Drive For The GHSA State Title TV game heading to DeKalb

After pulling down some of its best TV and digital ratings for a high school football game in Walton's upset of top-ranked Buford last week, Score Atlanta and Peachtree TV will televise the Class 3A clash between Calvary Day and Cedar Grove Friday night at Buck Godfrey Stadium. Kickoff is at 8 p.m. at one of metro Atlanta's historic fields. For years, the field was known as Panthersville Stadium, but it was renamed for William “Buck” Godfrey in 2015. A Hall of Fame coach, Godfrey began his coaching career in 1974 as a baseball coach, then a swim coach before taking over as the head football coach in 1983 at Southwest DeKalb, where he won 273 games, a 1995 Class 4A championship and 13 region titles. Godfrey is known for helping hundreds of his players earn college scholarships. The game Friday night will feature the two top ranked teams in Class 3A. In addition to being on Peachtree TV, the game will also be available on the Atlanta First News (formerly CBS46) app and the National Federation High School Network. "I made a run up the coast and stopped and watched Calvary Day practice,'' said Rusty Mansell of 247 Sports, who will be in the broadcast booth for the game along with DawgNation's Brandon Adams. "I realized then that if they matched up with Cedar Grove, it was a game I hoped we would get. This will be the first time the country gets to see 2024 quarterback Jake Merklinger from Calvary. He is a four-star, high-level quarterback who is being recruited all over the country. They have several Power 5 prospects on that team.”