It will be the 30th year of Georgia’s famous high school football jamboree, and it is looking different and exciting compared to last year. Eight Gwinnett high school teams will be participating, West Forsyth will host Wednesday night’s games while Dacula High School will host Thursday and Friday games, and most importantly, the classic will move back into Mercedes-Benz for Saturday’s games.
Two APS (Atlanta Public Schools) teams in Mays and Carver-Atlanta will open up the classic at West Forsyth playing against Cherokee and West Forsyth. The first game will begin at 5:30 with Mays vs. Cherokee and end with West Forsyth battling Carver-Atlanta. Both teams are looking for their first victory in the classic and will seek better performances after blowout losses in last year’s classic.
Thursday night will feature the Westlake Lions battling Archer in the opener and Dacula hosting Tucker in the night game.
This will be the Lions’ first time in the classic. It is important to note that the Lions fell short in the Class 6-A finals to Lee County this past season and will be seeking to start strong this season.
The Falcons of Dacula will follow as they host Tucker for the 8:30 night game. Who can forget the last time the Falcons played in the Corky Kell? In case you missed it or forgot, they played in a four-overtime thriller against Brookwood last year but fell 40-34.
Both games including Friday’s matchups will be played at Dacula.
The first Friday matchup will feature Johns Creek and Gainesville followed by Buford vs. North Cobb to end the night.
The state champions in the Buford Lions will look to defend their state title run with a win against North Cobb in the 8:30 matchup Friday. The Wolves are not new to winning nor playing in the Corky Kell after defeating Milton 26-23 in 2019 after having to move the game to Milton because of inclement weather.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium will be open Saturday to end the classic and will feature five games including North Gwinnett vs. Hoover. After Lowndes vs. Hoover could not happen due to scheduling issues for Hoover because of COVID-19, this will be the first matchup that involves a high school out of state in this classic.
The Bulldogs played in the classic last year at home and defeated McEachern 35-7 in a late Thursday night game. Although they fell short in the second round of the playoffs last season, the classic will be a good measuring stick to see where they are.
As for the Buccaneers of Hoover, they fell to eventual state champions Thompson 52-14 in the third round of the playoffs. They will also be seeking their first win in the classic as an out of state opponent.
Overall, the schedule shows that the classic will be a great one as it is each season.
Eleven Gwinnett County schools in this year’s classic, two APS schools seeking their first win and multiple teams looking to build off of last year’s losses in the playoffs, there is no doubt this will be a fun week of football.
All games will be broadcasted on CBS/PeachtreeTV. For a full schedule, see below or click the link.
Wednesday, Aug. 18.
Games at West Forsyth
5:30 p.m.- Cherokee vs. Mays
8:30 p.m.- West Forsyth vs. Carver Atlanta
Thursday, Aug. 19
Games at Dacula
5:30 p.m.- Archer vs. Westlake
8:30 p.m.- Dacula vs. Tucker
Friday, Aug. 20
Games at Dacula
5:30 p.m.- Johns Creek vs. Gainesville
8:30 p.m- Buford vs. North Cobb
Saturday Aug. 21
Games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium
9:00 a.m.- Kell vs McEachern
11:45 a.m.- Mill Creek vs. Parkview
2:45 p.m.- Lowndes vs. Walton
5:45 p.m.- North Gwinnett vs. Hoover (Ala.)
8:45 p.m.- Brookwood vs. Collins Hill
