34th annual Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic recap
The 34th annual Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic gave Georgia high school football fans a good look at what the 2025 season could look like. The four day, 11-game event featured five teams ranked in the Preseason High School Football America 300 national rankings, powered by NFL Play Football.
Below is a recap of all of the games.
Saturday, August 16
at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
No. 36 Douglas County 21, No. 53 North Gwinnett
The finale at Mercedes-Benz Stadium featured two of the teams that have a real shot at returning to the home of the Atlanta Falcons in December for the state championships.
No. 36 Douglas County, a 6A state semifinalist in 2024, beat No. 53 North Gwinnett 21-7 in a game that saw all of the points coming in the first half.
DC jumped-out to a 14-0 first quarter lead on Rah’Keith Kelly’s two touchdown runs.
McEachern 50, No. 281 Walton 17
McEachern, a team that started the season just outside of the HSFA 300, showed that its should be in our first in-season rankings that will be released on Sunday, August 24. The Indians rolled No. 281 Walton 50-17 behind quarterback Calvin Pittman’s two touchdown passes. Pittman was 15-of-29 for 227 yards.
The Indians entire offense was pretty much unstoppable with 583 yards total offense — 356 yards rushing, 277 yards passing.
Casey Barner scored three different ways — a 69-yard TD run, 39-yard TD receptions and 98 yard punt return for six.
No. 279 Houston County 31, Brookwood 24
No. 279 Houston County edged Brookwood 31-24. The game came down to the final seconds with Ryan Maxwell connecting with Jase Jordan with just seven seconds to play in regulation.
St. Pius X 15, Dunwoody 12
St. Pius X opened the quadruple-header at the dome with a come-from behind 15-12 win over Dunwoody.
Aiden Francois’s touchdown run with 3:30 left proved to be the game-winner.
Friday, August 15
at Buck Godfrey Stadium, Decatur
Cedar Grove 38, Therrell 6
New Cedar Grove head coach Rich Freeman opened with a W. The Saints opened a 19-0 first quarter lead and never looked back. Mahki Watson rushed for four touchdowns.
The Cedar Grove defense was great, limiting Therrell to 37 total yards of offense, including minus-10 on the ground
at Barron Stadium, Rome
LaGrange 27, Cass 7
LaGrange dual-threat QB Dylan Barber ran for 113 yards and threw for 75 in the Grangers 27-7 win over Cass. Barber completed 7-of-13 passes with two touchdowns.
The Grangers defense held Mississippi State-recruit Brodie McWhorter to 11-of-22 through the air for 118 yards with one touchdowns.
No. 192 Creekside 48, Rome 28
Nationally-ranked Creekside beat Rome 48-28 after losing a 21-0 second quarter lead. The Wolves fought back from the 21-point deficit to take a 28-21 lead at the half. Creekside, ranked No. 191 in the HSFA 300 national rankings, scored the game’s final 27 points.
Creekside rolled on the ground with 424 yards rushings. Three players topped the century mark — Gary Walker (183 yards, 1 TD), Cedric Kelly (129 yards, 2 TDs) and Cayden Benson (108 yards, 3 TDs).
Thursday, August 14
Hebron Christian 29, North Atlanta 22
Reigning Private 3A-1A state champ Hebron Christian opened defense of its title with a 29-22 win over North Atlanta. Devon Caldwell, Mercer-recruit, ran for three scores. He carried the ball 26 times for 127 yards.
West Forsyth 27, Douglass 0
West Forsyth is off to a 1-0 start in 2025 with a 27-0 shutout of Douglass. Max Walraven tossed two touchdown passes. The Wolverine defense limited Douglass to 179 yards of total offense.
Wednesday, August 13
Kell 44, South Paulding 21
Kell jumped out to a 34-7 halftime lead against South Paulding and never looked back. The Longhorns rolled up 348 yards on the ground in their 44-21 season opening victory.
Quinterrius Gipson ran for 194 yards on just 16 carries. He scored two rushing touchdowns, plus caught a touchdown pass.
Prince Avenue Christian 40, Callaway 17
Jon Richt, son of former Georgia Bulldogs head coach Mark Richt, won his first game as the head coach at Prince Avenue Christian. PAC beat Callaway 40-17 with Virginia Tech-commit quarterback Ben Musse throwing two touchdowns and rushing for one.
Musser was 14-of-19 passing for 227 yards. He gained 108 yards on the ground.
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