MOULTRIE – With the Georgia High School Association on the brink of crowning state football champions for 2019, Lowndes High in 7A and Warner Robins in 5A are among those going to Georgia State Stadium looking to end long title droughts. Thomasville was a AA semifinalist, so was North Gwinnett in 7A.

All were on the schedule for the Colquitt County High Packers under first-year head coach Justin Rogers. No doubt, he says, it was a tough schedule not to mention the tough circumstances of coming in during the middle of April. One point he made about how he measures success on the football field is getting the most out of your abilities.

“We came real close,” said Rogers about the 9-3 final record, which included a second-round ousting by another eventual 7A semifinalist, Parkview High. “I do think this team, given everything they went through, did a really good job of coming together and playing well. We played a tough schedule, some really good games.

“What happened in the playoffs? We had a really bad quarter. You can’t have bad quarters when it’s back against the wall. We had a real bad third quarter we couldn’t overcome.

“Overall, very proud of our guys for how they responded to everything. Can’t say enough about the senior class.

“Everybody had to learn a new system, verbiage, terminology, both offensively and defensively. That’s one thing they did a great job doing.”

That third quarter at Parkview wiped out Colquitt County’s 21-10 halftime lead and all the momentum the Packers built going into intermission.

Colquitt scored two touchdowns in the final minute of the second quarter, but the home Panthers shut things down in not just the third period, but the entire second half to win 40-21. Parkview scored in the onset of the fourth period to take the lead for good.

“There’s a bunch of things, when you look back on that quarter,” said Rogers. “You can do that with every game you play. ‘Wish this would have went this way or that would have went that way.’

“You can always look back and see those moments. It’s usually six or seven plays that define the outcome of a game. The problem is you don’t know when those six or seven are going to happen.”

Even without games to play, it is an active December around the Packer program, especially for the senior class. Tight end Carter Boatwright made his commitment over the summer to Florida State University, which introduced a new head coach, Mike Norvell from Memphis, on Saturday. Rogers said quarterback Jaycee Harden committed to Valdosta State, the 2018 Division II national champions who were ranked No. 1 all of the 2019 season until losing its first playoff game to West Florida after Thanksgiving.

“He’s a great quarterback, a great young man,” said Rogers about Harden, the Region 1-7A Offensive Player of the Year who threw the second-most touchdown passes in school history (62). Valdosta State’s Rogan Wells, quarterback for the 2018 champions, will return for his senior year, so Rogers said that gives Harden a chance to learn the system. “I expect him to do a really good job.

“The rest of them are taking visits. We went to a recruiting fair last week looking at some Division II, some FCS and Division III schools,” said Rogers. “Trying to get them marketed and make sure to get them opportunities. We’re trying to work for all our guys if they want to continue to play football at the next level. We want to do a good job as a staff to promote them and get their name out there to all the various schools who can give opportunities.”

Offseason task No. 2 that sure to occupy much of the athletic administration’s time is scheduling for the 2020 season. With the reclassification that was announced in November, Colquitt’s region remains the same with three games against Lowndes, Tift County and Camden County. Some of the remaining seven games are set, but there are still open spots.

“We play Valdosta every year,” said Rogers. “We know we are going to open the year with Marietta (a 7A finalist). We are going to fall scrimmage Lee County. We are going to play Cedar Grove for sure, another team playing for a state title. Marietta will be there the first year and here (in 2021).

“You want to find some South Georgia flavor, but we’re having a hard time with that. A lot of teams won’t say ‘yes.’ You’re reaching out to them. If we can’t (get South Georgia teams), we are trying to get teams we can get to come here and come multiple years to keep our travel down from having to go so far away so many times. Again, it takes two to dance. You have to have a partner, and we’re having a hard time with that.”