Fourteen programs will square off in seven games over three days at Glynn County Stadium in six weeks for the inaugural Georgia vs. Florida Border Classic.
The brainchild of Glynn County athletic director Steve Waters, and made possible through partnerships with Baker’s Sports, Under Armour and Jacksonville news station WJXT, News4Jax, the classic has the potential to catapult south Georgia into the national spotlight.
The Corky Kell Classic has long been the gold standard for prep football showcases in the Peach State as the metro Atlanta event enters its 31st year. This past season, 11 games were broadcast by CBS/Peachtree TV, creating an untold amount of brand awareness and exposure for the competing programs, coaches and players.
Glynn Academy head coach Rocky Hidalgo has firsthand knowledge of the fact, having competed in the Corky Kell as both an assistant and head coach at Walton. In Hidalgo’s first year leading the program in 2009, Walton defeated Norcross 28-27 in an overtime thriller that reverberated around the southeast.
“I just think it makes some brand awareness, and I think that’s important,” Hidalgo said. “People look around, people in Alabama and Mississippi, who are high school football fans, who watch high school football all year long online.
“They go back and they find these games, and they have some awareness of your community, your school, your program, and the players that play for them. It’s a cool thing, and it’s a big deal.”
The Georgia vs. Florida Border Classic has a chance to do the same as powerhouses programs go toe-to-toe in games aired on local television and streamed to an online audience via the News4JAX+ service.
“It will be great exposure for our kids,” said Fitzgerald head coach Tucker Pruitt, whose program is set to play Madison County in the 2 p.m. contest Sept. 10. “We have a bunch of competitors that are looking forward to it. They’ll be training hard all year in preparation for it. I think most of our fans will probably be here watching from (Glynn County Stadium), but the ones who can’t make it will be on TV.
“It’s just a really big challenge, a good environment, a great opponent, so there’s a lot of things to be excited about.”
McIntosh County Academy head coach Bradley Warren agrees whole-heartedly.
Warren spent five years in metro Atlanta leading Central Gwinnett from 2002-06, but he never had an opportunity to play in the Corky Kell Classic. Now, McIntosh will kickoff the first Border Classic with a 5 p.m. contest against West Nassau on Sept. 8.
“You’re in a metro area up there with Corky Kell, and it’s really exciting for those communities because they’re close,” Warren said. “We haven’t had anything like that down here, so I think it’s going to be huge because the little counties are like, ‘Hey, we watched seven football games in one venue.’ I think it’s going to be really nice.”
And there are tangible benefits to these showcases that go beyond brand awareness.
An early-season showdown against top competition provides an excellent target for teams to prepare for throughout the dog days of summer. The reward for a strong performance very well could be a college offer.
With 14 teams occupying one stadium, the Georgia vs. Florida Border Classic promises to be a fertile recruiting ground.
“If you’re a college coach and you’re here on that weekend, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, to come see some games and everything, you’re going to see some premier talent on the field in every one of these games,” said Brunswick High head coach Garrett Grady. “I would invite everyone to come on out for sure.”
Hidalgo echoed the sentiment: “You never know when somebody is going to watch film on one of your kids and go, ‘I really like that kid. Something like this could very well open an avenue for somebody to have some success like that.”
