MOULTRIE – The Colquitt County football program has scheduled its two varsity scrimmages for this year and both will be on the road.

The Packers, who defeated Cairo 42-14 last spring on Tom White Field at Mack Tharpe Stadium, will travel to meet the Syrupmakers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 20, in what will be new head coach Sean Calhoun’s first opportunity to direct the Packers in a game-like situation.

And on Friday, Aug. 5, the Packers will go to Fort Valley to meet Peach County at 8 p.m. in their 2022 preseason scrimmage.

In 2023, Colquitt County will play both of its scrimmage games at home.

With the regular-season schedule including seven home games, the Packers will play in front of the home fans nine times in 2023.

The road games in 2023 will be at Tift County, Lowndes and Camden County.

Both Cairo and Peach County are likely to provide strong challenges to Calhoun’s first Colquitt County team.

The Syrupmakers were 7-4 overall and 4-1 in Region 1-4A last season, beating New Hampstead in the first round of the playoffs before being eliminated by Cedartown 48-14 in the second round.

Steve Devoursney will be starting his eighth season at the helm of the Syrupmakers program.

He has gone 53-27 with two region championships since moving south from Griffin, where he was 129-41 in 14 seasons and won a state championship in 2013.

Colquitt County and Cairo have met just twice in the regular season, with the Packers winning 19-14 in 2003 in Moultrie and 26-14 in Cairo the following year.

Moultrie High’s Packers were 17-3-1 against Cairo from 1946-1967.

The August 5 game will mark the first contest — scrimmage or regular-season — between Colquitt County and Peach County.

The Trojans were 8-4 overall last year, including a 4-1 record and a second-place finish in Region 2-AAA.

Peach won two games in the playoffs before being eliminated by Pierce County 35-30 in the quarterfinals.

Chad Campbell has been the head coach at Peach County since 2007 and has posted a 160-34 record. He won the Class AAA championship in 2009 and has nine region titles to his credit.

Colquitt was expected to play at Lee County in its fall scrimmage, but when Lee joined the Packers regular-season schedule, Colquitt County found another group of Trojans to fill the spot.

Colquitt County and Lee County met last August in the two teams’ scrimmage in Moultrie.