TIFTON — The Eighth Street Middle School seventh grade football team lost its last game of the regular season 20-6 to Colquitt County Wednesday, but still won the right to host the South Georgia Athletic Conference championship game on Oct. 15.

ESMS, Colquitt, and Hahira all finished the regular season with a record of 5-1. Tift beat Hahira, Hahira beat Colquitt and Colquitt beat ESMS. The tiebreaker went to Tift and Hahira by points allowed in games versus the three teams involved in the tiebreaker.

ESMS shutout Hahira earlier this season, which means the Devils gave up 20 points total to the other two teams. Hahira gave up 22 points combined and Colquitt gave up 28.

Even if Colquitt had made a 2-point conversion with no time on the clock against the Blue Devils, the 22-22 tie between ESMS and Hahira would have knocked out Colquitt and gone back to head-to-head, which would have went the Devils’ way.

Tift literally gave the game to Colquitt. Seven turnovers and five possessions in the Packers’ red zone doomed ESMS, who seemed flat all night.

The Devils ran up 252 yards total and 229 yards rushing. ESMS also owned a shocking time of possession advantage but could not score when it counted.

Colquitt had 162 yards of offense, but 140 of those yards came on three pass plays. Two of those plays were double passes going from quarterback to running back to wide receiver. The other pass play was a 69-yard screen pass for a score in the second quarter.

The last three plays of the game were all bad for ESMS. A Colquitt interception return for a touchdown made the score 14-6 Packers. The pass for two was dropped.

The Devils then fumbled the ensuing kickoff return with less than ten seconds to play. On the next play, Colquitt scored on a 30-yard double pass.

Because there was an injured player on the play, the two teams traded ends of the field for the critical two-point play, which ESMS stopped.

Ladarius Stewart led ESMS in rushing with 82 yards on 19 carries. Steven Waters had 74 yards on eight carries and scored the Devils’ only touchdown with 1:39 to play in the first quarter giving ESMS a 6-0 lead.

Alex Abbott had 73 yards on 16 carries. The Devils’ quarterback left the stadium in an ambulance with a hip injury midway through the fourth quarter.