In high school boys basketball action Tuesday night, Adairsville, Cass, and Excel Christian Academy secured important region wins as the 2022-23 regular season begins to wind down. Adairsville took control in the second quarter and went on to defeat visiting LaFayette 65-41 to remain in a first place tie in Region 6-AAA. Cass moved into a second place tie with Calhoun in Region 7-5A by knocking off the host Yellow Jackets 61-50 and Excel Christian remained unbeaten in GAPPS Region 1-IAA play with a 64-58 victory at Lyndon Academy. ADAIRSVILLE BOYS 65, LAFAYETTE 41 The Tigers used a nice defensive effort and a balanced scoring attack Tuesday night at home to beat LaFayette, 65-41, for their sixth straight win. Following a 15-15 first quarter, Adairsville built a 36-25 advantage by halftime. The Tigers extended their lead to 55-32 by the end of the third quarter and went on to a 24-point win. Xavious Nalls led Adairsville with 17 points. Tay Jackson followed with 13. Ben Abernathy posted 12 points. Tre Winters contributed 10 and Zach Postell added eight points for the Tigers. Zach Barrett and Shiray Walker led the Ramblers (13-6, 9-3) with eight points each. Adairsville (16-7, 11-1) heads to Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe Friday night for a first place showdown with the Warriors who are also 11-1 in Region 6-AAA. CASS BOYS 61, CALHOUN 50 The Colonels earned an important road win Tuesday night at Calhoun and find themselves in a second place tie in the Region 7-5A standings with three region regular season games remaining. Calhoun led the Colonels 7-6 at the end of the first quarter, but the Colonels took the lead for good in the second period. Cass led 22-16 at halftime and was up 40-30 after three quarters before holding on for an 11-point win. Dylan Faulkner scored a game-high 18 points to pace the Yellow Jackets. Caden Schild added nine points for Calhoun (12-9, 5-2). KJ Rogers led Cass with 16 points. Sacovie White and Jelani Hames contributed nine points each. Jayden Foster and Kevin Henderson finished with eight points apiece for the Colonels. Cass (11-10, 5-2) plays another region game Friday night at Dalton at 7:30 p.m. EXCEL CHRISTIAN BOYS 64, LYNDON ACADEMY 58 Excel Christian started slowly Tuesday night at Lyndon Academy trailing the Terriers 8-2 in the early minutes and 29-20 at one point in the second quarter. The Eagles made a nice run before the end of the half, however, and carried a 36-33 lead to the intermission. Excel led 54-46 at the end of the third quarter and Lyndon kept the game close throughout the final period. In fact, the Terriers narrowed the Excel lead to 63-58 with just 45 seconds remaining before the Eagles were able to close out a six-point win. Ethan Hughes scored a game-high 39 points including all 20 of the Terriers’ first quarter points. Excel was led by Kyron McClendon with 19 points. Jakaden Barkley and Jacob Taylor followed with 16 points each. Kamarion Profit added 13 points for the Eagles. The loss dropped Lyndon Academy to 11-8 on the season and 3-5 in GAPPS Region 1-IAA. Excel Christian (15-8, 9-0) hosts Unity Christian School Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. at the Church at Liberty Square. DALTON 72, CARTERSVILLE BOYS 41 Dalton led visiting Cartersville 20-7 at the end of the first quarter Tuesday night and 34-17 at halftime in an eventual 72-41 win over the Purple Hurricanes. Drew Snyder led the Catamounts with 14 points. Chaz Ramsey scored 11 and Eli Burt added 10 points for Dalton (14-7, 3-4). Monte Tolbert was the top scorer for Cartersville with 13 points. Cedric McClinic added five for the Canes. Cartersville (8-13, 1-6) plays at Woodland Friday night at 7:30 p.m. HIRAM 71, WOODLAND BOYS 33 The third-ranked Hiram Hornets built a 43-13 lead by halftime and cruised to a 71-33 home win over Woodland Tuesday night. The win by the Hornets extends their current win streak to 13 games. Hiram (19-2, 7-0) hosts Calhoun Friday. Woodland (2-20, 0-7) entertains Cartersville Friday night in a 7:30 p.m. tip. NOTE: No game report was submitted.

The Cass basketball teams honored their senior team members Friday night in their final home regular season games and swept the teams from Woodland. The Lady Colonels topped the Woodland girls 56-25 and the Cass boys held off a stiff challenge by the visiting Wildcats for a 56-54 win. CASS GIRLS 56, WOODLAND 25 The Cass girls outscored Woodland 22-5 in the third quarter Friday night to pull away in a 56-25 region win. The Lady Colonels led 12-10 after one quarter and held a 22-12 advantage at the intermission before the third-quarter surge. KK Evans and Kiana McDaniel paced Cass with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Olivia Woods added nine points for the Lady Colonels. Kasidee Wall led Woodland with nine points. Libby Morgan added eight for the Lady Cats. Woodland (2-22, 0-1 Region 7-5A) will face Dalton Monday in the first round of the Region 7-5A Tournament. The game will tip at 4 p.m. at Calhoun High School. Cass (14-10, 2-8) will play Cartersville in the opening round of the Region 7-5A Tournament in Calhoun. The matchup is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday. CASS BOYS 56, WOODLAND 54 The visiting Wildcats led 13-10 after one quarter and 28-27 at halftime Friday night at Cass but it was the Colonels’ who grabbed the lead in the third quarter and held off Woodland down the stretch to escape with a 56-54 Region 7-5A win. Sacovie White and KJ Rogers led the Colonels with 12 points each. Jelani Hames and Jayden Foster posted 10 points apiece for Cass. Brelace Williams scored a game-high 19 points for Woodland. Bryson Von Tonder finished with 15 points on five three-pointers. Isaiah Livsey added 10 points for the Wildcats. Woodland (2-23, 0-10) and Cass (12-12, 6-4) will square off again Monday in the opening round of the Region 7-5A Tournament at Calhoun High School. The tip is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

The Purple Hurricanes led 19-8 after the opening eight minutes Saturday afternoon at home against Cedartown and basically maintained that advantage through the first three quarters before pulling away in the fourth quarter for a 67-47 win. Cartersville led 29-19 at halftime and was ahead 48-36 at the end of the third quarter. DJ Cain and Parnel Gamble paced the Canes scoring 16 and 15 points, respectively. Sam Wiedetz produced eight points while Tyren Milner and Kaden Baldwin added seven points each. Xavier Holiday led Cedartown (0-22) with 16 points. Quentin Cotton added nine for the Bulldogs. Cartersville (11-14) opens the Region 7-5A Tournament Monday night at 8:30 p.m. against Dalton at 8:30 p.m. The Catamounts swept the regular season series with the Canes, winning 51-49 in the Storm Center on January 10 and 72-41 on January 31 in Dalton. CARTERSVILLE GIRLS 63, CEDARTOWN 21 The Lady Canes cruised to an easy 63-21 victory Saturday afternoon at the Storm Center over the Lady Bulldogs of Cedartown. With the non-region win, Cartersville finished off the regular season with a 15-8 record. The loss for Cedartown completed their regular season winless at 0-23. Next for the Lady Canes is a Region 7-5A tournament first-round game against Cass on Monday at 7 p.m. at Calhoun High School. The Lady Canes swept the regular season series with the Lady Colonels, winning 61-57 at home in overtime on January 13. Cartersville also won at Cass on January 27, 64-49.

The Cass wrestling team had seven individual first place finishes, three runner-up finishes, and eleven total qualifiers for the GHSA State Championship Finals following action Saturday at one of two State Sectional sites in Class 5A. The Colonels, along with Woodland and Cartersville, were in Milton for Section A at Cambridge High School where the three local schools combined to advance 24 individuals. After dropping the State Duals Championship match to Jefferson just weeks ago, the Colonels have put themselves in good position to compete for the Team Traditional title next weekend. They face an uphill battle, however, because the Dragons will send 13 individuals to the finals in Macon from their Section B qualifier at Locust Grove High School. Jefferson had seven individual weight class winners. Also at Section A on Saturday, Woodland had a pair of individual winners, three second place finishers and qualified nine for Macon. Cartersville, meanwhile, will send four to Macon. The top six in each of the fourteen weight divisions at each sectional advanced. Cass weight division winners included Lee Camp (106), Hunter Barrett (113), Caden Alford (120), Jake Crapps (126), Rowdy Duck (132), Tyler McKnight (144), and Zach McKnight (165). Hayden Santora (138) and Champ Higdon (215) of Woodland also won their weight classes on Saturday. Six locals reached the finals but finished as Sectional runner-up. Tanner Toups (138), Kriecg Roe (157), and Parker Dunn (190) of Cass placed second. Cartersville’s Grant Adams (120) was a runner-up along with Zachary Wallace (144), Heath Tatum (165), and Kwadrus Wilson (Hvwt.) of Woodland. In total, that means an impressive 16 of 28 wrestlers in the fourteen weight division finals on Saturday were from either Cass, Woodland, or Cartersville. Other state finals qualifiers from the three local teams included Amari Kinnamore (106) of Woodland with a third place finish. Cartersville’s Talan Nix (138) and Delroy Hurst (Hvwt) placed fourth along with Paul Lanier (126) of the Wildcats. Eaiden Neal (126) of the Canes advanced with a fifth place finish while Nathan Cates (120) and Jovante Luke (157) of Woodland and Mason Tompkins (150) of Cass placed sixth. The Traditional State Finals weekend begins Thursday at the Macon Centreplex and concludes with state finals bouts on Friday night for Class 5A. ADAIRSVILLE WRESTLING QUALIFIES EIGHT FOR GHSA TRADITIONAL FINALS The Adairsville High wrestling team had eight individuals advance from the Class 3A Section A tournament at Upson Lee High School in Thomaston Saturday to reach the Traditional State Championship tournament this Friday and Saturday at the Macon Centreplex. Jacob Pasley was runner-up in the 144-pound weight class while Jamori Speights (138) placed third for the Tigers. Fourth place finishers for Adairsville included Brett Lance (150), Jaimon Long (190), and Seth Sellers (215). Adairsville’s Victor Singer (132) and heavyweight Jett Johnson earned fifth placed finishes with Madden Boyce (113) advancing as a sixth place qualifier.

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.