After finishing the regular season as one of the lower seeds, the Lady Tigers put together an impressive post-season run Saturday in the Region 6-AAA tournament and earned a surprise spot in the Class AAA State volleyball tournament finishing third. The Tigers had dropped six of seven matches heading into Saturday’s play — including a tournament opening round loss to LaFayette Thursday night. That left the Lady Tigers needing a trio of consecutive wins Saturday in the double-elimination tournament just to keep their season alive. Adairsville found a way to get it done. The Tigers defeated Ringgold, Gordon Lee, and Coahulla Creek in succession Saturday to earn the region’s No. 3-seed. Adairsville dropped the opening set to Ringgold 25-13, but rallied for a tight 25-22, 21-19 win. That was followed by another three-set nail-biter with the Tigers winning 25-20, 20-25, and 15-10. The victory over Coahulla Creek was almost as close. Adairsville took the three set win 25-18, 17-25, and 15-11. Adairsville (15-23-2) opens the Class AAA state playoffs on the road Tuesday night with a match against Region 5-AAA runner-up Carver-Atlanta. Oconee County is the top seed in the Adairsville portion of the bracket. The Warriors (43-7) host Lumpkin County (18-14) in Tuesday’s first round.

CARTERSVILLE, CASS QUALIFY FOR CLASS 5A STATE PLAYOFFS The Cartersville and Cass volleyball teams have advanced to the Class 5A state playoffs after Cartersville finished as the region runner-up and Cass earned the region's No. 4-seed in tournament action this past Thursday and Saturday. Cartersville beat Dalton 25-19 in opening set of Saturday’s Region 7-5A Championship match, but the Catamounts took the final two sets 25-17 and 15-11 to claim the 2022 region title. Lauren Lawson had 13 kills in the finals and Ailee England finished with eight as the Lady Canes finished region runner-up. Lily Gochee had 22 assists in the title match. Cartersville reached the finals by going 3-1 in matches earlier in the tournament. After receiving an opening round bye, the Lady Canes beat Cass in straight sets Thursday 25-8 and 25-12. Cartersville then narrowly lost to Dalton Saturday morning in straight sets 25-20 and 25-22, before winning two straight matches over Calhoun and Dalton to reach the championship match. The win over Calhoun was 25-23, 25-10 and the victory over Dalton was 27-25, 25-21. In other action at the Storm Center, Cass also qualified for the Class 5A playoffs with a fourth place finish. The Lady Colonels had a narrow tournament win Thursday night over Hiram 28-26 and 25-22 before falling the Cartersville later in the evening. On Saturday, Cass defeated Woodland to earn a berth in the state tournament but then lost to Calhoun in a match that moved the Yellow Jackets to the No. 3-seed. Cass players (L-R) Jenesys Moctezuma, Harlee Davis, and Caidence Woolridge. Cartersville (28-16) will host Flowery Branch (17-21) Tuesday night at the Storm Center in the first round of the state playoffs. Cass (13-25) will travel to Jefferson (28-7).

The Cartersville Purple Hurricanes struggled back-and-forth with Hiram for three quarters Friday night before taking control of the game in the fourth period for a 44-26 Region 7-5A win. Hiram scored first with a 67-yard touchdown pass from Samir Wylie to Jamarion Whatley. The scoring strike gave the hosting Hornets a 7-0 lead just two minutes into the first quarter. Luke McBride found the end zone for Cartersville about five minutes later to knot the first quarter score at 7-7. Early in the second quarter, the Canes took a 14-7 lead with a 2-yard touchdown run by Malachi Jeffries, but the Hornets came right back. Hiram tied the score 14-14 when Wylie connected with Chase Tyler for a touchdown with approximately eight minutes remaining in the second quarter. Less than three minutes later, Cartersville regained the lead 21-14 on a Paul Gamble to Collin Fletcher 22-yard touchdown pass. On the Hornets next possession, Whatley broke free for a 70-yard touchdown run. Hiram’s PAT attempt missed however leaving Cartersville ahead 21-20 at the intermission. Hiram went ahead 26-21 on their initial possession of the second half. Walter Matthews caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Wylie but the Hornets again failed with their extra point try. Two possessions later for the Canes, Jeffries had a long run to the Hiram 35-yard line. Shortly after, Gamble sprinted for a 27-yard touchdown and Cartersville held a 27-26 lead after a failed two-point conversion attempt. The Cartersville defense stopped the next HIram possession and Jeffries reeled off another nice run to reach the Hornets’ 20-yard line. Following a short run, Jeffries scored on an 18-yard scamper in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. The scoring play gave the Canes a 34-26 lead. Ryan Johnson added a 30-yard field goal for the Canes and Gamble had a 7-yard rushing score late in the game to secure Cartersville’s 44-26 win. Braylon Inman and Romo Pace each had fourth quarter interceptions to halt Hiram possessions. The loss dropped Hiram to 4-4 overall and 1-2 in Region 7-5A. The Hornets play at Cass next week. Cartersville (7-1, 2-1) will host Woodland next Friday evening.

Calhoun took advantage of multiple Woodland turnovers and the Wildcats’ inability to finish drives in a 49-0 Region 7-5A victory Friday night. The visiting Yellow Jackets took the opening drive down the field and scored with a one-yard quarterback sneak by Andrew Purdy. Carlos Lopez made the PAT for a Calhoun 7-0 lead. Late in the second quarter, Calhoun went up 14-0 by finishing off a length 14-play drive. The scoring play was a 7-yard touchdown pass fro Purdy to Emaree Winstron. The Jackets added to their halftime lead with their next possession. Purdy connected with Cam Curtis for another 7-yard scoring strike with just 39 seconds remaining in the half for a 21-0 intermission lead. Calhoun scored on their opening possession of the second half to make the score 28-0. Corbin Fuller scored with a 2-yard rushing touchdown. A 1-yard keeper by Purdy made the score 35-0 with two minutes left in the third quarter. After the Wildcats put themselves in bad field position at 5-yard line on the ensuing kickoff, a Woodland fumble was returned for another Calhoun touchdown by Porter Law giving the Yellow Jackets a 42-0 advantage. Calhoun later blocked a punt to set up their next touchdown from the Woodland 1-yard line. Hunter White scored for the Yellow Jackets giving the visitors a 49-0 lead. Woodland (1-7, 0-3) plays at Cartersville next Friday.

The Dalton Catamounts rallied from an early 14-0 deficit Friday night to win a back-and-forth Region 7-5A tilt at Cass, 31-28, as time expired. Dalton kicker Adrian Gongora, who also successfully kicked four PATs on the night, made a 31-yard field goal as time ran out to keep the Catamounts unbeaten in region play. Cass started fast and built a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. The Colonels took the opening drive of the game 80-yards on nine plays and scored on a 4-yard Brodie McWhorter to Devin Henderson pass with 7:04 remaining in the first period. Saul Viella made the first of his four PAT kicks and Cass led 7-0. Following a stop by the Cass defense, the Colonels drove for another score starting from their own 38. The hosts took nine plays this time to cover the 62 yards, scoring with a 2-yard Mac Nelson run to take a 14-0 lead with 0:21 left in the period, Dalton quickly recovered. Luke Blanchard returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for the Cats’ first score to cut the Colonels’ lead in half, 14-7, with 0:05 remaining in the first quarter. On the Colonels’ next possession, Nelson broke loose on a run of over 50 yards but lost the fumble as he was brought to the turf. The fumble was recovered by Dalton at their own 30-yard line and they quickly scored with the new possession. Dalton star running back Tyson Greenwade found daylight and scored on a 41-yard run to cap a 70-yard drive that took just five plays. The touchdown and PAT knotted the score at 14-all. Cass drove deep into Dalton territory late in the half and attempted a 40-yard field goal on the final play of the second quarter. Viella’s kick had plenty of leg, but squarely struck the left upright and fell back into the end zone leaving the score tied at the intermission. After possession exchanges, Dalton drove into Cass territory before the Colonels’ Sacovie White picked off an Ethan Long pass with an extended, one-handed grab. The University of Georgia commit regained his balance and got to the left sideline as he sprinted 85-yards with an interception return for touchdown. The pick-6 put Cass ahead again 21-14 with 4:30 left in the third quarter. Dalton answered right away. The Catamounts drove 66 yards on five plays to knot the score again at 21-21. Adriel Hernandez had the scoring run from 21 yards out. Early in the fourth quarter, the Catamounts drove 85 yards on five plays to grab a 28-21 lead. The touchdown play was a 16-yard swing pass from Long to Greenwade. The Colonels were not finished, however. They drove into Dalton territory and faced a 4th-and-2 at the Catamounts’ 18-yard play. Needing short yardage, McWhorter flipped a short pass to Devin Henderson who scored on an impressive run after the catch by stretching the football just far enough to touch to left end zone pylon. The 58-yard drive by Cass took five plays and tied the score at 28 with 2:51 to play. Dalton drove their ensuing possession to midfield and facing a 4th-and-9 made the decision to punt the ball back to Cass with just over one minute to go. A fair catch of the punt gave the Colonels the ball at their own 16-yard line with 1:02 remaining. Following an incomplete pass, Cass fumbled on a running play and Dalton recovered at the 23-yard line with 0:49 left in the game. Three Greenwade runs moved Dalton to the 14-yard line with 0:01 remaining. After a timeout, Gongora made the 31-yard field goal as time expired. Dalton improved to 5-3 on the season and 3-0 in Region 7-5A. The win also secured a state playoff berth for the Catamounts with two regular season games remaining against Calhoun and Cartersville. Cass (3-5, 1-2) will host Hiram next Friday.

Adairsville volleyball lost its first round, region tournament match Thursday night to LaFayette. The Tigers drop to the loser’s bracket of the double-elimination tournament to face the Ridgeland/Ringgold loser Saturday at 10 a.m. Woodland volleyball lost their Region 7-5A first round match Thursday to Calhoun while Cass beat Hiram but lost a second round match to Cartersville. The Lady Colonels and Lady Cats will play each other Saturday morning at 9AM at The Storm Center in an elimination match. Cartersville, the No. 1 seed, is the host of the Region 7-5A tournament and will face Dalton early Saturday with the winner moving into the tournament finals. The top four teams at the tournament will advance to the Class 5A state playoffs which begin next week.

Halle Chasen lined a walk-off single into centerfield Tuesday night to lift Adairsville to a 3-2 Region 6-AAA win over visiting Coahulla Creek. Trailing 2-0 going to the bottom of the seventh, the Lady Tigers scored three times. With two outs and no one on base, pinch hitter Chelsea Bates reached on an infield error. Riley Mounger followed with a triple into left field to score Bates. Alissa Winters was next with a bunt misplayed by the Colts’ third baseman. Mounger scored on the play to tie the score 2-2. Chasen came to the plate next and Winters stole second base to move into scoring position prior to the walk-off hit. The win snapped a three-game skid for the Lady Tigers as they finished the year 9-13-1 overall and 4-10 in Region 6-AAA. Megan Gregory worked all seven innings in the pitching circle to earn the victory. She scattered five hits and issued no walks while striking out eleven. Chasen finished with two hits. Mounger and McKenzie Pullum had the other Adairsville base hits.

In a tri-match at Woodland Tuesday night, the Lady Cats defeated Adairsville but lost to Murray County in non-region volleyball action. Adairsville bounced back from their loss to Woodland to defeat Murray County. Woodland’s win over the Lady Tigers was 25-20, 25-23. The Lady Cats’ loss to Murray County was 25-22, 25-19. Note: Scores from the Adairsville/Murray match were not reported. In Woodland’s two matches, Kendall Condon had 13 assists, 15 digs, and eight kills. Madison West had 10 kills, five aces, three blocks, and two assists. Kailynn Mullinax finished with eight kills, six digs, and four assists. Anastyn Jones totaled five kills, eight digs, four assists, and six aces. Lili Womack had 14 digs, five assists, and three kills while Megan Schultz added 10 digs and two kills.

Woodland softball locked up the No. 3-seed from Region 7-5A Tuesday night by overpowering visiting Cass, 14-1, in just four innings. The Lady Cats scored eight times in the bottom of the first inning to take control early. After a scoreless second inning, Cass scored its lone run in the top of the third. Woodland answered with six more runs in the bottom of the third for a 14-1 lead. After Cass was held scoreless in the four, the game ended by run rule. Woodland banged out 13 hits and took advantage of four Cass defensive miscues. Haley Collum earned the pitching win for the Lady Cats allowing just one earned run on three hits and a pair of walks. She struck out four. Emma Gibson (0.1 IP, 6R, 4ER, 5H) started in the circle for Cass and suffered the pitching loss. Alexis Woods (2.2 IP, 8R, 0ER, 8H, 1BB) pitched in relief. Peyton Dorn (four RBIs), Mackenzie Araya (RBI), Collum (four RBIs), and Bailey Sakacsi (RBI) had two hits each for Woodland. Jordan Hammonds tripled. Alana Carnes (double, RBI), Kamryn Smith (double), Elizabeth Hartsfield (RBI), and Cambrie Carrington added one hit apiece. Ansley Hight, Bailey York, and Woods had the three Cass hits. Darianna Sosa drove in the Colonels’ only run with a sacrifice fly. Cass (9-19, 6-9) still qualifies for the Class 5A state playoffs as the region’s No. 4-seed. The Lady Colonels will play in the four-team Super Regional Bracket hosted by the Region 8-5A No. 1-seed Loganville. The double-elimination state regional begins next Tuesday. Woodland (15-15, 8-7) will head to the four-team Super Regional Bracket hosted by Region 5-5A champion Villa Rica. That double-elimination regional also begins next Tuesday.

In a regular season finale’ between the top two teams in Region 7-5A Tuesday night, Calhoun took an early lead but had to come-from-behind to knock off Cartersville, 8-7. The win by the Yellow Jackets means both teams finished the region schedule with identical 13-2 marks. Cartersville won the season series, however, two games to one to claim the region title. Tuesday night, Calhoun scored five runs in the bottom of the first and added another run in the second for an early 6-0 lead. Cartersville posted a run in the third to narrow the margin to 6-1 and then scored six times in the top of the fifth to grab a 7-6 lead. The six-run fifth for the Lady Canes included a go-ahead, three-run homer by Mikey Lewis. Calhoun responded, however, with single runs in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings to secure the win. Lewis (three RBIs), Elizabeth Nelson (RBI), and McKinley Chada (RBI) had two hits each for Cartersville. Campbell Rogers (RBI), Jordan Bishop, and Ava Perkins added one hit apiece. Erin McCrary had one RBI. Kennedy Stevens (5.2 IP, 3R, 1ER, 5H, 4BB, 3K) was tagged with the pitching loss in relief. Perkins (0.1 IP, 5ER, 4H, 1BB) started in the circle. The Yellow Jackets improved to 22-8 on the season with their win. They will be the No. 2-seed from Region 7-5A in the state playoff Super Regional at Cambridge. Cartersville (16-9-1, 13-2) will host a four-team Class 5A Super Regional October 18-21 where they will open against the No. 4-seed from Region 8-5A. The double-elimination regional will also include Kell and Lithia Springs.

The Woodland boys cross country team placed eighth and the Woodland girls were tenth Saturday in the Varsity Purple Division races at the Atlanta Classic in Douglas County. The boys' race was won by Carrollton with Pope and McIntosh finishing second and third, respectively. There were 21 teams and 178 runners in the division. Walton won the girls' Purple Division followed by Decatur and South Forsyth with 19 teams participating. The girls' race had 165 runners. The top five finishers for the Woodland boys were: Tyler Jones (10th, 16:32), Drew Thayer (20th, 17:04), Juan Mendoza (49th, 17:48), Andy Forsyth (84th, 18:33), and Rowan Lee (89th, 18:35). The top five finishers for the Woodland girls were: Miranda Pelow (49th, 21:42), Emma Segars (54th, 21:48), Olivia Berry (55th, 21:52), Abby George (62nd, 22:06), and Danielle Thayer (63rd, 22:08). The Wildcats and Lady Cats will run again Friday (Oct. 14) in Jasper at the Pickens & Grinnin’ Invitational. ADAIRSVILLE 7TH AT GROVE LEVEL STAMPEDE The Adairsville boys cross country team finished seventh of ten teams last Thursday at the Grove Level Stampede held near Dalton. Baylor (TN) won the team competition followed by Dalton and Fannin County. The race included 144 competitors. The top five runners for the Tigers were: Griffin Bozeman (25th, 18:45), Eli Pearson (33rd, 19:03), Dutch Hernandez (71st, 20:18), Michael Spinks (72nd, 20:19), and Fletcher Silvers (73rd, 20:22). The next race for Adairsville is the Fast Break Challenge in Ringgold on October 18.

A scoring flurry by Cartersville in the final minute of the second quarter and the early minutes of the third quarter lifted the Purple Hurricanes to a 35-13 win Friday night at Cass. The Cartersville win — coupled with Hiram’s win Friday night over Calhoun — makes the race for the Region 7-5A championship wide open with three weeks remaining in the regular season. The Colonels struck first Friday night scoring on their second possession. Runs by Mac Nelson and passes from Brodie McWhorter to Sacovie White and Devin Henderson enabled Cass to reach the Cartersville 3-yard line. McWhorter then hit Devin Henderson for a 3-yard touchdown pass to give the Colonels a 7-0 lead following Saul Viella’s PAT kick. Two passes from Paul Gamble to Collin Fletcher moved Cartersville quickly back down the field. Gamble later scored with a 26-yard scamper to tie the game 7-7 with 1:49 remaining in the first quarter. Jesus Gutierrez made the Cartersville PAT kick. The teams exchanged turnovers in the second quarter before Cartersville took the lead. Gamble and Malachi Jeffries had key runs to move the Canes into scoring position again. Jeffries finished off the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run and a 14-7 Cartersville advantage. Cass answered with an 80-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 33-yard touchdown strike from McWhorter to Devin Henderson. A blocked extra point, however, kept Cartersville in the lead 14-13 with just 55 seconds remaining in the half. A long kickoff return by Cartersville set up another score before the intermission. Gamble connected with Jeffries with no time remaining in the half to give the Canes a 21-13 halftime lead. Cartersville opened the second half with yet another quick score. On the second play of the third quarter, Gamble hit Fletcher for a 73-yard touchdown strike that gave the Canes a 28-13 lead. Cass was stopped on their ensuing possession and it only took Cartersville one play to put more points on the board. Jeffries raced 39-yards with his second touchdown run of the night giving the Hurricanes a 35-13 lead with 9:12 remaining in the third quarter. Cass drove deep into Cartersville territory with their next drive but failed to convert the possession into points. The drive started late in the third quarter and ended in the first minute of the final period. McWhorter had a nice completion to Sacovie White and multiple runs by the Colonels’ Ja’Caiden Leonard reached the Canes’ 13-yard line but the drive ended on downs with an incomplete pass in the end zone. Cartersville took possession with 11:39 remaining and essentially ground out the game clock. The Canes methodically moved down the field with twelve consecutive running plays. Although they came up empty with a missed field goal attempt, the Hurricanes left only 3:44 on the game clock. A sack ended the Colonels’ final possession and Cartersville was able to take a knee to end the game with a 22-point win. The win by Cartersville means the Hurricanes (6-1 overall) and Colonels (3-4 overall) are both 1-1 in Region 7-5A with three games remaining. With Hiram knocking off Calhoun 45-35 Friday night, the Hornets and Yellow Jackets are also now 1-1 in the region meaning the scramble for state playoff positions and seeding is wide open. Dalton, who beat Woodland 28-7 Friday, improved to 2-0 in region games and is the only team in Region 7-5A without a league loss. Cartersville travels to Hiram next Friday and Cass will host Dalton. Cartersville at Hiram will be broadcast on WBHF (100.3FM / AM1450). Dalton at Cass will be broadcast on BartowSportsZone.com and the free Mixlr app. Pregame coverage begins on both formats at 6 p.m. with kickoff at 7:30 p.m.