DeKalb football teams set to kickoff – The Champion Newspaper | 404-373-7779

Nine new head coaches in DeKalb County make their debuts Aug. 19 – 21, as 16 of 19 DeKalb County School District football teams open the 2021 prep season beginning Aug. 17.

Two games are on tap for Aug. 19, with two of the new head coaches making their DeKalb County debuts.

Tucker High School gets the honor of playing the first game of the new season as new Tigers head coach James Thomson leads his squad into Gwinnett County to take on host Dacula High School at 5:30 p.m. as part of the 2021 Corky Kell Classic. Tucker went 3-5 in the shortened 2020 season, falling to Lee County High School in the first round of the Class 6A state playoffs

The first game in DeKalb County has Chamblee High School and first year coach Robert Swank leading the Bulldogs against North Springs in a 7 p.m. kickoff at North DeKalb Stadium. Swank was an assistant at Chamblee a year ago as the Bulldogs put together a 6-1 season, their first winning season since 2013.

Five games are on tap in DeKalb County stadiums Aug. 20, with all set for 7:30 p.m. kickoffs.

The Lakeside High School Vikings open by hosting Berkmar High School at Adams Stadium. Coach Morris Starr’s team dropped a tough 20-14 decision to Berkmar on the road last season.

Druid Hills High School’s first year head coach Frederick Green takes his Red Devils into Avondale Stadium to face off with James Lal’s Stone Mountain High School Pirates. Druid Hills went 0-3 in the shortened 2020 season. Stone Mountain went 3-5 with its tough Region 5-5A schedule.

McNair High School is set to open the season by hosting Forest Park High School at Godfrey Stadium Aug. 20. The Mustangs are under the direction of first year coach Mario Drayton. McNair went 0-5 a year ago.

A big county battle is set for Hallford Stadium Aug. 20, when Stephenson High School hosts Lithonia High School. Former Lithonia head coach and Stephenson alum Marcus Jelks takes over the Jaguar program replacing his former coach Ron Gartrell, who started the Stephenson program when the school opened.

Stephenson went 4-3 a year ago and dropped a tough 28-24 decision to Northwest Whitfield High School in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs. Lithonia also comes into the game with a new coach in Kevin Hill. The Bulldogs went 3-4 a year ago and finished just one-win shy of the state playoffs.

Dunwoody High School wraps up the home slate by hosting Decatur High School at North DeKalb Stadium. The Wildcats went 1-7 in their first year in Class 7A in 2020. Dunwoody showed flashes of a solid team in a 27-21 scrimmage win over Arabia Mountain High School last week.

Arabia Mountain has a new head coach this year as Julian Washington takes over the reins for the departed Stan Pritchett. Washington sent his squad through a scrimmage with Dunwoody and came up short 27-21. The Rams travel to Conyers to face Rockdale County High School, a 23-14 scrimmage winner over Towers High School last week. The Rams went 3-4 a year ago.

Towers is also opening the season under the direction of a new coach as Michael Johnson heads the Titans’ program this fall. The Titans are coming off a competitive 23-14 scrimmage loss to Rockdale County last week. Johnson is looking to improve on a 1-6 finish by the Titans last fall.

Miller Grove High School first year coach Melvin Brown makes his opening appearance on the road at Walnut Grove High School at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 20. The Wolverines went 3-5 last season.

In other road games scheduled for Aug. 20, Martin Luther King Jr. High School travels to McDonough High School (7 p.m.), Columbia High School heads to Camden County High School (7:30 p.m.), Southwest DeKalb High School goes to Stockbridge High School (7:30 p.m.), Cross Keys High Schools goes on the road to Rock Springs Christian High School (7:30 p.m.), and St. Pius X Catholic High School plays at Flowery Branch High School at 7:30 p.m. 

Cedar Grove, Marist, Clarkston and Redan high schools are all off on this opening week of the season.