The Colonels fell behind early and did not recover in a 9-4 home loss to Rome played at LakePoint in Emerson. The win by the Wolves gave them a split in the two-game, home-and-home series with Cass. The Colonels won 7-3 at Rome on February 17. Rome built a 5-0 lead through the first four innings and added four more insurance runs in the top of the seventh. Cass scored a single run in the fifth and posted three runs in the bottom of the seventh but their late rally came up short. Bryson Thacker (5.1 IP, 4ER, 4H, 2BB, 14K) fanned fourteen Colonels while earning the pitching win. Cass starter Trenton Payne (3 IP, 3R, 1ER, 4H, 2K) suffered the pitching loss. Chase Tatum (0.2 IP, 2ER, 2H, 3BB), Hunter Lovett (2.1 IP, 0R, 0H, 1BB, 3K), and Devan Hutchinson (1 IP, 4R, 2ER, 2H, 1BB, 3K) also pitched for the Colonels. Jesiel Moctezuma had two hits including a double and three RBIs. Carson Hill, Connor Jenkins, and Wesley Collins added one hit each. Nic Wright was credited with one RBI. Rome improved to 4-2. Cass (2-1) hosts Heritage-Conyers Friday at 5:55 p.m. and will play at Pickens Saturday at 10 a.m. in the Mountain Classic.

The Woodland High School tennis teams lost matches at Rockmart Thursday evening with the Wildcats falling 3-2 in a closely contested contest. The Lady Cats dropped a 5-0 decision to the Lady Jackets. ROCKMART 3, WOODLAND BOYS 2 Woodland Singles Line 1 — Peter Heins lost 7-5, 4-6, 9-11 Line 2 — Domenic Ciavarro won 6-1, 6-0 Line 3 — Cadyn Wade won 6-0, 6-0 Woodland Doubles Line 1 — Jathan Camp / Titus Bagley lost 7-5, 3-6, 8-10 Line 2 — Jack Gore / Mason Williams lost 6-7, 1-6 ROCKMART 5, WOODLAND GIRLS 0 Woodland Singles Line 1 — Jalyn Womack lost 1-6, 2-6 Line 2 — Abby Cates lost 1-6, 0-6 Line 3 — Ally Schmanski lost 3-6, 2-6 Woodland Doubles Line 1 — Jolie Fannin / Kathryn Kovacic lost 0-6, 3-6 Line 2 — Faith Owens / Diana Librado lost 3-6, 4-6 The Woodland teams will host Adairsville next Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

The Excel Christian Academy boys basketball team pulled away from Central Christian (Sharpsburg) Thursday evening in the second half to defeat the Crusaders 75-54 and earn a spot in the Georgia Association of Private and Parochial Schools (GAPPS) Class AA state championship game. Thursday’s state semifinal action took place at Rock Springs Christian in Milner, Georgia. Excel led 21-15 after one quarter and 35-25 at halftime. The Eagles then continued to extend their advantage in the second half leading 59-43 by the end of the third quarter in an eventual 21-point state semifinal win. Kyron McClendon led Excel with 36 points which included making 15 of 16 free throw attempts. In total, the Eagles made 24 of 29 free throws as a team. Jacob Taylor scored 11 points for ECA. Jakaden Barkley followed with 10. Comari Nettles finished with seven points. David Jinks contributed six and KP Profit added five points. Rudy Steidinger led Central Christian with 18 points. Anthony Otero scored 15 for the Crusaders (17-8). Excel Christian (20-8) advances to the GAPPS AA State Championship game Saturday at 2 p.m. at Ace Academy in Macon. The Eagles will face Trinity Prep (Loganville) in the state championship game. The Lions (21-6) beat Unity Christian School (Rome) 84-63 in the semifinals.

Cartersville hurlers Ryan Johnson and Phillip Schiltz combined to strikeout 13 and gave up just four hits Thursday evening as the visiting Purple Hurricanes blanked Kennesaw Mountain 6-0. Johnson (5.2 IP, 0R, 0BB, 10K) fanned ten while working into the sixth inning. Schiltz (1.1 IP, 0R, 2H, 0BB, 3K) recorded the final four outs for the Canes. Meanwhile, the Cartersville offense produced a pair of runs in the top of the first inning and the score remained 2-0 until they added a run in the fifth. Three more Hurricane runs in the top of the seventh sealed the win. Cartersville banged out a dozen hits in the win. Landon Cole was 3-for-3 at the plate. Caleb Daniel had a pair of doubles with one RBI. Harrison Childers also doubled with two hits and one RBI. Isaac McNair-Seigler (double), Miles Owen (RBI), Pearse Mullinax, and Paul Gamble (RBI) had the other Canes’ hits. The four Mustangs hits were all singles. Their loss dropped their record to 6-2 on the year. Cartersville (4-0) visits Forsyth Central Saturday at 1 p.m.

The top-seeded Adairsville Tigers won their fourth straight game and kept visiting Carver-Atlanta winless on the season Wednesday night by eliminating the Panthers 80-56 in the opening round of the Class AAA State Tournament. The win for the Adairsville boys is their tenth in their last eleven games. Following a close first quarter where the Tigers led by just one point, the hosts began to separate in the second period and carried a 35-20 lead to the intermission. Adairsville extended the lead in the third quarter to hold a 58-36 advantage heading into the final period. Xavious Nalls poured in 28 points to lead the Tigers. Tre Winters also reached double figures with 17 points. Zach Postell followed with nine. Ben Abernathy contributed eight. Tay Jackson scored seven. Jamarian Pullum tossed in four. Chase Hilburn chipped in three with Barrett Fuller and Austin White adding two points each in the 24-point win. Adonis Winbush led Carver-Atlanta (0-26) with 23 points,. As a No. 1-seed, Adairsville advances to the Sweet Sixteen round and will host Hart County (16-12) Saturday. The Bulldogs beat Gilmer Wednesday night in the first round, 83-77.

The Woodland Wildcats pushed ahead with a three-run fifth inning Wednesday night and held on to defeat Fannin County 5-2 in a game played at the Mountain Classic at Pickens High School. Both teams scored single runs in the third inning and the Rebels took a 2-1 lead in the fourth. The Wildcats then grabbed the lead in the fifth inning and added an insurance run in the sixth. Rowan Billings (7 IP, 2R, 1ER, 4H, 4BB, 2HBP, 5K) tossed a complete-game four hitter to earn the Wildcats’ win. Billings needed 97 pitches and threw 65 percent of his pitches for strikes. Conner Stermer had two hits including a double for the Woodland offense. Ayden Ray contributed a double and one RBI. Carson Waits and Conner Lujan had the other Wildcats’ hits. The loss drops Fannin County to 2-1 on the season, Woodland (3-2) will play Union County Friday at 2 p.m. also at the Pickens Mountain Classic.

The Cass boys basketball team raced to a 20-7 lead in the first quarter Wednesday night at Jefferson and maintained a nice lead throughout in a 68-49 first round win in the Class 5A State Tournament. The Colonels led 40-20 at halftime and led 56-32 at the end of the third quarter on their way to a 19-point victory. Sacovie White led five Cass starters in double figures with 17 points. Jakai Baldwin followed with 13. Jayden Foster scored 12 points. Devin Henderson finished with 11 and Jelani Hames tossed in 10 points. Jason Brown Harmon and Tayvion McKibbons added three and two points, respectively. Jaden Butts and Micah Hooper led the Dragons (10-18) with 12 and 10 points. Cass (15-13) advances to the Class 5A Sweet Sixteen round and will visit Region 5-5A champion Chapel Hill Saturday. The Panthers (21-8) beat Chattahoochee 60-51 in Wednesday’s opening round.

The Cartersville boys basketball team had its 2022-23 season come to an end Wednesday night with a 53-41 loss at Region 8-5A champion Winder-Barrow in the first round of the Class 5A State Tournament. The host Bulldoggs led 16-5 at the end of the opening quarter; 27-18 at the intermission; and 42-27 by the end of the third quarter before holding off the Canes for a 12-point win. Jeremiah Holloway led Winder-Barrow with 13 points. Jerrin Samuel finished with 10 points for the Bulldoggs. Romo Pace led Cartersville with 12 points. Jaylen Scott scored nine and Tyren Milner added seven points for the Purple Hurricanes. Winder-Barrow (20-8) advances to the Sweet Sixteen round of the Class 5A State Tournament and will host Mays on Saturday. Cartersville has its season end with a 12-16 mark.

The Adairsville Lady Tigers and the Cartersville Lady Canes both won their first-round state playoff games Tuesday night on the road. Both local teams were 4-seeds knocking off region tournament champions. In Class AAA, the Adairsville girls won at Sandy Creek 41-36, earning the Lady Tigers' first state playoff win in 66 years. In Class AAAAA, the Cartersville girls were 53-44 winners at Jefferson. ADAIRSVILLE GIRLS 41, SANDY CREEK 36 Adairsville trailed 13-12 after one quarter and 22-21 at halftime before outscoring Sandy Creek 10-7 in the third quarter to grab a 31-29 lead. From there, the Lady Tigers held on down the stretch to escape with a 41-36 win in the first round of the Class AAA state tournament. The Lady Patriots, who finished their season with a 15-12 record, certainly had their opportunities. Sandy Creek was only 7-for-23 at the free throw line while Adairsville made 4 of 5 free throw attempts. NaXyria Roberts led the Tigers' scoring attack with 17 points. Analee Morris followed with eight. Darby Adams contributed six. Alissa Winters and Aliya McBryde tossed in four each. Addie Pearson added two points in the win. Janae Walker paced the Lady Patriots with 14 points. Persia Sanders added 12 for Sandy Creek. Adairsville (14-14) will play at Dawson County this Friday or Saturday in the Sweet Sixteen. Dawson County (15-14) beat Hart County 41-34 in their first-round game Tuesday night. CARTERSVILLE GIRLS 53, JEFFERSON 44 The Lady Canes led at each quarter-stop Tuesday night in a 53-44 win over Region 8-5A tournament champ Jefferson. Cartersville, a 4-seed, led 12-5 after the opening eight minutes; 24-20 at the intermission; and 37-32 through three quarters on their way to a nine-point road win. Freshman Kaytlin Arnold led the Lady Canes with 18 points. Ansley Griffin scored 10. Jakayah Draughn and Senai Camper chipped in with eight points each while Campbell Rogers added four. Skyler Brady was the top scorer for the Lady Dragons with 17 points. Eve Knight added 12 for Jefferson (10-18) Cartersville (17-10) advances to the Sweet Sixteen of the Class 5A State Tournament. The Lady Canes will play at Midtown Friday at 7p.m. The Knights (21-8) defeated Centennial Tuesday night in their first-round game 52-39.

The Cass High soccer teams both won home games Tuesday night against the visiting New Manchester Jaguars. The Lady Colonels won 4-0 and the Colonels won 10-1. The Cass girls led 1-0 at the intermission and added to their lead in the second half. Dayanara Pineda, Mae Remke, Rachel Ziemer, and Alex Marsala each scored one goal for the Lady Colonels. The Cass boys cruised to a 10-1 victory. No game details were provided. The Lady Colonels (2-5) and Colonels (4-4) host Ringgold in games Friday starting at 5:30 p.m.

The Adairsville girls and boys soccer teams split games with the visiting Gilmer Bobcats Tuesday night at Clear Creek Middle School. The Adairsville boys secured their second win of the season while the Lady Tigers fell to Gilmer by an identical 2-1 score. J.J. Grimaldo, playing in his first game of the season, scored both goals for the Tigers. In the girls' game, Adairsville goalkeeper Annie McCormick made 16 saves to keep the Lady Tigers close, but a pair of Gilmer scores in the second half proved to be the difference. Maddie Gossett scored for Adairsville in the 72nd minute with an assist credited to Lizzie LeMay. The Adairsville girls (5-2) and the Adairsville boys (2-6) begin region play Friday at Lafayette. The Lady Tigers kickoff at 5 p.m. with the Tigers to follow at 7 p.m.

The Purple Hurricanes rattled off five hits and took advantage of two walks and two hit batsmen in the fifth inning Tuesday night to post six runs on their way to a 6-2 win at Ringgold. The big inning supported the pitching efforts of starter Caden Carroll (4 IP, 0R, 0H, 2BB, 8K) and relievers Geoffrey Gore (2 IP, 1ER, 1H, 0BB, 5K) and Dawson Bishop (1 IP, 1ER, 2H) who combined for 13 strikeouts. Eight different Canes had one hit each. Luke Miller (2 RBIs), Harrison Childers, Pearse Mullinax (RBI), Tristan McKibben, Hunter Kelly (double), Isaac McNair-Seigler, Nicholas Hruby, and Paul Gamble had the Cartersville base hits. Caleb Daniel added one RBI with a bases-loaded walk. The loss dropped the Tigers to 1-3 on the season. Cartersville (3-0) plays at Kennesaw Mountain Thursday at 5:55 p.m.