The Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic begins the high school football season Wednesday with two premier matchups and closes on Saturday with a four-game, championship-caliber lineup at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
All games will be broadcast on the Peachtree Sports Network and digitally on the Atlanta News First app and the NFHS Network. For the schedule, follow the link.
Douglass-Atlanta vs. LaGrange
The first game of Georgia’s high school football season features two of the best Class 3A programs and there’s one thing certain about these players, teams and coaches – all eyes in the state will be on them on the first day of the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic.
It’s the first game of the season, of course, and what better way to spend a Wednesday evening than watching high school football from teams in one of the hardest classes in the state. It’s been said that Class 3A teams could challenge any of the best high-classed programs, and this season, like many before, they will.
“Not that polls matter, but there are easily 15 or 20 top 10 teams in the class,” said LaGrange head coach Matt Napier. “You look at Mary Persons, Spalding, Trinity Christian, LaGrange, Troup, Whitewater, Sandy Creek, Cedar Grove, Douglass. It’s just a tough classification.”
LaGrange is entering Napier’s fifth season and first year in a new classification after dropping down from Class 4A. The Grangers are in the lowest classification the program has been in since 2011 when it was again in Class 3A. Since 2016, the team has been in Class 4A and is coming off a 9-3 season and second-round exit in the playoffs.
A storied program, LaGrange has won six state championships – but none since 2004, when it won three titles in four seasons – 2001, 2003 and 2004. In 1991, the Grangers finished 15-0 and won the state championship in Class 4A before winning the national championship, capping one of the greatest seasons in state history.
And Napier is guiding the team in the right direction.
Prior to Napier’s hire, LaGrange finished back-to-back 2-8 seasons in 2018-19. Napier’s first team finished 8-4 and exited in the second round of the playoffs. In 2021, the team finished 9-3, but faced another second-round exit. Two years ago, the Grangers finished 8-3 but lost in the first round. Dropping down to Class 3A might help the team’s postseason run after last year’s 9-3 record and second round exit.
But then again, the playoff road might still be a long one.
“It’s going to be very competitive,” Napier said. “Seeing some of the 3A names around the state that you recognize like Calhoun, Jefferson, Sandy Creek and Cedar Grove, 3A will be tough.”
Against Douglass, quarterback Dylan Barber will lead the Grangers offense onto the field with Malachi Render-Fannin and Abi Ayala in the backfield. Receivers Julian Jones, Gryson Cockrell, Kalvin Snowberger and Jett Napier and Denoryon Reid provide ample targets for Barber.
On the opposite side of the field, Douglass – which has been in Class 3A since 2020 — is on the rise in head coach Stanley Pritchett’s fourth year at the helm. Pritchett leans on experience to lead a resurging Douglass into the fray. Drafted by the Miami Dolphins in 1996, Pritchett played with the Dolphins, Eagles, Bears and Falcons in 2004 before retiring from the NFL.
“We are very excited about the Corky Kell,” Pritchett said. “LaGrange is a tough team, dropping down to 3A, but they’ve always been known as a perennial power and so we are looking forward to the challenge.”
Pritchett took over the Douglass head coaching job in 2021 after an eight-year stint at Arabia Mountain and has been a welcomed change for the Astros. Douglass has been on the rise and after a 1-9 season in his first year, the team finished 3-8 in 2022 and 6-5 last season with a first-round exit in the playoffs in each of the last two seasons.
“We have nine returning starters on offense,” Pritchett said. “And we have a lot of experience up front, bringing all five linemen back led by Xavier Canales, a Georgia Tech-commit. And at quarterback, we return junior John Wilson, who has a ton of experience.”
Wilson was 122-of-236 passing for 1,623 yards and 15 touchdowns last season to lead the Astros. He added 66 carries for 316 yards and six touchdowns. Heading into his junior season, Wilson could be formidable. On the ground, senior Antonio Watkins had 139 carries for 727 yards and six touchdowns last season for the Astros.
The team will have to replace its two leading receivers from graduation, but juniors Quantavious Boykin, Adonis McCrary and DeKari Carter contributed last season and could fill larger roles this year.
“Boykin, I think he had 30 catches last year for 600 yards and five or six touchdowns,” Pritchett said. “And we added Elijah Hunter, who transferred in from South Atlanta so, he’ll be joining us.”
Being the first game of the high school football season, all eyes in the state will be on two Class 3A programs, each entering a season with an extremely high ceiling. And being on TV gives each a chance to lead off the season with a premier performance in primetime.
“We’ve been running and dragging in the heat,” Pritchett said. “But the guys are solely focused on the Corky Kell. They’re ready to showcase to the state this high school program.”
North Atlanta vs. Kell
The nightcap game Wednesday gives North Atlanta a chance to defeat Kell for the first time in two attempts, while Kell will look to open the year with a victory after losing to Parkview in last year’s Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic matchup.
The programs have not met since 2015 when Kell won 52-7. Kell defeated the Warriors 35-7 in 2014.
North Atlanta, which remained in Class 6A this season after reclassification, has been resurging over the past few seasons and last year’s 9-2 finish was the best of head coach Jamie Aull’s four-year stint leading the Warriors.
However, the first-round exit stung. Opening against Kell is the type of experience Aull knows his team will need if it wants to play football in December.
“It’s a very tough matchup against Kell,” he said. “They’re probably a top 5 team dropping down from Class 5A to Class 4A this season and they are loaded with talent. They’re well-coached and this will be a challenge.”
North Atlanta is 2-0 in Corky Kell matchups with victories against North Forsyth 31-27 in 2022 and Johns Creek 58-14 last season.
This year, a 3-0 Corky record is the goal.
“The offseason has gone well,” Aull said. “We’ve had great attendance all summer heading into our scrimmage. On offense we return Ian Reynolds, our starter from last year and he actually started some as a sophomore.”
Reynolds is a big body, at 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds and is hard to bring down.
“We are excited to have him back,” Aull said. “Our secondary is where we are returning most of our pieces in Grant Thompson, Tobi Adewoyin and Saalim Davis on that back end trying to help us cover people down.”
There’s a battle ongoing in the backfield and running responsibilities will be divided after the graduation of Demetrius Barnes, who rushed for over 1,000 yards and had 20 touchdowns.
“That’s going to be tough to replace,” Aull said. “We have a couple of different guys – Henry Debardeleben, he’s a senior and will probably get the first crack at it. Juniors Cayden Edwards and Bryce Little are going to be change of pace backs. So we are going to do it by committee.”
On defense, North Atlanta faces holes which need filling.
“We have to replace a lot of graduated seniors,” Aull said. “But we’ve got Chase Linton back on the defensive front, he’s a big kid who picked up a Georgia offer last weekend.”
On the other side of the field, Kell will be fielding new players while looking for its first Corky Kell victory since beating Mays 17-12 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2019. Also coming off a 9-2 record in Bobby May’s second season last year, Kell dropped from Class 5A to 4A this season.
New quarterback Kaleb Narcisse will take over duties for the Longhorns and was 33-of-47 passing for 555 yards and 12 touchdowns in four games for North Cobb last season. On the ground, sophomores Quinterius Gipson and Kamoni Adams will handle duties.
Gipson leads with 96 carries for 742 yards and 12 touchdowns while Adams had limited playing time last season but had one touchdown on two carries. The receiving corps is led by Landon Mayes, Brayden Rouse, Jaden George and Trenton Wanjogu.
Myles had 11 receptions for 159 yards and three touchdowns last season while George and GIpson each had one reception for a touchdown. On defense, the Longhorns have new faces – strongside end Collin Davis and free safety Tony Forney Jr (both from Cedar Grove), cornerback Jalen Williams (Dutchtown) and nose tackle Alexander Jean (Sumrall, Mississippi). Defensive tackle Tyshawn Natt leads the way with 45 solo, 35 assisted tackles and 28 tackles for loss and 11 sacks.
Kell has competed in 13 Corky Kell games and since its first in 2010, the Longhorns have won eight games, its last in 2022 with a 38-22 victory over Cherokee Bluff. And despite North Atlanta entering just its third Corky appearance, both programs and communities know what’s at stake with a Corky Kell game on the schedule.
“It’s definitely cool for our kids and our community,” Aull said. “To get that kind of exposure and be in front of the whole state, it puts a sense of urgency on your preparation. Once you get back from that dead week in July, it’s all Corky. And everyone is going to be sitting there watching us on Wednesday night because there’s only two games in the state that night. It’s definitely an awesome event. This is our third year and it’s been a tremendous deal for our program.”
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