Reese returns to Moultrie to join ninth-grade staff

Published 11:21 am Tuesday, June 20, 2023

MOULTRIE — Another member of Colquitt County’s 2014 state championship football team is returning to coach in Moultrie.

Tomarcio Reese, who coached at Valdosta last year, is back home and will join the Packers’ ninth-grade staff to work with the linebackers.

Reese will join Bull Barge, Kiel Pollard and Ian Brinson as former players who own a 2014 state championship ring and who now ply their trade on the sidelines for the Packers.

Head coach Sean Calhoun, offensive coordinator John Cooper and defensive coordinator Jeremy Rowell also were part of that team, as was eighth-grade coach Andy Harden and athletic trainer Ryan Kebler.

Reese, who started at linebacker for the state championship team, went on to play one season at Eastern Arizona College and another at Northwest Mississippi Community College before finishing his collegiate career by starting 24 straight games at Georgia Southern.

Reese will complete a ninth-grade staff that otherwise returns intact.

Marshall Locke is back as the freshman team’s head coach. Trey Perkins again will be the offensive coordinator; Zach Stanaland, the defensive coordinator; Brinson, will coach the offensive line; and Cory Harper will work with the receivers.

Another former Packer, Patrick Hunter, is returning to teach and coach at Colquitt County and will be an assistant coach in the soccer program.

Hunter, who was the Colquitt County football team’s place-kicker in 2000 and 2001, also could have a role with the varsity football team. He coached the kickers at Lowndes for several years.

Patrick, brother Jeffrey and sister Julie all played soccer at Colquitt County. Jeffrey Hunter also was a kicker for the Packers football team.

Nate Madison has been named as the head coach of the eighth-grade football team and Harden, Colquitt County’s varsity boys basketball coach, has joined his staff.

Andy Chapura will return as the seventh-grade team’s head coach. His staff is not complete yet, Calhoun said.

With outside linebacker Tyshon Reed Jr. committing to play his college football in the ACC at Duke, the Packers now have three seniors who have announced their collegiate destinations.

Receiver Ny Carr remains committed to two-time national champion Georgia and tight end Landen Thomas has committed to Florida State.

“That is really exciting for them and for their families,” Calhoun said.

Colquitt County will attempt to defend its championship of the University of Georgia’s 7-on-7 tournament, which is scheduled for Thursday, June 22.

Inclement weather is forecast for the Athens area that day.

The Packers will take part in a padded camp on June 27 and 29 at Bainbridge.

The Packers will be idle July 4-7, the second Georgia High School Association-mandated summer “dead week.”

The Packers have been working Monday through Thursday since June 5.

The three-day weekends helps keep players fresh and allows those who want to attend position camps.

After the dead week, the Packers also will participate in another padded camp at Fitzgerald on July 18.

“Summer is always a fine line with how much do you want to push them,” Calhoun said. “But our kids are doing what we want them to do.

“Summer workouts are hard, but our kids understand the importance of summer work. It’s also where we truly bond.”

The 7-on-7s and padded camps are important in helping keep the players focused during the summer.

The fall scrimmage will be held on Friday, Aug. 4, when Peach County visits to play on Tom White Field at Mack Tharpe Stadium.

The Packer Touchdown Club’s annual Meet the Packers banquet will be held on Thursday, Aug. 10. The regular season will open on Saturday, Aug. 19, when the Packers play host to Dutch Fork High of Irmo, S.C., at 7 p.m. at The Mack.