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.
South Paulding vs. Dunwoody
South Paulding and Dunwoody will both be making their first appearance in the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic to kick off day two of the event at West Forsyth High School. The two teams will also be facing off for the first time ever in an exciting Week 1 matchup.
South Paulding is currently on a three-season playoff streak, which is tied for the longest streak in school history. The Spartans have been on an upward trend over the past half-decade, making the playoffs in four of the last five years, winning playoff games in 2019 and 2022, and compiling a 34-21 record over that span.
On the other side of the field, Dunwoody is coming off its best season in a decade and a half, going 8-3 and making the playoffs for the first time since 2008. Coach Nash is heading into his tenth year as the head coach of the Wildcats, a tenure that has seen him climb up the Dunwoody all-time wins list, where he currently stands at third all-time. Coach Nash hopes to build off last season and push the Wildcats back to the upper echelon of the sport, a spot they have not been in since the early 90′s.
This year, the Spartans will be led by a group of talented young players that were given significant playing time early in their careers. The offense will feature second-year starting quarterback Kade Wigginton to lead the passes and handoffs.
In his sophomore season, Wigginton threw for over 1,700 yards with 15 touchdowns, completing 60 percent of his passes. He provided a dynamic passing attack last season and will look to grow into an even more dangerous passer in his junior year. Along with Wigginton, South Paulding returns their leading rusher from a year ago in running back Albert McCoy, who ran for over 700 yards with four touchdowns.
The offensive line will be anchored by two Division-I prospects, Jayce Sanker and Tyler Chukuyem. Sanker currently holds three D1 offers, while Chukuyem recently received two FBS offers. Together, they will provide a major edge helping to create a balanced offense that will be hard for the wildcats to stop.
Dunwoody’s defense will have a tough test against South Paulding’s offense, but they should be up to the task. The Wildcats defense had their best season in over a decade, holding opponents to only 17.45 points per game, the fewest given up since the 2011 season. They held six of their opponents to seven or fewer points, shutting out three of those six.
The Wildcats will be led on defense by big and physical defensive back Julian Madison. Madison has been a major contributor throughout his high school career. At 6-foot, 170 pounds, he has the ability to play both as a man and zone corner. He can anchor one side of the defense and will help Dunwoody slow the dynamic South Paulding offense.
The Wildcat offense will be led by senior quarterback Matt Pearch. While he proved last year to be a great quarterback, he is also an elite pitcher on the baseball team, where he is committed to play for the Yale Bulldogs. Pearch grew into one of the top quarterbacks in the state last year, being named First Team All-Region.
The team also returns two of its top wide receivers in Danny Boden, who was named First Team All-Region, and Porter Allison, who was named All-Region Honorable Mention. Together, they should continue the dynamic passing attack they had last year, averaging 24.9 points per game and scoring more than 30 points in six of their 11 games.
The Spartans defense needs to build on the 2023 defense that gave up the fewest points per game since 2020. They return a substantial amount of production on defense, including 296 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss and 13 sacks. The team’s leading returning tackler is Jeremiah Hughey, who had 52 tackles, 13.5 TFLs, and 5 sacks last season, being tied for the team lead in sacks and second in tackles for loss. The team returns two more players that had more than 40 tackles last year in safety Jermain Tyler and outside linebacker Eddie Stafford. Combined, the three place a major difference maker at all three levels of the defense, leaving no position group without an elite player. But they will still have a tough task stopping the dynamic wildcat offense.
Prince Avenue vs. West Forsyth
The second and final game on Thursday will see the hosting West Forsyth Wolverines face off against the two-time defending Class A Division I champion Prince Avenue Christian Wolverines. Coach Greg Vandagriff and Prince Avenue will be making their first appearance in the event, while West Forsyth has been a mainstay, playing host to a game every year since 2020.
Vandagriff’s squad is coming off one of the best four-year stretches in state history, making four finals appearances while winning three championships compiling a 54-4 record. The team is coming off a 14-1 season that saw them win their second straight state championship. The team will look to continue their dominance as they move up to AA while competing for the new private school state championship.
West Forsyth will look to build off last season’s resurgent 8-3 record when it hosted a program-first playoff game since 2020. This came after a down year in 2022, when it went 4-6 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014 and only the fifth time in school history.
The team remains in the highest classification in the state but will play in a newly wide-open Region 6-6A. Without the dominant power of defending 7A champions Milton in the region, West Forsyth will be expected to once again finish at the top of the region.
Prince Avenue’s offense will see a big overhaul heading into the 2023 season.
The offense, which scored over 49 points per game last year, will have to replace record-breaking quarterback Aaron Philo. The current back-up Georgia Tech quarterback set the record for career passing yards with 13,922 yards, breaking Trevor Lawrence’s record of 13,902.
The team has been conducting a QB battle between senior Jake Bobo, son of Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, and sophomore Ben Musser, who has recently received his first FBS offer from Middle Tennessee State.
The running back position was another major question mark heading into the offseason.
However, elite sophomore running back Andrew Beard transferred into the program this spring answering those questions. Beard, the nephew of former Georgia great Garrison Hearst, already has offers from the likes of Georgia and Alabama. At receiver, the team returns their top two receivers in sophomore Hudson Hill and junior CJ Dockery, combined they create an offense that should be balanced and explosive.
Dave Svehla’s Wolverines have had one of the best defenses in the state during his tenure, allowing only 19.5 PPG. The 2023 West Forsyth defense was the best of his tenure, giving up only 16.3 PPG. The team will return first-team All-Region linebacker James McCallar, who will be looked to lead the front seven. Along with him, the team returns three more All-Region defenders in Chase Hayden (DB), Drew Davis (LB), and Jack Sacchetti (DL). The three of them should anchor a defense that will try to meet the expectations from last year and slow down the Prince Avenue offense.
The West Forsyth offense will look to build on last year’s young squad. The offense will once again be led by junior QB Max Walraven, who was named First Team All-Region as a sophomore in 2023. Along with him, they will return fellow First Team All-Region selection and 1000-yard running back Foster Oris, who will help form a pairing that will be hard for any opposing team to stop.
Additionally, they return four other offensive players who made All-Region first and second teams, including two pass catchers in seniors Cole Cato (TE) and Topher Delp (WR). These players will force defenses to play sideline to sideline, opening more running lanes for Oris.
The Prince Avenue defense was elite in 2023, giving up only 16.3 PPG and this year’s edition will be led by Georgia commit Christian Garrett. Garrett, at 6-foot-3 and 280 pounds, is a massive defensive lineman who will be tasked with disrupting the West Forsyth run game. As the main interior presence for the Wolverines, he will need to have a productive game to help make West Forsyth one-dimensional. Prince Avenue will also return two First Team All-Region linebackers in seniors Mac Bradley and Kyler Giddens, who will both have to quickly differentiate between run and pass to slow the balanced West Forsyth attack. The back end of the defense will return one All-Region selection in Gaines Scoggins, who will be the leader of the secondary.
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