The Coffee Trojans junior varsity squad handed the Colquitt County Packers football program its second loss in as many days to a Coffee team. The Coffee JV defeated the Colquitt JV 14-13 at Jardine Stadium a day after the sixth grade Trojans throttled the sixth grade Packers 44-14 over at Coffee Middle School.
While the sixth graders handled things easily, it was a different story for the high schoolers. The Trojans didn’t have a lead for very long during the game and the outcome was never a given until literally the final play.
Coffee scored first on a four-yard run by sophomore Jakobe Goolsby with 1:13 remaining in the first quarter. Aidan Gonzalez’s kick was good and the Trojans were up 7-0. The Packers tied the score on their next possession then took the lead on a touchdown pass late in the second quarter. The point-after, however, was no good. At the half, Colquitt held a shaky 13-7 lead.
The two teams battled back and forth under a suffocating South Georgia sun until only 4:21 remained in the game. After a methodical drive toward the north end zone, quarterback Trey Ross powered his way to the goal line to tie the game at 13. Gonzalez drove the ball through the middle of the uprights to put Coffee up 14-13.
The teams traded possessions before Colquitt took over on their own 27 with about 1:25 remaining. The Packers took to the air and sliced the Trojans’ secondary, moving to the Coffee 32 with eight seconds remaining. It appeared as though Colquitt wanted to go for one more play to get a little deeper in Coffee territory for a game-deciding field goal. The Packers completed a pass on the far side and the receiver streaked for the goal line. He was fast — but he wasn’t fast enough to outrun the clock. As the final second ticked off the clock — and with the end zone just steps away — Travis Adams and KJ Smith knocked him out of bounds at the five yard line.
The game was over and Coffee slipped away with a one-point win.
A week of football comes to a close Friday night when the Bainbridge Bearcats come to Jardine Stadium to face off against the Trojans at 7:30.