MOULTRIE — Parks Hughes downplays his achievements as the Colquitt County High quarterback, tipping his cap instead to teammates Greg Bright, Christopher McCranie and others and saying he hopes his selection to the Colquitt County Sports Hall of Fame represents all the seniors on the 1991 team that advanced to the state championship game and nearly upset a strong LaGrange team.

But to those who watched the Packers defeat Lowndes in overtime and then pull off win after playoff win in Tifton, Warner Robins, Hinesville and, especially, in Marietta on the way to the meeting with the Grangers, there is little doubt about his passing skills and leadership abilities.

Hughes still ranks No. 3 among Packer quarterbacks in career passing yardage, throwing for 3,214 yards, including 2,020 in the season the Packers reached the state title game for the first time since 1963.

His throw to McCranie to beat Lowndes on the final play of overtime that year has become part of Packer football lore.

So has the 80-yard drive in overtime at Marietta that he capped with a touchdown pass to Sharone Roberts with 3 seconds remaining to send the Packers to the state championship game.

Hughes will tell you he was just part of a team that continued to believe and get better as the season went on.

And, true, it was team with some outstanding individuals.

The team’s coach, Jim Hughes, Parks’ father, is already in the Hall of Fame.

McCranie, Bright and Tony DeRosso, also members of the 1991 Packers team, will join their quarterback in being inducted as part of the Class of 2007 at the annual Hall of Fame banquet scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 25, at the high school cafeteria.

Parks Hughes may not have been destined to become an outstanding football player, but he certainly had the genes and training.

In Thomasville and in Moultrie, where his father was the outstanding coach of their high school teams, Parks was on the sidelines and in the field houses, learning the nuances of the game.

And it was not just his father to whom he turned for knowledge. There was Brent Brock, the Colquitt County offensive coordinator, and Tim Kelshaw, the quarterbacks coach, among others.

“Football was part of my family life from Day 1,” he said. “Growing up on the sidelines, watching other guys play.

“It just seem real fitting to be able to enjoy the success we had that year (1991). I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It was very unique. And not just because of my dad. I became close to all the players and coaches.”

When he was a sophomore, the Packers went 8-4 and pulled off the memorable 7-0 victory over Valdosta at Cleveland Field.