Colquitt County High School Lady Packers Flag Football Team wins first game in inaugural tournament

Published 1:00 pm Wednesday, June 21, 2023

MOULTRIE – It was a day of historic firsts. First snap, first pass, first rush, first flag pull, first interception, first sack, first touchdown … First win.

The Colquitt County High School 2023 Lady Packers flag football team completed all these firsts on Saturday when they traveled to Lowndes for the Titletown Tournament.

Each team was guaranteed three games. Two scrimmages and the first round in the single-elimination tournament.

The Lady Packers ended the day 1-2, splitting the scrimmages and losing the round-robin game 19-0 against Flag Elite South (Calvary Day).

“They are typically a top four in the state team,” said head coach Kirk Woodall about Flag Elite South. “We are just figuring it out. To be able to keep the game competitive is a win. I’m very proud of all the girls.”

The Lady Packers have been working extremely hard during practices to prepare for their inaugural season, and this was the team’s first experience with the faster pace and flow of a live game.

Though they didn’t come home with a trophy, this tournament gave the Lady Packer the invaluable opportunity to play three officiated games and get a little closer to those 1,000 hours of practice.

It was 9 a.m. when the Lady Packers lined up against Long County, waiting for the whistle that would begin their very first game ever, and where the Lady Packers completed the majority of their firsts.

During the first quarter, Long County got on the scoreboard fairly quickly but Colquitt County tied the score almost immediately after senior Nyleigha Knighton became the first Lady Packer flag football athlete in history to score a touchdown after running the ball in.

Knighton ran in another touchdown during the third quarter.

“It felt amazing to be honest,” said Knighton. “We are going to be great this year. We are coming for that championship. We will be there.”

After Knighton’s first touchdown, Darnasia Slaughter caught the pass for the extra point.

Ta’Lisa Edwards got the second extra point for the Lady Packers with a catch directly in the middle of the endzone.

Another first for the Lady Packers was getting a touchdown from a pass, which happened in the fourth quarter of their match against Long County.

Knighton threw the ball to Arianna Daniels for a little over a 20-yard catch, and then Knighton ran the ball in for that extra point.

The game against Long County ended 21-7 and the Lady Packers won the first officiated game they ever played.

For the next two hours the Lady Packers would be able to rest, eat some lunch and glean some tips from watching the other teams play before their next game, which was against Mandarin from Jacksonville.

The game ended 19-7, advantage Mandarin.

All the obvious firsts were completed during their initial game, but the Lady Packers still had some inaugural moments to complete in their second matchup.

The first play of the game resulted in a running touchdown from Knighton for the Lady Packers. This touchdown, followed by the additional point from Edward’s catch, would be the only points the Lady Packers received against Mandarin.

Also during the first quarter, Maris Hopper had a beautiful jumping interception and checked that box of firsts for her team.

Montana Tatum caught another interception during the second quarter.

Getting a sack was also checked off the list when Saniyah Bowman grabbed the quarterback’s flags early in the third quarter.

In fact, throughout all three games the defensive lineup for the Lady Packers completed some great plays.

Stopping touchdown opportunities and yard advancements with diving flag pulls, batted balls and shutting down breakaways were Messiah Bender, Melissa Breedlove, Knighton, Edward, Tatum, Mashayla Davis, Sarah Cooper, and Bowman.

“The physicality and ability to adjust on defense,” said Woodall when asked what he was most impressed about. “Our defense really played lights out all day. By the end of the day we had about seven interceptions and four or five sacks.”

The Lady Packers will spend the rest of the summer practicing and fine-tuning their plays before the season begins in the Fall.

“We are going to go back and start at square one with everything we learned in the tournament,” said Woodall. “We had lots of growth from the weekend and now we need to emphasize some things like routes, spacing, and learning the general game.”