MOULTRIE – Colquitt County has exacted some revenge for its still-wrenching defeat to North Gwinnett in the 2017 state championship game.

But a little more of it on Friday when the Bulldogs visit to play on Tom White Field at Mack Tharpe Stadium in a Class 7A quarterfinal game would certainly be nice.

Even casual Packer fans remember what happened that chilly Ides of December nearly five years ago.

Colquitt scored a touchdown on a 14-yard pass from Steven Krajewski to Josh Hadley and got an extra point from Ryan Fitzgerald to take a 17-16 lead with 49.5 seconds remaining.

But the Packers could not hold it.

A pass interference call on the Packers on the last play of the game enabled North Gwinnett to line up for a field goal attempt on an untimed down as a game cannot end on a defensive penalty.

Cameron Clark converted from 38 yards out to give the Bulldogs a state championship and break the collective hearts of Packer Nation.

The Packers shut out North Gwinnett 45-0 in the state quarterfinals the next year in Moultrie to put a little salve on the still festering wound.

But Colquitt stumbled again two weeks later, losing the state championship game by a point to Milton.

The Packers have not reached a Game 15 since.

This week, North Gwinnett stands in the way of the Packers reaching the semifinals and step closer to a Dec. 10 state championship date at Center Parc Stadium in Atlanta.

And it will be a formidable pack of Bulldogs, under the direction of head coach Bill Stewart, who was in his first year leading the program when North Gwinnett won the improbable 2017 state championship.

Stewart is 60-18 at North Gwinnett after going 41-26 in six seasons at Etowah.

The Bulldogs first-round win over Dacula was the 100th of Stewart’s career.

Colquitt is 12-0 after defeating Pebblebrook and Harrison in the first two rounds, but the Falcons finished 4-7 and the Hoyas ended up 4-8.

North Gwinnett is 10-2, much more accomplished and on a roll.

After losing 31-19 to Winter Park, Fla., and 48-21 to Parkview, North Gwinnett has won eight in a row.

And last Friday, the Bulldogs led 16-0 halfway through the first quarter against 10-1 Lambert, but trailed 28-24 when the Longhorns turned an interception into a touchdown four minutes into the third quarter.

The Bulldogs scored the next two touchdowns in the game, then held off the Longhorns over the final five minutes to win by three.

“They are a good, good football team,” Calhoun said. “It’s going to be a challenge.”

Defensively, the Bulldogs are led by 318-pound defensive tackle Kayden McDonald, who has committed to Ohio State, and 6-foot-3, 210-pound defensive end/outside linebacker Grant Godfrey, who has said he will go to Kentucky.

On offense, sophomore quarterback Ryan Hall has been making plays both throwing the football and running with it.

Against Lambert, Hall ran for two touchdowns, one on a 42-yard burst, and passed for another to tight end Will Collins.

Hall threw three touchdown passes and scored on a 53-yard run in North Gwinnett’s playoff-opening win over Duluth.

The Bulldogs would prefer to run the football and like to give it to 5-foot-8, 175-pound junior Julian Walters, who has rushed for more than 1,000 yards this season.

And to make their running game even more punishing, the Bulldogs will move McDonald to fullback, feed him the football and let him plow straight ahead into the opponents’ underbelly.

He scored twice on short runs against Lambert and once against Duluth.

“They are heavy, heavy run,” Calhoun said. “And (McDonald) is one big, ol’ rascal.”

Of course, the Packers are not without weapons themselves.

Colquitt is averaging a tick over 40 points a game and have scored 56 and 49 in the two playoff games.

The Packers offense starts with quarterback Neko Fann, who has completed 151-of-237 passes for 2,121 yards and 23 touchdowns this season.

His three primary receivers are Georgia-committed Ny Carr, who has 46 pass receptions for 713 yards and seven touchdowns; Landen Thomas, also expected to head to Georgia, who has 39 catches for 681 yards and six touchdowns; and Za’Mari Williams, with 31 receptions for 828 yards and four scores.

Fann also is the Packers second-leading rusher with 424 yards and he has four proven ground-gainers in Charlie Pace, Day’Shawn Brown, Chad White and Ramsey Dennis he can distribute the ball to.

Pace, of course, is a preseason All-State selection who is committed to Georgia State.

He has rushed for 1,090 yards and 14 touchdowns this season and put on quite a display in the win over Harrison.

He ran for 143 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries, several of which were among the most memorable of his exceptional career.

Pace suffered an elbow injury and missed the second half against Valdosta and did not play in the regular-season finale against Richmond Hill.

He eased his way back into the lineup against Pebblebrook, but was clearly his old self last Friday.

“I felt like he was getting back into his groove last week,” Calhoun said. “And we’ll need a big game from him this week.”

Trying to create some space for Pace will be an offensive line of tackles Keshaun Palmore and Turk Daniels, guards Cole Holmes and Ja’Nas Daniels and center Jay’Den Williams.

Thomas, the 6-foot-5, 233-pound tight end, is an accomplished blocker as well.

With North Gwinnett committed and able to rush the football, there will be plenty of stress on the Packers defensive front seven that includes nose guard Julian Harper, ends Tyson Reed Jr. and Amari Wilson, inside linebackers Nick Pace and Kamal Bonner and outside backers Daveon Hunt and Qway McCoy.

The Packers’ all-senior secondary includes corners Carlos Moore, and Raheim McBride and safeties Lyric Thomas and Jack Luttrell.

Will Tapscott will do the long and short snapping; Luttrell the punting and kickoff and punt returning; Brett Fitzgerald the place-kicking; and Ethan Ramirez the kicking off.

If Calhoun needed additional motivation, he can look back at his high school days when he was a wing-T quarterback at Berkmar in Lilburn. One of the Patriots prime rivals was North Gwinnett.

Calhoun also was an assistant coach at Collins Hill, where he was charged with helping figure out how to knock off the Bulldogs.

To get past North Gwinnett on Friday, the Packers must cut down on their penalties, Calhoun said. “You just can’t continue to give teams drives,” he said. “We have to play with an edge. I get that.

“But we can’t have those penalties. Eventually, it’s going to bite us in the butt.”

If the Packers continue to get big plays from their big-play makers and slow down a capable North Gwinnett offense, the Packers will have shot at the semifinals and a date with the Walton-Carrollton winner.

Calhoun would not want to be anywhere else this week than right where he and his team are.

“It’s great to be able to practice on Thanksgiving morning,” he said.