Secondary must make some plays for Colquitt County

November 18, 2010

Colquitt County Sr High School


By Wayne Grandy of 'The Moultrie Observer'

MOULTRIE -  According to the Colquitt County High football team's roster, the Packers starting cornerbacks - Stacey Blackwell and E'Darius Davis -  are 5-foot-6, 140 pounds and 5-foot-4 1/2 and 137 pounds respectively.

Free safety Trey Scott is behemoth of the secondary at 5-foot-7 1/4, 147 pounds.

Packers secondary coach Dextra Polite just laughs when the lack of height and bulk are pointed out ... for, say, the 100th time.

"We've got the smallest secondary in the region," he said Wednesday after the Packers final practice before heading to Atlanta today to prepare for Friday's playoff game against M.L. King.

"We're probably the smallest in the state."

And that probably has M.L. King quarterback Jonquel Dawson and his receivers salivating.

Polite said that after watching film of the M.L. King offense, he guesses the Lions throw the ball about 90 percent of the time.

"They believe in their system," Polite said.

Dawson has completed 171-of-276 passes for 3,084 yards and 35 touchdowns this season.

Receivers Demarco Robinson, Blake Tibbs and Kevin Byard have 63, 50 and 31 catches respectively.

Byard is the biggest of the three primary receivers at 6-foot-2, 198 pounds. Tibbs is 6-foot-1, 175 pounds.

Robinson, who has committed to the University of Georgia, has caught 22 touchdown passes. He is 6-foot, 175 pounds.

"They'll catch some," Polite said. "We just can't let them get a deep ball.

"We have got to keep everything in front of us and try to get a turnover."

In the first 11 games of the season, the opposition has completed 108-of-176 passes for 1,310 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Blackwell and Scott each had interceptions in the Packers 50-21 first-round playoff victory over Jenkins last Friday in Savannah, doubling the team output this season.

Blackwell has two interceptions. Scott and Tre Cooper, who got his against Westlake, each have one.

"The last couple days in practice, we have been making some picks," Polite said. "We hope that continues Friday night."

The Packers are expecting the Lions to throw the ball perhaps as much as Lassiter did in the 2009 state quarterfinals, when Trojans quarterback Hutson Mason hit on 28-of-51 passes for 298 yards.

The Packers also picked off the Georgia-bound Mason five times.

Unfortunately all players who had interceptions against Lassiter have graduated.

Not only could the Packers lack of size in the secondary cause problems in pass coverage, it also might mean problems when trying to bring down the Lions receivers after they make their catches.

"We have got to be great tacklers," Polite said. "If we miss a tackle, it will go for a touchdown."

Also expected to play in the secondary for the Packers tonight will be Ronnie Caldwell and Tae Avery.

In the other Class AAAAA second-round playoff games on Friday it will be Mill Creek (6-5) at South Gwinnett (9-2); Valdosta (10-1) at McEachern (10-1); Grayson (8-3) at North Gwinnett (11-0); Collins Hill (8-3) at Roswell (7-4); Newnan (7-4) at Lowndes (9-2); Norcross (9-2) at Brookwood (10-1); and Hillgrove (9-2) at Camden County (10-1).