The Corky Kell Classic has kicked off the Georgia high school football season every year since 1992, and is gearing up to stage a captivating four-day, 11-game lineup to celebrate its 31st anniversary this year.
See the full schedule with game times below.
The ever-growing spotlight surrounding Georgia’s proud football tradition has flourished alongside the Corky Kell Classic, which has routinely raised the bar to ensure that each new season kicks off with with the biggest and most competitive lineup of matchups. This year, eight of the 22 teams participating in the classic will be making their Corky debuts and the lineup will also introduce the first-ever private school matchup in the event’s history with Fellowship Christian and Mt. Pisgah squaring off.
Securing a slate that features defending state champions, top 10 showdowns and historic first-ever matchups has been a staple of the Corky Kell’s mission to stage the state’s football prowess and when it comes to this year’s lineup, the Corky Kell Classic has done it again with one must-see matchup after another. This approach has been fundamental to the event’s growth throughout the years and the results of these efforts have bestowed the state of Georgia with undoubtedly the largest and most well-established kickoff event in the nation.
Teams that are featured in the Corky Kell have a reputation greatness and consistently go on to achieve massive success later in the season. The 11 teams that scored victories in last year’s Corky Kell Classic collectively achieved two state championships (Collins Hill, Buford), two semifinal runs (Dacula, Walton) and three quarterfinal appearances (Mill Creek, Westlake, Johns Creek). On the opposite side of the win column, the 11 teams that lost their Corky Kell matchups this past season added a finals appearance (Carver-Atlanta) and two more quarterfinal runs (Lowndes, Brookwood). In total, six region champions were represented in last year’s Corky Kell and 15 of the 21 teams advanced past the first round.
This year’s ConstructionCareers.com Corky Kell Classic kicks off at Johns Creek High School, which will host first double-header with Kell facing Cherokee Bluff in the 5:30 p.m. slot and Parkview taking on Johns Creek at 8:30 p.m. Reclassification has brought significant changes ahead of the 2022 season and Wednesday’s double header will feature teams from four different classifications; Cherokee Bluff (4A), Kell (5A), Johns Creek (6A), Parkview (7A). On Thursday at West Forsyth, Class 6A programs North Atlanta and North Forsyth will play at 5:30 p.m. ahead of Class 7A powerhouses Archer and West Forsyth. Both matchups will be first-ever meetings between the programs.
Friday will feature a triple-header that will be played at Rome’s Barron Stadium. In the opening 2:30 p.m. slot, Fellowship Christian and Mt. Pisgah will battle in the first private school matchup ahead of Class 5A Cass and Kennesaw Mountain—which will be making its Class 7A debut following the program’s first-ever region championship campaign this past season in Class 6A, at 5:30 p.m. Cass clinched a playoff berth this last season out of Region 7-5A and battled with the likes of Cartersville, Calhoun and Blessed Trinity. The nightcap of Friday’s triple-header will pair host Rome and Creekside in another first-ever meeting between programs.
The Corky Kell Classic returned to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2021 and it was a historic collaboration that gave the event access to all the tools in the venue’s groundbreaking state-of-art control room. This allowed the Corky Kell to present an unparalleled high school football broadcast and that will continue again in 2022. The joint venture proved to be a massive success and spring-boarded the Corky Kell Classic to the next level. This year, a four-pack of Class 7A battles will be broadcasted from the MBS studios—putting Georgia’s exceptional talent on display with the most groundbreaking technology in the game.
McEachern and North Gwinnett will kick things off in the opening game at 10 a.m. before Gwinnett County’s Brookwood and Norcross take the field at 1 p.m. Walton takes on Mill Creek at 4 p.m. before the final game of the 2022 classic at 7 p.m. that will stage an epic showdown between the Marietta Blue Devils and Grayson Rams.
Top prospects have appeared in the Corky Kell Classic throughout the last 30 years and the 2022 edition will have another star-powered lineup. Mill Creek five-star safety Caleb Downs is the No. 1 rated Class of 2023 prospect in the state and Brookwood’s Dylan Lonergan is the top-rated quarterback in the state . Among the other nationally-ranked Class of 2023 prospects taking the field will be Grayson’s four-star safety Michael Daugherty, North Gwinnett’s four-star linebacker Grant Godfrey and defensive lineman Kayden McDonoald, Rome’s four-star defensive lineman Stephiylan Green, Norcross’ four-star tight end Lawson Luckie and three stars Jace Arnold (Marietta), Connor Lew (Kennesaw Mountain), Zion Taylor (Parkview), Colin Houck (Parkview) and Daiquan White (Creekside).
You can watch all of the games on PeachtreeTV or the CBS46 app or follow the link to the football scoreboard powered by Score Atlanta.
See the full schedule below.
Wednesday, Aug. 17 at Johns Creek
5:30 p.m.- Kell vs. Cherokee Bluff
8:30 p.m.- Johns Creek vs. Parkview
Thursday, Aug. 18 at West Forsyth
5:30 p.m.- North Atlanta vs. North Forsyth
8:30 p.m.- West Forsyth vs. Archer
Friday, Aug. 19 at Rome
2:30 p.m.- Mt. Pisgah vs. Fellowship Christian
5:30 p.m.- Kennesaw Mountain vs. Cass
8:30 p.m.- Rome vs. Creekside
Saturday, Aug. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium
10:00 a.m.- McEachern vs. North Gwinnett
1:00 p.m.- Brookwood vs. Norcross
4:00 p.m.- Walton vs. Mill Creek
7:00 p.m.- Marietta vs. Grayson
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