The 2022-23 All-Region teams for Region 6-AAA were released earlier this week. Adairsville was represented by NaXyria Roberts, Analee Morris, Alissa Winters, Darby Adams, and Aliya McBryde of the Lady Tigers. Tre Winters and Zach Postell of the Tigers were named to the All-Region First Team. REGION 6-AAA GIRLS Player of the Year Angel Simmons - Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe 1st Team Brinkley Kate Reed - Coahulla Creek NaXyria Roberts - Adairsville Analee Morris - Adairsville Jamiah Lewis - Ridgeland Mary House - Bremen Christen Collins - LFO Leiah Henderson - Ringgold Shae Poe - Coahulla Creek Emma Phillips - Gordon Lee Jenna Baker- Lafayette 2nd Team Alissa Winters - Adairsville Marley Derringer - Bremen Hannah Scott - Ringgold Aubree Langley - Coahulla Creek Makayla Baker - Lafayette Riley Shirley - Gordon Lee Emma Fowler - Ridgeland Shelby Underwood - Bremen Christina Collins - LFO Ziara Thompson - LFO Honorable Mention Cady Helton - Ringgold Raven Yancy - Lafayette Kaitlyn Wagoner - Gordon Lee Madison Lennon - Ridgeland Jayda Smith - Bremen Danilyn Sheats - Bremen Leah Headrick - Coahulla Creek Fanny Barber - Lafayette Aliya McBryde - Adairsville Darby Adams - Adairsville REGION 6-AAA BOYS Player of the Year Brent Bowman - Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe Coach of the Year Joshua Laney - Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe 1st Team Hunter Holmes- Gordon Lee Jaden Morris- Lafayette O'Reilly Matthews- Ringgold Tre Winters- Adairsville Amari Burnett- LFO Zach Postell- Adairsville Chase Ward- Coahulla Creek Brevin Massengale- Ringgold Dawson Pendergrass- Lafayette John Hill- Ridgeland 2nd Team Cade Costanzo- Bremen Jayden Dover- LFO Zach Barrett- Lafayette Jack Defalco- Coahulla Creek Matthew Ramsey- Ridgeland

Cartersville wrestler Anetra Witherspoon advanced to the GHSA Girls State Championship Finals next Friday and Saturday in Macon after finishing second in the 190-pound weight class at the State Sectional tournament this past Friday at Upson Lee High School. Witherspoon pinned Villa Rica’s Maya Crowder in the opening round; won a 9-3 decision over Samantha Vicars of Tift County in the quarterfinals; and won a 4-2 decision over Phoebe Melvin of Greenbrier to reach the Sectional finals. The Cartersville grappler then lost a 7-1 decision to Taylor Schiesser of Gilmer County in the sectional finals bout. Reese Leighly (130) and Anna Dudley (155) of Adairsville also competed Friday at the Upson Lee High School State Sectional. Leighly went 1-2 in her three bouts. Her win was by pin over Marcia Edwards of Northside in the first consolation round. She then lost an 8-1 decision in consolation round 2. Dudley also finished 1-2 with a win by forfeit in the first consolation round. She then had a medical forfeiture in the second consolation round.

The Woodland Wildcats opened their 2023 baseball season Wednesday with an 8-6 loss at East Paulding. Woodland took an early 3-0 lead through the top of the third inning but the host Raiders posted eight runs across their next four offensive frames to earn a come-from-behind win. East Paulding (1-0) scored twice in the bottom of the third and added another run in the fourth to knot the score at 3-3. After Woodland regained the lead at 4-3 in the top of the fifth, the Raiders scored two more runs in the home half of the fifth to lead 5-4. East Paulding then added three runs in the sixth to take an 8-4 advantage. The Wildcats managed two runs in the top of the seventh and got the potential tying run to the plate, but could not complete the rally. Conner Stermer had two hits for the Wildcats. Mason Williams finished with a double and three RBIs. Logan Bentley and Ayden Ray added one hit and one RBI each. Woodland utilized four pitchers in the loss. Rowan Billings (2.1 IP, 2R, 1ER, 3H, 1K) made the start, Coby Barrett (1 IP, 1ER, 1K), Hunter Shirley (1.2 IP, 4R, 2ER, 1H, 5BB, 4K), and Austin Daves (1 IP, 1R, 0ER, 2H, 2K) all worked brief stints for the Wildcats. Riley Kelly (2 IP, 1ER, 2H, 1BB, 2K) was credited with the pitching win for East Paulding in relief of starter Jonah Pace (3 IP, 3R, 2ER, 1H, 6BB, 7K). Sam Peterson (2 IP, 2R, 1ER, 2H, 1BB, 2K) earned a two-inning save. Peterson also had two hits and a pair of RBIs to pace the Raiders’ offense. Pedro Rodriguez (RBI), Stephan French, Baylor Thomason, Jon-Michael Huisman, and Pace added one hit each. Woodland (0-1) will look to bounce back Tuesday when the Wildcats host Decatur at 5:55 p.m. They will also travel to Villa Rica on Thursday (Feb. 16) for a 5:55 p.m. start.

Region 7-5A released its All-Region basketball team selections this week and the rosters included 17 local athletes. The local honorees were highlighted by All-Region First Team selections for Cartersville's Romo Pace and Jelani Hames of Cass. Region 7-5A Girls Player of the Year: Britiya Curtis – Calhoun First Team Grace Ridley – Dalton Kalisha Phillips – Hiram Sa’Niah Dorsey – Calhoun Camryn O’Neil – Hiram Lauren Watson – Calhoun Second Team Jakayah Draughn – Cartersville Kiana McDaniel – Cass Ansley Griffin – Cartersville Taylor Crawford – Hiram Hadiya Kennerly – Hiram Honorable Mention Kemara Washington – Dalton Kat Atha – Calhoun KK Arnold – Cartersville Briseis Bates – Dalton Megan Schultz – Woodland Emma Hefner – Dalton Nayel Camper – Cartersville Taff Bradley – Cartersville Olivia Woods – Cass Mikaela Jackson – Cass Janaya Evans – Hiram Region 7-5A Boys Player of the Year: Dylan Faulkner- Calhoun First Team Chase Tyler – Hiram Chaz Ramsey – Dalton Jay Boyd – Hiram Romo Pace – Cartersville Jelani Hames – Cass Second Team Walter Matthews – Hiram Brelace Williams – Woodland Amir Taylor – Hiram KJ Rogers – Cass Aaron Wesley – Hiram Honorable Mention Eli Burt – Dalton Sekai Lockhart – Hiram Kobi Cooper – Dalton Daniel Streete – Calhoun DJ Cain – Cartersville Jayden Foster – Cass Isaiah Livsey – Woodland Zyon Heath – Woodland

The Cartersville Lady Canes and Hurricanes lost their final regular season region games Friday night to visiting Hiram. The Lady Canes, a 4-seed in the upcoming Region 7-5A Tournament next week, lost to the Lady Hornets 62-40. The Canes, a 5-seed next week, dropped a 94-47 decision to the visiting 3rd-ranked Hornets. HIRAM 62, CARTERSVILLE GIRLS 40 The Hiram girls led 22-5 after one quarter and were up 33-15 at halftime in an eventual 62-40 win over Cartersville Friday night at the Storm Center. Hiram (20-4, 8-2) will receive a first-round bye to the region semifinals next week in the Region 7-5A tournament and will play Monday’s Dalton/Woodland winner on Wednesday. The Lady Canes (14-8, 5-5) will close out their regular season campaign Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. against visiting Cedartown. Cartersville will play No. 5-seed Cass in the region tournament opening round Monday night at 7 p.m. at Calhoun High School. HIRAM 94, CARTERSVILLE BOYS 47 Jay Boyd scored 27 and Chase Taylor finished with 20 points Friday night as the 3rd-ranked Hiram Hornets won at Cartersville, 94-47. The Hornets (22-2, 10-0 Region 7-5A) led 48-22 by halftime and added to their advantage in the second half. “Hiram was on fire tonight,” said Canes’ head coach Mike Tobin. “They hit 13 three-pointers and played like the No. 3-ranked team in the state.” Kaden Baldwin and Jaylen Scott led Cartersville in the scoring column with 10 points each. Hiram will be the No. 1 seed in next week’s region tournament at Calhoun. The Hornets will play Wednesday night against Monday’s Cartersville/Dalton winner. The Canes (10-14, 3-7) host Cedartown Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in a non-region season finale. Cartersville’s region tournament first-round game Monday against Dalton will tip at 8:30 p.m. at Calhoun High School.

The Excel Christian Academy Eagles pulled away from Shiloh Hills Christian Thursday night with an 11-0 run to begin the second half and went on to a 66-45 win capturing the 2022-23 GAPPS AA Region 1 championship. The Eagles, who were the No. 1-seed heading into this week’s tournament at Unity Christian School in Rome, finished the regular season and post-season play within Region 1 with an unblemished 12-0 mark. Excel started well and led 23-10 by the end of the first quarter but the Challengers charged back into the game in the second quarter narrowing the Eagles’ lead to 34-27 at the intermission. Excel’s early run in the third quarter and a steady offensive attack down the stretch enabled the Eagles to pull away for a convincing 21-point win. Kyron McClendon scored a game-high 19 points to pace ECA. Jacob Taylor followed with 17 points. Jakaden Barkley scored 15 and Comari Nettles chipped in with 11. David Jinks and KP Profit rounded out the scoring by adding two points each. Aidan Nemat and David Roque led Shiloh Hills Christian with nine points apiece. Even with their loss, the Challengers (7-9) will advance to the GAPPS state tournament as the region runner-up. Excel Christian (18-8) will enter the state tournament as a No. 1-seed and will host a state quarterfinal game on either February 17 or 18.

The Cartersville boys soccer team escaped with a 4-4 draw Wednesday night at Heritage-Catoosa following a huge second-half comeback. The Lady Canes did not fair as well in an 8-0 loss. CARTERSVILLE BOYS 4, HERITAGE CATOOSA 4 Playing the second game of a back-to-back on their schedule Wednesday night, the Cartersville boys were pressured early and found themselves down 4-0 after the first twenty minutes. The Canes started their turnaround at the 30-minute mark, however, when Melvin Velasquez was fouled in the box and converted the first of two penalty kicks on the night. In the second half, Cartersville was the team applying the pressure over the final 40 minutes. A second penalty kick by Velasquez narrowed the Generals' lead to 4-2 at the 68-minute mark. Two minutes later, Edgar Abeja lifted a free kick over the Heritage wall from 25 yards out and beat the keeper to make the score 4-3. Velasquez capped off the Canes' scoring, and completed his hat trick, in the 78th minute when he flicked a corner from Abeja into the back corner of the net to earn the 4-4 tie. Cartersville (2-1-2) will host Paulding County next Thursday (Feb. 16). HERITAGE-CATOOSA 8, CARTERSVILLE GIRLS 0 The Lady Canes struggled against a strong Lady Generals' side Thursday night and were shut out in Ringgold, 8-0. According to Cartersville coach D.J. Paradis, the Lady Canes had flashes during the game but Heritage-Catoosa (3-0) imposed their will. Cartersville (3-2) entertains Paulding County next Thursday (Feb. 16).

The 2023 edition of the Georgia Highlands Chargers baseball team reeled off five straight wins to start the season February 1-4. The streak included a pair of wins over Bryan College and three over Coastal Alabama-East CC. Zayd Brannigan, Hudson Sapp, and Austin Slate provided much of the offensive production for GHC through those first five games. Brannigan was 8-for-14 including a pair of homers, three doubles, a triple, and a pair of sacrifice flies to produce eight RBIs. Slate also had eight RBIs with a home run and a .500 average in 10 at bats. Sapp was 8-for-15 with two home runs, a double, and six RBIs. Head coach Dash O’Neill utilized 12 different pitchers during the first five games and had five different pitchers — Trey Baker, Kyle Stephenson, Zach Valentine, Oliver Wood, and Bryce Clark — collect one pitching win each. Georgia Highlands (5-0) has a three-game series Friday and Saturday with Lincoln Trail CC. The two will square off in a doubleheader Friday and play a single game Saturday at LakePoint.

The Woodland girls and boys tennis teams lost matches at Etowah Tuesday night by identical 4-1 scores. Abby Cates earned a Line 2 singles win for the Lady Cats, 7-5, 6-3 while Domenic Ciavarro picked up the Wildcats’ win at Line 3 singles. Next for Woodland is a home match Thursday against North Paulding at 4:30 p.m.

The Cartersville High soccer teams split home soccer games Tuesday night with Villa Rica. The Canes came from behind in the second half for a 2-1 win but the Lady Canes dropped a 4-1 decision to the Lady Wildcats. CARTERSVILLE BOYS 2, VILLA RICA 1 The Cartersville boys pulled out a thriller Tuesday night after falling behind 1-0 about midway through the first half. Cartersville head coach D.J. Paradis noted an unfortunate defensive error by the Canes that led to the Wildcats’ goal. Ten minutes into the second half the Canes got the ball over the top of the Villa Rica defense with Santiago Eckert knotting the score on a breakaway. With the score tied 1-1, both teams had scoring chances but Cartersville had the final word when the Canes again sent the ball over the top of the Villa Rica defense for Melvin Velasquez. He beat his defender and then poked it through the goalie’s legs for what would be the game-winner. The Wildcats threatened again later, but the Hurricanes held on and improved to 2-1-1 on the season. Cartersville plays at Heritage-Catoosa on Wednesday night. VILLA RICA 4, CARTERSVILLE GIRLS 1 The Lady Canes trailed 2-0 at halftime and trailed 4-0 late in the game in an eventual 4-1 loss. The lone Cartersville goal came from Kiley McMichael after the keeper dropped a loose ball in the box in the latter stages of the game. Cartersville (3-1) travels to Heritage-Catoosa Wednesday for a 5:30 p.m. kickoff.

It was a tough night Tuesday for the local high school girls' basketball teams. All four teams in action dropped region contests. CALHOUN 65, CARTERSVILLE GIRLS 56 The Lady Canes narrowed a nine-point first-half deficit to two points by the end of the third quarter, but the visiting Lady Jackets of Calhoun held on to earn a hard-fought region win Tuesday night at the Storm Center, 65-56. Calhoun led 21-15 after the opening eight minutes and 32-23 at halftime before Cartersville slashed the lead to 45-43 by the end of the third period. The Jackets outscored the Lady Canes 20-13 in the fourth quarter to earn their road win. Allie Duke led Calhoun (18-4, 9-1) with 16 points. Sarah Dorsey and Lauren Watson followed with 14 each. Britya Curtis chipped in 12 for the Yellow Jackets. Jakayah Draughn and Taff Bradley both scored 17 points to lead Cartersville. Kaitlyn Arnold finished with eight points. Ansley Griffin contributed six. Nayel Camper scored five and Senai Camper added three points for the Lady Canes. Cartersville (14-7, 5-4) hosts Hiram Friday night at 6 p.m. in both teams’ final region game. The Lady Canes will wrap up the regular season Saturday afternoon at home against Cedartown. BREMEN 59, ADAIRSVILLE GIRLS 55 The Lady Tigers struggled in the third quarter Tuesday night and lost their final Region 6-AAA regular season game to visiting Bremen, 59-55. Adairsville led 14-12 by the end of the first quarter but trailed 28-26 at halftime. The Blue Devils outscored Adairsville 16-9 in the third period to take a 44-35 lead and then held off the Lady Tigers down the stretch to secure a four-point road win. Mary House led Bremen (17-7, 10-4) with 26 points. Adairsville got 16 points from Analee Morris and 13 by Naxyria Roberts. Aliya McBryde, Darby Adams, and Alissa Winters added six each for the Lady Tigers. Adairsville (12-12, 7-7) finished the regular season region schedule in a fourth-place tie with Ringgold. Tournament seeding for the Region 6-AAA Championship at Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe next week will be finalized on Wednesday. DALTON 62, WOODLAND GIRLS 25 Dalton led 20-0 after one quarter and 38-5 at halftime in an eventual 62-25 region win Tuesday night at Woodland. Grace Ridley led the Lady Catamounts (18-6, 6-3) with 19 points. Libby Morgan and Megan Schultz finished with five points each for Woodland. Woodland (2-21, 0-9) concludes regular season play Friday night at 6 p.m. at Cass. HIRAM 58, CASS GIRLS 48 The Lady Colonels stumbled out of the blocks Tuesday night, trailing Hiram 20-9 after the opening eight minutes. But the Lady Colonels made a contest of it the rest of the way before falling by ten points, 58-48. Hiram led 27-22 at halftime and 45-38 through three quarters. Hadiya Kennerly led the Lady Hornets with 16 points. Taylor Crawford added 14 for Hiram in their road victory. Kiana McDaniel scored 16 points to pace Cass. Mikaela Jackson followed with 11 and KK Evans added eight points for the Lady Colonels. Hiram improved to 19-4 on the season and 7-2 in Region 7-5A. Cass (13-10, 1-8) hosts Woodland Friday night at 6 p.m. SHILOH HILLS CHRISTIAN 52, EXCEL CHRISTIAN GIRLS 32 The Excel Christian Academy girls lost their GAPPS AA Region 1 tournament game Monday night to Shiloh Hills Christian, 52-32. The loss ended the season for the Lady Eagles who finished the year with an 0-17 mark.

The Excel Christian Academy boys basketball team secured a GAPPS (Georgia Association of Private & Parochial Schools) state tournament berth Tuesday night with a AA Region 1 semifinal win over Unity Christian School in Rome, 82-59. The Eagles took an early lead and stayed in front throughout the night. Excel led 20-13 after one quarter; 36-23 at halftime; and 58-39 through three quarters on their way to their 23-point victory. Jakaden Barkley led ECA with 24 points. Kyron McClendon followed with 19. Jacob Taylor scored 15 and Comari Nettles contributed 11 for the Eagles. KP Profit chipped in five points. David Jinks finished with four and Kingston Eleazor added two points for Excel. Austin Wilkerson led Unity with 18 points. Johnny Whitley scored 12 for the Lions. Excel (17-8) advances to the GAPPS AA Region 1 championship game Thursday night against Shiloh Hills Christian. The game will be at 8 p.m. back at Unity Christian School in Rome. CARTERSVILLE BOYS 69, CALHOUN 61 The Canes took the lead before halftime and held off visiting Calhoun in the second half Tuesday night in a 69-61 win at the Storm Center. Calhoun led 16-10 after one quarter but the Purple Hurricanes grabbed a 31-28 advantage by the intermission. Cartersville built their lead to a dozen by the end of the third quarter at 50-38 and outlasted the Yellow Jackets over the final eight minutes for an 8-point win. Kaden Baldwin paced the Canes with 22 points. Cedric McClinic posted 13. Jaylen Scott scored 12 points. DJ Cain contributed eight points while Romo Pace and Tyron Milner added six apiece in the win. Dylan Faulkner led Calhoun with 23 points. Andrew Purdy followed with 11 and Daniel Steele scored eight points for the Yellow Jackets. The loss drops Calhoun to 12-11 on the season and 5-4 in Region 7-5A. Cartersville (10-13, 3-6) hosts 3rd-ranked Hiram Friday night and wraps up the regular season Saturday afternoon at home in a non-region game against Cedartown. ADAIRSVILLE BOYS 55, BREMEN 42 The Adairsville boys had already locked up a top-2 seed for next week’s Region 6-AAA tournament heading into Tuesday night’s matchup with visiting Bremen, but the Tigers actually finished in a tie atop the region standings following their 55-42 win. The Tigers’ win coupled with Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe’s loss Tuesday to Coahuila Creek means Adairsville and the Warriors finished their region slates with 12-2 marks. Tuesday night Adairsville trailed the visiting Blue Devils throughout the first half. Bremen led 14-9 after the opening eight minutes and 26-25 at halftime. The Tigers gained the lead for good by the end of the third period when they carried a 40-34 advantage to the final period. Tay Jackson and Zach Postell led Adairsville with 14 points apiece. Tre Winters followed with nine. Xavious Nalls scored six points and Ben Abernathy added five for the Tigers. Brody Barrow and Evan Brown led Bremen (3-19, 1-13) with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Adairsville (17-8, 12-2) will receive a double-bye in next week’s region tournament placing them in the region semifinals. That assures the Tigers a state tournament berth and means their tournament games next Thursday and Friday will determine their state tournament seeding. HIRAM 88, CASS BOYS 45 The visiting 3rd-ranked Hiram Hornets raced to a 17-0 lead Tuesday night at Cass in a dominant 88-45 Region 7-5A win. Hiram led 26-9 at the end of the first quarter and held a 51-30 advantage by halftime. The Hornets continued to pull away in the second half for a 43-point win. Walt Matthews led four Hornets in double-figures with 20 points. Chase Tyler scored 17. Jay Boyd Jr. finished with 15 and Calvin Johnson added 10 points for Hiram. KJ Rogers scored 15 points to lead the Colonels. Jakai Baldwin scored seven. Sacovie White and Jelani Hames chipped in six points each. Hiram improved to 21-2 on the season and 9-0 in region play. Cass (11-12, 5-4) remains tied with Calhoun for second place in Region 7-5A heading into Friday night’s regular-season finale at home against Woodland. DALTON 56, WOODLAND BOYS 40 Visiting Dalton handed the Wildcats their 15th straight loss Tuesday night in a 56-40 Catamounts win in Region 7-5A. Dalton improved to 16-7 on the season and 5-4 in region play. Woodland (2-22, 0-9) finishes the regular season Friday night at Cass at 7:30 p.m.