CHATTANOOGA, TENN. - The Hebron Christian Academy football team will have an unbelievable test this Friday, Aug. 29, when the Lions travel up to Chattanooga, Tenn. to face highly-ranked McCallie School.
Hebron, No. 2 in Georgia Class AA (MaxPreps), heads into the matchup with a 2-0 record, after defeating 6A North Atlanta (29-22) and No. 3 A-DI team Fellowship Christian School (45-29).
McCallie, a Tennessee power, sits as the No. 2 team in the Volunteer state and No. 94 in the nation. The Blue Tornado started its 2025-26 campaign last week with a 56-20 win over Nashville's Lipscomb Academy (No. 32). McCallie will go through this fall with the goal of defending its state title from last season.
"[It's] an unbelievable challenge to go on the road and play a program like [McCallie] … It'll be an unbelievable test, that's a great way to put it, but it's also a great opportunity. We're going to go up there and do what we do. We don't control anything that our opponent does, but we have 100 percent control over ourselves."
McCallie won last year's Tennessee Division II-AAA state championship, defeating Baylor School, also nationally-ranked, 27-21. However, the Blue Storm has won five state titles overall, four in the last six seasons.
With Hebron also looking to defend its state title from last year, this match up will be a classic out-of-state bout.
The Blue Tornado certainly looks the part of a championship-caliber program, with three-star wide receiver Keeyshawn Tabuteau, a Vanderbilt commit, and three-star offensive lineman Moussa Seck leading the way.
Seck stands at 6-foot-5, weighs 330 pounds, and has collegiate offers from programs like Georgia Tech and Syracuse.
Joining Seck on the line will be lineman Daniel Cepicky, who also stands at 6-foot-5 and weighs in at 310 pounds.
"It certainly is one of the best offensive/defensive lines we're going to face, maybe it turns out to be the best," Dallas said of McCallie. "It's going to be quite a challenge. They've got a number of Power-4 type players, but the offensive and defensive lines have got some size."
Behind them under center will be senior quarterback Elliot Drapeau, a 6-foot-5 gunslinger.
Drapeau threw for 270, three touchdowns and one interception in the 36-point win over Lipscomb, connecting with Tabuteau for a 38-yard score in the fourth quarter. However, it was young receiver Levi Scott who led the team with 156 yards-receiving with two touchdowns.
On the ground, junior running backs Xavier Fillion and Kris Lloyd combined for 189 yards and three touchdowns, contributing to McCallie's 535 yards of offense.
"They're [McCallie] balanced in terms of what they do, their quarterback throws the ball well [and] they run enough option … you have to be balanced [on defense]."
Defensively, the Blue Tornado struggled to stop the Mustangs' air raid, allowing nearly 400 yards through the air. However, they only gained 25 yards on the ground.
Hebron also had a night to remember on offense last week, amounting nearly 600 yards behind senior running back Devon Caldwell's 435-yard performance. Caldwell was recently named as Georgia High School Football Daily's Alfa Insurance Player of the Week, after the Lions' win over Fellowship. The award is chosen out of thousands of players across 400-plus teams in Georgia.
"There's really nothing I can do without God and my offensive line, God giving us the talents to do what we have to do," Caldwell said of last Friday's effort.
Hebron's defense put the pressure on Fellowship's offense, forcing a turnover on the first drive of the contest, and two overall.
Kickoff between Hebron and McCallie is set for 7:00 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on McCallie's Youtube channel.
There will be a lot of excitement when the Lions load the buses and head up to Chattanooga, but against a team like McCallie, they must remain focused on playing sound football.
"Early in the season, what you're looking for is to minimize your mistakes, there's a certain amount of mistakes that are self-inflicted, and you'd love to minimize those down to nothing," Dallas said. "When you play great teams … They're going to make some plays. What you want to do is handle what you can do, so that's no missed assignments, giving perfect effort from snap through whistles and no silly or selfish penalties or turnovers."
