Walton takes on Brookwood: How to watch the Corky Kell and Dave Hunter Classic matchup

Atlanta Falcons’ Mercedes-Benz Stadium is the site of a good one on Saturday!

The final day of the 2024 Corky Kell and Dave Hunter Classic has a four-pack of solid games, with the opener creating as much intrigue as any Georgia high school football kick off.

Last season, Walton’s (Marietta, Ga.) dismantling of Brookwood (Snellville, Ga.) 63-15 added to an early storyline on the Raiders’ season, which would end with the team going 14-1 with several Super 25 upsets on the way to finishing tops in Georgia’s Class 7A Region 5.

The team lost the state final against Milton, and with that, a significant amount of senior talent.

But this year’s team under head coach Daniel Brunner has playmakers on both sides of the ball, including a defensive line that must be ready to stop Brookwood’s top-tier running game.

If the defense can hold its own, the offense has more than enough talent to create scoring drives. Led by quarterback Kaeden Gilstrap (Wofford commit), the Raiders have talent in the backfield as well as at tight end and out wide, with Jude Cascone—who has offers from Ohio State and Georgia—and class of 2027 standout Alexander Ward—who already has looks from top programs like Alabama—creating options for the attack.

For Brookwood, the game represents a chance not only to even the all-time series at six wins apiece but also to exact a little revenge from last year’s blowout that ended with a Walton school record for points.

As mentioned, the rushing attack is a game-changing nod to the Broncos, with 4-star talent Brayden Tyson (a stout 6-0, 235 pounds) headlining the backfield behind a sturdy offensive line.

If  Tyson is able to repeat his 2023 Corky Kell and Dave Hunter Classic output, then this could be the makings of an-time shocker at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. 

Which team will take it?

Fans who are looking to watch Walton take on Brookwood at the Corky Kell and Dave Hunter Classic can live-stream the game on the NFHS Network.

Watch: Brookwood vs. Walton on the NFHS Network

(Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)

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Steph Curry pays tribute to NBA legend Bill Walton

Steph Curry took to Instagram to share a tribute message for NBA legend Bill Walton.

On Monday, the NBA shared heartbreaking news — legendary NBA Hall of Famer Bill Walton has passed away at 71 years old after a battle with cancer.

The news of Walton’s passing swept through the NBA community before his former team, the Boston Celtics, took the court against the Indiana Pacers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Current and past players, coaches and fans took to social media to share touching stories about Walton and pay tribute to the two-time NBA champion. Stephen Curry took to Instagram to share a heartfelt message for Walton.

RIP to a legend on and off the court. You might hear it all the time but he Always brought the BEST energy and humanity to every room he walked in to. True definition of lining his values, always with a smile! Prayers to the entire Walton family

Via @TheWarriorsTalk on X:

https://x.com/TheWarriorsTalk/status/1795202141981659339

Walton played 10 seasons in the NBA, winning two championships with the Portland Trail Blazers. Walton had a long-decorated resume from his playing days with the NBA that included two All-Star appearances, two All-NBA teams, Finals MVP and league MVP.

At the college level, Walton won two NCAA championships with UCLA and two NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player awards. Walton was a three-time All-American at UCLA under legendary coach John Wooden.

Following his playing career, Walton became a beloved broadcaster for college basketball, especially the Pac-12 conference.

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and X

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Cascade of upsets shakes up Georgia high school football rankings

Georgia was tied with Florida for the most teams in the Super 25 rankings. In the 7A quarterfinals, four of those teams were defeated. Let’s shake things up.

Georgia entered this week tied with Florida for most teams in the Super 25 national rankings (five each), making an argument as one of the two or three best high school football states of the 2023 season. On Saturday morning? It still may be one of the best, but it is infinitely more confounding.

Mill Creek (Hoschton, Ga.), ranked No. 10 in the nation, was 12-0 with a point differential of 481-182 (meaning an average score of 40-15) over the season and had won 20 games in a row stretching back to last season. With a Final Four appearance on the line, the Hawks fell 39-20 to the Camden County Wildcats (Kingsland, Ga.)

Camden County forced Mill Creek into its lowest-scoring performance of the season with a strong output from the defense that included a second-quarter interception on a screen pass and a fourth-quarter surge that didn’t allow a single point in the final 11 minutes of the game, helping the Wildcats increase its lead from 24-20 to a full two possessions.

Mill Creek, a surefire Super 25 team over the last couple of years, has fallen.

Three spots below was Colquitt County (Norman Park, Ga.), another 12-0 team. After winning 13 straight games last year but falling in the quarterfinals, the Packers were looking to move into the semifinals this year and prove themselves as the top team in the state.

Standing in the way was Milton (Ga.), which entered the game on a seven-game win streak in which it had outscored opponents 287-51 (an average margin of about 41-7). The Hawks took down the No. 13 team in the nation 39-37 as Luke Nickel, a Miami quarterback commit, passed for 302 yards and scored four touchdowns.

Colquitt County led 25-14 as the first half was winding to a close, but the Milton Hawks scored with less than a minute left to cut the deficit to 25-22. The Hawks then used that momentum to flip the score, going up 36-25 at the end of the third. Trailing by eight points with less than five minutes left, Colquitt County scored a touchdown but failed to convert the two-point attempt. Neither team would score again and the Packers went down.

No. 15 Walton (Marietta, Ga.) vs. No. 23 Carrolton (Ga.): Finally, a matchup in which there was no way a Super 25 team would not win.

Walton managed Carrolton with relative ease, winning 56-35 in a very high-scoring game, flipping last year’s 52-27 loss to the hands of the same Trojans team.

Three-star Wake Forest quarterback commit Jeremy Hecklinski threw for three touchdowns and rushed for a fourth while passing for almost 400 yards, according to MaxPreps. Three-star Memphis running back commit Makari Bodiford scored four touchdowns, two of which came in the second half after the lead had been cut to seven.

Walton and Camden County will now face off in the semifinals. On the flip side is Milton and Grayson (Loganville, Ga.).

Grayson reached after taking down No. 16 Buford 19-14. The defense was stellar, obliterating an offense led by Dylan Raiola, a top-five recruit on the 247Sports Composite. Raiola, committed to Georgia, passed 12-for-17 for just 136 yards while taking six sacks, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Rams forced and recovered three fumbles in the first half alone and held Buford to a negative number of rushing yards.

With that, the fourth-ranked Georgia team went down. The Nos. 10, 13, 16, and 23 spots are open. That shift doesn’t just affect the chase for the Georgia AAAAAAA crown — it shifts the landscape of the national rankings.

More:

Mater Dei redeems regular-season loss to St. John Bosco with championship win

Super 25 scoreboard

Georgia keeps 4-star OL recruit Daniel Calhoun in state

Calhoun says that his decision was all about development and the chance to play at the next level.

Georgia’s defense has gained most of the acclaim during the team’s two-year run at the top of college football. As dominant as they’ve been on that side of the ball, the Bulldogs have also become a hot spot for highly-ranked prospects, especially from the class of 2024.

At the top of the list is quarterback Dylan Raiola, the No. 1 overall ranked recruit in this cycle. They also have multiple four-star recruits at wide receiver and running back. Yesterday, the team added another piece to their offensive puzzle by getting a commitment from Walton (Ga.) four-star offensive tackle Daniel Calhoun.

Scouts from a dozen NBA teams packed the Riverview Park Activities Center on Wednesday as the top two prospects in the class of 2025, 

Calhoun (6-foot-6, 355 pounds) had offers from 25 other programs, including contenders at Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee and Texas.

According to Chad Simmons at On3, Calhoun says his decision was all about development and the chance to play at the next level.

“Their development is crazy… They send a ton of guys to the NFL every year and I also have a great relationship with the players and coaches. I get along with players like their my brothers and the coaching staff has really connected with my family.”

It probably didn’t hurt that Georgia was the first program to extend Calhoun an offer roughly three years ago.

Going by the 247Sports composite rankings, Calhoun is No. 6 among tackles in his class, No. 15 in the state and No. 98 nationally.

Georgia’s class of 2024 now has 23 hard commits. They still rank first in the nation by a comfortable margin.

More football stories

Commitment from 5-star WR Cam Coleman pushes Texas A&M into top 10

South Carolina feels ‘really good’ about getting five-star edge Dylan Stewart