Calhoun defeated Cartersville 2-0 in both teams’ Region 7-AAAAA opener Wednesday at Atco Park despite a strong pitching performance from Cartersville’s McKinley Chada and Kiley Arnold. The Yellow Jackets broke open a scoreless game with Kayleigh Warren’s solo home run in the fourth inning and added an insurance run in the seventh. The Calhoun pitching combo of Sydney Terry (4.1 IP, 0R, 3H, 2BB, 1K) and Athens Hudson (2.2 IP, 0R, 0H, 4K) kept the Lady Canes off the scoreboard. Ava Perkins, Erin McCrary, and Chada had one hit each for Cartersville. Aryian Berner led Calhoun with two hits. Calhoun improved to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in region play. Cartersville (1-2, 0-1) will look to bounce back Thursday when they travel to Hiram for another region game at 5:30 p.m.

The volleyball teams at Cartersville and Woodland picked up non-region victories Tuesday night. At the Cartersville Storm Center, the Lady Canes beat Villa Rica 25-16, 25-16 and downed Coosa 25-4, 25-11. At Woodland, the Lady Cats defeated Paulding County in five sets: 27-25, 25-19, 20-25, 15-25, and 16-14. In Cartersville’s wins over Villa Rica and Coosa, Lauren Lawson racked up 17 kills. Ailee England totaled 11 kills, six aces, and nine digs. Lily Gochee contributed 32 assists, eight digs, two blocks, and a pair of aces. Mia Nicklas finished with 11 digs and two assists. Tennessee Abernathy had six service aces, three blocks, and two digs. London Moultrie added four kills, two digs, and one block. Abby Allen posted six digs with four aces and Mason Cline tallied three blocks. Coosa dropped to 0-4 for the season and Villa Rica fell to 3-1. Cartersville (2-0) returns to action next Tuesday at home against Pepperell and Sonoraville. WOODLAND WINS IN FIVE SETS Woodland was scheduled to host Rockmart and Paulding County Tuesday night, but the cancelation of Polk County Schools forced the Yellow Jackets to cancel. In response, Woodland and Paulding County played a best of five sets match that went down to the wire. Woodland took the first two sets 27-25 and 25-19 before the visiting Patriots won sets three and four, 25-20 and 25-15. The Wildcats then bounced back in the final set to win 16-14 to take the match victory. “We played really hard the entire evening,” said Lady Cats head coach David Condon. “The girls didn’t give up, particularly in that final set. Tonight was very encouraging moving forward.” Lili Womack had eight digs and four assists. Delaney Tuplin contributed ten kills, one ace, and one block. Anastyn Jones finished with 12 aces, seven kills, and two digs. Kendall Condon had 18 assists and ten digs. Kaitlyn Mullinax totaled five digs, three kills, two aces, two assists, and one block while Madison West added eight kills, four aces, and four digs. Paulding County slipped to 0-3 with the loss. Woodland (1-3) travels to Gordon Central Thursday where the Lady Cats will also square off with Adairsville.

As an undrafted rookie, tight end Miller Forristall has an uphill climb to earn a roster spot with the Tennessee Titans, but he didn’t hurt his chances in the preseason opener. In the Titans’ 23-3 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Friday night, Forristall caught three passes for 20 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown reception. “I told coach on the sideline, it felt like the ball was in the air for like 10 minutes,” Forristall said on Sunday. “But that was awesome. It was really cool, where I grew up, to catch a touchdown and celebrate with my teammates. It was a really cool experience. I’ll cherish that one for a while.” Forristall scored his first pro touchdown at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, about a 45-minute drive from Weinman Stadium, where Forristall played for Cartersville High School before going on to Alabama. For this complete story from Mark Inabinett, please see this link on AL.com -- https://www.al.com/sports/2021/08/miller-forristall-trying-to-stack-days-to-titans-roster.html

Listen to comments from Trevor Lawrence following his first preseason game as he takes questions from the media. The first game of the Urban Meyer Era, the 2021 preseason opener, ended in a 23-13 loss against the Cleveland Browns. Trevor Lawrence got the starting nod for the Jaguars, who only left their starting offense in for two drives. Lawrence finished the night 6-for-9 for 71 yards. With the starting offense on the field, however, the Jaguars didn’t score in their two drives. Jacksonville will have two more preseason games. The Jags play at the New Orleans Saints Monday, August 23 (8PM) and at the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, August 29 (1PM). PRO FOOTBALL ATHLETES BEYOND BARTOW Miller Forristall (Tennessee Titans; Cartersville) — Playing in his first NFL game, the former Cane and Crimson Tide tight end snagged three passes for 20 yards, highlighted by a 12-yard touchdown, against the Atlanta Falcons. Tennessee's next preseason encounter comes Saturday at Tampa Bay. Trevor Lawrence (Jacksonville Jaguars; Cartersville) — Lawrence earned the starting nod in Jacksonville's initial preseason game against Cleveland. He overcame a sack and fumble on his first snap to finish 6-for-9 for 71 yards. The Jaguars failed to produce any points on Lawrence's two series at the helm. Next up for Jacksonville is a road game next Monday at New Orleans.

Connor Justus made his return from the Pensacola Blue Wahoos injured list this past week and continued what has been a hot month at the plate during August. His four hits in a three game stretch raised his batting average for the month to .550. Meanwhile, Sam Howard continues his rehabilitation to return to the Pittsburgh Pirates and Anthony Seigler remains on the Hudson Valley Renegades' injured list. SAM HOWARD — Pittsburgh Pirates (8th-year pro; Cartersville HS) … the 28-year-old lefty reliever landed on the IL July 13 due to a right oblique strain. Reports this past week said Howard resumed some mound work and felt good after facing hitters Wednesday. Pirates director of sports medicine Tom Tomczyk did not say how many simulated games the southpaw would participate in, but Howard’s next step in recovery will likely be a rehab assignment. He is 2-2 in 29 and 2/3 innings this season across 38 appearances with nine holds with a 5.76 ERA and 41 strikeouts. CONNOR JUSTUS — Pensacola Blue Wahoos (6th-year pro; Miami Marlins organization; Cartersville HS)… came off the IL last Thursday and saw action in three home games against Montgomery through Sunday. Justus was 4-for-9 in the three game stretch including two doubles, a walk, three runs scored, and two RBIs. The infielder is now 11-for-20 (.550 batting average) in the month of August and has lifted his season average to .202. He has a pair of homers and 18 RBIs. Pensacola (45-45) trails the Mississippi Braves by 8 games in the Double-A South Division. The Blue Wahoos host Biloxi in a six-game series Tuesday through Sunday. LUKE SCHILTZ - AZL Rangers (Texas Rangers organization; 3rd year pro; Cartersville native; Stoneman Douglas HS, FL). . . made his fifth appearance of the season last Thursday. The right hand pitcher worked two innings of scoreless middle relief and did not allow a hit. He did issue two walks and fanned one facing eight batters. The ACL Rangers (13-18) have games this week against Brewers Gold, Royals Blue, Mariners, Royals Gold, and Angels. ANTHONY SEIGLER — Hudson Valley Renegades (4th-year pro; New York Yankees organization; Cartersville HS)… the 22-year-old, 2018 draft first round pick remains on the 7-day injured list. For 2021, the switch hitter has a .219 batting average in 151 official at-bats. He has four home runs and 24 RBIs. Hudson Valley remains in first place in the High A East North Division. The Renegades (56-34) lead Aberdeen by eight games and hosts the Brooklyn Cyclones this week in a six-game series through Sunday.

The Adairsville volleyball team made it all the way to the championship match of their 2021 Welcome to the Jungle Invitational, but narrowly lost in three sets to Sonoraville. The Phoenix took the final set, 15-13. “We showed strengths I’ve never seen before and overcame our faults to make it to the championship,” said Adairsville head coach Kailey Vaughn Martin. “This is the highest finish we have had in a tournament in my four years of coaching the team.” The eight-team event was divided into two pools of four for round robin play with each match consisting of only two sets. Adairsville split with Coahulla Creek by similar 25-13 margins. The Tigers then topped Hiram 25-12, 25-7 and and beat Temple 25-10, 25-7 to finish tied with the Colts atop the Green Pool standings. Adairsville then won a coin flip to take the top seed prior to bracket play. Cass finished 1-2 in the Black Pool and dropped their opening bracket play match to Coahulla Creek. The Colonels' pool losses were to eventual champ Sonoraville and Pickens, but they had a win over Southeast Whitfield 25-17, 25-21.

Three of the four local high school softball teams were in action Saturday at the Dalton Invitational at Heritage Park and each suffered at least one defeat. NORTHWEST WHITFIELD 3, WOODLAND 1 Northwest led 1-0 through the first four innings and scored twice in the fifth to build a 3-0 lead. Woodland scored in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI double by Michiah Hicks. She had two doubles in the contest. Jordan Hammonds and Alana Carnes also had base hits for the Lady Cats (0-3). Lainey Baker was tagged with the pitching loss. She gave up three runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks. Baker fanned ten. SONORAVILLE 4, CASS 2 Playing as the home team, Cass took a 1-0 lead to the final inning but Sonoraville plated four runs to take an eventual 4-2 win in a time limit shortened six inning game. The Phoenix used four hits, a walk, and an infield error to score their runs. Rachael Lee suffered the tough luck pitching loss for the Lady Colonels (2-1). She allowed a pair of earned runs on nine hits and one walk while striking out two. Taylor Long had two hits for Sonoraville. Seven other team members added one hit each. Ansley Hight hit a solo home run for the Colonels. Haylee Dishmon had one hit and one RBI. Saydee Najarro, Rachael Lee, and Eryn Lee finished with one hit each. CALHOUN 13, ADAIRSVILLE 4 Adairsville scored twice in the top of the first inning, but Calhoun answered with nine runs in their first two offensive frames to take control. The Tigers narrowed the margin to 9-4 in the third inning on Brie Patterson’s two-run home run, but the Yellow Jackets added four more runs in the fourth inning to secure the 13-4 win. Taylor Evans, Halle Chasen, Chelsea Bates, and Jenna Young collected hits for Adairsville. Kelsey Gleason and Makayla Wade contributed one RBI each. Jordan Clay (2.1 IP, 11R, 5ER, 9H, 3BB) took the pitching loss for the Tigers. Bates (1.2 IP, 2R, 0ER, 2H, 2BB, 1K) also pitched in relief. GORDON LEE 9, ADAIRSVILLE 2 Gordon Lee, who has won state championships in ten of the last eleven years, scored nine runs in the first two innings en route to a 9-2 win over Adairsville (2-3). The two Adairsville runs scored in the third inning on a 2-RBI single by Makayla Wade. The Tigers’ Chelsea Bates suffered the pitching loss allowing eight runs (four earned) on three hits and three walks. She sat down one. Jordan Clay (3.2 IP, 1ER, 1H, 1BB, 1K) pitched in relief. UPCOMING LOCAL SCHEDULE: Woodland plays a Region 7-AAAAA doubleheader Tuesday at Cass starting at 5 p.m while Adairsville travels to Trion for a non-region matchup slated for 5:30 p.m. Cartersville, who had the weekend off, travels to Calhoun Tuesday for a region doubleheader at 5 p.m. Thursday, Woodland plays a region game at Calhoun at 5 p.m.; Cass travels to Blessed Trinity for a region contest at 5 p.m.; Cartersville hits the road to Hiram for a 5 p.m. start; and Adairsville hosts Sonoraville in a Region 6-AAA game at 5:30 p.m.

In high school football scrimmage action Friday night, Adairsville played Bremen to a draw down in Haralson County while visiting Cedartown defeated Cass at Doug Cochran Stadium, 26-7. At Bremen the two teams agreed to not keep score, but coach Eric Bishop said “it would have been like 20-20 at the end of the game.” Bishop also stated he was pleased with the play of senior running back Eli Agnew and quarterback Jonathan Gough. He added that Chris Roper had a solid night on both sides of the ball. The Adairsville coach came away from the scrimmage pleased for the most part but said the team will have some things to fix prior to the season opener next Friday at Chattooga. At Cass, Cedartown kept the Colonels off the scoreboard for most of the night, but sophomore Sacovie White had an impressive night on both sides of the ball. The two-way player entered at quarterback briefly and scored for Cass on a 75-yard touchdown run. He was wearing a non-contact jersey at the time and kept on a zone read play going untouched with the highlight-reel scamper. Cedartown won the scrimmage 26-7. Much of the Cass offense was hampered by the non-contact jersey employed for Colonels' sophomore quarterback Devin Henderson. His scrambling ability was mostly negated by stoppages anytime he was touched by a defender. “When Devin is able to do what he wants to do, it will change up some things,” noted Cass head coach Steve Gates. There were many other issues for Cass to clean up before the season opens next Friday, however. “We’ve got a long way to go,” Gates said in assessing his team's overall performance. “I thought we were further along than we were — on both sides of the ball. Cass travels to Dawson County Friday night where the Colonels’ defense must now transition from preparation for Cedartown’s wing-T to face Class AAA’s preseason All-State quarterback selection — senior Zach Holtzclaw of Dawson County.

Cass won a pair of games Friday night and Woodland split two games as both teams opened their 2021 campaigns at the Dalton Invitational played at Heritage Park. CASS 13, GORDON CENTRAL 0 Alexis Woods tossed a four inning, one-hitter and the Colonels’ offense racked up 13 runs on 11 hits in just three frames as Cass blanked Gordon Central 13-0. Woods, who also had two hits and two RBIs on offense, walked four and struck out six while earning the win in the circle. Ansley Hight had two hits including a double and one RBI. Reese Howard and Kelly Young also had two hits and one RBI apiece. Rachael Lee finished with a double and four RBIs. Eryn Lee had a hit, a sacrifice fly, and two RBIs. Darianna Sosa contributed a hit and one RBI and Haylee Dishmon was credited with one RBI. CASS 7, RIDGELAND 2 The Lady Colonels scored in each of their offensive frames Friday night in their second game win over Ridgeland. Playing as the home team, Cass led 4-1 after two innings, 5-2 through three, and added two more runs in the fourth inning of a 7-2 win over the Panthers. Rachael Lee garnered the pitching win for the Colonels limiting Ridgeland to just one earned run on four hits and four walks. She recorded one strikeout. Alexis Woods hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the second inning. Rachael Lee, Kelly Young, and Saydee Najarro had one hit and one RBI each. Savannah Tatum added one hit for the Colonels (2-0). WOODLAND 6, PACE ACADEMY 5 The Lady Cats opened the 2021 season under new head coach Matt Montgomery with a 6-5 win Friday over Pace Academy. Woodland led 2-0 with a pair of first inning runs and held a 3-2 lead after their half of the third inning. Pace took a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the third and held a 5-4 advantage after four innings. The Wildcats scored twice in the top of the fifth and kept the Knights off the board in the bottom of the frame to win the contest shortened by tournament time limit rules. Peyton Dorn earned the five-inning, complete game pitching win for Woodland. Dorn scattered ten hits and did not walk a batter. She struck out two. Cassie Jones had three hits and one RBI for the Wildcats. Cambrie Carrington finished with two hits and two RBIs. Michiah Hicks added one hit in the win. GORDON LEE 10, WOODLAND 0 In the Lady Cats’ second game Friday, the offense managed only three hits off a pair of Gordon Lee pitchers and the Trojans shutout Woodland, 10-0. Gordon Lee, a perennial power in Class A, has won a state title in 10 of the last 11 seasons and has brought 11 softball state championships back to Chickamauga since 2004. Jordan Hammonds had two hits for the Wildcats (1-1). Ashlyn Dowdy added the other Woodland base hit. Starting pitcher Lainey Baker (1 IP, 4ER, 3H, 2BB, 3K) was tagged with the pitching loss. Peyton Dorn (1 IP, 4R, 3ER, 4H) and Cassie Jones (2 IP, 2R, 1ER, 4H, 2K) also pitched in the loss. Cass and Woodland, along with Adairsville, will be back in action at Heritage Park Saturday.

The Adairsville and Woodland volleyball teams both dropped a pair of matches Thursday night. Adairsville fell to Armuchee 25-20 and 25-17 and also lost 25-15, 25-20 to host Rome. Woodland had a narrow home loss to Model 26-24, 25-20 in addition to a 25-17, 25-7 loss to Cherokee. In the Tigers’ losses, Richlyn Blair totaled seven kills, three digs, and had a pair of service aces. Kaylee Jordan contributed four kills, two aces, two assists, and one dig. Lexie Childers finished with six assists, three kills, and one block. Bailey Weaver amassed six digs and three assists. Haley Stiles added five kills with one assist and Annie McCormick had three digs and three assists. “We played great for our first outing of the season,” said Adairsville coach Kaylie Martin. “I was proud of the effort and heart the girls showed tonight. We saw our weaknesses and will be working on them at practice to prepare for our tournament this weekend. Each member made positive contributions tonight and I am excited to get this season rolling.” In Woodland’s losses, Delaney Tuplin had seven digs and four kills. Kailynn Mullinax accumulated six kills and four digs. Madison West finished with seven kills, four aces, and three digs. Anastyn Jones contributed five kills, six digs, and three aces. Lili Womack totaled five digs and Kendall Condon totaled 20 assists with eight digs. “I felt like we actually outplayed Model in both sets overall,” said Woodland coach David Condon. “Unfortunately we had a really rough stretch with one of their servers in both sets that led to our loss. Against Cherokee, we played well in the opening set but lost focus in the second set.” Adairsville will host the Welcome to the Jungle Tournament Saturday. Woodland will host Paulding County and Rockmart next Tuesday.

Adairsville softball improved to 2-1 on the season and 1-1 in Region 6-AAA Thursday evening with a 3-2 home, walk-off win over North Murray. The visiting Mountaineers held an early 1-0 lead and took a 2-1 advantage in the sixth inning before the Tigers scored a run in each of their final two frames for the win. Riley Mounger had an RBI single in the sixth inning for Adairsville to knot the score at 2-2 and after the Tigers loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh, Makayla Wade ended the game with a walk off hit. Chelsea Bates earned a complete game pitching win for the Tigers. Bates scattered three hits and six walks while striking out seven. Mounger had two hits and two RBIs for Adairsville. Alissa Winters and Brie Patterson contributed base hits in addition to Wade’s walk-off. The Tigers will participate in the Dalton Invitational Saturday at Heritage Park in Whitfield County. ALLATOONA 8, CARTERSVILLE 5 The Cartersville softball team carried a 5-4 lead into the final inning Thursday night, but visiting Allatoona scored four times in the top of the seventh for an 8-5 win. Canes’ starter Kiley Arnold went the distance in the circle and was tagged with the pitching loss. Arnold gave up only four earned runs on 12 hits and one walk. She fanned four. Cartersville took advantage of eight walks by Buccaneers’ pitchers, but managed only three hits. Arnold had two hits including a double and one RBI. Mikey Lewis added one hit and one RBI. Campbell Rogers contributed one RBI and Marly Pruitt drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Samantha Beck, Maci Strickland, Ansley Ingle, and Payton O’Connor combined for nine hits and five RBIs for the Bucs. Allatoona improved to 1-1 with their victory. Cartersville (1-1) starts Region 7-AAAAA play next Tuesday with a doubleheader at Calhoun and plays at Hiram Thursday.

Woodland High School head wrestling coach Adrian Tramutola was recently named state and regional Coach of the Year for the state of Georgia and Section 3 of the National Wrestling Coaches Association. Section 3 includes the states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. Tramutola, beginning his 13th year at Woodland, has guided his teams to the Class 5A duals and traditional state titles from 2018-2020. The Wildcats also won the Class 4A duals championship in 2011 and seven of his teams have finished as state runner-up. “This is a fantastic achievement and very well deserved,” WHS athletic director John Howard said in a news release. “Coach Tramutola brings so much to the school by creating a championship atmosphere within his program. Students are inspired to be the best they can be, and the results speak for themselves. We are blessed to have him as part of the Wildcat family.” The Florida native teaches health and physical education at Woodland and also serves as the school’s athletic coordinator. The official recognition will take place in February prior to the state traditional tournament finals in Macon.