Colquitt County and North Gwinnett featured in battle of powerhouse Class 6A programs

ATLANTA, Ga. (Score Atlanta) – After a week off for both football programs following bye weeks and bad weather conditions, the Colquitt County Packers will take a long bus ride to Gwinnett County to face the North Gwinnett Bulldogs in both teams’ second game of the season on Friday at 8 p.m. at Tom Robinson Memorial Stadium.

Friday’s matchup will be broadcast live on Atlanta News First (Channel 46) and the Peachtree Sports Network (cable and YouTube TV), and streamed live on the Atlanta News First app. From your home, download the free ANF+ app anywhere you stream — FireTV, AppleTV, Roku and YouTubeTV — simply by searching for “Atlanta News First” on those platforms. If you are on the go, you can download Atlanta News First for free in the app store on your Apple or Android device. You can also watch live here on the WANF – Special Events channel.

The Packers were victorious in their first game of the season, taking on one of the top teams in Class 4A, defeating the Benedictine Cadets 27-24. On the opposing sideline, North Gwinnett suffered its first loss of the season as they faced off against Douglas County in the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic in the final game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, losing 21-7 against one of the top programs in Class 6A.

Colquitt County holds a 5-3 record over North Gwinnett, but has not beaten the Bulldogs since 2022. The two respected football programs met in 2017 in the state championship game where North Gwinnett and Bill Stewart defeated Rush Propst and his Colquitt County team in a close 19-17 game, earning the Bulldogs their first-ever state championship in program history.

Last season was the first of two matchups between the football teams as North Gwinnett traveled to Tom White Field at Mack Thorpe Memorial Stadium and defeated the Packers 14-3 on their home field.

Now in 2025, both teams are looking to make a statement against one another in what will be a highly anticipated matchup between the two high-profile football programs.

Eric Godfree enters his third season as the head coach of North Gwinnett, making his way over from Parkview. With a 20-6 record over the last three seasons including a quarterfinals appearance a season ago, the Bulldogs are hungry for more in the new season.

First-year starting quarterback, junior Elam Rahman leads the Bulldogs offense that is looking to find its footing early on after scoring just seven points against Douglas County. Alongside Rahman on the North Gwinnett offense is an upperclassmen led skill position group including running backs Kalil Mazone and Evan Hawkins as well as Jake Godfree, a four-star linebacker in the Class of 2027 that just so happens to be the son of the Bulldogs head coach. Godfree accounted for 27 rushing yards including the teams only score in Week 1, all while accounting for a team-high 13 total tackles, making his presence felt on both sides of the ball.

Rahman will look to get the Bulldogs passing attack going as they only completed 10 passes against Douglas County. Getting the ball out to playmakers on the outside such as Braylon Jackson, Max Patterson and Connor Coxwell should open up the rest of the offense for North Gwinnett.

On the opposite side of the ball, Godfree is a huge part of the defensive unit as is the signal-caller in the middle of the middle of the defense. Coxwell also plays a massive role for the Bulldogs on defense as he has totaled 82 total tackles throughout his career, providing stability and consistency throughout his prep career. Chauncey Davis Jr. commands the backend of the Bulldogs defense, manning the secondary and not letting anything get behind him. The Bulldogs defense will have a huge test this weekend when the Packers come to town.

On the opposing sideline, Sean Calhoun is entering his fourth season leading the Packers as he has won three region championships during his time with the program. Calhoun came over to Colquitt County following a five-year stint at Carrollton before taking over the Packers following now-Thomas County Central head coach, Justin Rogers.

One of the main bright spots of this year’s Packers is Georgia-commit running back Jae Lamar, who committed to the Bulldogs back in June of 2025 and can change the game for this Colquitt County rushing attack. Last season for the Packers, Lamar totaled 1,057 total yards last season and found the endzone 13 times, playing a massive role in the Packers offense.

Lamar totaled 36 yards on three carries in the first game of the season, but expect him to have a major role in Colquitt County’s offense in the beginning of the season.

Sophomore Cohen Lawson serves as the Packers starting quarterback, totaling 142 passing yards and a touchdown pass in the win over Benedictine in the first game of the season. Lawson spread the ball around very efficiently in the first game of the season, getting the ball out to six different receivers.

Wideout Antwan Lockett led the Packers in receiving yards in the first game of the season with 80 on three catches. Along with Lockett, Na’ryan Sumlin and A’zhiyen Aldridge round out the explosive receiving corps.

On defense senior linebacker Brayden Ruis leads the team in tackles with 15 on the young season along with Alfonso McNeil from his safety position, protecting the backend of the Packers defense. Junior linebacker Markeverin Graham leads the team in tackles for loss with three already in the early season.

This Friday, the action will start ahead of the Score Atlanta broadcast of the Colquitt County vs. North Gwinnett matchup at 8 p.m. with the Georgia High School Countdown to Kickoff, beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Atlanta News First (Channel 46) and the Peachtree Sports Network. The pregame show, which will feature on-air talent Rusty Mansell, Brandon Adams, Kaylee Mansell and Georgia Chambers, will preview the upcoming matchup with each person picking their winning team, along with interviews from each participating head coach. After the clock hits zero, stay tuned after the game for the Georgia High School Postgame Show, which will be broadcast live from the Score Atlanta Studio, with Score Atlanta’s Craig Sager II, Max Wolborsky and Hayden Gilbert featured on the program. The postgame show will run from game’s end till midnight every Friday night, with a full breakdown of each game, call-in guests chiming in to voice their opinions, and updates from other top-tier games around the state. The postgame show, like the pregame show, will be broadcast live on Atlanta News First and the Peachtree Sports Network.

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