Houston County and Mary Persons kickoff the 25th annual Corky Kell Classic on August 18 at 5:45 P.M. as the two schools become the first to play the historic season opening tradition at Mercer University, igniting a three day festival of the best football the southeast has to offer.
Bear Down
The Houston County Bears come off a school-record 11-win season which afforded HoCo Locos a trip to the quarterfinals where they fell to eventual Class AAAAA state champion Allatoona, 59-47. The Bears are powered by four-star quarterback and reigning Atlanta Journal Constitution and Georgia Gatorade Player of the Year, Jake Fromm. The senior gunslinger threw for 4,099 yards and 36 touchdowns while tossing just six interceptions. Fromm was an Alabama-commit before he changed his mind and elected to “Commit to the G” and suit up for the Georgia Bulldogs.
Coach Von Lassiter returns Fromm’s top two favorite targets, seniors Amari Colbert and Eli Watson. Both possess size outside and game-breaking abilities. Colbert, 6-foot-3, hauled in 44 receptions for 904 yards and nine touchdowns. Also a member of the basketball team, Colbert’s leaping ability lets him high-point balls and go over defenders for catches in traffic. Watson, 6-foot-2, caught 32 passes for 771 yards and eight touchdowns. In the backfield, Christopher Brinson graduates after rushing for 1,010 yards and 19 touchdowns, making way for junior Javon West to take a bulk of the carries. As a sophomore, West was electric, averaging 6.5 yards per carry, gaining 568 yards and scoring 11 touchdowns while adding 21 receptions for 180 yards.
A key ingredient to Houston County’s success under Coach Lassiter has been the improvement of the Bears defense. Houston County has increased its win total in each of the three seasons Lassiter has been in charge, going from 7-4 to 10-3 to last year’s 11-2 mark. In his first two seasons, the Bears allowed a respectable 21.3 and 23.4 points per game before tightening up their defense even more in 2015, allowing 16.7 points a night. Top tacklers Bennie Steadman (98) and Myron Jacobs (58) graduate along with sack-leader Rontravious Byron (10). The defense turns to seniors Mack McCollough and Keshaun Johnson to make splash plays. McCollough covers plenty of ground as a linebacker and Johnson was among the team leaders in interceptions last year.
Bulldogs have Bite
Mary Persons is also coming off one of the program’s best seasons in years as its 11-1 mark was the school’s best record since 1994’s 12-1 team. A 45-21 loss to Marist in the second round put an end to the Bulldogs’ dream season. Mary Person’s talented defense is up to the task to battle with Houston County’s explosive offense (39.6 ppg). Discounting their loss to Marist, the Bulldogs allowed just 13.2 points per game over their first 11 contests, only allowing two teams to crack the 20-point barrier. Four-star senior defensive end Malik Herring is the disruptor up front. He is being courted by top programs across the country and is a heavy lean to join either the ACC or SEC. The 6-foot-4, 265-pound pass-rusher totaled 80 tackles and led the team in both sacks (seven) and tackles for loss (21). Joining him up front is Tre Howard, who made 89 stops as a junior, and linebacker is Tay Jarrell, coming off a 96-tackle junior season.
Offensively, Head Coach Brian Nelson turns to a balanced run game that helped churn out 209 rushing yards per game in 2015. The Bulldogs, however, didn’t light up the scoreboard like their counterpart, and averaged just over 28 points a night with a ball-control approach. The ground game runs through senior Zach Harvey. The 6-foot-1, 203-pound tailback rushed for 1,134 yards and 14 touchdowns and might be asked to do even more as Jaquavious Sims has graduated his 872 yards and 10 touchdowns. Sophomore Quen Wilson starts at free safety but also contributes to the run game, racking up 459 yards and six touchdowns while averaging over seven yards per carry.
Under center, senior Caleb Speir makes his starting debut. He attempted just four passes last year while learning behind now graduated Jake Johnston. Senior wideouts Roger Akins (25 receptions, 357 yards, three touchdowns) and Jatori Sims (19 receptions, 267 yards, two touchdowns) will try to smooth Speir’s transition to starter.
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