Cartersville senior quarterback Paul Gamble threw four touchdown passes Saturday night as the Purple Hurricanes handled Clarke Central 43-10 in the opening round of the Class 5A state playoffs at Weinman Stadium.
Gamble tossed a 66-yard touchdown to Kendrick Price for the Canes first touchdown in the first quarter. Collin Fletcher ran in a two-point conversion that gave Cartersville an 8-0 lead.
The Gladiators drove down the field on their next possession, but a fourth down, incomplete pass in the end zone ended the visitors’ chance to score.
After exchanges of punts, the Gladiators drove to scoring position again, but settled for a short field goal to make the score 8-3 near the midway point of the second quarter.
On the Canes’ ensuing possession, Gamble connected with Richard Houston for a 76-yard touchdown pass and a 15-3 lead after Ryan Johnson’s PAT kick.
Three minutes later, Clarke Central narrowed the Canes’ lead to 15-10 with a Kendrick Curry touchdown run. The Glads’ score came with just over four minutes remaining in the first half.
Malachi Jeffries scored next for the Canes on a two-yard rushing touchdown. His run extended the Cartersville lead to 22-10 at halftime.
The Hurricanes added to their lead early in the third quarter.
After stopping Clarke Central on downs, Gamble hit Jamauri Brice with a 60-yard touchdown strike to build a 29-10 Cartersville lead.
Late in the third quarter, Romo Pace picked off a Gladiators’ pass and returned it for a touchdown to give the Canes a 36-10 advantage.
Khristian Lando broke free for a 46-yard touchdown run in the final minute of the third quarter. His scoring jaunt pushed the Cartersville lead to 43-10 and set up a running clock fourth quarter that yielded no more scoring plays.
Clarke Central finished the year with a 5-6 record.
Cartersville (10-1), ranked No. 3 in Class 5A, travels to Cambridge next Friday night for the second round of the playoffs. Cambridge (9-2), the Region 6-5A champions, defeated Jackson 27-20 in the first round.