MOULTRIE – Two phases down, many more to go before mid-August when things start to count for Colquitt County High football and the 2017 season. The Packers and head coach Rush Propst completed spring football work on Saturday playing a scrimmage game at Drew High School south of Atlanta, and the leader of the Pack was quick to look ahead to all the upcoming dates of importance, the 7-on-7 competitions, OTAs and the official practice starting time.

As for Saturday’s game competition, Propst said one of the biggest benefits gained was the experience of a road trip.

“I thought we played pretty decent,” he said. “It’s hard to tell. Drew’s not the competition we were looking for, but they wanted to play us. I thought the trip was good, thought we needed to go up there and play in an environment close to Atlanta because we play the first game there. We tired to make it as much as the same routine as we would in three months.”

So that was the ‘method behind the madness’ of going to Clayton County this spring, the first spring such scrimmage games were allowed by the Georgia High School Association. The Packers, in August, play in the annual Corky Kell Classic to take place at Georgia State University’s stadium formerly known as Turner Field.

“Next year we’ll try to find something a little closer for our fans,” said Propst.

In that game, Propst said starting quarterback Steven Krajewski had a good first half throwing the football completing around 19 of 33 passes.

“In the second half, we missed some balls,” said Propst. “Fifty-eight percent is not where I want to be. I’d like him to be 68 percent. How do we get to 68 percent instead of 58 will be a huge part of what we try to do this summer. He’s got to be 68 to 73 percent. He can’t go lower than 65, and I don’t expect him to go over 75. He’s got to be somewhere in that 10 percentile range, and we need to throw about 30 times a game on average.

“We have two fine running backs, if not three. We have an abundance of running backs.

“Receiver-wise, I was real pleased. I thought KT Wilson and Marvion McDonald stepped up to the plate. I was happy to see the first play when Tanner Wilson goes into the ball game he catches a 60-yard touchdown pass. He is a baseball kid who has not played football in several years. He has a lot of speed, a lot of promise. He could be our X-factor. Cam Singletary is one of our best football players, our go-to receiver. We all know what Cam can do.

“Our sophomore receivers didn’t come on like I thought they would. We didn’t have a young guy step up.

“Will Rykard probably played as well as anybody up front, our center. We expect Kam Bell and Rykard and Tyler Howard to play well. We are a lineman short somewhere. It seems like we’re always one short. Somebody has to step up and play a bigger role.”

Josh Hadley, the returning tight end with the most experience, was sick Friday night/Saturday morning, according to Propst, but tried to play through it. The coach said he did well despite feeling weak.

For Krajewski, who moved into the program from Michigan almost a year ago, it’s his chance as a senior to be ‘the guy.’

“I thought he (made strides in the spring),” said Propst. “He did some good stuff. He’s a heck of a football player. He has all the tools to be a D-I quarterback, the arm strength, height. His decision making has to continue to get better. It takes time. There’s a lot of things in our package. We won’t give him too much. We’re still not finished putting our playbook together. We are going to visit a couple of places and steal some ideas.”

The coach said Krajewski will go to some one-day camps like in Memphis where the college scouts will be able to see more of his abilities.

“His strides are going to be made during the season,” said Propst.

Spring was also the time for players and positions to raise their stock on the depth chart.

“I thought our JV went in (Saturday) and kept it going,” said Propst. “It was 38-0 at the end of the third and ended up 51-0, so (JV) scored two touchdowns, JC Harden at quarterback and a bunch of different backs, young linemen.”

Defensively, it was a matter of seeing what the Packers learned from their new coordinator Mo Dixon in the limited time the coach was able to spend with them in spring.

“We didn’t get as deep as what we wanted to defensively without him being here,” said Propst. “But he will get his plan in. We’ll move forward in the summer.

“Linebacker-wise, we’re not where we want to be outside of JJ Peterson. The sky’s the limit for everybody else. I think the other two positions are back open. Another defensive tackle spot’s still open. What will we do with Kaleb Dawson? Will we leave him at safety or move him to a corner? We have to get Kam Woods on the field as a starter. He had a pick (Saturday). To me, he’s a starter, so somebody’s going to sit down.

“Mo will figure it out. The hardest part is evaluation of those players through the spring. At least they have a starting point.”

There’s 16 days of work scheduled for these Packer coaches in June, weightlifting and practice.

“We’re very pleased with our hires. There’s been a lot of talk in the community about it. People are starting to get to know them. Dixon is a huge plus, coach (Troy) Hobbs and coach (Jason) Nash. Getting Bryce (Giddens) back and moving David (Hill) up with familiarity with myself.”

The Packer 7-on-7 schedule includes the University of Georgia June 15 and the Corky Kell June 16. The first OTA in Moultrie is June 29 and includes three visiting schools for a padded camp from 9 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon. Visitors that day include Warner Robins and Thomasville. The 7-on-7 slate then concludes with the annual trip to Propst’s old stomping grounds, Hoover High, for a national tournament that’s streamed live online and viewed by college coaches. This tournament established by Propst celebrated its 15th anniversary last year with 48 teams.

On July 18-20, there will be a full camp in Moultrie. July 26 is the first day of five straight for acclimation, and two-a-days begin Aug. 1. The preseason scrimmage against Coffee High is Aug. 10 on Tom White Field at Mack Tharpe Stadium.

“They are young,” said Propst. “Our senior leadership’s been better than I thought it would be. Jarvis Christopher, Dawson, Peterson on defense are holding it together. Dante Moore is another one I think’s going to steal the show. We’ve got some seniors on defense who will want to do well. They know we struggled last year.

“DeMarlon Lewis, to me, he and Hadley have to come on and give us the tight end and H-back we need on offense. They have to figure in. Inside receives we have, outside has to get better.”