Top High School Football Games for 2016: Part One

With the start of the high school football season right around the corner here in Georgia, now is the time to start looking at the schedules to map out where the best games will be each week. Here is a starter pack of games that will help you in finding out where you should head to watch some of the best football the Peach State has to offer.

Houston County vs. Mary Persons (Mercer University)

Right out of the gate, Jake Fromm and his HoCo teammates will have to travel to Forsyth to take on Mary Persons. Mary Persons has Malik Herring anchoring their defensive line, and he will more than likely be going up against top 2018 offensive lineman Deontrey Hill. This is the first game in the Corky Kell Classic.

Buford vs Roswell (McEachern High School)

The Roswell Hornets will once again be looking to make it deep into the playoffs this year, and with their first game being against Buford, it doesn’t look to be an easy road for Roswell's LeAnthony Williams and company. Xavier McKinney will help anchor the defensive backfield alongside Williams, but Roswell also has a pair of wide receivers in Corey Reed and Jayden Comma who UGA could potentially target depending on how their senior seasons play out. This game is also part of the Corky Kell Classic.

Allatoona at Cartersville

Five-star quarterback Trevor Lawrence will more than likely be committed to his school of choice by the time the Purple Hurricanes of Cartersville take on the AAAAA defending champion Allatoona Bucs, and hopefully for Lawrence, he will have strictly football on his mind, because the Bucs are a tough team.

Cedar Grove at Stephenson

If you are an offensive linemen guru, this is the game for you. Netori Johnson and Justin Shaffer, both UGA commits, will be in action against Stephenson. Tre Shaw, a UNC commit, will hold down the defensive backfield for Cedar Grove. But, if the big uglies on the offensive line don't get you fired up, Aaron Sterling on the defensive line for Stephenson should do the trick. Carlito Gonzalez, a big, physical defensive back from Stephenson is committed to Auburn and should have a great senior season.

Corky Kell Classic (Georgia Dome)

· Kell vs. Tucker

· North Gwinnett vs. Brookwood

· Walton vs. Norcross

· Colquitt County vs. Mill Creek

· McEachern vs. Archer

Go ahead and mark your calendars, folks. The Corky Kell Classic will wrap up in the Georgia Dome with five games, with the first starting at 9 A.M. With so many great players on each one of these teams, it is hard to single out just a select few, but keep your eyes peeled when watching the Brookwood defense for Leonard Warner. Warner seems to be down to Georgia Tech or UGA for his college choice.

Lanier at South Gwinnett

The Lanier Longhorns will travel all the way to South Gwinnett to take on Class of 2018 star prospect Justin Mascoll and the Comets. Lanier will bring with them a pair of the Class of 2017’s top prospects in Tyler Taylor and Michael Allen. Again, all three of these prospects are being recruited by UGA, so it will be interesting to see how Mascoll compares to players a year older than him.

IMG at Grayson

This will be the game of the year in the state of Georgia, mark my words. I’m even afraid that I am going to have to call weeks in advance for a press pass, due to the insane number of media outlets who will be attending this game. With 40 prospects from IMG already having at least one FBS offer, facing off against 10 of the best players in the state, you will want to be at this game. ESPN will televise it and coaches from around the nation will be tuning in to watch. I wonder if Grayson could call Arthur Blank up and rent the Dome for the day? I'm joking. Sort of.

Grayson at McEachern

Grayson will have to put the pads back on the following week and face a tough team in McEachern. You can bet that UNC commit Bailey Hockman and his father, Kyle, who is the head coach, won’t take it easy on the Rams. Grayson will come prepared with top Class of 2017 prospects, Deangelo Gibbs, Jamyest Williams, Tony Gray, Chase Brice, Breon Dixon, Kurt Taylor and Will Taylor. Add on Class of 2018 wide receiver Jaylon Rivers, and Class of 2019 freaks Owen Pappoe and Kenyatta Watson Jr., and McEachern, like IMG the week before, will have its hands full.

Tucker at Colquitt County

Colquitt County, led by Rush Propst, will head north to take on the Tucker Tigers. The Packers bring with them Class of 2018 stud linebacker JJ Peterson, and if you are in the metro Atlanta area, you are going to want to take a look at this kid while he is in your backyard. Peterson is a name to watch moving forward in recruiting, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him high on UGA’s board for 2018.

Last but not least, Brookwood will travel just down the road to take on the Comets of South Gwinnett. Like I’ve already said, Mascoll for the Comets and Warner for Brookwood are the two big names to watch in this game.