By Kyle Dean/Sports Editor
MOULTRIE — Tift County’s playoff hopes are on life support after the Devils fell 28-10 to Colquitt County Friday night at Tom White Field at Mack Tharpe Stadium.
The Blue Devils will probably need to win their remaining three region games after falling to 1-3 in region play and 2-5 overall on the year.
The teams combined for 29 penalties in the game — 13 for Tift and 16 penalties for 170 yards on the Packers.
After forcing a Blue Devil punt on their first possession, the Packers came right down the field, marching 52 yards on only two plays. Tyler Brown took an option play down to the 12 yard line, and Brown hooked up with Trevious Cooper on a 12- yard touchdown pass. Rich Tyndall’s PAT gave the Packers a 7-0 lead with 10:05 remaining in the first quarter.
Tyler Dismuke kept the Devils from starting anywhere outside of their own 20 yard line with strong kickoffs — including four touchbacks by the senior kicker.
The Packers again used their big-play capabilities to score early in the second quarter, when D’Amonte Ridley scored on a 19-yard touchdown run.
Ridley had a touchdown wiped away one play earlier, when the Packers were flagged for a holding call.
Tyndall again hit the PAT with 9:47 remaining in the second quarter to give the Packers a 14-0 lead.
Earlier in the drive, Tift County’s Alex Martin appeared to score a touchdown on the last play of the first quarter, when he stripped Brown and raced down the field.
The officials disagreed, however, giving the Packers the ball even after a bean bag was thrown on the play, signifying a fumble.
Two series later, the Blue Devils finally used a break to their advantage, when Cooper fumbled on his own 24-yard line. Safety Terrence Felton scooped up the ball and tripped on the 20 yard line, giving the Devils great field position.
But the Packer defense stood strong and forced a 33-yard field goal from George Malagon that cut the Colquitt County lead to 14-3 with 3:18 remaining in the half.
Any momentum the Devils had heading into the locker room was quickly subdued by the improved Colquitt offense.
Brown led the Packers on an 80-yard, six-play drive that was capped off by a 42-yard run by Cooper, giving the Packers a 21-3 lead with 8:35 left in the third quarter.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Packers attempted a long field goal by Dismuke, but the 53-yard attempt sailed wide left, giving the Devils the ball at their own 20 yard line.
From there, Malcolm Dixon led Tift County on a eight-play, 80-yard drive to cut the Packer lead to 21-10.
Dixon had an 11-yard run, and connected with Micah McCant on a 10-yard pass play, and DD Jackson on a 21-yard pass reception.
Dixon then found a wide-open McCant in the end zone for a 34-yard touchdown pass. Griffin Martin’s PAT with just over six minutes left in the game cut the Colquitt lead to 11 points.
But the Packers responded with a touchdown of their own after a failed onside kick gave Colquitt the ball at the Devils’ 44-yard line.
Ridley ripped off runs of 8, 7 and 16 yards and fullback Hakeem Peterson ended the drive with a 10-yard run that iced the game for Colquitt County (6-1, 3-1). Tyndall’s PAT gave Colquitt a 28-10 lead with 4:44 remaining in the game.
The Packers ended the game with 359 total yards. The Blue Devils had 165 yards of total offense. Ridley ran for 101 yards on 14 carries and Cooper had 75 yards on eight carries.
McCant ended the game with 118 all-purpose yards including 31 yards rushing, 56 yards receiving, and 31 yards in returns. McCant also picked off Brown twice in the loss.
After a week off, the Devils will host the Northside Eagles at Brodie Field. The Eagles trounced Coffee at McConnell-Talbert Stadium by a 35-3 score and Lowndes drilled Valdosta on national television, 57-15 at Martin Stadium.
