MOULTRIE — Colquitt County needed to beat Richmond Hill on Friday in the Hawg Pen and have Lowndes defeat Valdosta for the Packers to claim the Region 1-6A championship.
After the Packers took care of their end of the bargain with a 31-13 win over Richmond Hill, Lowndes did its part, defeating Valdosta 30-20 at the Concrete Palace.
The region title, one that few would have foreseen three months ago, is the third in a row for the Packers, who will be back on Tom White Field at Mack Tharpe Stadium to play host to Wheeler on Nov. 15 in the first round of the playoffs.
Although it lost 49-14 at North Cobb on Friday to fall to 2-8 overall, Wheeler took the No. 4 seed from Region 5.
The Wildcats were 2-4 in the region, but defeated both of the teams they were tied with in the standings to earn the trip to Moultrie.
The Packers would play host to a second-round game if they can get by Wheeler.
Colquitt, 7-3 overall, and Lowndes, 9-1, each finished with 4-1 records to sit atop of the final Region 1-6 standings, but the Packers will go to postseason as the No. 1 seed by virtue of its 38-35 win over Vikings on Oct. 4.
Not many would have predicted a region title for the Packers after losing 17 starters – including Ny Carr, Landen Thomas, Neko Fann, Tyshon Reed Jr., Turk Daniels and others – from the 2023 team that went 12-1.
Not only did the Packers win the region, they came within five points of being unbeaten in league play. Their only loss was by a 7-3 score at Valdosta.
Lowndes will finish No. 2 in the region, with Valdosta taking the third seed.
Camden County, which defeated Tift County 38-28 on Friday, and Richmond Hill finished tied for fourth.
But Camden, which defeated Richmond Hill 28-10 on October 11, will qualifying as the No. 4 seed.
Richmond Hill, which finishes 7-3, and Tift County will not make the playoffs.
In the battle at The Hawg Pen, the Packers were able to overcome an impressive performance by Richmond Hill’s 210-pound senior running back Joshua Troupe, who rushed for an unofficial 260 yards on 31 carries and scored both of his team’s touchdowns.
But the Packers Day’Shawn Brown, who went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season, scored three touchdowns to trump Troupe and Wildcats.
Colquitt never trailed and took a 14-0 halftime lead on Brown’s touchdowns runs of 74 yards and 1 yard exactly four minutes apart in the second quarter.
A 39-yard Brett Fitzgerald field goal put the Packers up 17-0 with 2:45 left in the third quarter before Troupe finally broke loose on a 40-yard touchdown run on the final play of the third quarter.
After the ensuing kickoff went into the end zone, the Packers were penalized for having an illegal receiver down field.
The penalty made the touchdown run by Brown that followed 85 yards instead of 80.
Brown found a seam, broke the line of scrimmage and no Wildcat came close to catching him.
The touchdown and Fitzgerald’s extra point put the Packers up 24-6 with 11:29 left in the game.
Despite trailing 18 points and, later, 11 points, Richmond Hill attempted just four passes in the final quarter.
Troupe added another run with 5:26 left in the game, but Ramsey Dennis overcame it with a 3-yard run with 2:07 remaining.
“We had a slow start, but the defense kept us in it until we could get going,” Packers coach Sean Calhoun said after the game. “We were gritty, but that’s what it takes to beat those guys. The don’t normally beat themselves.
“Just a huge win.”
Although rushing for 325 yards, Richmond Hill crippled itself with a missed first-quarter field goal attempt and a costly pair of second-quarter fumbles.
The first turnover came when safety Alfonso McNeil delivered a big hit and Amari Wilson recovered the loose ball with under eight minutes left in the half.
That takeaway led to Brown’s 74-yard touchdown run that appeared to provide the blueprint for the one that followed in the fourth quarter.
Richmond Hill’s other fumble came after a tackle by safety Roddrieck Carter. It was recovered by linebacker Brad Tuff Jr.
Richmond Hill took the second-half kickoff and knocked out a pair of first downs before punting the ball away.
The Packers then drove to the Wildcats 21 before settling for Fitzgerald’s 47th career field goal, which came from 39 yards out with 2:45 left in the third quarter.
Richmond Hill scored its touchdowns on its next two possessions, but the Packers countered each time with scores of their own.

The Packers played without injured starting linebackers Bryce Toomer and Kaden King and starting cornerback Jah’Boris Fuller.

And running back Jae Lamar, who is third in the region in rushing, was on the field for just one play after having his foot stepped on against Camden County.
The win came on a night in which the seniors were honored and the 1994 football team was recognized for its 15-0 season and first state championship in Packer history.