Colquitt beats Valdosta 44-28 to win region title

Published 12:42 am Saturday, October 28, 2023

MOULTRIE — Colquitt County threw for three touchdowns, ran for another and scored on interception and kickoff returns to defeat Valdosta 44-28 on Friday in front of a large Senior Night crowd to claim its second-straight Region 1-7A championship.

Colquitt has won the region title seven times in the last 10 seasons.

The Packers are now 9-0 overall and 3-0 in the region and will go into the playoffs as Region 1’s top-seeded team regardless of how they fare against Richmond Hill at home next Friday.

Richmond Hill won its first region game on Friday when it defeated Lowndes 37-14, leaving the Vikings 0-3 in the region with a final game against Camden County next Friday.

The Packers will play host to the No. 4 team from Region 4 in the first round of the playoffs on Friday, Nov. 10.

Valdosta has finished its regular season with a 7-3 overall record and will go into the playoffs as the No. 2 team, finishing its season 3-1 in region.

“That is a good football team,” Packers coach Sean Calhoun said of Valdosta. “A good, good football team that I think will make a run in the playoffs.

“Playing teams like that can only make us better.”

But the Packers found more ways to score than did the land-locked Wildcats, who rushed the ball 64 times.

“When you can score two non-offensive touchdowns, you are going to win a lot of games,” Calhoun said. “That pick-six and the kickoff return were humongous plays for us.”

Although the final margin was 16 points, the Packers led 37-10 heading into the fourth quarter against an opponent that threw just two passes the rest of the way.

The Wildcats, who would have claimed the region crown with a victory, led for only a minute and a half in the first quarter.

After Deron Foster scored on a 33-yard run to help give the Wildcats a 7-3 lead with 6:36 left in the first quarter, Colquitt scored three straight touchdowns — one on a 2-yard run by Landen Thomas and two on Neko Fann-to-Ny Carr passes — before Valdosta’s Franklin Garcia kicked a 22-yard field goal as time expired in the half.

But the Packers extended the halftime lead from 24-10 to 37-10 in the third quarter on a 33-yard Ry’Sheed Fuller interception return and a 5-yard touchdown pass from Fann to Zay Williams.

The Wildcats got two points on a safety and scored touchdowns on pair of short touchdown runs in the fourth quarter, but the die had been cast.

Fann, who completed 9-of-10 passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, added his third scoring pass of the game in the third quarter and finished with 201 yards through the air. He now has 29 touchdown passes this season and 88 in his career.

Carr caught seven passes for 137 yards and his 17th and 18th touchdowns of the season. He now has 41 career touchdown receptions.

The Packers did not run as effectively as they did in the 52-34 win over Lowndes the previous week, but still had enough to put the Wildcats away.

Although he completed just 6-of-13 passes for 56 yards, Valdosta quarterback Todd Robinson turned in a gutsy effort in the loss.

He rushed for 151 yards on 22 carries and was punished by several hits at the hands of the Packers defense.

But the Wildcats were content to let him, freshman Deron Foster, Amari Tomblin and Damari Braynard run the ball for much of the fourth quarter even though they trailed by as many as 25 points.

Ty Lamar’s 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown with 3:40 left in the game discouraged the Wildcats further as Colquitt defeated Valdosta for the fourth year in a row and for the 10th time in the last 11 years.

The Packers took the opening kickoff and drove to the Valdosta 14 before having to settle for a 31-yard Brett Fitzgerald field goal.

Valdosta took its only lead when Foster scored on a 33-yard run on its next possession.

The Packers helped the Wildcats on that drive by being flagged for a roughing the punter penalty on the fourth play.

Trailing 7-3, the Packers responded quickly and decisively going 62 yards in just seven plays to score on a 2-yard Landen Thomas run from the Wild Hawg formation.

Day’Shawn Brown had 17- and 24-yard runs on the first two plays and Ramsey Dennis carried three straight times to set up Thomas’s score to put the Packers up 10-7.

When Valdosta went three-and-out the next time it had the ball, Jah’Boris Fuller appeared to have taken a punt back for a touchdown, only to have a holding penalty nullify the score.

But the Packers dialed up a little razzle-dazzle on the next play. Dennis took a direct snap, flipped the ball to Zay Williams who then got the ball to Fann, who had lined up as a wide receiver.

Fann threw to a streaking Carr, who pulled it in for a 54-yard gain to the Valdosta 9.

On the first play of the second quarter, Fann threw to Carr for a touchdown from 8 yards out and the Packers lead climbed to 17-7.

The Packers defense turned in a nice stand when it held on its own 28-yard line with 7:41 left in the half, forcing the Wildcats to send out Garcia, whose 44-yard field goal attempt fell short.

The Packers then drove 80 yards to score on Fann’s scoring toss to Carr, a 25-yarder down the middle of the Valdosta defense.

The touchdown and another Fitzgerald extra point, put the Packers up 24-7 with 5:14 left in the half.

And while its was Fann’s pass that went for the score, the Packers got a 20-yard halfback pass completion from Dennis to Markese Wilson to set it up.

Colquitt forced another punt, but then lost a fumble with 2:33 left in the half.

That led to Garcia’s field goal with no time on the clock.

But trailing 24-10, Valdosta was to go a long time before scoring 2 1/2 minutes into the fourth quarter.

Meantime, Colquitt scored on the Fuller interception return and the Fann-to-Williams touchdown pass.

Leading 37-10, the Packers held Valdosta on a fourth-and-goal at their 1 with 9:36 left in the game.

But Dennis was hit the end zone for a safety on the next play to cut the Packers lead to 37-12.

Valdosta then went 83 yards in a drive that included just two passes to score to cut the Packers lead to 37-20 with 3:56 left.

That lead lasted just 16 seconds when Lamar turned in the 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to extend the Packers lead to 24. Valdosta’s final touchdown came against the Packers defensive backups with 1:33 left.

After Nick Pace covered the onside kick, Colquitt went into victory formation.

Carr had five of his pass receptions in the first half and finished with seven.

Dennis and Brown combined to rush for 115 yards.