Gwinnett Daily Post

Staff Photo: Brendan Sullivan — Parkview punt returner Keanu Mole (1) fumbles the ball after being hit by Colquitt County Quan Patillo (11) and Kishaun Taylor (8) during the quarterfinals of Class AAAAAA state high school football playoffs in Lilburn Friday. Colquitt County defeated Parkview 31-15.

LILBURN -- With more than 20 minutes of possession in the first half, Parkview put the brakes on Colquitt County's fast-paced offense, featuring 2,000-yard passer Cole Seagraves and 1,000-yard receiver Bobby Hill. A solid ground game and timely passing put the Panthers up 7-0 at the half and kept the Packers' offense on the bench.

But late in the first half and again in the third quarter, the ball-control offense was negated by costly turnovers. A Colquitt County team that was held scoreless in the first half with just 16 plays for 40 yards in just 3:40 jumped on top 21-7 midway through the third quarter. The Packers scored three touchdowns in a 2:40 span in the third, negating the possession advantage Parkview had in the first half by getting what counts -- points.

"We wanted to control the ball, and we were able to do that," Parkview coach Cecil Flowe said. "We held the ball for 20 minutes, but we get seven points out of the deal. We needed to get 17."

Colquitt County came out in the second half with the ball at its 35 and drove 65 yards on eight plays in 3:09, capped off with a five-yard TD run by Seagraves to tie the game at 7-7.

In addition to the turnovers, Parkview committed key penalties at bad times. One of the biggest was a holding call early in the third that forced Parkview into a first and 22. On second and 20, Rob Youngblood tried to force a pass into traffic in the direction of Keanu Mole. The ball ended up in the hands of Tim Sanders at the Parkview 35, and the Packers would tie it on the next play with a 35-yard score from Seagraves to Hill.

The bad news kept coming for Parkview. Mole ran the ensuing kickoff back to the 15 but fumbled the ball away. Colquitt County's Javonta Woods picked it up. The Packers put the Panthers down 14 points on a touchdown pass from Seagraves to Toddarian Boyd on a comeback route. Parkview couldn't recover and was denied its first trip to the semifinals since 2004.

Youngblood was a key player on offense in the first half, including scrambles of 22 yards and nine yards on third down plays to keep drives alive. But the interception he threw to Jeffery Lawson on third and goal from the 2-yard line with 15.7 seconds left gave the Packers the chance to tie the game after the half.

"We played the best defense on offense because we kept the ball away from them," Youngblood said. "I thought it was a flag on them (on the interception), but it was my fault. I should've just thrown it away."

Lawson said his pickoff helped sway the momentum when the Packers could've easily been down two scores going into the locker room.

"It turned us around, kept the tempo up," Lawson said. "It made us play better and come out with a W."