The Woodland Wildcats wrapped up their 2021 season Thursday night at Hiram with a 35-24 loss to the Hornets. The game was moved to Thursday due to a shortage of officials and it resulted in the first win of the season for Hiram (1-9). Woodland led 17-14 at halftime, but Hornets’ running back Adonnis Dessin set the tone for the Hiram in the second half with a big rushing performance. Dessin had a pair of 5-yard touchdown runs in the fourth quarter and Caden Hamilton, who had a 4-yard touchdown run in the first half, added a short second half scoring plunge. Dalton Moyse added a 25-yard field goal in the fourth quarter that helped the Hornets build a 35-17 lead. Isaiah Livsey gave Woodland an early 7-0 lead with an 8-yard touchdown run in the opening quarter. After Hiram tied the score with a 35-yard touchdown pass, Wildcats’ quarterback Brelace Williams put Woodland back on top with a short keeper and a 14-7 lead with 10:23 remaining in the second quarter. Hamilton’s first touchdown run tied the game 14-14 with 1:11 left in the first half, but Woodland took a 17-14 advantage to the intermission after a 27-yard field goal by Nick Stocks on the final play of the half. Woodland’s final touchdown came with just 2 minutes remaining. Williams connected with Adarrian Wilson on a 67-yard scoring pass that made the final score 35-24. The Wildcats, who won their opening game of the season over Gordon Central, dropped their ninth straight game to finish with a 1-9 mark.

Woodland softball lost its opening game of the 2021 Class 5A Elite Eight Tournament in Columbus Thursday night, falling to Starr’s Mill 4-0. Starr’s Mill pitcher Lilli Backes tossed a complete-game, no-hitter to shut down the Woodland offense. She struck out 17 and walked only two Lady Cats. Playing as the home team in the first round of the double-elimination tournament, Starr’s Mill broke open a scoreless game with a three run third inning and added the game’s only other run in the bottom of the fourth. Lainey Baker pitched well for Woodland but suffered the pitching defeat. Baker allowed three earned runs on six hits and four walks. The senior hurler fanned nine. Woodland (17-14-2) falls into the elimination bracket and will face region foe Calhoun Friday at 3 p.m. Calhoun fell to Loganville Thursday night, 12-2. The tournament continues through Saturday. Following their opening round loss, Woodland needs six straight wins Friday and Saturday to capture the state title.

Woodland and Cartersville girls and boys cross country teams finished second and third, respectively, Tuesday at the Region 7-AAAAA championship meet at Woodland High School. Blessed Trinity dominated both races with six runners inside the top ten in both races. The Titans placed first in both events with Calhoun taking fourth in both events. The Hiram girls were fifth while the Cass boys placed fifth. Katie Hamfeldt of Blessed Trinity won the girls individual title in 19:33.70. Top finishers for Woodland were Rylee Evans (3rd, 19:45), Olivia Berry (5th, 20:36), Emma Segars (6th, 20:41), Miranda Pelow (10th, 21:32), and Danielle Thayer (14th, 22:40). The Cartersville girls were paced by McKinsey Spinks (11th, 21:42). She was followed by Kaylana Pennington-Brooke (22:53), Meredith Gaines (22:55), Trinity Atkins (22:59), and Anna Grace Boone (23:17) who placed 15th through 18th. Samantha Herrera was 20th in 23:43. Zack Burke of Blessed Trinity won the boys race in 16:45.75. Tyler Jones (17:02) and McKinley Chappell (17:06) led Woodland finishing fourth and fifth, respectively. Drew Thayer (13th, 18:06), Kain Tanturri (18:16), Andy Forsyth (18th, 18:36), John Forsyth (21st, 18:42) rounded out the Wildcats scoring. Sam Peters (17:41.34), Malachi Vosburgh (17:41.44), Levi Booth (17:46), and Cainen Crowder (17:56) placed 9th through12th for Cartersville. Paul Hyman (22nd, 18:43) and Barrett Stepp (23rd, 18:46) were next for the Canes. Hayden Mitchell (26th, 19:35) rounded out the Canes’ runners. Critton Gearhart (17th, 18:28) and Jake Wright (19th, 18:38) led Cass. The Colonels’ duo was followed by Andrew Rampey (32nd, 21:03), Brice Keith (33rd, 21:23), Abiatar Reyes (34th, 21:35), Elijah Etheridge (35th, 22:07), and Sawyer Foy (37th, 22:56). The cross country state meet will take place next weekend in Carrollton. The Class 5A boys race is slated to start at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 6, with the girls to follow at 10:15.

Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars had a bye week in the NFL schedule, so there were no professional athletes to update this week. As a result, our update this week is for Bartow County athletes around the country at the collegiate level. COLLEGE FOOTBALL TERRY BERDIN — Reinhardt University (Jr., Cartersville HS) … had two carries for 15 yards, including an 11-yard rush in the NAIA 10th-ranked Eagles’ 14-6 win Saturday over visiting 14th-ranked Faulkner University. Reinhardt (6-2, 3-0 Mid-South Conference) travels to Laurinburg, North Carolina to take on St. Andrews University. CHRIS BLACKSTON — University of West Georgia (Sr., Adairsville HS)… finished with four tackles including one tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry as the 4th-ranked Wolves beat visiting North Greenville Saturday 34-14. Blackston now has 22 tackles through the first seven games. UWG (7-1, 5-1 Gulf South Conference) plays at No. 2 Valdosta State this Saturday night. TREY CREAMER — UNC Charlotte (R-Sr., Cartersville HS)… contributed one tackle Thursday night in the 49ers’ 38-9 loss to visiting Florida Atlantic. Charlotte (4-3, 2-1 Conference USA) plays at Western Kentucky Saturday afternoon. JONATHAN CRUZ — UNC Charlotte (Sr., Cartersville HS)… after missing a 44-yard attempt, Cruz made a 23-yard field goal in the 49ers’ 38-9 home loss to Florida Atlantic University. He also missed the team’s only PAT attempt and had two kickoffs — one for a touchback and one went out of bounds. Charlotte (4-3, 2-1 C-USA) travels to Western Kentucky Saturday. JORDAN FERGUSON — Middle Tennessee State University (R-Jr., Cartersville HS)… the Blue Raiders’ starting defensive lineman had three tackles including two for losses. Ferguson added a pass break up and three quarterback hurries in MTSU’s 44-13 win Friday night at UConn. Middle Tennessee (3-4, 1-2 C-USA) hosts Southern Miss Saturday afternoon. ZAY JACKSON — Missouri Baptist University (Fr., Cass HS) … the Spartans’ free safety made eight tackles (6 solo) Saturday in a 37-16 loss at 19th-ranked Olivet Nazarene University. Missouri Baptist (3-5, 0-4 Mid-States Football Association) plays at Trinity International University this Saturday in Deerfield, Illinois. MANNY JONES — Colorado State University (Grad Student, Woodland HS) … was credited with eight total tackles including two tackles for loss last Friday night in a 26-24 loss at Utah State. CSU (3-4, 2-1) is scheduled to host Boise State Saturday night. TITUS JONES — Colorado State University (R-So., Woodland HS) … was a participant but did not record any stats in the Rams’ two point loss Friday night at Utah State. CSU (3-4, 2-1) is scheduled to host Boise State Saturday night. BRADLEY KIRK — Shorter University (Sr., Cartersville HS) … had one tackle in the Hawks’ 45-23 loss at 6th-ranked West Florida Saturday in Pensacola. JACOB POTTER — Kennesaw State University (Sr., Adairsville HS) … the Owls long snapper was an All-Big South Conference Second Team selection in the Spring as a junior. He snapped for field goals, extra points, and punts in KSU’s 30-7 Big South Conference win at Campbell University. 12th-ranked KSU (4-1, 1-0) entertains Gardner-Webb Saturday afternoon in another Big South game. JOHN SCIFERS — University Incarnate Word (Grad Student, Woodland HS) … had two kickoffs, one for a touchback, in the Cardinals’ 28-20 loss Saturday at McNeese State. UIW (5-2, 3-1 Southland Conference) hosts Houston Baptist this Saturday in San Antonio. COURTNEY SLOCUM — Mars Hill University (Fr., Adairsville HS) … was a participant but did not record any stats in the Lions’ 31-14 victory over Catawba. MHU (6-2, 4-1 South Atlantic Conference) travels to Carson-Newman University Saturday. MATTHEW SURRETT — Olivet Nazarene University (Fr., Cartersville HS) … the NAIA 19th-ranked Tigers’ starting center was part of an offensive unit that rolled up 402 yards of total offense, including 189 net rushing yards, in a 37-16 home win over Missouri Baptist. The Tigers (5-2, 3-1 Mid-States Football Association) play at St. Francis University in Joliet, Illinois next Saturday afternoon. BRANDON WADE — University West Florida (R-So., Cartersville HS) … the defensive lineman had one tackle for a loss of two yards and was credited with one quarterback hurry as the 6th-ranked Argonauts beat visiting Shorter 45-23 Saturday. UWF (6-1, 3-1 Gulf South Conference) plays this Saturday night at Mississippi College. BRYCE WILKINS — Reinhardt University (So., Cartersville HS)… the Eagles’ starting guard was part of an offensive unit that managed 328 yards of total offense this past Saturday while defeating visiting Faulkner University 14-6. Reinhardt (6-2, 3-0 Mid-South Conference) will take its No. 10 ranking to North Carolina this Saturday to face St. Andrews University. CROSS COUNTRY BILL ARCHER — University of Montevallo (Fr., Cartersville HS) … finished 40th of 101 runners this past Saturday as Montevallo placed fourth at the Gulf South Conference Championship hosted by Mississippi College in Clinton, Mississippi. Archer completed the 8K course in 26:10.98 and finished fourth on the Falcons’ team. PARKER BREEDLOVE — Reinhardt University (Fr., Cartersville HS) … finished 80th of 140 competitors at last Saturday’s NAIA Southern States Challenge 8K in Bluffton, South Carolina. The Eagles placed eighth of 13 teams. Reinhardt will host the Appalachia Athletic Conference Championships at Boling Park in Canton. SOCCER COURTNEY RHEA — Berry College (Sr., Cartersville HS) … entered as a reserve Saturday at Oglethorpe University to post 23 minutes and took one shot in a 3-0 victory. The Vikings (10-5, 5-2 Southern Athletic Association) begin the conference championship tournament at home Saturday as one of the league’s top four seeds. RUSSELL SHEALY — Syracuse University (R-Jr., Cartersville native, Darlington HS) … started in goal and made three saves as the Orange shutout visiting and 6th-ranked Clemson this past Saturday night 2-0. Syracuse (8-6-2, 2-4-1 ACC) finishes the regular season Friday night at Wake Forest. GOLF BUCK BRUMLOW — University of Georgia (Fr., Cartersville HS) … finished in an individual tie for 5th place and helped lead the Bulldogs to a runner-up finish at the final Fall tournament of the year for Georgia. The Bulldogs finished 8-under-par and eight shots behind 3rd-ranked North Carolina at The Williams Cup in Wilmington, North Carolina. The tournament was played at the par-72, 7,364-yard Eagle Point Golf Club. Brumlow fired rounds of 75-69-70 (2-under-par total) to finish four spots behind individual champion and UGA teammate Trent Phillips (15-under). The next tournament for the Bulldogs will be the Southwest Invitational January 24-26 at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, California. DALTON HENSON — Reinhardt University (So., Cartersville HS) … finished in a 10th place tie and shot rounds of 72-77-74 at the SSAC Fall Preview Monday and Tuesday at the par-72, 6,864-yard Robert Trent Jones Course at Cambrian Ridge in Greenville, Alabama. The Eagles’ schedule will continue in the new year. CHANC WILLIS — Reinhardt University (So., Cartersville HS) … tied for 19th individually firing rounds of 78-78-74 Monday and Tuesday at the SSAC Fall Preview. Reinhardt finished third in the eight team event behind winner William Carey University and runner-up University of Mobile.

The high school football standings and remaining regular season schedules for Region 7-AAAAA and Region 6-AAA that include the local schools -- Adairsville, Cartersville, Cass, and Woodland. REGION 7-AAAAA Friday, October 29 Calhoun at Cartersville Blessed Trinity at Cass Woodland at Hiram Friday, November 5 All six teams have bye weeks Friday, November 12 State Playoffs Begin REGION 6-AAA Friday, October 29 Adairsville at North Murray Sonoraville at Ringgold Rockmart at LaFayette Murray County at LFO Coahulla Creek has a bye week Friday, November 5 Ringgold at Rockmart LFO at Adairsville North Murray at LaFayette Sonoraville at Coahulla Creek Murray County has a bye week Friday, November 12 State Playoffs Begin

The Cartersville High School volleyball team had its season end Saturday night with a Sweet Sixteen playoff loss at Veterans. The 3-1 loss to the Warhawks in the best-of-five set match marked the second straight season the Lady Canes’ have been eliminated in the state tournament’s second round. The match went back-and-forth through the first two sets. Veterans squeezed out a 27-25 win in the opening set before Cartersville won Set 2 25-15. The host Warhawks then took the next two sets 25-17 and 25-15 to close out the win. “We didn’t play our best,” said Cartersville head coach Alicen Pearson. “We made too many mistakes and errors.” Sophomore Ailee England finished with 15 kills to lead the Hurricanes’ attack. Mason Cline and Lauren Lawson followed with eight kills each. London Moultrie finished with seven. Junior setter Lily Gochee contributed 39 assists, three aces, and a pair of kills. Mia Nicklas added 15 digs. Veterans (22-12) advances to host Greenbrier in the Class AAAAA quarterfinals. Cartersville has its campaign end with a 26-12 mark.

Bartow County junior anglers dominated all 4 of the top spots at the AHSBA tournament held at Lake Allatoona on Saturday, October 16 while senior league local anglers claimed three of the top seven finishes. Local junior division results: 1st Place - 8.62 lbs - Jax McClure & Jacob Abernathy (both of Cass Middle) 2nd Place - 7.20 lbs - Kaiden Coker (Adairsville Middle) & Adam Kovacic (Cartersville Middle) - also won big fish with 2.46 lbs 3rd Place - 6.94 lbs - Dayson Ward & Jacob Jones (both of Adairsville Middle) 4th Place - 5.91 lbs - Owen Wiggins & Bill Gaines (both of Woodland Middle) Local senior division results: 1st Place - 11.06 lbs - Hunter Owens (Woodland High) & Carter Owens (Woodland Middle) 5th Place - 7.41 lbs - Brandon Willard (Woodland High) & Bryan Gayton (Woodland Middle) 7th Place - 7.28 lbs - Evin Jensen & Caden Copeland (both of Adairsville High) AHSBA saw a total of 64 boats out for the second tournament of the season and weighed in a total of 258 lbs. Anglers will compete again November 6 launching out of Gatewood Park on Lake Allatoona.

The Cass Colonels committed five turnovers Friday night — three in the red zone — and lost at No. 6-ranked Calhoun, 35-14, in a game that was closer than the final score indicates. A Cass fumble on the opening kickoff led to a 30-yard touchdown pass from Calhoun’s Christian Lewis to Quin Smith just over one minute into the game. The Yellow Jackets added another first quarter touchdown culminating a 79-yard drive with 2:58 remaining in the second quarter. This time Lewis found Brendan Gray crossing in the back of the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead following Carlos Orozko’s second PAT kick. The Colonels narrowed the margin to 14-7 just over one minute later. Quarterback Devin Henderson found Kevin Henderson racing up the left sideline for a 61-yard pass completion to set up the Colonels’ touchdown. Freddie Gbadie finished off the three-play drive with a 5-yard touchdown run. Calhoun regained a two-score lead with a 29-yard Caden Williams touchdown run four minutes into the second quarter. The Yellow Jackets’ drive covered 86 yards in 10 plays. Cass responded with a 12-play, 75-yard drive of their own to make the score 21-14 at halftime. Cass loaded up its right side after reaching the Calhoun 1-yard line and had Kymoni Pullum slip out the left side to the back of the end zone to catch a 1-yard pass from Devin Henderson. Calhoun added a 47-yard touchdown run by Cole Speer with 6:43 left in the third quarter and a 56-yard run by Caden Williams with just 0:54 left in the game for the only scoring in the second half. Cass had multiple opportunities to pull within one score of the Jackets in the second half. A fumble inside the 5-yard line, an interception in the end zone, and a blocked field goal attempt thwarted second half opportunites for the Colonels. Calhoun (8-1, 4-0) will travel to top-ranked Cartersville next Friday. The winner of that game will take the Region 7-AAAAA championship and earn a No. 1-seed in the Class 5A state playoffs. Cass (5-4, 2-2) hosts 9th-ranked Blessed Trinity with the winner earning the region’s No. 3-seed in the state playoffs. The loser will slip to a No. 4-seed.

The No. 1-ranked Cartersville Purple Hurricanes scored 35 points in the first quarter and cruised to an eventual 49-7 victory Friday night at Woodland’s Wildcat Stadium. Cartersville starting quarterback Jake Parker was 7-for-10 for 111 yards and only played the first quarter after tossing three touchdown passes. The Canes’ senior signal caller connected with Jacob Ray for a 64-yard scoring play, then hooked up with Nasir Grandberry on a 5-yarder and Brynen Wilkins on a 9-yarder to finish his evening. Canes’ running back Amari White had a 5-yard touchdown run and Khristian Lando added a 7-yard scoring run as Cartersville put the game away early. Quarterback Paul Gamble entered for the Hurricanes in the second quarter and led the offense to two more touchdowns. Gamble found Kendric Price on a short pass that turned into a 56-yard touchdown and Dorian Randle added a 12-yard rushing touchdown as Cartersville took a 49-0 lead to the intermission. Woodland scored in the final minute of the game to cap an 11-play, 80-yard drive. Brandon Montes ended the shutout with a 2-yard run with 0:45 remaining. Woodland (1-8, 0-4) will finish the regular season next Friday at Hiram. Cartersville (8-0, 4-0) will host Calhoun at Weinman Stadium with the Region 7-AAAAA title on the line.

The 9th-ranked Rockmart Yellow Jackets defeated the visiting Adairsville Tigers Friday night in a high-scoring affair, 49-33. Rockmart quarterback JD Davis threw for three touchdown and ran for another score in the Yellow Jackets’ victory, but it was the work of the Yellow Jackets' offensive line and rushing attack spread across three running backs that accomplished much of Rockmart's offensive success. Dennis Sims caught two of the Davis touchdown passes in the first quarter and Keyshaun McCullough had a 52-yard touchdown reception with just 0:52 remaining in the first half that gave Rockmart a 35-20 lead at halftime. Davis had a 30-yard rushing touchdown and Jojo Haynes added a 5-yard plunge for the Yellow Jackets in the second quarter. Adairsville’s Eli Agnew, who finished the night with four rushing touchdowns, had a pair of 1-yard touchdowns in the first quarter. The Tigers’ Chris Roper also scored on a 3-yard run in the second period to keep Adairsville within two scores at the intermission. Both teams scored two touchdowns each in the second half. Cam Ferguson raced 71-yards to give Rockmart a 42-20 lead in the third quarter before Agnew added a pair of touchdown runs for Adairsville in the fourth quarter. Rockmart closed out the scoring with Nahzair Turner’s 13-yard touchdown run in the final period. The Yellow Jackets (7-1, 6-0 Region 6-AAA) play at LaFayette next Friday and will host Ringgold November 5 in what could be a showdown for the region title. Adairsville (6-2, 4-2) travels to North Murray Friday in a game that could determine the No. 3-seed from Region 6-AAA in the state playoffs. The Mountaineers also have a 4-2 region record.

The Cartersville boys cross country team won the Fast Break Challenge Tuesday in Ringgold while the Cartersville girls placed fourth. The event was hosted by Heritage High School and included 19 teams. The Cartersville boys scored 50 points and finished 26 points ahead of runner-up, Dalton. Levi Booth, Sam Peters, and Malachi Vosburgh placed third through fifth individually for the Hurricanes. Cainen Crowder was eighth. Paul Hyman (32nd) and Barrett Stepp (33rd) rounded out the field of Cartersville runners. Adairsville, who placed 18th as a team, was led by Griffin Bozeman (34th). Brayden Miller (86th), Jace Silvers (126th), Chris Pelchat (134th) and Cody Teer (149th) were the Tigers other finishers. In the girls race, the Lady Canes placed fourth behind Walker Valley (Tennessee), runner-up Dalton, and Southeast Whitfield. McKinsey Spinks led Cartersville with a 10th place finish. Kaylana Pennington-Brooke (19th), Meredith Gaines (23rd), Trinity Atkins (24th), and Samantha Herrera (36th) rounded out the Lady Canes' scorers. Callie Viktora (56th) was the lone Adairsville competitor.

Cass softball power hitting standout Ansley Hight was recently named the Region 7-AAAAA Player of the Year. The Lady Colonels’ junior played in all 24 games this season and slashed an impressive .408/.494/974 with an OPS of 1.468. She blasted a dozen home runs, scored 25 runs, and finished with 42 RBIs. She drew 13 walks — including four intentional walks in one game against Calhoun — and struck out only nine times. Her performance helped lead the Colonels to the state playoffs in Class AAAAA for the second straight season. Two other Cass players — junior Alexis Woods and senior Kelly Young — also collected All-Region First Team honors. Cass’ Eryn Lee and Rachael Lee were given Second Team All-Region nods while Saydee Najarro, Haylee Dishmon, and Darianna Sosa received Honorable Mention recognition. Cartersville, which had no seniors on this year’s team, had nine players honored. Juniors Kiley Arnold and Campbell Rogers were selected to the First Team. Mikey Lewis, Ava Perkins, Layne Callan, and McKinley Chada were named to the Second Team. Erin McCrary, Reese Dumas, and Jordan Bishop received Honorable Mention. Woodland had eight players selected. The Wildcats were led by First Team choices Cambrie Carrington, Lainey Baker, and Michiah Hicks. Cassie Jones and Dylynn Motes were selected to the Second Team while Jessica Ryan, Peyton Dorn, and Jordan Hammonds were given Honorable Mention honors.