MOULTRIE – The Georgia High School Association has not released its 2025 football schedules yet, but Colquitt County’s is complete.
The Packers will open the season at home against Benedictine Military School, a successful Class 4A program located in Savannah.
The other nine teams on the schedule will be the same ones the Packers played when they went 8-4 last season.
But they will have to travel to play at non-region opponents North Gwinnett and Lee County and Region 1-6A foes Lowndes and Richmond Hill.
In addition to Benedictine, Colquitt will play host to Monroe of Albany and Rickards of Tallahassee and fellow region members Valdosta, Tift County and Camden County, giving the Packers six home games.
Colquitt went 7-3 in the regular season last year when seven games were played at the Hawg Pen.
Colquitt coach Sean Calhoun said he has not set a start date for spring practice, but the Packers again will meet Coffee in the spring game.
The Packers will have to travel to Douglas to meet the Trojans in the game that is scheduled for Thursday, May 15.
The early August preseason scrimmage will be at Bainbridge. Colquitt defeated the Bearcats 43-7 last year on Tom White Field at Mack Tharpe Stadium.
Colquitt County has won nine straight season-openers since falling 34-27 to Mill Creek in 2016 in the Corky Kell Kickoff Classic in the Georgia Dome.
And Benedictine will be the first Georgia school to serve as the Packers opening day opponent since Colquitt won at Marietta 28-25 in 2021.
The Packers have defeated Deerfield Beach, Fla.; Dutch Fork, S.C.; and West High of Salt Lake City, Utah, since then.
Founded in 1902, Benedictine Military School is a private, all-male school for grades 9-12.
Colquitt County has never met Benedictine on the football field.
But in 1951, Knuck McCrary took his first Moultrie Packers team to Savannah to meet the Cadets.
The teams battled to a 13-13 tie. The two Moultrie touchdowns were scored by future Colquitt County Sports Hall of Fame members Ray Mercer, who rushed for 103 yards, and Gayle Manley.
Benedictine has played football for 119 seasons: 1902-1904, 1908 and 1910-2024.
The Cadets have won 16 region championships and four state championships over the years.
Nine of the region titles and all four state titles – in 2014, 2016, 2021 and 2022 – have come under the direction of current head coach Danny Britt.
In his 14 seasons as the Cadets head coach, Britt has posted a 153-34 record.
The former Georgia Southern defensive back also was 32-22 as the head coach at Calvary Day from 2001-2005.
He was inducted into the Greater Savannah Athletic Hall of Fame last year.
Since going 13-2 and winning the Class 4A state championship in 2022, Benedictine has gone 13-1 in 2023 and 7-5 last year.
The Cadets beat Southwest DeKalb 35-13 in the first round and Ola 34-14 in the second.
They were eliminated by Blessed Trinity 24-14 in the quarterfinals.