Local high

school fans ready for some football will get their wish earlier than ever

before, every team in the county will have a game under its belt before

Sept. 1.

the Starr's Mill Panthers take the field Saturday at the Georgia Dome

to face Brookwood in the 5:30 p.m. installment of the Corky Kell Classic,

they will be the last local team to open the regular season. Before last

year, the Classic was played a week before all other games.

This will be

the fourth straight year the Panthers get to take the field at the Dome,

after reaching the state semifinals in 2000 and two previous Corky Kell

Classic appearances. They downed Dacula 24-7 in last year's game.

But the Atlanta

Falcons' home field remains a goal for every team, as the state semifinals

will once again be played there in early December. To get there, a team

need only win most of its regular-season games and three straight playoff

games.

The 10-game

regular season will be spread out over 12 weeks, with each team getting

two bye weeks to rest the aches and pains. Landmark Christian's War Eagles

will be the final local team to complete its regular season, with a Nov.

14 date against Mt. Zion of Carroll County on a weekend that finds all

other local squads with a bye.

There is are

no region matchups in the season's first week. Friday night's action includes

the Fayette County Tigers hosting Douglas County, the McIntosh Chiefs

hitting the road to play Eagle's Landing, Landmark at home against Cross

Keys, and Pacelli Catholic coming to town to face Our Lady of Mercy. The

Sandy Creek Patriots being their season the following week, with a Sept.

5 game at Fayette County.

Three of the

county's four high schools Fayette County, McIntosh and Starr's Mill are

in Region 4-AAAAA, which means that all three will play each other. Starr's

Mill capped off its 2002 regular season with a 28-20 win over Fayette

County to claim the inaugural Rock Trophy and the region championship.

Coach Mike

Earwood's Panthers went on to a 41-7 win over Tift County in the first

round of the state playoffs before falling 28-21 to Northside-Warner Robins

in the second round and finishing the season with a 9-3 record.

The Tigers

closed out 2002 at 2-8 with wins over McIntosh and Sandy Creek. They start

2003 with a new head coach, as Tommy Webb comes on board after more than

a decade of coaching and much success in Clayton County.

McIntosh, under

head coach Butch Prosser, won its season opener in 2002 over Eagle's Landing,

this year's opening game opponent, before going on to compile a 1-9 record.

After next

week's Fayette County-Sandy Creek matchup, the next intracounty game is

scheduled for Oct. 10, when the Tigers face the Chiefs at McIntosh. The

Chiefs host Starr's Mill Oct. 24, and the Panthers host the Tigers Nov.

7.

Other schools

in Region 4-AAAAA include Carver-Columbus, East Coweta, Lovejoy, Newnan

and Riverdale. Mundy's Mill, in its second year of existence, is playing

a nonregion schedule.

In Region 4-AAAA,

coach Rodney Walker's Sandy Creek squad rebounded from a 1-2 start to

win six out of its nex seven, making the state playoffs before bowing

out with a 42-17 loss to Ware County in the first round in Waycross. The

Patriots will fight for this year's region title against Alexander, Chapel

Hill, Douglas County, Forest Park, Lithia Springs, North Clayton, Northgate,

Pebblebrook and Woodward Academy.

Two local schools

Landmark and Our Lady of Mercy are on the Region 5-A roster, along with

Bowdon, Heard County, Mt. Zion-Carrollton and Whitefield Academy. The

War Eagles and the Bobcats square off Nov. 7 at Our Lady or Mercy.

Landmark rolled

through most of the season unbeaten until a 21-0 loss to Lincoln County

in the second round of the state playoffs brought an 11-1 season to an

end. Our Lady of Mercy finished the 2002 campaign with a 2-8 mark, which

included wins over Whitefield and Walker.

The county's

newest high school, Whitewater, began its junior varsity schedule last

week and will play on the road against Luella, another new high school

in Henry County, Friday night.

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