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.
Therrell vs. Hebron Christian at Hebron Christian High School
The third day of the 2024 Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic begins at Hebron Christian as the hosting Lions welcome Therrell to help usher in the new high school football season.
This season marks the first time that both Therrell and Hebron Christian will make an appearance in the Corky Kell, with both programs looking to earn program-first wins in the event.
Along with both programs playing for their first victory in the Corky Kell, the teams share multiple similarities from last season including both being eliminated in the first round and both scoring 329 points throughout all of last season.
The Panthers welcome back head coach BJ Jamison as he enters his fourth year leading the Therrell football program. Jamison led the Panthers to one of their best seasons in recent memory a year ago and holds a 17-14 overall record.
Therrell enters this season coming off one of the program’s best seasons in the last two decades. In 11 games last year, the Panthers went 9-2 and only had one loss going into the playoffs. Therrell’s season featured a three-game win streak to open the season followed by a win streak of six games after its only regular season loss to Region 5-2A champion North Cobb Christian in the fourth week of the season.
The Therrell defense only allowed an astounding 87 points throughout the entire season and surrendered just 6.6 ppg during the regular season. The Panthers allowed under 10 points in eight games last season, including three shutouts in consecutive weeks and four overall. During its three-game shutout streak during the regular season, the Therrell offense outscored its opponents 99-0 during the three week span. The Panthers allowed over 10 points in just three games all season, losing two of them including their 21-8 loss to Model in the first round of the playoffs.
On the opposite side of the ball, the Therrell offense displayed its explosiveness by averaging close to 30 points per game. The Panthers scored above 50 points in two separate weeks and scored over 30 points in six of the eleven games from last season. Therrell returns key players such as running back Ahmad Bridges, wide receiver Quentorian McClendon and linebacker Boston Carr to return some familiarity to both sides of the ball for the Panthers.
Hebron Christian makes its first appearance in the Corky Kell and will serve as the first host site for Friday’s slate.
The Lions head coach Jonathan Gess enters his third season with Hebron after leading the program to a 6-5 record last season. In just two seasons thus far, Gess holds a 15-8 overall record. Gess led the Lions to GHSA Playoff berth a year ago, marking eight-consecutive years of Hebron Christian making the playoffs.
Hebron Christian will be playing in Class 2A after spending the last two seasons playing in Class 3A and is ranked in the top 5 of the early Class A-3A Private division. The Lions’ offense showed flashes of its capabilities a season ago, scoring upwards of 40 points per game in its six wins. In their 11-game season, the Lions scored 60 points or higher in two games, scoring 70 in their opener against Chestatee and 65 against Franklin County in their eighth game of the season.
The program returns primary contributors from last year, including wide receiver and 3-star Duke-commit Gerritt Kemp, 3-star Georgia Tech-commit and defensive end Carrington Combs and 3-star Virginia-commit and defensive lineman Sichan John.
All three played a major role in Hebron Christian’s football program last season as they will each look to leave their mark on this season after a disappointing first round exit in the playoffs a year ago where they were defeated by eventual state champion Cedar Grove on the road by just three points.
Callaway vs. Cass at Rome’s Barron Stadium
The Callaway Cavaliers will start the new season against the Cass Colonels at Barron Stadium Friday, August 16 at 5:00 p.m. on the third day of and second daily matchup of the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic.
This will be the third-straight year that Cass will be competing in the Corky Kell. The Colonels are 0-2 in their short history of playing in the event, featuring a 34-0 loss to Rome in 2023 and a 26-25 loss to Kennesaw Mountain in 2022. On the opposing side, 2024 marks the first time that Callaway will be participating in the Corky Kell.
A season ago, both Callaway and Cass were eliminated in the quarterfinals in the GHSA state playoffs. The Cavaliers lost 17-14 to Fitzgerald in the Class 2A playoffs and the Colonels lost to Coffee 30-0 in Class 5A.
Both programs will look to rebound after disappointing losses deep into the postseason, leaving each wanting more.
Callaway finished last season with a 9-3 record, marking the ninth-straight season the Cavaliers finished with nine wins or more, a streak that stretches back to 2015. Callaway head coach Pete Wiggins will enter his 20th season at the helm of the Cavaliers football program, holding an overall record of 178-58 as the head coach at Callaway.
After almost two decades, Wiggins and the Cavaliers have won 10 region titles and have not lost a region game since 2021. Callaway is seeking a third-straight regional championship this year after winning the Region 5-2A title the last two seasons. Due to the GHSA realignment for this upcoming season, Callaway’s region was moved from Region 2-2A to Region 5-2A for 2024.
Wiggins and the Cavaliers are tasked with replacing production on both sides of the ball. Georgia High School Football Daily’s Region 5-2A Offensive Player of the Year quarterback Deshaun Coleman and Defensive Player of the Year defensive back Cam Tucker are two big pieces that the Cavaliers will have to replace along with Georgia High School Football Daily First-Team tight end, Koryon Hoard, wide receiver Treyon Tucker and First-Team offensive linemen Jojo Shuman and Avery Bartlett.
In replacing last year’s seniors, the Cavaliers return serious talent across the board that will produce for Callaway and keep them as competitive as they have been over the years. The Cavaliers return Georgia High School Football Daily First-Team defensive players such as junior linebacker Xae Anderson, senior linebacker Kavious Leonard and junior defensive lineman Tyrone Fitten who will each provide familiarity on defense for the Cavaliers.
Cass head coach Steve Gates enters his fifth year leading the Colonels after going 7-6 last season and holding a 23-23 overall record. The Colonels have made the playoffs in three-straight seasons and have made the postseason in every year of Gates’ tenure besides his first. The three-straight seasons of postseason berths is the longest in program history for the Colonels.
Cass lost its first two games of the season including its opener to Rome in last year’s Corky Kell. After an 0-2 start, the Colonels won four straight games, scoring at least 40 points in each victory. Cass propelled to 4-2 after its midseason win streak, averaging 43 points per game over four games before losing the next three games after. The Colonels entered the postseason 5-5 and won two postseason games on the road before losing to Coffee in the quarterfinals.
After losing Georgia High School Football Daily Class 5A-Region 7 Co-Player of the Year, defensive back Devin Henderson, UGA freshman wideout Sacovie White and linebacker Kevin Henderson, the Colonels have to replace a lot of talent and experience.
Cass returns Georgia High School Football Daily First-Team quarterback junior, Brodie McWhorter and his cousin, junior offensive lineman Bear McWhorter. Along with the McWhorters, Second-Team tight end Chase Tatum returns to Cass for his junior season. The Colonels will have to find a way to replace Georgia High School Football Daily Class 5A-Region Defensive Player of the Year, senior defensive lineman Kaden Ellis, who will be out for the season with an injury.
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