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When the Georgia high school football season gets underway next week, it will be a local team getting it all started. On Wednesday at 4:30  p.m., the LaGrange High football team will kick off the season as part of the Corky Kell Classic against Douglass at Kell High School in Atlanta.

It will be a chance for the Grangers to show out with all eyes firmly glued on them. The game will be broadcast throughout the state. 

“To play the first high school game in the state of Georgia this year is a big deal not just for our football team, but for our school, our fans, our cheerleaders, our band, it really is a great opportunity for all of us,” LaGrange coach Matt Napier said earlier this year. “It’s an honor to be thought of to take part in this.”

It will be a tough test for the Grangers, who will have to play in the blistering heat of an August afternoon in Georgia. They will also be on the opposite side of a quality opponent. Douglass, a team that will play in 3A this season alongside LaGrange, is coming off a 6-5 season in which the team finished third in their region and booked a spot in the 3A playoffs.

It was a remarkable turnaround for the Astros after winning just four total games in the three years prior to last season.

“They have a five-star player that is an Ohio State commit and they have done a really good job developing a program,” Napier said. “We know they are a really good team and we will have our hands full. Anytime you play in a tournament like this you are going to be facing really good competition.”

This will be the first matchup between the two teams and the first appearance in the Corky Kell Classic (est. 1992) for both teams.

LaGrange is coming off an impressive season as well. The Grangers went 9-3 a season ago and made the second round of the 4A state playoffs. The Grangers lost some quality talent and are moving from 4A to 3A but the expectations remain high for LaGrange.

“This is LaGrange High School, the expectations here are always going to be high. Not only from our community but from ourselves. I think the expectation is to put a championship-style program on the field and that’s what we’re looking forward to doing,” Napier said. “We’re losing several starters from last year on both sides of the ball, replacing about eight on defense and replacing about nine on offense. So there’ll be a lot of new Granger faces out there. But you know, I’m excited about those guys.”

LaGrange last played in the 3A classification in 2011.

The Grangers put a marker down on Thursday when they beat Harris County 27-13 in a pre-season scrimmage. Junior quarterback Dylan Barber, a transfer, made a big impression in his first start with the Grangers, running for a 75-yard touchdown and throwing for a 43-yard one.

“Dylan Barber is gonna be a great player for us. He’s a very athletic kid. He did really well in our Ironman competition among the top athletes in our football team,” Napier said before the season. “He’s fast and can run around 4.4 in the 40, squats 400 lbs. and is just a great competitor from that standpoint, and is a college recruit at the quarterback position so we’re excited about him and what he can bring to our football team.”

Barber was not the only Granger that impressed against the Tigers, a team coming off an 11-2 season in which they made the Elite Eight of the 5A playoffs. The two-headed running back duo of Malachi Fannin-Render and Caydin Thomas feasted on the Tiger defense and each got a touchdown for their efforts.

The LaGrange defense also showed its grit against Harris County, allowing the only points in the first half on a short field after a turnover by the offense. The backups also let the Tigers get in the end zone, but the game was in little doubt at that point.

When LaGrange breaks through the banner next Friday, it will be the next step on a journey to return the Grangers to national prominence.