding to a 10-6 lead.

On a third-and-10 from the Packers 20, Fann lofted a pass far down field that Landon Griffin ran under to complete a 52-yard reception and a first down at the Wildcats 28.

The play seemed to energize the Packers.

Fann hit Ny Carr for 13 yards on the next play and moments later, on a third down from the Valdosta 15, Fann and Carr clicked again on a 14-yard completion to Wildcats 1.

Sophomore Day’Shawn Brown, playing after Charlie Pace suffered an apparent elbow injury, busted into the end zone for his varsity touchdown and the Packers had extended their lead to 11 points at 17-6 with 8:26 remaining.

On the second play after the kickoff, Thomas got his second interception and after Fann hit Carr for 21 yards to the Valdosta 1, Brown second-efforted his way into the end zone again and with 7:41 left the Packers were up 24-6 and in full control.