The Class AAAAA 8th-ranked Cass boys basketball team started its 2020-21 campaign Saturday with a 73-56 win at the Woodstock Wolverines of Region 5-AAAAAAA. The Colonels led 21-16 after a fast paced first quarter and held a 37-29 advantage at the intermission. The two teams matched the other’s 14 points in the third quarter for a 51-43 score before Cass eased away down the stretch for a 17-point victory. Zaylan Chaney led Cass in the scoring column with 24 points. Braxton Benham followed with 21 points, including a 9-for-9 performance at the charity stripe. C.J. Pipkin tallied nine points for the Colonels. Ethan McIntyre and Jelani Hames contributed six points each. Tyler Martin finished with four points and Jackson Hale added three. Woodstock (0-1) was led by Ezekiel Pettway with 28 points including four shots from beyond the three-point arc. Cass (1-0) plays Class AAAAAA 6th-ranked Allatoona Monday at 12:30 p.m. in the Woodstock Thanksgiving Tournament. ARMUCHEE 40, CARTERSVILLE GIRLS 38 The Lady Canes took a 32-25 lead to the final eight minutes Saturday at Armuchee, but the host Lady Indians outscored the Cartersville girls 15-6 in the fourth quarter for a two-point win in both teams’ season opener. Cartersville got back into the game with a strong defensive performance in the third quarter. The Hurricanes limited Armuchee to only one point in the period. Armuchee led 17-12 after the opening quarter and were ahead 24-21 at halftime. Julia Williams paced the Indians with 11 points. Jaslyn Edwards and Chloe Purdy added eight and seven points, respectively, for the hosts. Lehla Thomas led Cartersville with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Jamiya Moore totaled nine points. Kierra Milline had six. Lexie Henderson contributed three points, while Sequoya McConnell and Ansley Griffen added two points apiece for the Canes. Cartersville (0-1) hosts Sonoraville Tuesday at 6 p.m. at The Storm Center. PAULDING COUNTY 91, EXCEL CHRISTIAN ACADEMY BOYS 67 The Excel boys lost at Class AAAAAA Paulding County Saturday 91-67 in a non-region game. Paulding County, who fell by one point to Hiram Friday night, improved to 1-1. The Eagles (0-2) host Atlanta International Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. MODEL 48, WOODLAND GIRLS 28 The Woodland girls were locked in a tie with Model at halftime, but the Blue Devils dominated the second half on their way to a 48-28 win over the Wildcats Saturday at the Armuchee Thanksgiving tournament. Jordan Thompson led Woodland with 11 points. Abigail Taylor scored nine. The Wildcats play Adairsville Monday in the tournament.

The Class AAAAA 6th-ranked Cass girls basketball team opened the 2020-21 season Friday night with a convincing 74-41 win at Walnut Grove in Loganville. Claire Davis paced the Colonels with 21 points. Makyera Baldwin followed with 14. Londaisha Smith posted 11 points and had 10 steals. Cass led 27-16 after one quarter and was up 42-23 at halftime. The Colonels extended their lead to 64-30 through three quarters. Ariana Hames scored six points for Cass. Haley Johnson, Gracie Elkins, and Mikaela Jackson contributed five points each. Justice Bennett finished with four points and Amaya Ford added three points. Dorothy Nealin led Walnut Grove (0-1) with 12 points. Next for the Cass girls (1-0) is a home game against Allatoona Tuesday at 2 p.m. HEARTS ACADEMY 71, EXCEL CHRISTIAN BOYS 69 The Excel Christian Academy boys basketball team opened its 2020-21 season Friday night at home and led much of the way before dropping a 71-69 decision to Hearts Academy. The Eagles, under new head coach David Archer, led 19-14 after one quarter and were ahead 41-37 at halftime. The visiting Panthers from Powder Springs rallied in the third period to outscore Excel 27-14 to take a 64-55 lead into the final eight minutes and held off the Eagles down the stretch to escape with a two-point win. Christian Moore led Hearts Academy (3-0) with 20 points. Christian Smith and Tim Ridge both had 15 points for the Panthers. Ian Ward added 11. Blake Bailey led the hosts and all scorers with 23 points. He had 15 points in the first half. Kalil Holley posted 15 points for Excel. Rashard Doyle and Tripp Anderson finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively. JaKaden Barkley added eight for the Eagles. ECA (0-1) will look to bounce back Saturday at Paulding County in a 4 p.m. tip. The Eagles will be back home Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. to host Atlanta International.

Top-ranked Blessed Trinity wrapped up an undefeated, although COVID-abbreviated, regular season Friday night with a 49-0 win over Woodland in Roswell. The Titans’ win also secured the No. 1-seed from Region 7-AAAAA in the GHSA State Playoffs that begin next Friday. Both Blessed Trinity and Woodland had their 2020 regular season scheduled interrupted multiple times for COVID-related issues, but the two teams were able to square off Friday night for a regular season finale'. Blessed Trinity sophomore running back Justice Haynes had touchdown runs from 60-, 73-, and 43-yards in the first quarter. The Titans blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone for a score, and senior running back Englan Williams scored on runs of 18- and 17-yards for a 42-0 lead at the half. With a running clock in the second half, Evan Dickens culminated the Titans’ only possession of the third quarter with a 4-yard touchdown run. Neither team scored in the fourth quarter. Woodland’s season ends with a 4-4 record. The Wildcats were 1-4 in region action. Blessed Trinity (6-0, 4-0) will host the No. 4-seed from Region 6-AAAA next Friday.

Adairsville had a state playoff berth wrapped up heading into Friday night's scheduled game at Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe, but will now hold the region's No. 2-seed after the Warriors canceled this week due to COVID-19. Since there is no date to make-up the game prior to the beginning of the Class AAA state playoffs, Adairsville will conclude the regular season 6-3 overall and 5-2 in region action. LFO finishes 1-8 overall and 1-6 in 6-AAA. Adairsville coach Eric Bishop and the Tigers will now turn their attention to Round 1 of the state playoffs. The Tigers will host the No. 3-seed from Region 7-AAA. That playoff position will be determined Friday night, enabling the Adairsville staff to be present to see the matchup between North Hall and Dawson County. The loser of that game will be the Tigers' opponent. "We will now turn our focus to the playoffs," said Bishop. "We have an opportunity to go scout the game at North Hall (vs. Dawson County) as a coaching staff and will get to work on them Saturday."

One of the few Bartow County athletes below the Division-I level to have the chance to compete in collegiate athletics this fall took full advantage of the opportunity. Parker Breedlove, a former Cartersville High cross country and track standout, was able to finish out his sophomore season with the Reinhardt men’s XC team Saturday with an impressive showing in the Appalachian Athletic Conference championship meet. Breedlove wound up 30th overall (fourth on the Eagles) out of 80 runners in helping his team place third in the season-ending event. "David [Crow], Brody [Blalock] and Parker all had a big part in securing the third-place spot as they really put together great races,” Reinhardt head coach Jordan Turner said on the team’s website. “This men's group is very young, but they have a chance to be very good the next couple of years; I hope they all see the positives from this very different season." In football, it was another light week. A combination of scheduled open dates and COVID-19 cancellations dropped the number of locals seeing action to three this week. The expectation would be for a much greater number to return to the field this coming weekend, including former Canes quarterback Trevor Lawrence for Clemson’s trip to Florida State. COLLEGE FOOTBALL Jordan Ferguson (Middle Tennessee State R-Jr., Cartersville) — Ferguson managed seven tackles, although six of them were assists, in a 42-14 loss Saturday at Marshall. One of the assists did come on a tackle for loss, and he added three quarterback hurries. MTSU (2-6, 2-4 Conference USA) is slated to face Troy this week on the road. JaCorey Johns (Wake Forest R-So., Cartersville) — Johns’ stat line looked incredibly similar to Ferguson, as the Demon Deacons starting defensive end registered seven tackles Saturday. Five of the stops were assisted, including one on a tackle for loss. Wake Forest, though, suffered a tough road loss to North Carolina, which rallied from a 45-24 deficit for a 59-53 win. Next up for the Demon Deacons (4-3, 3-3 ACC) is another in-state away game this week at Duke. Manny Jones (Colorado State Sr., Woodland) — After an absolutely stellar showing the game prior, Jones had a relatively quiet Thursday evening at Boise State. The former Wildcats star helped out on a pair of tackles, including one behind the line of scrimmage, as the Rams suffered a 52-21 defeat. Colorado State (1-2 Mountain West) will look to bounce back in its next game Saturday against UNLV. CROSS COUNTRY Parker Breedlove (Reinhardt So., Cartersville) — Breedlove finished fourth on his team and 30th overall in helping the Eagles place third in the Appalachian Athletic Conference championship meet Saturday in Asheville, North Carolina. He completed the 8k course in 28 minutes, 28.70 seconds. --- contribution by Nicholas Sullivan, The Daily Tribune News

The Cass High School swim team won a 76-65 combined team score meet Tuesday over Woodland at the Adairsville High School Swim Center. The Woodland girls defeated the Cass girls 48-35, while the Cass boys topped the Woodland boys 41-17. Complete results for all events are included below:

Cartersville and Adairsville took huge strides toward earning a home, first round state playoff game with wins Friday night while Woodland kept its playoff hopes alive. ADAIRSVILLE HOLDS OFF LATE CHARGE TO TOP MOUNTAINEERS, 42-35 The Adairsville Tigers raced to a 28-0 lead in the first quarter Friday night and held off a late threat from visiting North Murray for a 42-35 Region 6-AAA win. With a victory next week at Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe, Adairsville will earn the region’s No. 2-seed in the Class AAA state playoffs. The Tigers’ first quarter scoring included a 28-yard touchdown pass from Conner Crunkelton to Evan Sanders on a fake field goal. Adairsville then recovered an onside kickoff to set up their next touchdown. Ja’Maury Johnson ran for a 21-yard touchdown on the third play of the possession to give Adairsville a 14-0 lead as Emanuel Lopez made the second of his six PAT kicks in the contest. After stopping the Mountaineers on their next possession, the Adairsville offense drove 59-yards in four plays to take a 21-0 lead. Courtney Slocum hit paydirt on a 25-yard run. On their next possession, the Tigers grabbed a 28-0 lead on a 29-yard pass from Crunkelton to Dylan Matthews. North Murray narrowed the Adairsville lead to 28-14 late in the second quarter. Mountaineers’ quarterback Seth Griffin capped an 80-yard drive with a one-yard sneak with 6:46 remaining in the half and Dante Tidwell-Edwards scored on a 46-yard run with 1:51 left in the second quarter. But the Tigers regained a 21-point advantage before the intermission. Adairsville’s Eli Agnew broke free on a 75-yard touchdown run following the ensuing kickoff and the Tigers took a 35-14 lead to the locker room. Griffin capped a 49-yard scoring drive for North Murray with a one-yard keeper midway through the third quarter. The PAT by Owen Hannah, one of five on the night, cut the Tigers’ lead to 35-21. Adairsville answered with a 70-yard, 12 play scoring drive. Johnson reached the end zone with a one-yard run and a 42-21 lead. The Mountaineers were not finished, however. Griffin added a 45-yard touchdown pass to Cade Petty and a 34-yard scoring toss to Michael McDade to make it a one-score game at 42-35 with 7:23 left in the game. Adairsville’s offense responded well again to secure the game. The Tigers ran a 13-play drive in the game’s final possession to run out the clock for a 7-point win. Crunkelton finished 8-for-13 passing for 122 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 16 yards. Johnson had 20 carries for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Agnew contributed 144 yards rushing on 11 attempts with one touchdown, and Courtney Slocum totaled 75 yards and a score on six attempts. Matthews had two catches for 45 yards and a touchdown. Sanders had 42 yards on three receptions that included a touchdown, and Slocum finished with two catches for 16 yards. With the loss, North Murray slips to 6-3 overall and 5-2 in Region 6-AAA. Adairsville (6-3, 5-2) travels to Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe next Friday and will host a Class AAA state playoff game if the Tigers can defeat the Warriors. WILDCATS EDGE HORNETS, 14-13 After a scoreless first half, Woodland took a 14-0 lead in the third quarter Friday night and held on late with a blocked PAT kick, 14-13. Hiram lost three fumbles near the Woodland goal line in the contest and one of those turnovers resulted in a 98-yard scoop and score by Christian Vera of the Wildcats to give the hosts a 14-0 lead in 7:54 left in the third quarter. Vera added an interception late in the third quarter to halt another Hiram drive. Less than three minutes earlier, Asa James caught a deflected pass from freshman quarterback Brelace Williams and raced 72 yards for the game’s first score. Williams threw a pick-six early in the fourth quarter that enabled Hiram to cut the Wildcats’ lead in half. Julius Dixon returned the interception 82 yards for a 14-7 score. With 2:27 remaining in the game, Hiram put a second touchdown on the scoreboard. Chris Brown connected with Alvin Dixon for the 42-yard throw, catch, and run. The ensuing PAT kick was tipped and banged off the crossbar keeping Woodland on top, 14-13. Hiram would have one last chance at a win with 0:05 remaining. The Hornets rushed out their field goal unit for a 42-yard attempt, but the play was ill-fated for Hiram. Not only was there movement on the line, but the snap was botched and the kick was never made. The Hornets (1-9, 1-4) were missing several key players on offense including quarterback Qamar Grant and leading rusher Jirah Douglas. Receivers Nicorey Williams, Tyler Claffy, and Dijon McKissack were also out of the Hiram lineup. Woodland quarterback Johnathan Thomas, who has been day-to-day and limited in action since the second half of the Cass game, was unable to go for the Wildcats. Although the task at hand is great, the Wildcats remain in contention for a state playoff berth heading into their final game of the regular season next week. Woodland (4-3, 1-3) must defeat top-ranked Blessed Trinity to make the playoffs. Hiram, who is idle next week, will qualify for the state playoffs with a Woodland loss. The Hornets would get in due to a point differential tie-breaker created by Region 7-AAAAA officials prior to the season. A Woodland loss at Blessed Trinity would create a three-way tie for the final playoff spot between Hiram, Woodland, and Cass. The point-differential tiebreaker includes a 12-point maximum per game. Since Cass defeated Woodland by more than 12 and Hiram defeated Cass by more than 12, the one-point Hiram loss to Woodland would give the Hornets the final playoff spot. CANES STING JACKETS, 31-14 The Cartersville Purple Hurricanes locked up a home game to start the 2020 Class AAAAA playoffs in two weeks with a 31-14 win Friday night at Calhoun. The Canes led 17-7 at halftime by virtue of a 23-yard field goal by Oscar Hernandez; a two-yard run by Quante Jennings; and a 26-yard touchdown pass from Carlos Del Rio-Wilson to Devonte Ross. Calhoun quarterback Christian Lewis scored the Yellow-Jackets’ first half touchdown on a one-yard keeper. Running back Jerrian Hames narrowed the Canes’ lead to 17-14 in the third quarter with a one-yard touchdown run, but Cartersville would finish off the game with 14-unanswered points. Jennings scored on a 12-yard screen pass from Del Rio-Wilson and the Hurricanes would recover an onside kick. After Cartersville reached the red zone, Del Rio-Wilson punched home the game’s final score with a 12-yard run with 2:29 left in the game. Calhoun (7-3, 3-2) will be the No. 3-seed from Region 7-AAAAA. Cartersville (8-1, 4-0) will host a state playoff game November 27 against the No. 3-seed from Region 6-AAAAA. BLESSED TRINITY 48, CASS 0 The Class AAAAA top-ranked Blessed Trinity Titans led 21-0 after one quarter and 35-0 by halftime on their way to a 48-0 defeat of visiting Cass Friday night in Roswell. Blessed Trinity improved to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in Region 7-AAAAA. The Titans will host Woodland next Friday. Cass finishes the 2020 campaign with a 6-4 record overall. The Colonels were 1-4 in region play.

The All-Region 7-AAAAA softball team was released earlier this week with several local players included. Colman Roberts, Woodland head coach, was named region coach of the year. 2020 ALL REGION 7-AAAAA FIRST TEAM 2020 ALL-REGION 7-AAAAA SECOND TEAM 2020 ALL-REGION 7-AAAAA HONORABLE MENTION

Editor's Note: Bartow Sports Zone has been notified that there were timing errors reported with the GHSA timing system for the Class 5A boys championship. The results noted in this story are based on the results reported by Georgia MileSplit on Saturday. The story will be updated with additional information when it becomes available. The Cartersville boys finished sixth and the Woodland girls placed seventh at the Georgia High School Association’s Class 5A 2020 Cross Country State Championships Saturday at Carrollton High School. Woodland’s boys finished 14th of 29 teams and the Cartersville girls were 15th of 30 teams. Woodland junior Rylee Evans (19:27) ran to a fourth place individual finish in the Class 5A girls race that included 206 runners. She finished behind a pair of St. Pius X runners — Mary Brady (18:47) and Hannah Schemmel (18:55) — who took the top two individual spots. Hannah Miniutti of Blessed Trinity placed third just over five seconds ahead of Evans. The St. Pius X girls won the team title by seven points over Blessed Trinity. McIntosh placed third with Decatur and Union Grove rounding out the top five. Other local runners in the girls championship: Woodland Erin Bollwerk (37th, 21:45) Olivia Berry (43rd, 21:52) Danielle Thayer (50th, 22:03) Emma Segars (85th, 23:08) Marlee Bowles (98th, 23:32) Megan Schultz (120th, 24:10) Cartersville McKinsey Sparks (49th, 22:03) Elizabeth Nelson (74th, 22:50) Trinity Atkins (76th, 22:56) Meredith Gaines (86th, 23:09) Samantha Herrera (116th, 24:04) Grace Smith (128th, 24:28) Alice Terry (166th, 26:21) The Class 5A Boys Championship race was also won by St. Pius X as the Golden Lions edged Decatur by only two points. Blessed Trinity was third, followed by Starr’s Mill and Locust Grove in the top five. The Cartersville boys were next in sixth place with Woodland finishing 13th in the 28-team field. Decatur’s Christian Gonzalez (16:33) and teammate Eoin McNally (16:37) ran to a one-two individual finish in the competition that included 203 runners. Local runners in the boys championship: Cartersville Sidney Stegall (27th, 17:31) Bill Archer (28th, 17:34) Sam Peters (39th, 17:48) Colin McCann (40th, 17:49) Levi Booth (64th, 18:04) Carson Cage (76th, 18:19) Ryan Johnson (149th, 19:35) Woodland McKinley Chappell (48th, 17:51) Patrick Bollwerk (59th, 17:59) Tyler Jones (86th, 18:31) Drew Thayer (91st, 18:41) John Forsyth (107th, 18:50) Kain Tanturri (116th, 19:03) Kameron Chappell (173rd, 20:15)

2020 high school football region standings for schools in Bartow County.

There was very limited action for former Bartow County athletes this past week. COVID-19 and other factors left players sidelined. Manny Jones, a standout at Woodland and current senior at Colorado State, had an excellent game in the Rams win over Wyoming. But he was the only local to see action during the week. Most notably, Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence missed his second straight game as the Tigers fell at Notre Dame. The Cartersville High graduate and Heisman candidate will now have a bye week before his expected return at Florida State November 20. Other games canceled that kept local athletes sidelined included Charlotte (Jonathan Cruz) and Middle Tennessee (Jordan Ferguson) plus Louisville (Tee Webb) and Virginia. Alabama (Miller Forristall), Georgia Tech (Avery Showell), and Wake Forest (Isaiah Chaney, JaCorey Johns) were all on open weeks in their respective schedules. COLLEGE FOOTBALL Manny Jones (Colorado State Sr., Woodland) — Jones put together a monster performance in Colorado State’s second game of its abbreviated season, piling up seven tackles (five solo), four stops behind the line of scrimmage and two sacks. His effort helped lead the Rams (1-1, 1-1 Mountain West) to a 34-24 victory Thursday over Wyoming. Jones will look for an encore showing this Thursday at Boise State. PRO FOOTBALL Vic Beasley Jr. (Adairsville) — After being released Wednesday by the Tennessee Titans, Beasley cleared waivers Thursday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, making the Adairsville native a free agent in the middle of the regular season. Beasley’s time in Tennessee got off to a rocky start when he reported late to training camp. Things didn’t get much better from there, as the former All-Pro edge rusher missed the Titans’ opening two games due to injury. Ultimately, he saw action in five games with Tennessee, recording three tackles (two solo), one tackle for loss and one forced fumble. If he’s hoping to return this season, Beasley should have a market, with teams hopeful he can regain his 2016 form that saw him lead the league with 15.5 sacks for the Atlanta Falcons. -- Report contributed by Nicholas Sullivan, The Daily Tribune News

Cartersville quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson threw two touchdown passes, Quante Jennings had two touchdown runs, and Amarai Orr scored on offense and defense as the Hurricanes overpowered visiting Woodland Friday night at Weinman Stadium, 47-0. Del Rio-Wilson connected with Sam Phillips on a 20-yard touchdown pass to give Cartersville a 7-0 first quarter lead and hooked up with Orr on the final play of the first half as the Canes took a 35-0 lead to the intermission. Jennings had touchdown runs from 12-yards and 16-yards in the opening half and Orr returned an interception 46 yards with just over one minute remaining before the break. Canes’ kicker Oscar Hernandez, who made all five of his PATs, nailed a 34-yard field goal late in the third quarter for a 38-0 lead. Malachi Jefferies scored on a 34-yard touchdown run for Cartersville’s final touchdown of the night with 9:24 left in the game. Osiel Nava added the PAT kick. The loss drops Woodland to 3-3 on the season and 0-3 in Region 7-AAAAA. The Wildcats host Hiram next Friday. Cartersville (7-1, 3-0) travels to Calhoun.