Colquitt County defeats Cedar Grove 28-19

Sep. 4—MOULTRIE — Down by two touchdowns late in the first half, Colquitt County rallied behind the play of three sophomores and a resilient defense to defeat Cedar Grove 28-19 Friday on Tom White Field at Mack Tharpe Stadium.

The victory raises the Packers record to 2-1 with a game at Valdosta scheduled for next Friday.

Tenth-grade quarterback Neko Fann completed 17-of-27 passes for 189 yards and four touchdowns and all four of his scoring passes went to other sophomores: two to Ny Carr and and two to Landen Thomas.

And although the Packers gave up 389 yards of offense, including 192 to Saints running back Rashod Dubinion, Cedar Grove, the top-ranked team in Class AAA, scored just one time in the second half and never held a lead over the final two quarters.

Colquitt didn't manage a lead until Fann connected with Thomas on a 2-yard touchdown pass with 22 seconds left in the first half and Brett Fitzgerald converted to put the Packers up 14-13.

After a Fann-to-Carr touchdown put the Packers up 21-13 with 9:39 left in the third quarter, Cedar Grove took advantage of a Fann interception and scored on a 21-yard run by Dubinion.

But the 2-point conversion pass failed and Colquitt led 21-19.

The Packers responded quickly, starting with a 40-yard kickoff return by Qway McCoy to the Saints 40.

Runs of 17 and 4 yards by Charlie Pace put the ball on the Cedar Grove 16 and Fann hit Thomas in the end zone with 1:35 left in the third quarter.

Fitzgerald's extra point made it 28-19 and a two-score game and the Packers defense made the nine-point lead stand up.

The Saints drove to the Colquitt 18 midway through the fourth quarter, but a fourth-down sack by Quan Gammage scuttled that opportunity.

The next time Cedar Grove had the ball, Dubinion caught a short pass from quarterback Jamar Graham and was immediately wrapped up by Tylan Brice.

Dubinion fumbled, the Packers recovered and were able to navigate through the final 3:20, taking over on downs with 19 seconds left to clinch it.

"Our kids played with so much guts and character," Packers coach Justin Rogers said of the Packers' effort against a team that has four of the top 50 players in the state.

Rogers was pleased with Fann, who turned in a veteran-like performance in just his third varsity start, despite an all-out assault by the Cedar Grove defense.

He was sacked just one time.

And Carr, who had eight catches for 83 yards, and Thomas, who had three for 23, continued to make big plays.

"Our sophomores are growing up and getting battle-tested," Rogers said. "And they are responding."

The Packers were again slow out of the gate and missed two first-quarter scoring opportunities.

Colquitt's Lyric Thomas picked off Cedar Grove starting quarterback Jabari Cleckley on the third play of the game and returned the ball to the Saints 34.

Colquitt managed one first down and reached the Cedar Grove 7, but the drive stalled and the Packers missed a 24-yard field goal attempt.

"We've still got to do a better job in the red zone," Rogers said.

Cedar Grove then drove 80 yards in nine plays to score on a 1-yard run by Dubinion. But the extra point failed and the Saints settled for a 6-0 lead.

The Packers then drove from their 26 to the Saints 34, but missed a 51-yard field goal attempt on the final play of the first quarter.

Cedar Grove opened the second quarter by driving 80 yards in 16 plays.

Dubinion capped it with a 3-yard scoring run. Amari Forte's conversion put the Saints up 13-0 with 4:32 left in the half.

The bad news in the drive to the touchdown for Cedar Grove was that starting quarterback Jabari Cleckley left the game with an apparent left knee injury after being hit with 5:54 remaining.

And it was a long time after Dubinion's touchdown before the Saints had another meaningful snap.

Colquitt got a 39-yard kickoff return by McCoy, then used a Fann-to-Carr pass, a personal foul penalty on Cedar Grove and a 5-yard run by Charlie Pace to reach the Saints 35.

There Fann moved up in the pocket and connected with Carr, who was streaking to the end zone and the Packers were on the board with 3:15 left in the half.

After Fitzgerald converted, Cedar Grove fumbled the kickoff and the Packers recovered.

It took 12 plays, but the Packers scored again when Fann flipped a 2-yard touchdown pass to Thomas and Fitzgerald's kick gave the Packers the lead with 22 seconds left in the half.

Cedar Grove took a knee after the kickoff and the Packers got the ball back when it received the second-half kickoff.

McCoy had a 27-yard kickoff return and Fann had a 27-yard completion to Ontavious Carolina to help get the ball to the Cedar Grove 27.

Fann was on target to Carr again as the Packers extended their lead to 21-13 less than three minutes into the third quarter.

The Saints then ran more than four minutes off the clock driving to the Packers 15, only to miss a 32-yard field goal.

Cedar Grove's Ricky Lee picked off a Fann pass with just under four minutes left in the third quarter and Dubinion quickly turned it into a touchdown with 3:10 remaining.

"They don't give points for yards," Rogers noted. "The give points for crossing that line."

And Cedar Grove had 133 yards of offense in the final 13 1/2 minutes of the game, but did not score.

Graham threw for 135 yards in relief of Cleckley, but couldn't manufacture any points in the final quarter.

Pace found little room much of the night, but managed 76 yards on 18 carries.

Also in Region 1-7A on Friday, Camden County raised its record to 3-0 with a 51-18 victory over Inlet Grove (Fla.); Tift County also is 3-0 after a 23-15 win over visiting Banneker; and Lowndes won its second straight game, defeating Lake Gibson (Fla.) 58-47 to go to 2-1.

Valdosta, which is scheduled to play host to the Packers next Friday, was forced to forfeit its game against Bainbridge on Friday because of covid concerns.

There has been no indication that next Friday's game will not be played.