Georgia’s Daijun Edwards (30) looks for running room in the Bulldogs’ 30-22 victory over Kent State on Sept. 24.

MOULTRIE — When LSU safety Jay Ward and Georgia running back Daijun Edwards saw the score from last Friday’s Colquitt County state quarterfinal victory — a 52-17 win over North Gwinnett — they both must have given a mini-fist pump and muttered “Yes!”

Ward was a junior starting in the secondary and Edwards was a sophomore running back on a chilly December night in 2017 when the Packers lost the state championship game to North Gwinnett 19-17 on an untimed-down field goal after the final horn.

Their reaction to the news that the Packers had earned a little revenge was most certainly a brief one.

They both had big games to play the next day.

Edwards helped lead a 37-14 victory over Georgia Tech that raised the defending national champions’ record to 12-0.

Ward, who was honored the week before as one the LSU’s departing seniors, had a more disappointing Saturday as the Tigers dropped their regular-season finale 38-23 to Texas A&M.

But the former Packers still have a large game to play this Saturday and are on what is probably a literal collision course in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game.

Georgia, 8-0 in the SEC for the second year in a row, will represent the East and LSU, 9-3 overall and 6-2 in the conference, will the West’s representative in the game that will kick off at 4 p.m. Saturday and will be televised on CBS.

Ward was one of Colquitt County’s all-time outstanding defensive backs from 2016-2018 when he had 11 career interceptions.

And he had plenty of inspiration to excel.

His position coach was Colquitt County Sports Hall of Famer Dextra Polite, who had 13 interceptions for the Packers before playing at Georgia Military and Clemson.

Plus, he needed to compete with older brother Johnny Ward, who after a fine career with the Packers, went on to play at the University of South Florida from 2013-2016, where he had four career interceptions.

After Jay inherited Johnny’s No. 4 Packers jersey, he did his best to do it honor.

Younger brother Jaheim also played in the Packers secondary while wearing No. 4 and now is a defensive back at Austin Peay University.

“They all had to out-do the others,” Polite said.

Jay might have been the most versatile of the three, Polite said.

When Jay was on the field, “You couldn’t run it, you couldn’t pass and you couldn’t kick it,” Polite said, making sure fans remember the youngster’s ability make sure tackles, pick off errant passes and to block kicks.

“He just made big play after big play. Boy, he made my job easier.”

Jay is intensely competitive, and was even during the spring at Colquitt County when he won a region championship in the triple jump.

After the Packers finished 14-1 in 2018, Jay appeared to be headed to Kentucky, but at the last minute decided to attend LSU, where he has continued his big play ways.

He has played 44 games for the Tigers — both at corner and at safety — and has six interceptions, including one he returned for a touchdown against Ole Miss in 2020. He had two against the Rebels that day.

One of his biggest games did not involve an interception. As a junior, he had 11 tackles and blocked a 52-yard field goal attempt against Auburn.

He also blocked a field goal in the fourth quarter that preserved a win against Arkansas.

And as a sophomore, he made a still-talked-about interception against Florida when he fell out of bounds, got back in bounds and then grabbed the ball while on his knees.

Ward, who had six total tackles in the loss to Texas A&M last week, has the SEC championship game and bowl game still to play and also has received an invitation to the Senior Bowl.

Polite and Ward keep in touch, talking at least once a week. His former coach believes his protege has a chance to play in the NFL.

“He’s still playing good, solid football,” Polite said. “I know it’s a dream for him.”

Edwards was a year behind Ward at Colquitt County and his career nearly ended before it began.

As a seventh-grader, he suffered a severe knee injury returning a punt in the fourth game of the season.

He missed his eighth-grade season, but was healthy to play as a ninth-grader.

Was he ever.

Rush Propst moved him into the varsity backfield as a freshman in 2016 and he carried the football 147 times for 887 yards and 14 touchdowns.

It was the start of one of the most illustrious careers a Packer ball carrier has had.

By the time he graduated, Edwards was the Packers’ all-time leading rusher with 4,413 yards.

And he holds the record for most career touchdowns with 66.

Polite remembers a quiet athlete who was as dedicated as any who wore the black-and-gold.

“He was just so strong and he worked so hard,” Polite said. “There were times he just put us on his back and carried us. You’ve got to respect a kid like that.”

The Packers had a combined 42-13 record with Edwards in the backfield from 2016-2019.

The Packers lost the state championship games in both his sophomore and junior seasons.

After the heartbreaking loss to North Gwinnett in the 2017 title game, the Packers lost to Milton 14-13 the following year.

But, ultimately, Edwards would get his ring.

After being ranked as the No. 21 running back nationally as a senior, he signed with Georgia and as a freshman played in 10 games and gained 218 yards.

As a sophomore in 2021, he got his ring.

He played in all 15 games and scored two touchdowns as Georgia went 14-1 and won the school’s first national championship since 1980.

This season, he has taken a larger role in the Bulldogs offense and is the team’s second-leading rusher.

Among his highlights this season was his three-touchdown game against Auburn; his 106 yards and two touchdowns against Florida; and his go-ahead touchdown with 4:03 left and his six carries for 42 yards on the Bulldogs’ final possession in the win over Missouri.

Edwards and Kenny McIntosh have received most of the carries in recent games and when Georgia meets LSU at Mercedes Benz Stadium, that trend is likely to continue.

When Edwards gets a handoff from quarterback Stetson Bennett, he can expect Ward flying in from the secondary to get a piece of his old teammate.

It will be like old times on the Colquitt County practice fields.