Daniel Shirley: Corky Kell a terrific showcase for Middle Georgia

Aug. 18 is going to be a terrific day for Middle Georgia football, and it's going to showcase everyone involved: the communities of Macon, Warner Robins, Forsyth and Gray, along with Mercer.

That day, the teams from Houston County, Mary Persons and Jones County will take part in the 25th annual Corky Kell Classic, which is adding a third day of games and making its first push into Middle Georgia. The games will be played at Mercer's Five Star Stadium with Houston County and Mary Persons getting the doubleheader started and Jones County wrapping up the night against Lee County.

And it should be a fun and exciting event all the way around.

There are many strong teams in Middle Georgia, but I'm not sure the Corky Kell folks could have picked three better teams in the area than the Bears, Bulldogs and Greyhounds. The three programs have some of the best players and coaches around, and they certainly have some of the most energetic fan bases and student bodies in the area.

Houston County is an emerging power under head coach Von Lassiter and will have one of the top recruits in the country next season in Alabama commitment and quarterback Jake Fromm. Mary Persons has a long-standing tradition of success, and Brian Nelson has continued that, leading the program to its first region title since 1997 this past season. And Jones County has taken the next step under head coach Justin Rogers in his two seasons with the program and appears to be headed to even bigger and better things.

The teams' fans have had plenty to cheer about in recent seasons, and they have made their voices heard while doing so, filling their own stadiums and traveling in large numbers for road games. That's what makes them so attractive for this event because it's easy to expect a large, boisterous crowd for the doubleheader in August.

That's good for those communities, along with Mercer and Macon as the games will be televised by FS South and will show off the city and Mercer's terrific facilities along with the players, coaches and fans from Houston County, Jones County and Mary Persons.

Contact Daniel Shirley at 744-4227 or dshirley@macon.com

This story was originally published January 27, 2016 at 5:02 PM with the headline "Daniel Shirley: Corky Kell a terrific showcase for Middle Georgia ."