The 24th annual Corky Kell Classic returns to the Georgia Dome for five of its seven games Saturday, after Sandy Creek and Creekview and Archer and North Paulding open the event with a Friday night doubleheader at McEachern’s Cantrell Stadium.
Carrollton and Kell open in the Georgia Dome at 9 a.m. Saturday in a rematch of last year’s 20-7 Kell victory. At 11:45 a.m., Mill Creek will face Brookwood, which will introduce first-year coach Philip Jones.
Norcross and Valdosta play for the first time in school history at 2:45 p.m., and defending Class AAAAAA state champion Colquitt County takes on North Gwinnett at 5:45 p.m.
The final game, at 8:45 p.m., is a rematch of last year’s AAAAAA semifinals between star-studded McEachern and Tucker.
The Classic will include the top three teams in the AJC’s preseason Top 10 for AAAAAA (Archer, McEachern and Colquitt County), and eight of the 14 teams are ranked. Games will be broadcast on SportSouth and “92.9 The Game.”
From its inception in 1992, the Corky Kell Classic has grown into perhaps the biggest high school kickoff event in the country, and quality continues to match quantity. The 14 teams have combined for a 263-90-1 record during the past two seasons.
Norcross played five Corky Kell opponents last season. The Blue Devils beat Tucker 32-29 in overtime of the Corky Kell Classic and then defeated Brookwood (21-10) and North Gwinnett (17-10) before losing to Mill Creek (30-0) and Archer (38-20). Colquitt County defeated Mill Creek 31-14 in the Corky Kell Classic last year, but had to play Valdosta (48-20) in the regular season before getting past McEachern (57-20) in the semifinals and Archer in the state championship game (28-24).
The event also features some of the top prospects in the nation, including two highly recruited receivers. North Gwinnett’s Josh Imatorbhebhe committed to USC. He caught 59 passes for 1,071 yards and 15 touchdowns in 10 games as a junior. Archer’s Kyle Davis caught 67 passes for 1,183 yards and nine touchdowns last season.
Bailey Hockman, who committed to Georgia, leads a group of quarterbacks who excelled in last year’s Corky Kell Classic. North Paulding’s Kyle Banks threw for four touchdowns and ran for another, and Colquitt County’s Chase Parrish completed 20 of 29 passes for 256 yards and a touchdown.
On the defensive line, McEachern’s Julian Rochester (6-foot-5, 318 pounds and committed to Georgia) earned first-team all-state honors with 25 tackles for loss and 116 total tackles last year. Archer’s offensive tackle E.J. Price (6-6, 320) is another top prospect.
