Cartersville’s Shadre Hurst has been named 2021 Pre-Season All-State in Class 5A by Georgia High School Football Daily. Hurst, an offensive lineman, received the selection to the 26-member squad in Wednesday’s edition. He joins several other members from Region 7-5A on the squad. Blessed Trinity junior running back, Justice Haynes, has been one of the state's most highly recruited players. Dynamic perimeter threat Cole Speer of Calhoun and Yellow Jackets' offensive lineman Kendrick Kirby also made the list along with Calhoun linebacker Christopher Lewis. In addition, the Maxwell ratings for Region 7-5A were released Wednesday and have the Cartersville Hurricanes as the preseason favorites. State Rank / Class Rank / Team / Maxwell Rating / Proj. Record / Playoff Prediction The Maxwell Ratings, compiled by mathematician and Georgia High School Football Historians Association founder Loren Maxwell, have projected the region finishes of all 423 football-playing schools in the GHSA. The projections are based on historical scores, with the most recent season weighing most heavily. Teams that did unusually well, or poorly, in 2020 are projected to regress toward the mean. The ratings do not consider changes in player personnel or coaching staff. Below are Maxwell’s projections for Class 5A.

The Woodland volleyball team dropped a 25-7, 25-17 decision Tuesday at Cedartown to open the 2021 season. The Wildcats, who reached the Class 5A state playoffs last season, struggled with some inexperience issues in the loss. "We have some major things to work on," said head coach David Condon. "We're still looking for someone to step up with the floor leadership I want." Woodland will host Cherokee and Model in a tri-match Thursday.

Anthony Seigler and Connor Justus each batted .500 last week. However, both of the former Cartersville High baseball stars saw their weeks end on low notes, with Seigler being ejected and Justus hitting the injured list. Prior to the unfortunate endings, Seigler and Justus were a combined 9-for-18 at the dish last week. Both will look to continue their hot stretch once they re-enter their respective lineups. Meanwhile, another former Cane, Sam Howard, continues to rehab an oblique injury he suffered in early July. PRO BASEBALL Sam Howard (Pittsburgh Pirates; Cartersville) — Howard remains on the injured list as he works his way back from a strained oblique. The left-handed reliever hasn't pitched in a game for more than a month after suffering the injury in early July. Based on his current progression, Howard seems likely to return later this month. Connor Justus (Pensacola Blue Wahoos, Miami Marlins organization; Cartersville) — A strong start to August for Justus was derailed by injury, with the former Georgia Tech standout landing last week on the 7-day IL for those dealing with concussion symptoms. Justus, who is currently on a six-game hitting streak, had racked up sevens hits, five runs and four RBIs in just three games this month before going down injured. In two games last week against Biloxi, the defense-first infielder went 4-for-8, including his second home run of the season. He added a walk, a stolen base, three runs scored and two RBIs. Anthony Seigler (Hudson Valley Renegades, New York Yankees organization; Cartersville) — Prior to his ejection, Seigler put together a strong showing in three games early last week at Brooklyn. The switch-hitting catcher finished 5-for-10 with a double, four walks and four runs scored. With the trio of performances, Seigler's season slash line increased to .219/.324/.391 after entering the month at .189/.268/.378. Nicholas Sullivan of The Daily Tribune News contributed this week's report.

The U.S. Amateur’s 312-player field was tested even further than normal Tuesday as the USGA’s oldest championship was halted for approximately four hours by storms in the area. Cartersville’s R.B. Clyburn, who shot 77 at Oakmont Monday, was in the morning wave of players at the co-hosting Longue Vue Club in nearby Verona, Pennsylvania. That group of players was able to complete their rounds and complete the 36 holes of stroke play. The afternoon wave of 156 players at Oakmont and Longue Vue will complete their second rounds of stroke play Wednesday morning. Clyburn, who qualified by shooting 133 (7-under-par) at Capital City Club Crabapple in Woodstock back in mid-July, struggled to an 82 at Longue Vue Club Tuesday and will miss the match play portion of the 2021 Championship. His 159 total (19-over-par) left him in a tie for 297th place when play resumed Wednesday. Only the top 64 of 312 players will reach the match play portion which will now likely begin some time Wednesday afternoon. Most of the stroke play leaders are completing their 36-holes of qualifying at Oakmont. When play resumes Wednesday morning, Mark Goetz of Greensburg, Pennsylvania leads at 9-under-par. He had completed 12 holes at Oakmont when play was halted Tuesday. Jacob Bridgeman (Inman, SC) and Brian Ma (Milpitas, CA) were two shots behind at 7-under-par. Both of those players were early on their front nine holes when play was stopped. The projected 36-hole cut for match play — at least to get into a playoff for a final spot — was approximately 3-over-par at the time of the stoppage. The match play portion of the 212th Amateur Championship will move exclusively to the 7,254-yard, par-70 Oakmont Country Club Wednesday through Sunday. Tournament officials will strive to get back on schedule with Round of 32 matches Thursday, Quarterfinals Friday, Semifinals Saturday, and the 36-hole championship match Sunday.

Adairsville softball fell behind early Tuesday night at Ringgold and lost their Region 6-AAA opener, 9-5. Ringgold (2-1, 1-0) posted four runs in the first inning and three more in the second to grab an early 7-0 lead. Adairsville rallied for five runs in the third inning to narrow the margin to 7-5, but would get no closer. Ringgold added single, insurance runs in the fourth and fifth frames. Chelsea Bates worked all six innings in the circle for Adairsville allowing six earned runs on thirteen hits and five walks. Bates sat down three. Taylor Evans had two hits and one RBI for Adairsville. Makayla Wade had a hit and two RBIs. Brie Patterson drove in a run with one hit. Bates and Alissa Winters contributed one hit each. Baileigh Pitts and Autumn Green combined for seven of Ringgold’s thirteen hits. Adairsville (1-1, 0-1) hosts North Murray in another region game Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

Cartersville softball opened the 2021 campaign Monday night with a 9-7 victory over visiting Coahulla Creek. Although the Colts took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, the Lady Canes answered with a nine-run outburst over the first two frames. Coahulla Creek chipped away at Cartersville’s lead over the final five innings, but the Hurricanes held on for a two-run win. Ava Perkins picked up the pitching win with five innings of work in the circle. She allowed five runs (three earned) on six hits and nine walks. Perkins fanned three. Kennedy Stevens closed out the victory by tossing the final two frames. Stevens gave up a pair of earned runs on one hit and one walk while striking out two. McKinley Chada paced the Cartersville offense with two hits and two RBIs. Reese Dumas had a hit and two RBIs. Mikey Lewis and Marly Pruitt each finished with one hit and one RBI. Amelia Elrod and Kiley Arnold contributed one hit apiece and Campbell Rogers was credited with one RBI. Jordan Bishop stole two bases. Cartersville (1-0) is scheduled to host Pepperell Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. and Allatoona Thursday, also at 5:30 p.m.

Cartersville resident R.B. Clyburn, who qualified for the 2021 U.S. Amateur Championship at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania, struggled to an opening round 77 at the historic 7,254-yard/Par 70 course. He will play his second round Tuesday at the 6,647-yard/Par 70 Longue Vue Club. The tournament field of 312 players will be pared down to just 64 players following Tuesday’s rounds. The Round of 64 match play will begin Wednesday. All of the match play rounds will be conducted at Oakmont. 7,811 players entered for a chance to qualify for 121st U.S. Amateur, the most since 1999 when 7,920 entered for a chance to compete at Pebble Beach. While it will take a strong round by Clyburn to climb the leaderboard Tuesday, he can be encouraged by the fact that every under par round Monday was accomplished at Longue Vue Club. Forty-one players shot under par rounds on the companion course, while only one player — Cole Sherwood (1-under-par, 69) -- assigned to Oakmont Monday was under par. Jacob Bridgeman leads the field after the opening 18 holes with a 7-under-par 63 at Longue Vue. He leads three players — Joe Highsmith, Mark Goetz, and Alex Fitzpatrick — who all shot 6-under-par. Tuesday, the players will switch venues prior to the 36-hole cut. Clyburn is scheduled to start at 8:40 a.m. Tuesday. ALSO -- Clyburn was also featured in an article this week by Golf Digest: https://www.golfdigest.com/story/rb-clyburn-us-amateur?fbclid=IwAR3kwdeKUos_tjcZI_UCWSLlKc32qhRcU8tTUl-V29Wzlc793xukUgZS4Xs

The Cartersville Purple Hurricanes and the Woodland Wildcats both hosted 2021 preseason scrimmages under the lights Friday with Cartersville shutting out Jonesboro 32-0 and Woodland playing Model to a 7-7 tie. The Canes scored on each of their first three possessions en route to a comfortable lead and eventual victory. Quarterback Jake Parker tossed a 22-yard touchdown pass to Jaqualyn Marshall and a six-yarder to Jacob Ray in leading Cartersville to their first three scores. The senior finished 10-for-14 through the air for 126 yards. Junior quarterback Paul Gamble took the snaps in the second half adding a touchdown pass to Nasir Grandberry to cap his first series where he was 3-for-3 for 55 yards through the air. Running back Amari White totaled 94 yards on just six touches for the Canes. The senior scored an opening touchdown on a 28-yard run, rushed for 52 yards, and caught passes for 42 more. Cartersville hosts Morrow in both teams season opener Friday, August 20 at Weinman Stadium. WOODLAND 7, MODEL 7 Neither offense found much traction in the first half, but the visiting Blue Devils grabbed a 7-0 lead at the intermission on a late, second quarter drive. Model crossed the goal line with just 28 seconds remaining in the opening half to cap an 11-play, 91-yard drive. The scoring drive was assisted by a pair of costly defensive penalties on the Wildcats. Woodland tied the score with 3:55 remaining in the third quarter with mostly reserves in the game. Heath Tatum scored for the Wildcats on a 6-yard run. Model missed a pair of field goal attempts in the first half while the Wildcats' defense forced a pair of turnovers. Christian Vera picked off a pass and Javier Morris recovered a fumble caused by Jeremiah Rhodes. Linebacker Harlin Morris (four tackles, QB hit), Morris (four tackles, fumble recovery), and Vera (four tackles, interception) were among the top defensive performers with the starters removed midway through the third quarter. Woodland will continue its transition from the wing-T to a new spread offense over the next couple of weeks. Woodland hosts Gordon Central in the regular season opener Friday, August 20. The game will be broadcast by Bartow Sports Zone. You can listen live from this web page or download the free, Mixlr app to listen on your phone or any smart device. Simply search for: Bartow Sports Zone on the Mixlr app.

Sophomore pitcher Chelsea Bates tossed a complete game in the circle and freshman Brie Patterson was 3-for-3 at the plate with four RBIs as the Adairsville softball team rolled to a 13-3 home win Friday over Armuchee. The visiting Indians led 2-0 through the first two innings, but the Tigers responded with a six-run third frame and added runs late for a run-rule, five inning victory. Bates went the distance for the Tigers scattering four hits and three walks across her five innings of work. She struck out three and threw 48 of her 78 pitches for strikes. Meanwhile, Adairsville out hit Armuchee ten to four. Patterson’s three hits included a triple. She was followed by Alissa Winters with two hits and one RBI. Halle Chasen finished with a double and one RBI. Taylor Evans and Kelsey Gleason drove in two runs each and contributed one hit each. Makayla Wade and Katie Smith rounded out the offensive attack with one hit apiece. Adairsville (1-0) returns to the diamond Tuesday at Region 6-AAA rival Ringgold for a 5:30 p.m. start. The Tigers will then host North Murray in a region game Thursday at 5:30 p.m. before participating in the Dalton Heritage Park Tournament Saturday.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Former Woodland High School and current Coppin State women's tennis player Christy Turner was one of 86 students across the Nation to be recognized as an HBCU Scholar, it was announced by the U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday morning as part of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The program recognizes students for their accomplishments in academics, leadership, civic engagement and more. The scholars were selected from an applicant pool who submitted completed applications that included a transcript, resume, essay, and letter of recommendation. Applications also required the signature of their university president, adding a level of prestige to this application process. For the full story, visit the following link: https://coppinstatesports.com/news/2021/8/3/womens-tennis-womens-tennis-christy-turner-named-a-white-house-hbcu-scholar.aspx

Brody Malone, a former Cartersville Twisters gymnast and current Stanford University athlete, just missed out on a medal in his first Olympics. The U.S. champion finished fourth in Tuesday's High Bar finals. Malone was barely on the international radar a year ago, but he won the all-around at the US trials and was the highest finishing American man in the Olympic All-Arounds. Malone’s finish on the high bar was the highest for Team USA in a men's event final. He also helped lead the US men to a 5th place finish in the team competition.

The latest information regarding Covid considerations as available via the Georgia High School Association website: June 8, 2021: On behalf of GHSA Executive Director, Dr. Robin Hines: After yesterday’s meeting with the SMAC, the GHSA has determined that the member schools should follow the guidance below in moving forward for the Summer 2021 voluntary workouts and for the 2021-22 SY during GHSA sports/activities. > Our plan as of today is to move forward without restrictions for the 2021 Summer Workouts and 2021-22 SY sports/activities. > The GHSA will utilize the 2021-22 Beginning and Ending Dates as outline on the GHSA website. > The GHSA will respect local school/systems COVID guidance during regular season contest/activities. > The GHSA staff will require all GHSA events (GHSA playoffs) be free of attendance restrictions during all GHSA playoff events. > Sport specific, Considerations and Rule Modifications, will be evaluated and adjusted as needed by each sport administrator. > Our goal continues to be to provide sports and activities for our students with safety being the top priority. > The SMAC will continue to meet on a regular basis to consider changes in COVID data. Recommendations and restrictions are fluid and subject to change. Safety must be our top priority.