8th-grade Packers win conference title

Published 10:11 pm Thursday, October 5, 2023

MOULTRIE — As they gathered for a group photo on Thursday under the scoreboard on Tom White Field at Mack Tharpe Stadium, the members of Colquitt County’s eighth-grade conference champion football team each held up three fingers and called out a rare refrain.

The core group of these Packers had won conference titles as sixth-graders two years ago, as seventh-graders last season and, on Thursday in front of a large and appreciative group of middle school football fans, defeated Coffee Middle School 16-6 for, as they shouted, their “three-peat.”

Over the past three seasons, the athletic and physical group has lost just one game, and that came during their sixth-grade regular season against Valdosta.

They avenged that loss by defeating Valdosta in the conference championship game.

And they haven’t lost since.

Quarterback Cohen Lawson had two short scoring runs — one the first quarter and the other in the fourth — and threw two 2-point conversion passes, but it was the defense that took center stage in the championship game.

Colquitt held the Trojans scoreless in the first half and in the fourth quarter, protecting a 10-point lead, the Packers got a leaping interception by Quinahri Thornton on their own 2-yard line with 4:09 left in the game.

Coffee would get another shot moments later.

After a Colquitt County punt that traveled minus-6 yards, Coffee took over on the Packers 23.

But with 1:06 left, Colquitt’s Lavorice Blither crashed into the Trojans backfield, hit the Coffee quarterback causing a fumble that the big defensive lineman/fullback recovered himself.

The Packers then ran out the clock and a well-deserved celebration ensued.

First-year head coach Nate Madison called his players “hard-working guys.”

And more.

“They are respectful and good students,” he said. “They are coachable. They’ve got great parents.

“They are all you could ask for. and they love the game of football.”

The Packers made the game look as if it might be a one-sided one when they took the opening kickoff and drove 76 yards to Lawson’s first score, which came on a 1-yard dive.

Lawson then threw to Gavin Henderson for the conversion and the Packers were up 8-0 with 3:27 left in the quarter.

Coffee also had just one possession in the first quarter, but after completing a 25-yard pass on its first snap, turned the ball over on downs on the last play of the period.

The Trojans had the ball twice in the second quarter and the first time turned it over on downs when a pass to a wide-open receiver was just a bit too long.

Later, taking over at midfield with 49 seconds left, Coffee drove to the Colquitt County 1 where the Packers defense stopped the Trojans quarterback as time expired.

The game really turned interesting in the third quarter.

Colquitt’s second-half kickoff went out of bounds at the Trojans 43, but instead of taking the ball at that point, Coffee elected to have the Packers kick off again.

The second kickoff went to the Trojans 5 and the returner got back only to the 10.

But the Trojans regrouped and drove 90 yards in six plays to score their only touchdown, which came on a 14-yard run.

Coffee had 35- and 23-yard runs and took advantage of personal foul called on the Packers to reach the Colquitt end zone.

The Trojans’s 2-point conversion pass failed and Colquitt’s lead was 8-6 with 5:21 left in the third quarter.

Coffee then got a big break when Tristion Walker returned the kickoff to the Packers 46, but was hit and the ball flew from his arm straight to a Trojan defender.

Two plays later, a Coffee run to the Packers 15 was called back by a holding penalty and on the next play, the Trojans quarterback was sacked by Lawson, who was doing double-duty at outside linebacker.

On fourth down, Coffee went into punt formation, but the punter appeared to miss the ball when he attempted the kick.

He did pick up the ball and attempted a pass that was intercepted by Henderson and returned to near midfield.

A face-mask infraction on Coffee on the return gave the Packers possession at the Trojans 33 with 1:55 left in the third quarter.

Lawson then led the Packers to their final touchdown and threw to Walker for the conversion and a 16-6 lead with 7:10 left in the game.

Coffee had two more possessions, but the Thornton interception and Blither fumble recovery snuffed them out.