MOULTRIE – Colquitt County’s 31-7 loss to Northside-Warner Robins on Friday at Tom White Field at Mack Tharpe Stadium was not unexpected.

The Eagles were, after all, the two-time defending Class AAAA state champion and they brought an 8-1 record with them to Moultrie.

As the Region 1-AAAAA runner-up, they will meet Region 2’s No. 3 team, Union Grove, in a first-round state playoff game at home this weekend.

The Packers have struggled this season, although their 4-6 record is an improvement over last year’s 2-8 mark.

Still, Friday’s loss was somewhat unsettling.

Sure, the Packers were playing one of the top two or three defenses in the state, but committing five turn-overs did not give them a chance to compete.

The Pack was down 24-0 at the half and 31-0 with 2 1/2 minutes remaining when Eric Key took a pass from Tyler Brown and split the Northside secondary for a 70-yard touchdown.

And head coach Rush Propst’s ejection from the game in the fourth quarter did not leave many of the fans with a positive final memory of his first season in Moultrie.

The members of Atlanta-Peachtree Officials Association crew were not afraid to throw their yellow flags.

Each team was called for 12 penalties. The Eagles had 130 yards marched off against them. The Packers had 95 yards in penalties.

The frustration on the Colquitt County sideline reached the point of no return after the Packers, trailing 24-0, were charged with a 5-yard face mask infraction when Northside’s Xavier Bacon was tackled after a short run.

Propst was on the sideline venting his displeasure of the call with the sideline official, who, before the next play, threw his flag into the air and called two unsportsmanlike penalties on the Packers and gave Propst the heave-ho.

It is unclear when the last time was that a Packer head coach was ejected from a game.

Propst did not go quietly and was escorted to the north end zone by Packers linebackers coach and athletic director Darius Dawson.

The two penalties gave Northside a first down at midfield and six plays later Bacon scored from 3 yards out for his fourth touchdown of the game.

The ejection also means Propst will be forced to miss the first game of the 2009 season.

In the face of a strong Northside defense led by massive tackle Abry Jones, linebacker Eric Fields and cornerback K.J. Morton, the Packers managed just 28 yards rushing.

Senior John Michael Harrison and sophomore Tyler Brown combined to complete just 18-of-39 passes for 247 yards, 70 of which came on the scoring pass to Key with 2:30 left in the game.

Harrison threw one interception. Brown threw the other three, including one in the end zone in the second quarter and another at the Northside 6 in third quarter just moments before the Propst ejection.

Bacon was as good as advertised. He had 1,139 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns coming into the game and added 184 yards and four scores to those totals.

His 46-yard burst to the Packers 8 on a third-and-inches on the fourth play of the game set the tone.

Bacon also caught a pair of passes for 24 yards and had a 28-yard punt return, giving him 236 all-purpose yards.

The Packers also scuffled again on third down conversions. After failing to make any of their eight attempts in the victory over Houston County, they were just 1-of-9 against the Eagles.

Colquitt was unable to get the ball to Key until the late touchdown, but junior receiver Quinn Roberson, who will be the region’s defending reception leader next season, caught eight balls for 94 yards.

The Packers now have failed to make the playoffs for three straight seasons and have won just one region game each of the last two years, both coming against Houston County.

But new weight equipment is being installed in the fieldhouse and plenty of underclassmen saw duty this season as the Propst and his staff began looking forward to a demanding off-season and an improved 2009 campaign.