MOULTRIE – The 2024 Colquitt County football team, which won a third-straight region title and advanced to the second round of the state playoffs, was honored on Monday at the annual football banquet.
The Region 1-6A title and 8-4 record were not what many people expected from a team that lost 17 starters from the 2023 team that went 12-1.
But coach Sean Calhoun, his staff and a 22-player senior class helped will the Packers to four region wins.
Colquitt’s only region loss was to Valdosta in a game in which the Packers surrendered only one touchdown, but fell 7-3.
A 38-35 victory over Lowndes that included a game-winning field goal with no time remaining by state kicker of the year Brett Fitzgerald, proved to be the difference in the final region standings, giving the Packers the title.
Two of the Packers other three losses were to teams – North Gwinnett and Lee County – that made deep playoff runs.
Calhoun won his third-straight – and fifth overall – region Coach of the Year Award and 10 of the team’s 13 All-Region selections were named to the first team.
And Fitzgerald was named the Special Teams Player of the Year, repeating the award he also won in 2023.
After the ninth-grade, sophomore, junior and senior players were introduced, 17 individual awards were presented.
• The Colquitt County Board of Education Academic Commitment to Excellence Award, presented by Principal — and former Packer football player —Chris Merritt went to offensive linemen Theron Allen and Blaine Autrey.
Both had 4.0 grade point averages. Autrey is ranked No. 2 in his 595-student senior class; Allen is No.18.
• The Knuck McCrary Fighting Spirit Award, named after the man who was the Packers head coach from 1951-1965, was presented by McCrary’s son Pat.
The award went to senior center Matthew Dillon, who was a first-team all-region selection after a season in which he had 55 knockdown blocks.
Also an outstanding wrestler for the Packers, Dillon owns an 84 grade average.
• The Rocky Jones Strong Man Award, first presented in 2005 and named in honor of the former Packer offensive lineman and youth sports coach, went to Jartavius Flounoy.
The All-Region defensive tackle was a member of the 1,000-pound club and led the team with a 385-pound bench press, 350-pound clean and 500-pound squat for 1,235 pounds.
Flounoy signed last week to play collegiately at Georgia State.
• The Tom White Scrambler Award, named in honor of the long-time revered Moultrie High line coach, went to senior offensive tackle Jakari Byrd and versatile Ramsey Dennis, who played running back and receiver on offense and linebacker on defense this season.
• Linda Erving presented the Perseverance Award, named in honor of her son Cameron Erving.
After an outstanding career at Colquitt County, he started on the offensive line at Florida State and in 2015 became the first Packer ever selected in the first round of the NFL draft.
He has played in the NFL for six teams, including the Kansas City Chiefs when they won the Super Bowl LIV in 2020.
The award went to Colquitt County left guard Casey Scott, who had 87 knockdown blocks during his All-Region season and has a 3.0 grade point average.
• The Packer Pride Most Improved Player Award, named in honor of former Colquitt County running back Lavasky King, went to linebacker Ra’Quavian Kinsey.
Primarily a special teams player in 2023, Kinsey was stronger, faster and quicker this season and earned second-team All-Region honors.
• The Jimmy Jeter Mr. Dependable Award went to senior punter Sam Miller, a preseason all-state selection who averaged 40.6 yards on his 57 punts this season.
Seventeen of those kicks were downed inside the 20-yard line.
Miller also has a 3.5 grade point average.
• The Bud Willis Character Award, named for the Moultrie High head coach who produced a 93-34-1 record from 1965-1977, went to offensive linemen Theron Allen and linebacker Brad Tuff Jr.
• The George A. Horkan Sportsmanship Award was first presented in 1956 and this year went to a pair of members of the Colquitt County defense: safety Roddriek Carter and cornerback Dyi James.
Carter has a 3.4 grade point average.
• Colquitt County sixth-grade football coach Travis Register presented the Bobby Cobb True Grit Award.
The award went to three-star offensive lineman Khalil Collins, who has signed to play at the University of South Florida.
Collins, also a member of the 1,000-pound club, is one of the Packers team captains and has a 3.7 grade point average.
Register won the Bobby Cobb True Grit Award when he played for the Packers.
• R.J. Taylor presented the Special Teams Award named in memory of his father Ralph Taylor, the former head coach at William Bryant High who became the first African-American assistant coach for the Packers.
The award went to Brett Fitzgerald, who holds the Georgia record for most career extra points, with 228, and most career kicking points, with 369.
He also converted 47 of 56 field goal attempts as a Packer.
He is a two-time MaxPreps All-American and was recently named by ScoreAtlanta as the Georgia Kicker of the Year.
Fitzgerald also has a 3.9 grade point average.

• The Virgil Seay Special Teams Award went to Jah’Boris Fuller, who blocked an extra point attempt and two field goal attempts and returned both a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns this season.
• Til Blalock, who won the award when he played for the Packers, presented the Dale Williams Community Service Award to offensive tackle Cole Holder II.
Holder, also a member of the Packers baseball team, has a 3.6 grade point average.
• The Charles Taylor Pippin Unsung Hero Award is presented in memory of the former three-year starting Moultrie High quarterback and University of Florida linebacker who died in a car wreck at 25.
The award, presented by Colquitt County special teams coach Brian Simmons, went to Chason Glenn, who is ranked as the No. 1 snapper in the state and No. 13 in the nation.
Glenn has a grade point average of 4.0.
• The Friedlander Boar Hog Defensive Award went to defensive linemen Jartavius Flounoy and Amari Wilson.
Wilson has signed to play collegiately at Georgia Southern.
Both had outstanding seasons on the Packers defensive line in 2024.
• The Top Gun Award, which goes annually to the Packers top offensive player, is named for former Moultrie High All-American and University of Georgia All-SEC quarterback Ray Goff.
The award was presented to running back Day’Shawn Brown.
The 1,301 yards he rushed for this season rank No. 8 in Colquitt County history.
His 35 career touchdowns – including the 17 he scored this season – rank ninth all-time at Colquitt County.
Brown also threw two touchdown passes this season.
In addition to Collins, Flounoy and Wilson, as many as five to seven other players from the 2024 Packers team could sign Letters of Intent on National Signing Day, Wednesday, Feb. 5.
Calhoun closed out the annual banquet by recognizing the Packers four senior captains: Khalil Collins, Casey Scott, Jah’Boris Fuller and Amari Wilson.
The captains were selected by their teammates.