2023 Classic City Championship – Game preview
On Saturday, Aug. 19, at 5:30 p.m., the Cedar Shoals Jaguars will host the Clarke Central Gladiators in the 57th annual Classic City Championship. The game opens the regular season for both teams for the second year in a row. The game will be held at Cedar Shoals’ Waters-Wilkins Stadium for the first time since 2020.
“The first varsity football game that I dressed out for was against Cedar in 2019,” Central kicker Cooper Evans, senior, said. “We (Central) definitely want to play at home, but I think it’s going to be fun. Every time we’ve been at Cedar, it’s always been packed and really loud.”
The Jags are coming off a roller coaster of a 2022 season, losing their first three games before winning five of their final seven, eventually losing to Cedartown in the first round of the playoffs. With a 5-6 record, the Jags solidified their best season since 2019 – despite the losing record.
“We’ve improved so much since last year. We’ve gotten better mentally and really just altogether as a team,” senior quarterback AJ Hubbard said. “We’re going to run the ball more this year. I feel like we have a more mobile offense. There’s more trust in the offense.”
Clarke Central also finished the season with a 5-6 record, also making the first round of the playoffs. The Glads will be starting a new quarterback following the departure of Lucian Anderson III, who is now playing at Bowling Green State University. The team also lost defensive linemen Jaylon Stone and Dailen Howard, team sack and tackle leaders in 2022.
“We lost a fair amount of seniors last year. Over the summer and spring ball we got a lot of underclassmen to buy into the program, and it built a lot of good energy that is carried throughout the school,” Evans said.
Cedar Shoals has not defeated the Gladiators since 2018, something senior Jacaree Hampton, running back, wants to change.
“We’ve been working this whole summer, getting ready to beat them and show everybody who we are. It’s going to be different this year,” Hampton said.
“I feel like everybody will play better and harder at home,” Senior running back Kayden Scott said. “We need everyone to show up. When the crowd is into the game, it really helps us play with energy.”
Tickets are available for $12 on GoFan and gates open at 3:30 p.m.
