The Great Atlanta Bash kicks off at Eddie S. Henderson Stadium with a two-day, four-game schedule beginning with Drew taking on North Atlanta tonight before a triple-header Saturday.
On Saturday, Chapel Hill will play South Atlanta at 10 a.m., Riverdale will face Carver-Atlanta at 1 p.m. and Douglas County will take on Mays at 4 p.m.
All games will be broadcast on Peachtree TV and streamed digitally on the CBS46 app and the NFHS Network.
Click here to watch each of the four Great Atlanta bash games!
See the team previews below.
Drew vs. North Atlanta – Friday at 8 p.m.
CHARLES DREW
The Titans enter the Great Atlanta Bash ready to face an unfamiliar foe for a first-ever meeting with North Atlanta. Drew began playing football in 2009 and has struggled to find many winning seasons in that span. The Titans inaugural head coach Jarrett Laws managed a 6-4 season in 2012, the best in school history at the time. In 2014 the Titans hired Dorwyn Lyles to take the head coaching job. In his five seasons, Lyles led Drew to a 9-4 finish and quarterfinal appearance in 2015, the program’s best season in its history. Leading the offense is a new face, junior quarterback Camron Prather, a 6-foot-2 junior. “When his name was called, when it was his time, he knew to step up,” said coach Steve Robinson, who took over the program in 2019. “He really took the torch and ran with it. He does all the right things when it comes to preparation. He is a leader on and off the field.” On the defensive side, 6-foot, 190-pound senior middle linebacker Tetric Mizell will be leaned upon to help anchor the side. “He is just a gritty kid, a tough kid,” Robinson said of Mizell. “He is another one who really stepped up when his number was called.” Defensive end Savon Gatlin, a 6-1, 217-pound junior is a stalwart on the defensive line and in the defensive backfield, safety Kevion Swilley is a 6-foot, 160-pound ballhawk and will be leaned upon to solidify the secondary.
NORTH ATLANTA
North Atlanta enters this matchup coming off a solid 6-4 season in 2021 and a massive 31-27 victory in the Corky Kell Classic this past week over North Forsyth. Last season, the Warriors opened 2021 with a strong 4-0 start, but eventually lost out on a playoff berth when they went into a three-way tie. Head coach Jamie Aull has done a tremendous job with his staff on preparing his team for another big year in Class 6A and their latest victory put the team’s speed, grit and talent on full display. “I couldn’t be more proud of our kids, man,” said Aull. “They were locked in, they were in tune. Things didn’t look great the whole game but they never flinched.” Trailing 27-24 with six minutes left in the game, North Atlanta’s defense held North Forsyth on a 4th-and-4 situation after a clutch pass breakup from senior defensive back Carl Murray. On the ensuing drive, North Atlanta quarterback Trey Lennon paced the Warriors down the field with a few big-time plays. “I can’t say enough about Trey Lennon,” he said. “We had a quarterback competition going in the summer and after our scrimmage we made a change and I didn’t know how he would handle it, but he handled it like a pro. He worked even harder and got even more locked in. And then when he got this opportunity, he made the best of it. With Randolph Smith making big plays and Hunter Davis making big plays, the defense, Xaden Benson picking two balls off, the turnovers kept us in it because that was a good football team.”
Chapel Hill vs. South Atlanta – Saturday at 10 a.m.
CHAPEL HILL
The Panthers opened with a 17-0 victory over Stone Mountain in Week 1 and will look to continue the trend against South Atlanta in this year’s Great Atlanta Bash at Eddie S. Henderson Stadium. Head coach Brad Stephens is all too familiar with the Hornets, where he coached from 2016 to 2019 before taking the head coaching job at Chapel Hill. The Panthers began playing football in 2000 and have managed just one second-round appearance (2008 under Chris Parker) in that span. Last season, in Stephens’ first year at the helm, Chapel Hill finished 2-8 and missed the playoffs. New faces are abound for the Panthers after Komari Frye, Chapel Hill’s leading rusher and quarterback from last season, transferred. Chapel Hill now looks to replace his production and use other skill players to lead the offense. Last season, Fyre was 90-of-156 passing for 1,137 yards and 17 touchdowns with 128 carries for 600 yards and four touchdowns. Quarterback Jaylen Wyatt, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound sophomore will now lead the offense. Receivers Chryshawn Sellars, Jah’Quil Roberts and Jelani Lovett are primed targets. In the backfield, Ricky Shannon, Rod Payne and Mike Padgett will feature in the running game. On the defensive front, Ken Senghorne, Mekhi Riley, Mekhi Bailey and Aaron Redmond anchor the line. Greg Warlaw, Rubin Huggins and Alex Teal back the line. Kwamani Zackery, Thai Collins, Jalen Kelley and Jackson Thompson will guard the wide outs and the secondary features Roberts, Cameron Ashton, Cameron Bonseignuer-Hibbett, Lovett and Josh Young.
SOUTH ATLANTA
South Atlanta went 11-2 last year under first-year head coach Michael Woolridge and is coming off a quarterfinal finish. The Hornets’ win total was the highest in program history and their run to the quarterfinals came just one season after the team advanced to the second round for the first time in program history. Now, coach Woolridge has 20 returning starters from last year’s team and is looking to build off that success and have another historic season. “We want to look to throw a little bit more because we know we are going to have loaded boxes with Keyjuan Brown rushing like how he is rushing and we know we are going to get 8, 9, 10-man boxes,” said Woolridge. “People are going to kind of force us to put it in the air so we have been trying to improve our passing game during the offseason.” TJ Summerall will star at the snicker back, the ace back position, the slot, and will even play a little bit of running back to give Brown a blow, according to Woolridge. Brown is coming off a 38-touchdown junior season and has earned AJC Super 11 recognition ahead of 2022. The other key playmaker for the Hornets will occupy the safety role and looks to impose his will when the season gets under way and has a great football IQ. “Taye Seymore is an East Carolina commit. He’s a safety, and he has been very impressive since he’s got here,” said Woolridge. “His football IQ and his speed is going to help us.”
Riverdale vs. Carver-Atlanta – Saturday at 1 p.m.
CARVER-ATLANTA
Carver opened its season this past week with a 22-6 win over South Cobb and added another win against a larger classification to its ever-growing list. The defense held the Eagles scoreless through the first three quarters and quarterback Bryce Bowens returned to form to command the offense. Keep your eyes on wide receiver Deandre Buchanon and quarterback Bryce Bowens for Carver this year. The tandem last year hooked up for 737 yards and eight touchdowns. With Bowens improving and developing more as a passer and Buchanon’s speed and great route-running ability, this duo could be in for a phenomenal season and strike fear into defenses. Carver-Atlanta looks to replace the production of their dynamic running backs, Jarveous Brown and Quintavious Lockett, who combined for 3,190 yards and 29 touchdowns last year. “Shoun Bilal was the third team back last year. He’s going to enter the year as the starter,” said Carver Atlanta coach Darren Myles. “Taurin Kemp, who starts at cornerback, will also be getting some carries in the backfield. He basically gives us that change in pace. We are probably going to try and go with four guys. It all depends on how the game is going.” Defensively, senior Aquantis Clemmons returns to his role at defensive tackle and is a multi-year starter in addition to the school’s valedictorian. Clemmons is a dominant force up front that tallied 42 tackles for loss in nine games this past season. Additionally, Joshua Stone is back after tallying three interceptions last year as a sophomore.
RIVERDALE
Riverdale is a two-time defending region champion and opened this season with a 69-0 victory over North Clayton this past Saturday to pick up its first region win of the season. Riverdale boasts a lot of youth this year after losing many seniors and having a thin junior class. Riverdale will depend on its underclassmen to step up and fill the shoes of those who graduated and improve upon last season. “We lost 17 seniors, we got 14 back, but our junior class is very small. We lost a lot of kids to transfers and stuff like that,” said coach Hackney. “We are going to be depending on a lot of sophomores this year to help us make it through the season.” One guy on offense that will carry the load this year for Riverdale is returning running back Autavious Ison. Ison looks to have a good season and has been putting in the extra work to become one of the best backs in Region AAAA. “Ison is really a sponge. He absorbs everything and is a very coachable kid. He is one of the kids you get every ten years, and they just come around,” said Hackney. “He really goes hard and puts in the extra effort you need to be a top-notch running back in these types of regions.” Hackney also chimed in on the matchup and his thoughts on going against coach Myles again. “Carver is a big challenge. I’ve known coach Myles for years. I coached APS for over seven years,” said Hackney. “It should be a good game.”
Douglas County vs. Mays – Saturday at 4 p.m.
MAYS
Mays enters this matchup in a transition with a new head coach at the helm, Tony Slaton. Slaton is also a former quarterback for his alma mater Mays. Slaton graduated in the class of 1992. Mays impressed in the Corky Kell 7-on-7 tournament over the summer and hope to bring some of that momentum into the season. The Raiders opened up the 2022 season last week with an impressive 35-0 win over Douglass in Slaton’s debut. Defensively, Mays boasts a stout front at the line of scrimmage. Three of their starters have been heavily recruited and they will be leaning on Troy Pikes to impose his will and be a defensive anchor. Slaton recently raved all about his defensive line. “Defensive line will definitely be our strength. We have four starters up front, three of those starters are highly recruited players,” said Slaton. “Troy Pikes anchors our defensive line along with Quintavious Johnson. Eliyah Hall is a sleeper. He’s a kid with great size. He created a lot of buzz for himself during the spring with a lot of coaches coming in just in awe about his size and his strength.” Mays will be leaning on their returning starting quarterback Saulamon Evans to shoulder the load offensively. “Evans on the offensive side of the ball is definitely our most impactful player,” said Slaton. “He’s very versatile too. He played a little wide receiver for us when we had Quintavious Johnson (current defensive lineman) at the quarterback position.”
DOUGLAS COUNTY
Douglas County opened up the season last Saturday with a 52-13 win over Lithia Springs and is fresh off an 8-4 season. Now, Douglas County will look to have another successful launch into the season and junior quarterback Sire Hardaway will be a key factor. “We won eight games with him as a sophomore. He understands our offense. He knows where the ball needs to go,” said head coach Johnny White. “He is starting to really pick up and understand coverages, so that is really going to help us out. I think he will have a dynamic football year.” Leading rusher for Douglas County Latrelle Murrell will miss the Great Atlanta Bash and won’t be ready until region play, per Score Atlanta’s Najeh Wilkins. The injury occurred due to an awkward fall. Douglas County is dealing with another significant injury headed into this matchup. Star defensive lineman Shakai Woods will be out for some time. Coach White gave details about the injury and when Woods is expected to be back. “Shakai Woods partially tore his achilles in the spring, and he is not planning to come back until September,” said White. “He was All-State last year. He may be ready by Mays, but we aren’t 100% sure yet.” Douglas County will look to be as aggressive as possible on defense and White is putting an emphasis on swarming to the football. “I want us to be technique sound and see 11 guys flying to the football,” said White. “If we got 11 guys running to the football, then good things are going to happen.”
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