When Georgia and Florida face off in the Worlds Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party on Saturday, the matchup will feature two Georgia high school football legends.
Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton, a Rabun County graduate, holds the state's career passing touchdowns record with 177. Florida quarterback Aaron Philo, a Prince Avenue Christian graduate, owns the all-time passing yards record with 13,922.
Philo was named the Gators starter Thursday, despite suffering a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter of Florida's loss to South Carolina. He missed the following week's game, when the Gators pulled off a 27-24 upset over Texas with Tramell Jones at signal-caller.
Adding another layer to the matchup, the rivalry will take place in Georgia this year
at Mercedes-Benz Stadium – the same place that Philo broke his state record. The game is traditionally played at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, but renovations have forced the rivalry to relocate until 2028.
Although Philo and Stockton have shared the field three times since 2020, they have never faced each other directly.
In 2020, Rabun County edged out Prince Avenue Christian 38-31 with Stockton at the helm. Philo was a freshman at the time, backing up former Georgia and Kentucky five-star quarterback Brock Vandergriff.
In 2024, Stockton and Philo were both backups when Georgia defeated Georgia Tech 44-42. Last season, Stockton started in the in-state rivalry while Philo backed up Haynes King.
Saturday will mark their first head-to-head matchup, with major playoff implications on the line.
Both teams enter the matchup coming off of a bye week. Georgia (4-1) is looking to bounce back from its lone loss of the season to Auburn, while Florida (3-2) enters riding the momentum off of its victory over Texas.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Georgia high school record-holders meet in Georgia-Florida rivalry
