TIFTON — Believe it or not, Tift County football head coach Ashley Anders was a Colquitt County Packers fans for a few minutes last week.

Yes, one week after defeating the Packers, Anders was admittedly rooting for a team that many Tift fans would consider their biggest Region 1 enemy.

The reason is simple: had Colquitt County forced a third overtime and defeated the Lowndes Vikings, the Blue Devils would have been in position to win the region championship.

Tift’s odds of winning region were slim at the beginning of the Lowndes-Colquitt contest. They needed each to surrender at least 46 points and the Devils needed Colquitt to come out on top. Odds seemed slim of reaching that point, especially as the Packers took a 35-14 lead.

But Lowndes rallied to tie the game at 38. After a single overtime, the teams were tied at 45. Anders and Tift County just needed each team to come up with one score each.

They came close.

Lowndes scored a touchdown in the second overtime and missed the extra point. Unfortunately, the Packers did not make it into the end zone.

Fortunately, however, a home playoff game to start the Class AAAAAAA state tournament is still within Tift’s grasp. All the Blue Devils need to do to secure that is to defeat Camden County tonight in a 7:30 p.m. Senior Night Jstart at Brodie Field.

“It was crazy,” said Anders of the Lowndes-Colquitt contest. He admitted he couldn’t help himself from wanting to be on the field himself, coaching, as the game went down to the wire.

Tift enters tonight’s game 7-1, 1-1 in the conference. Camden is 3-6, 0-2 in region play.

The Wildcats have lost their last three games, including a 35-14 meeting with Glynn Academy Oct. 26, but Anders does not expect a win to come easily.

Camden’s likely only shot at making the state playoffs is to force a tiebreaker.

With their three wins coming over teams with a combined eight victories (Fitzgerald, Oakleaf (Fla.) and Forest Park), the Wildcats likely do not have the points required to earn the wild card spot if they lose to Tift.

A win over the Blue Devils would force the three-way tie, with Colquitt as the third team.

The potential of another tiebreaker is the last thing Anders wants.

“We have to be ready to play Friday,” he said.

He will be going against a team seemingly on their way back up after consecutive losing seasons.

Camden hired Bob Sphire to take over the program this season.

Sphire came over after 11 years at North Gwinnett, where his teams never finished below .500.

“Coach Sphire is a heck of a coach,” said Anders. “He left a great team at North Gwinnett.”

At Camden, he has quickly installed new systems.

“New offense, new defense,” said Anders.

Prior to Sphire’s arrival, the Wildcats were a Wing T team. They are more spread-based now, which has come with growing pains. They average 19 points per game, 14.5 without a 53-7 win over Forest Park.

Wins have not come their way regularly, but Camden has shown flashes of brilliance.

The Colquitt game was 0-0 at halftime, with the defense causing the Packers plenty of frustration.

On offense, they are led by quarterback Brooks Bryan, who has passed for 1,108 yards and six touchdowns and ran for 387 yards and three touchdowns.

“He does touch the ball quite a bit,” Anders said of Bryan. Bryan is the team’s second leading rusher behind Jalen Davis, who has 498 yards this year.

Anders said Camden’s passing offense relies on screens. Logan Berryhill and Keion Lewis have combined for 650 yards and have all of the squad’s receiving touchdowns.

Mike Jones, after a 200-yard game against Colquitt, has 816 rushing yards for the season to lead the Blue Devils. Shamel Johnson has 397.

Griffin Collier has thrown for 2,184 yards and 23 touchdowns and Rashod Bateman leads the state with 1,198 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns.

Tift is seeking its first ever home win over the Wildcats. They are 2-4 in the series, with both wins coming on the road.

If they can pull off the victory, Tift would finish the regular season 9-1. And, as the No. 2 seed from Region 1, the Devils would earn their first home playoff game since 2006.

State will start next week and if they are No. 2, Tift would play either Campbell, Newnan or East Coweta.

Campbell and Newnan are 2-2 in Region 2, with Newnan holding the win in head-to-head competition. If East Coweta (1-3), who plays Newnan tonight, earns a win and Campbell loses to Westlake (4-0), the teams would be in a three-way tie.