Colquitt-Lowndes kept fans at ‘The Palace’ entertained

Published 2:06 pm Sunday, October 22, 2023

MOULTRIE — Fans who enjoy plenty of offense got their fill at Martin Stadium last Friday when Colquitt County defeated Lowndes 52-34 in a Region 1-7A game.

The two teams rolled up more than 1,100 yards of offense and scored 12 touchdowns.

They combined for 664 yards in the first half alone.

The Packers finished 663 yards, with quarterback Neko Fann throwing for 347 yards and four touchdowns.

It was the seventh-most passing yards in a game in Packers history and not far off the 353 he threw for in the win over North Gwinnett in last year’s playoffs.

He also threw for four touchdowns against the Vikings, marking the 10th time he has done that. and that includes the six scoring passes he threw against North Gwinnett last year and the five he tossed against Tift County earlier this season.

Fann’s first-quarter 18-yard touchdown pass to Landen Thomas last Friday made him the Packers’ all-time passing yardage leader.

He now has 6,784 yards in his career. He also has a Packer-record 85 touchdown passes.

Ny Carr added to his school-record number of touchdown catches by getting two more against the Vikings to run his career total to 39.

Perhaps overlooked in the Packers victory was the outstanding game Zay Williams had. He had five catches for 155 yards and a 71-yard touchdown reception.

That catch resulted in one of seven touchdowns the two teams combined to score in the second quarter on Friday.

Lowndes scored four times in the first half, but just once in the second after the Packers defense regrouped at the break.

The Vikings only score after intermission came on a 71-yard run by Jacurre Fleming, who accounted for four of the Vikings five touchdowns.

Colquitt County’s Day’Shawn Brown carried the football 16 times for 142 yards and a touchdown and Ramsey Dennis Jr. carried 14 times for 123 yards and two scores.

And, by the way, the last time the Vikings gave up more than 50 points in a game, surprisingly, they won.

Lowndes defeated Hillgrove 92-61 in the first round of the 2016 playoffs, also at The Concrete Palace.

Across town last Friday, Valdosta got a 23-yard field goal from Franklin Garcia on the last play of the game to defeat Camden County 24-21.

The victories by Colquitt County and Valdosta set up a 7:30 p.m. Friday meeting on Tom White Field at Mack Tharpe Stadium that will determine the Region 1-7A champion.

Colquitt is 2-0 in the region with the game at Valdosta and another against Richmond Hill, also at home, to complete its regular season.

Valdosta is 3-0 in the region and its meeting with the Packers will be its final regular-season game.

At Bazemore-Hyder Stadium on Friday, Camden County had tied the game 21-21 on a touchdown pass from Parks Riendeau to Elyiss Williams and an extra point with 90 seconds remaining.

But Valdosta quarterback Todd Robinson drove his team down to the Camden County 6-yard line with three seconds remaining to set up the game-winning field goal.

Robinson led Valdosta with 132 yards on 17 carries. Deron Foster added 103 more on 18 attempts.

The four Region 1 qualifiers for the Class 7A state playoffs will be matched against teams from Region 4.

Those four Region 4 spots are still up in the air.

Archer is currently in first place with a 3-0 region record. Newton, Grayson and Parkview are each 2-1.

Archer will play host to Grayson on Friday.

Newton also will be home to play South Gwinnett, which is 0-3 in the region. Parkview will go to Brookwood, which also is 0-3.

Of this and that:

• Former Packers coach Justin Rogers has No. 2-ranked Thomas County Central sitting at 8-0 overall and 3-0 in Region 1-6A after the Yellow Jackets blanked Houston County 27-0 on Saturday.

It was TCC’s third-straight shutout and its fourth of the season.

The Jackets will play host to Lee County, 7-1 overall and also 3-0 in the region, on Friday.

• The Cook football team had to forfeit five wins after it lost a GHSA appeal for using an ineligible player.

The Byron Slack-coached Hornets did defeat Dodge County 27-7 on Friday in what is now its only win of the season.

But the forfeits leave Cook in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2000.

• The Pell City (Ala.) football team under Rush Propst also has been hurt by forfeits this season and its 69-0 win over Huffman on Saturday gave the Panthers its only victory.

Pell City, now 1-7, will play host to Pinson Valley on Friday.

• No. 4 Florida State’s 38-20 over No. 16 Duke on Saturday raises the Seminoles record to 7-0 overall and 5-0 in the ACC.

Ryan Fitzgerald converted after all five Florida State touchdowns and his 32-yard field goal tied the game at 17-17 in the third quarter.

The Seminoles will travel to play at Wake Forest on Saturday.

• Orion Bonner caught nine passes for 67 yards and a touchdown in Glenville State’s 44-7 victory over Concord University last Saturday.

The Pioneers, now 4-3, will play at UNC-Pembroke on Saturday.

• Gardner-Webb defeated Eastern Kentucky 35-32 last week with former Packer Ty French having a big game.

The Bulldogs defensive end had six total tackles including a half-sack and two quarterback hurries.

Gardner-Webb will hold Homecoming next Saturday when the Bulldogs play host to UT-Martin.

• Thomas University won the first game in the program’s football history by defeating Warner University 38-26 last Saturday at Veterans Stadium in Thomasville.

Julian Harper had four solo and one assisted tackle, including a sack.

Raheim McBride had five solo tackles, a pass breakup, a block and a fumble recovery for the Nighthawks, who will travel to Webber International on Saturday.

• Wagner College lost to Central Connecticut State 17-3 last Saturday despite Steven Krajewski‘s 19-for-36, 236-yard passing effort. He did throw three interceptions.

The Skyhawks will be home to meet Stonehill on Saturday.

• Jaheim Ward had a solo tackle and a pass breakup in Austin Peay’s 48-45 win over Southern Utah.

The Governors will play host to North Alabama for its annual Homecoming game on Saturday.

• Tajh Sanders had two pass receptions for nine yards in Western Illinois’ 52-7 loss to North Dakota State.

The Leathernecks will be home to meet Southern Illinois on Saturday.