Colquitt and Camden have played some exciting, memorable games

Published 3:53 pm Monday, October 9, 2023

MOULTRIE — Three of most memorable finishes for a Colquitt County football team in recent years have been in games against Camden County.

And two of those were at Chris Gilman Stadium in Kingsland, where the Packers and Wildcats will square off on Friday in a key Region 1-7A game.

In fact, the Packers got a last-play victory over the Wildcats in their most recent trip to the far southeast corner of the state.

The 2021 Packers were 6-1 and ranked No. 5 in Class 7A when they traveled for their region-opener to play 4-3 Camden which was playing its first season in Jeff Herron’s second tour of duty in Kingsland.

The Wildcats scored a touchdown and got a conversion from Adonis Coyle to tie the Region 1-7A contest 28-28 with 26 seconds left in regulation.

The Packers got the kickoff and drove into field goal range, where freshman kicker Brett Fitzgerald attempted a 46-yard field goal on the final play of regulation.

It was blocked and the game went into overtime.

The Wildcats got the ball first in overtime, but the Packers pushed them back five yards in three plays and Coyle kicked a 37-yard field goal to put Camden up 31-28.

The Packers were flagged for two false start penalties and were thrown for a 3-yard loss on their overtime possession before quarterback Neko Fann connected with Landen Thomas for 18 yards to the Camden 11.

Senior receiver Dextra Polite Jr., son of Packers cornerbacks coach and Hall of Fame member Dextra Polite Sr., trotted out to his position and got set just before the third-down snap.

Then he made his way across the field, gathered in a pass from Fann and scored his only touchdown of the season to give the Packers the 34-31 win.

The Packers had trailed 14-7 at the half and 21-7 when Jamie Felix scored on a 4-yard run with 9:25 left in the third quarter.

The Packers then scored three straight touchdowns, the final one of which came on an Ontavious Carolina 1-yard Wild Hawg plunge that put Colquitt up 28-21 with 8:11 remaining.

But Camden quarterback Grey Loden led an 80-yard drive to score from 3 yards out and Coyle’s conversion tied the game with 26 seconds left.

Fann completed two passes to Thomas and another to Za’Mari Williams to get the ball in field goal range with 1.5 seconds left in regulation.

Fann, then just a sophomore, completed 16-of-27 passes for 269 yards and three touchdowns, including the pitch to Polite, which was his only catch of the game.

That was a thrilling ending, but it did not hold a candle to the finish of the 2011 state quarterfinal game between the two teams in Kingsland.

Camden County was ranked No. 1 in Class 5A, was averaging 55 points a game and was giving up just 5 points a game.

And a berth in the semifinals seemed virtually assured when the Packers, trailing 31-24, faced a fourth-and-goal from the Camden County 23 with just over a half-minute remaining.

After Camden had taken the lead on a 4-yard touchdown run with 2:34 left, junior quarterback Cole Segraves had driven the Packers from their own 20, connecting with Ty Smith for 21 yards, Tre Cooper for 30, Hill for 11 and Cooper again for 11 more.

The drive stalled at the Camden 23, but Segraves was unflappable and hit Bobby Hill in stride in the end zone for a touchdown to bring the Packers to within a point.

An extra point would send the game into overtime.

But Packers coach Rush Propst would have none of it.

He sent the Packers offense out to go for two and the lead.

Segraves faked a run and then spied Smith running right to left across the back of the end zone.

The pass was perfect and Smith made the catch to give the Packers the improbable lead.

Many in Camden’s Columbia blue and white that night believed that Smith stepped on the back line while making the catch.

A photograph taken by The Moultrie Observer’s Connie Southwell proved otherwise.

Camden drove for what would have been a game-winning field goal on the final play, but it fell short.

The victory ended Camden’s season and sent the Packers on to the semifinals, where they were eliminated by Grayson.

Segraves wounded the unbeaten Wildcats again the next season, when the two schools met on Tom White Field at Mack Tharpe Stadium.

In the final game of the 2012 regular season, Camden County led 6-0 when the big quarterback ran into a scrum at the line of scrimmage, then bounced out and outraced the surprised Wildcats defense for a 70-yard touchdown run.

Will Bannister’s conversion gave the Packers a 7-6 lead with 5:48 left in the game.

But on the first play after the kickoff, Camden’s Chris Williams raced 68 yards for a touchdown and the Wildcats were back in front 12-6.

Brice Ramsey’s 2-point conversion pass attempt fell incomplete and the Packers had a glimmer.

Segraves then drove the Packers to the Camden 11-yard line, where John Boatwright scored with 1:03 remaining and the Packers held on for a 13-12 victory.

The senior quarterback completed 5-of-8 passes, including a key third-down throw to Hill for a first down and also carried four times for 14 yards in the game-winning drive.

Camden was still the No. 1 seed from Region 1 in the Class 6A playoffs and won its first two games in the playoffs before being eliminated by Norcross 34-20 in the quarterfinals.

Despite the upset of the Wildcats, the Packers, the No. 4 team from Region 1, won three straight games on the road before being eliminated in the semifinals, also by Norcross.

It is interesting to note that the 2011 Colquitt County team roster included five players who are currently coaching in the Packers football program: Bull Barge, Tomarcio Reese, Travis Register, Bryce Giddens and Nate Madison.

All except Giddens, who had graduated, also were on the 2012 team, which also included current Packers tight end coach Kiel Pollard.