2022 Corky Kell Classic Standout Games

Just like every other year, some of the best matchups of the season happen to come during the beginning of the season, as some of the most promising, and deeply talented rosters clash in week one's Corky Kell Classic games. This upcoming season appears to have as talented of a lineup as there has been in recent years. Because of this, it will undoubtedly be fun to track, and watch, as this will likely set positive tones of motivation for a majority of these teams going into the rest of the season. McEachern vs North Gwinnett Lucky enough for each team, both North Gwinnett, and McEachern seemed to be on a similar trajectory last season, as they both finished with a 6-7 win season. The main difference between the two was the fact that due to a weaker region, McEachern was able to leverage this into 1st place in their region. Regardless, previous success, or shortcomings will do nothing for either program this upcoming season, as it will be a clean slate. The top players returning in this matchup for either team include that of [player_tooltip player_id='34064' first='Kayden' last='McDonald'], [player_tooltip player_id='220720' first='Grant' last='Godfrey'], Jaeden Ford, Ethan Washington, [player_tooltip player_id='34053' first='Jace' last='Ward'], and Lance Watkins. If we had to choose, we believe that North Gwinnett has the edge in this upcoming game due to the fact that they may be a bit more well rounded. Only time will tell. Brookwood vs Norcross Going into this matchup, fans have plenty to be excited about, especially as there happens to be plenty of star studded power on both sides of the field. Top prospects such as [player_tooltip player_id='34009' first='Dylan' last='Lonergan'], [player_tooltip player_id='34076' first='Malcolm' last='Mccain'], [player_tooltip player_id='34057' first='Lawson' last='Luckie'], and [player_tooltip player_id='327223' first='Nakai' last='Poole'] will all be returning, which will make the competition stiff on both offense and defense. Ultimately, when it is all said and done, we think Brookwood has a bit of a leg up on Norcross, and that their previous experience playing more consistently talented rosters will pay off in this match up, causing Norcross to fall short. Nevertheless, both teams are very talented, and have high upsides for the season that will be ahead of them following this game. Rome vs Creekside One thing that both Rome and Creekside have in common is the fact that they came in 2nd place in each of their prospective regions last season. This points to the fact that they both finished with successful records, including 8-3 for Rome, and 11-3 for Creekside, with a 6-1 regional record for each of them. If this does not show you how evenly matched these programs are going to be going into this game, we don't know what will. It is also worth noting that each team has its fair share of younger players that will be involved, and supporting the established starters and rotational players from last year. Specifically, we are excited to see players such as [player_tooltip player_id='320343' first='Stephiylan' last='Green'], [player_tooltip player_id='320362' first='Martel' last='Hight'], [player_tooltip player_id='165725' first='Martavious' last='Collins'], [player_tooltip player_id='137476' first='Reece' last='Fountain'], [player_tooltip player_id='327199' first='BJ' last='Williams'], [player_tooltip player_id='34043' first='Daiquan' last='White'], and [player_tooltip player_id='330823' first='Malik' last='Tullis'], as they will all play a major part in the results of this game. Likely, a big play will be made from one, or multiple players on this list. Marietta vs Grayson Out of this entire list, the matchup between Marietta and Grayson may be one of the more promising Corky Kell games this upcoming season, especially due to the high level of promise that each team brings to the table. Just like Rome and Creekside, both Marietta and Grayson finished last season in 2nd place in their region. Grayson happened to have the upper hand out of these two teams though, as they finished 10-4, and have gone on to return some of the most promising players on their roster last season- not to mention the addition of their new starting QB, Jeff Davis, who appears to have a bright future ahead of him. To add to this, Marietta is also returning its fair share of talent that could find a way to win in this head to head matchup. This includes the likes of Jake Wray, Arik Gilbert, Daniel Martin, and [player_tooltip player_id='34050' first='Jace' last='Arnold']. Even with this high level of talent, we do not think it will be enough to combat the level of coaching that Grayson will also bring into this game. Nevertheless, following this game, we have high hopes for both of these programs going into the rest of the season.

Just like every other year, some of the best matchups of the season happen to come during the beginning of the season, as some of the most promising, and deeply talented rosters clash in week one's Corky Kell Classic games. This upcoming season appears to have as talented of a lineup as there has been in recent years. Because of this, it will undoubtedly be fun to track, and watch, as this will likely set positive tones of motivation for a majority of these teams going into the rest of the season.
McEachern vs North Gwinnett
Lucky enough for each team, both North Gwinnett, and McEachern seemed to be on a similar trajectory last season, as they both finished with a 6-7 win season. The main difference between the two was the fact that due to a weaker region, McEachern was able to leverage this into 1st place in their region. Regardless, previous success, or shortcomings will do nothing for either program this upcoming season, as it will be a clean slate. The top players returning in this matchup for either team include that of Kayden McDonald Kayden McDonald 6'0" | 290 lbs | DL North Gwinnett | 2023 State GA , Grant Godfrey Grant Godfrey 6'3" | 200 lbs | LB North Gwinnett | 2023 State GA , Jaeden Ford, Ethan Washington, Jace Ward Jace Ward 6'3" | 220 lbs | LB McEachern | 2023 State GA , and Lance Watkins. If we had to choose, we believe that North Gwinnett has the edge in this upcoming game due to the fact that they may be a bit more well rounded. Only time will tell.
Brookwood vs Norcross
Going into this matchup, fans have plenty to be excited about, especially as there happens to be plenty of star studded power on both sides of the field. Top prospects such as Dylan Lonergan Dylan Lonergan 6'2" | 200 lbs | QB Brookwood | 2023 State GA , Malcolm Mccain Malcolm Mccain 6'1" | 220 lbs | LB Brookwood | 2023 State GA , Lawson Luckie Lawson Luckie 6'3" | 225 lbs | TE Norcross | 2023 State GA , and Nakai Poole Nakai Poole 6'3" | 205 lbs | WR Norcross | 2023 State GA will all be returning, which will make the competition stiff on both offense and defense. Ultimately, when it is all said and done, we think Brookwood has a bit of a leg up on Norcross, and that their previous experience playing more consistently talented rosters will pay off in this match up, causing Norcross to fall short. Nevertheless, both teams are very talented, and have high upsides for the season that will be ahead of them following this game.
Rome vs Creekside
One thing that both Rome and Creekside have in common is the fact that they came in 2nd place in each of their prospective regions last season. This points to the fact that they both finished with successful records, including 8-3 for Rome, and 11-3 for Creekside, with a 6-1 regional record for each of them. If this does not show you how evenly matched these programs are going to be going into this game, we don't know what will. It is also worth noting that each team has its fair share of younger players that will be involved, and supporting the established starters and rotational players from last year. Specifically, we are excited to see players such as Stephiylan Green Stephiylan Green 6'4" | 270 lbs | DL Rome | 2023 State GA , Martel Hight Martel Hight 5'11" | 165 lbs | ATH Rome | 2023 State GA , Martavious Collins Martavious Collins 6'4" | 235 lbs | TE Rome | 2024 State GA , Reece Fountain Reece Fountain 6'1" | 175 lbs | QB Rome | 2024 State GA , BJ Williams BJ Williams 6'4" | 270 lbs | OL Creekside | 2023 State GA , Daiquan White Daiquan White 5'10" | 160 lbs | DB Creekside | 2023 State GA , and Malik Tullis Malik Tullis 6'0" | 260 lbs | DL Creekside | 2023 State GA , as they will all play a major part in the results of this game. Likely, a big play will be made from one, or multiple players on this list.
Marietta vs Grayson
Out of this entire list, the matchup between Marietta and Grayson may be one of the more promising Corky Kell games this upcoming season, especially due to the high level of promise that each team brings to the table. Just like Rome and Creekside, both Marietta and Grayson finished last season in 2nd place in their region. Grayson happened to have the upper hand out of these two teams though, as they finished 10-4, and have gone on to return some of the most promising players on their roster last season- not to mention the addition of their new starting QB, Jeff Davis, who appears to have a bright future ahead of him. To add to this, Marietta is also returning its fair share of talent that could find a way to win in this head to head matchup. This includes the likes of Jake Wray, Arik Gilbert, Daniel Martin, and Jace Arnold Jace Arnold 5'6" | 121 lbs | DB Marietta | 2023 State GA . Even with this high level of talent, we do not think it will be enough to combat the level of coaching that Grayson will also bring into this game. Nevertheless, following this game, we have high hopes for both of these programs going into the rest of the season.