From The Daily Tribune News --- The seemingly inevitable finally happened Friday, when a football game involving a Bartow County team was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. Woodland had its home game against Chamblee called off by the visitors just hours before kickoff. The non-region contest was canceled "at the discretion of the opposing team due to COVID-19 concerns," per an email from Alisha Evans, Bartow County School System's communications director. It was later clarified by the district that Chamblee canceled the game due a positive test at Woodland. "Due to privacy laws, specific information, such as the identity of those affected by COVID-19, cannot be released by the Bartow County School System," the district's email to The Daily Tribune News stated. The email also noted that pre-sale tickets for Friday's game would be refunded in 2-3 business days and that homecoming activities, which were set to take place Friday, would now be rescheduled for Oct. 23, when Woodland hosts county rival Cass. Local teams had been fairly lucky to avoid any cancellations through the first four weeks of the season, and everything seemed on track in Week 5 before Friday's announcement. Chamblee hasn't played any games this season, as schools in DeKalb County had delayed the start of their athletic events until Thursday. Meanwhile, Woodland sits at 3-0, with Friday's game is considered a no-contest as opposed to a forfeit. According to the school's athletic director, John Howard, the Wildcats' schedule remains unchanged moving forward. That means Woodland plans to return to the field next Friday at Union County. Having already held its first bye week, the Wildcats were scheduled to play seven times in seven weeks, starting with the Chamblee game. In a text message, Howard stated that Woodland could look to fill its final scheduled open date — Nov. 20 — with a 10th game "if there are no more cancellations."

Cass scored 35 unanswered points in the first quarter Friday night and cruised to a 42-14 win at Ridgeland. Defensive back Tino Jones, who had four interceptions in the game, returned two for touchdowns in the opening period. Linebacker Mark Perdue also returned a fumble recovery 20-yards for a score as the defense contributed three touchdowns. The Colonels scored on their first three offensive possessions. Freshman quarterback Devin Henderson connected with C.J. Pipkin on an 80-yard scoring strike with 10:57 to go in the first quarter. Zay Jackson capped a 50-yard, 5-play drive with a 10-yard run with 4:20 remaining in the initial period and Henderson connected with Connor Ray on a 14-yard touchdown pass with 2:39 left in the opening quarter. Perdue’s scoop and score gave Cass a 14-0 lead just 12 seconds after their opening drive and the first half pick-six by Jones was from 35-yards out with 0:59 left in the first quarter to make the score 35-0. The third interception by Jones was a pick-six with 0:23 remaining in the third quarter to give the Colonels a 42-7 lead. Ridgeland (0-5) drove 76 yards on 12 plays in the third quarter to narrow the lead to 35-7 with 2:56 left in the third. The final Panthers’ touchdown was on a 55-yard run by Javier Jordan with 10:32 left in the game. The fourth quarter was played with a running clock. Cass quarterback Henderson went 8-for-9 for 144 yards and two touchdowns. Jackson had one rushing attempt for 10 yards and one score, while David Gbadie rushed the ball five times for 16 yards. Meanwhile, Pipkin caught three passes for 99 yards and one touchdown. Jaiden Avalos had a reception for 20 yards, Jakeevin Henderson made one catch once for 11 yards and Sacovie White added eight yards with a single reception. Cass kicker Kaleb Speights converted all six PAT kicks. The Colonels improve to 5-0 and will be off next week before hosting Cartersville October 16.

The Cartersville Purple Hurricanes had their 62-game, regular-season winning streak come to an end Friday night with a 14-12 loss to the Cherokee Warriors in Canton. In a game that saw very little offense in the first half, it was a lone, 21-yard field goal by Jesus Gutierrez that was the difference in the score. Those three points were put on the board with just under eight minutes left in the first half. Cartersville had just 83 yards passing in the first half and 61 yards rushing. It was even worse for Cherokee, which completed 2 of 11 passes for eight yards and had rushed for only 43 yards. In the second half Cherokee took its opening possession 90 yards for a score. The drive was culminated with a 5-yard touchdown run by Keith Adams that gave the Warriors a 7-3 lead. Following a Cartersville possession that did not yield any points, the Canes defense stood tall and sacked Warrior quarterback AJ Swann in the end zone to cut into the Cherokee lead 7-5. That score would hold until about two minutes remained in the fourth quarter. Cherokee scored on a 31-yard touchdown run by Adams to give the Warriors a 14-5 lead, which, at the time, seemed insurmountable. On the ensuing kickoff, Devonte Ross returned the ball 95 yards to once again give Cartersville a chance with just 1:50 left in the game. Instead of an onside kick, Cartersville kicked into Cherokee territory with three timeouts in its back pocket. The goal: force a three-and-out and give have a chance to get into Gutierrez’s into field goal range. The defense did one better. Not only did it force a three and out, but the snap was fumbled and the Cartersville offense was back on the field at the Warrior 35-yard line. Everything seemed to be coming up purple. And then it wasn’t. Facing a fourth-and-27, quarterback Stratton Tripp through up a prayer. It was answered by Amari Orr until his catch was fumbled and recovered by Cherokee. The call came under scrutiny, as it was not clear if Orr was down or the ball was out first. In the end, the original call stood and Cartersville suffered its first regular-season loss since September of 2014. Cartersville (4-1) has a bye week before starting Region 7-AAAAA play at Cass October 16.

Cartersville volleyball won all three matches in the Storm Center Thursday night taking straight sets wins over Cherokee and Pepperell plus a three-set win over Bremen. The Canes defeated Cherokee in the opener 25-15 and 25-19. London Moultrie finished with eight kills. Macy Vaughn had 13 assists and five digs. Elizabeth Brown added three aces and four digs. In Match 2, Cartersville narrowly lost the opening set with Bremen 25-22 before rallying to take the final two sets 25-23 and 26-24. Moultrie had 14 kills. Mason Cline and Ailee England added nine kills each. Vaughn contributed 26 assists and 10 digs. Layne Condra had 15 digs and three assists. In the finale’, the Hurricanes won 25-11 and 25-17. Mia Nicklas had three aces, three kills, and three digs. Lily Gochee finished with seven assists and a pair of digs. Condra added nine digs. Cartersville (22-13-1) concludes the regular and Region 7-AAAAA schedule Tuesday at Cass in a match against Hiram.

Woodland softball cruised to a pair of easy wins Thursday in a doubleheader sweep at Hiram. The Wildcats won 12-1 in five innings and 17-1 in only three innings, improving to 19-7 on the season and 11-3 in Region 7-AAAAA. A pair of Woodland pitchers dominated the host Hornets. Lainey Baker allowed only one hit and struck out 13 in the opener. Cassie Jones scattered five hits and a walk in the second game. Jones fanned three. Three Wildcats had five hits each in the doubleheader. Ansley Evans (triple, double, 5 RBIs), Kailey Baker (double, 5 RBIs), and Morgan Cooper (triple, double, 4 RBIs) finished the night with five hits each. Jones had four hits and one RBI. Michiah Hicks (double, 3RBIs) and Lainey Baker (2 RBIs) contributed three hits each. Hannah Miller totaled two hits and two RBIs. Cambrie Carrington had a hit and one RBI. Jessica Ryan added one hit for the Wildcats. Woodland plays a non-region, home-and-home series with Lassiter next Wednesday and Thursday before closing out the regular Tuesday, October 13 at home against region-leading Calhoun.

Another strong pitching performance by Victoria O’Neal kept Adairsville in a tight game with region-leading Sonoraville Thursday night, but the visiting Phoenix took advantage of a pair of eighth inning errors infield miscues to escape with a 3-1 win. Sonoraville pitcher Taylor Long went the distance in the circle for the win. She allowed only two hits and a walk while fanning 17. O’Neal (8 IP, 3R, 1ER, 5H, 2BB, 14K) also went all eight innings but was tagged with the loss despite striking out 14. Kelly Green homered for Sonoraville in the second inning for a 1-0 lead. Adairsville knotted the score in the fifth when O’Neal doubled and later scored — via her courtesy runner Gabi Becerra — on a dropped third strike play at first base. McKenzie Pullam had the only other Tigers’ base hit in the second inning. She stole second and third in the frame, but was stranded. Sonoraville improved to 11-5 overall and continues to lead Region 6-AAA with an 11-2 league record. Adairsville finished the regular season 13-10 overall and finished sixth in region action with a 7-9 mark.

Adairsville volleyball split matches Thursday night at home. The Tigers lost to Cedartown 25-15 and 25-19 but defeated Gordon Central 25-12 and 25-19. In the loss to Cedartown, Aaliyah Applin had 10 digs and one assist. Richlyn Blair finished with three kills, one ace, and one dig. Annie McCormick contributed five digs and two kills. Lexie Childers totaled four assists and one kill while Autumn Henderson added four blocks and an ace. In the win over Gordon Central, Childers had eight assists, four aces, and three digs. Blair totaled six kills and one ace. Henderson finished with two kills, two blocks, and one assist. Hannah Hollingsworth contributed three kills, one ace, and one block. Jordan added three kills and a dig. Adairsville (13-23) has three home matches next week. The Tigers host Morris Innovative Tuesday, Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe Wednesday, and Southeast Whitfield Thursday.

Elite Stone Supply, in conjunction with WBHF and Bartow Sports Zone, presents the ELITE ATHLETES OF THE MONTH. Each month, local high schools are provided opportunity to name an Elite Athlete of the Month from their varsity programs and present the information on their honoree through Bartow Sports Zone and on 100.3FM and AM1450, WBHF in Cartersville. The Cartersville High School Elite Athlete of the Month for September is Layne Condra. The starting Libero on the Hurricanes’ varsity volleyball team, she is the daughter of Jeff and Kelley Condra. The junior leads the team in serve receptions and digs per match. She also plays beach volleyball at the national level during the off-season. Condra currently serves on the leadership board for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She carries a 4.2 GPA and plans to attend a university in 2022 with an emphasis on missions. “She shows true leadership on and off the court,” said Cartersville head voleyball coach Alicen Pearson. “Her drive and motivation to be successful on the court is obvious and she encourages and motivates her teammates. She is continuously pursuing ways to improve and better support her team. Layne has a promising future.” Sydney Molinaro is the Elite Athlete of the Month representing Woodland High School. A senior volleyball outside hitter and setter, Molinaro was an All Bartow County selection in 2018 and 2019. She was the October Player of the Month in 2019, and was Second Team All-Region 7-AAAAA. Molinaro is an Honor Roll student and an AP Scholar. She looks forward to attending college but is unsure on whether she will pursue volleyball at the next level. ​​ The September 2020 Elite Athlete of the Month representing Cass High School is Kaleb Speights. A Class of 2021 senior, Speights has played football and soccer for the Colonels for his entire high school career. He is the varsity place kicker on the football team and plays forward, midfield, and defense on the soccer team. The son of Karel Berdnik and Adam Wade, Speights has made nine of ten field goals through the first four games this season and has booted almost all of his kickoffs into the end zone. “Kaleb has shown leadership on and off the field,” said Cass athletic director Nicky Moore. “He leads by example and makes good decisions. He helps the younger players adapt to expectations that are required.” Speights is a 4.0 GPA student currently ranked 15th out of 353 students in his class. He wants to further his academic and athletic career at a four year college or university. Victoria O'Neal is the Elite Athlete of the Month representing Adairsville High School. A senior pitcher and first baseman for the Tigers' softball team, O'Neal recently recorded her 300th career strikeout in a game against Murray County. The daughter of Kristi and Scott O'Neal, Victoria is a 4.0 GPA student with 20 Honors classes and two A.P. classes. "Victoria has been a leader on the mound and in the classroom for four strong years as a Lady Tiger," said Adairsville head softball coach Amanda Nelson. "She has grown into her leadership role and leads by example with her competitive spirit and drive to be the best she can be. She has overcome hardships and uses them to propel herself forward. We are very proud of how she carries herself and leads our program." O'Neal will attend Gordon State College in Barnesville and will play softball. Editors Note: Photos and bios are supplied to Bartow Sports Zone and WBHF by the respective schools and their athletic departments. Elite Stone Supply Co., LLC is the monthly sponsor. Athletes receive a plaque along with recognition during a radio feature on WBHF. #EliteAthletesoftheMonth #Cass #Cartersville #Woodland #Adairsville #highschool

Woodland softball completed a regular season sweep of Cartersville Wednesday night on the Hurricanes’ home field, 7-1. Woodland led 2-0 after one inning on a two-run homer by Michiah Hicks and added to their lead in the fourth through sixth innings. The Wildcats added a single run in the fourth, three runs in the fifth, and an additional insurance run in the sixth to build a 7-0 lead. Cartersville’s lone run came in the seventh inning. Woodland pitcher Lainey Baker scattered eight hits and did not walk a batter. She struck out 11 in earning the win. McKinley Chada (7 IP, 7R, 4ER, 10H, 1BB, 1K) was tagged with the pitching loss in the circle for the Canes. In addition to her home run, Hicks added another hit and finished with three RBIs. Morgan Cooper had two hits including a double and one RBI. Kailey Baker had two hits and a pair of RBIs. Chloe Cantrell doubled while Cassie Jones, Lainey Baker, and Ansley Evans added one hit apiece for Woodland. AnnaKate McElhaney had two hits for Cartersville including a triple and one RBI. Mikey Lewis and Kiley Arnold finished with two hits including one double each. Erin McCrary (double) and Chada had the other Hurricanes’ base hits. Cartersville finished the season with a 7-20 record. The Canes were 4-11 in Region 7-AAAAA and finished fifth. Woodland (17-7, 9-3) has a solid hold on the No. 2 seed from Region 7-AAAAA and has a region doubleheader at Hiram Thursday starting at 5 p.m. The Wildcats also have a home-and-home series with Lassiter next week and a home region game with top-seeded Calhoun October 13 remaining on their regular season schedule. CASS WINS IN ROUT AT HIRAM Cass softball started slowly, but cruised to 14 runs over the final three frames in a 16-3, six inning win Wednesday night at Hiram. The Colonels led 2-0 through three innings and had their lead narrowed to 4-3 through four innings before adding on their late runs. Cass out hit the host Hornets 18 to six and took advantage of four Hiram errors. Kylee Hembree (3.1 IP, 3ER, 5H, 2BB, 3K) and Rachael Lee (2.2 IP, 0R, 1H, 3BB, 4K) split the pitching duties for the Colonels. Haylee Dishmon had three hits including a double and Kendyl Hardin hit a pair of solo home runs to pace the Cass offense. Kimberly Allen (3 RBIs), Alexis Woods (double), Ansley Hight (RBI), and Haley Smith (RBI) had two hits each. Rachael Lee doubled and had two RBIs. Hayley Dillow (2 RBIs), Savannah Tatum (RBI), Eryn Lee, and Chacy Gosselin added one hit apiece. Cass (15-9, 9-4) has clinched a state playoff berth and currently holds the No. 3-seed from Region 7-AAAAA. The Colonels close out the regular season with a home doubleheader next Tuesday against region-leading Calhoun and will host Haralson County in a non-region game October 8. ADAIRSVILLE 3, LAKEVIEW-FORT OGLETHORPE 0 Adairsville softball blanked visiting Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe 3-0 Wednesday in a Region 6-AAA matchup in Tiger Valley. Victoria O’Neal tossed a complete-game, one-hitter and struck out 15 Warriors in the victory. The two teams battled scoreless for five and a half innings before the Tigers scored three times in the bottom of the sixth. Two LFO infield errors off the bats of A Winters and Taylor Rhoades sandwiched around a walk to Sadye Johnson led to the first two Adairsville runs. The final run was a sacrifice fly by M Pullam. The Tigers finished with only two hits in the game. O’Neal doubled in both the second and sixth innings but was stranded each time. The loss drops LFO to 13-9 overall and 9-5 in Region 6-AAA. Adairsville (13-9, 7-8) hosts Sonoraville Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

Woodland lost to Darlington in five sets Tuesday night in a non-region match in Rome. The Wildcats took the first and fourth sets 25-20 and 25-23, but lost the second, third, and fifth sets 25-20, 26-24, and 15-7. Woodland has five players out for quarantine and had to change their entire lineup according to head coach David Condon. “The girls actually did really well for the most part. What killed us was the third set where we were up 23-14 and allowed them to come back and win it. We did battle back and win the fourth set, but collapsed in the final set,” said Condon. Sydney Molinaro had 20 kills, 15 digs, seven assists, five blocks, and one ace. Emmalee Cigainero totaled 18 digs, four assists, and an ace. Kailynn Mullinax finished with 13 assists, two digs, two kills, and one ace while Delaney Tuplin contributed six kills, four digs and one ace. The loss dropped Darlington to 3-10 for the season. Woodland (10-19) plays Wednesday at Rockmart against the host Yellow Jackets and Haralson County. CASS VOLLEYBALL EARNS SPLIT The Cass volleyball team took down Gordon Central in three sets to salvage a split in a tri-match Monday on the road. The Colonels, who were swept by Murray County in their first match of the evening, downed the hosts in a thrilling three-set match to end the night on a high note. Cass took the opening set 25-16 before dropping the second 25-21. The Colonels managed a 15-12 victory in the winner-take-all third set. Cass (2-21-1) had Region 7-AAAAA matches at Calhoun Tuesday night against the Yellow Jackets and Blessed Trinity. Cass lost to Calhoun in straight sets. Results from the Blessed Trinity match were not reported. The Colonels then travel to Murray County for a non-region match Thursday at 5:30 p.m. TIGERS LOSE ROAD MATCHES Adairsville volleyball dropped a pair of road matches Tuesday night falling to Gordon Lee and Dade County. The Tigers fell to Gordon Lee 25-12 and 25-13. The loss to Dade County was 25-17 and 25-15. In the loss to Gordon Lee (26-11), Autumn Henderson had three kills and one block. Annie McCormick finished with four assists and one dig. Aaliyah Applin contributed four digs and Grace Collins added three digs. In the Dade County (14-7) loss, Applin had 15 digs. Kaylee Jordan contributed six digs and three kills. Richlyn Blair totaled three kills, one ace, and one assist. Hannah Hollingsworth finished with four kills. Lexie Childers had five digs and McCormick added four assists. Adairsville (12-21) hosts Cedartown and Gordon Central Thursday at 5 p.m.

Amateur High School Bass Anglers held its 2020-2021 season kickoff tournament this past Saturday, September 26. A total of 56 teams brought 198 pounds of fish to the scales between both Junior and Senior Leagues. Junior League Results: 1st Place Owen Wiggins & Bill Gaines (both of Woodland Middle) 7.42 lbs, Big Fish of 2.66 lbs 2nd Place Avery Riseden (Cass Middle) & Dyllen Baldwin (Adairsville Middle) 6.43 lbs 3rd Place Justin Free and Brody Spann (both of Rockmart Middle) 4.60 lbs Senior League Results: 1st Place Caiden Moore, Woodland Middle School Tucker Ivester, Red Top Middle School 11.08lbs 2nd Place Jackson Moss & Owen Moss (both of Pickens County High) 6.8 lbs 3rd Place Gabe Futral (South Paulding High) and Kooper Waldrop (Central Carroll) 6.46 lbs The next tournament is scheduled to launch out of Galt’s Ferry on Lake Allatoona on October 17.

Vic Beasley made his 2020 season debut with the Tennessee Titans Sunday in their Week 3 game while pitcher Sam Howard of the Pittsburgh Pirates wrapped up his annual campaign. In college football, local athletes Trey Creamer and Jonathan Cruz of Charlotte had their second straight game canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. The 49ers were scheduled to play North Carolina and Georgia State the past two Saturdays. Charlotte (0-1) will play Conference USA foe Florida Atlantic this week. Wake Forest, with Isaiah Chaney and JaCorey Johns, also had its game with Notre Dame canceled. That game has been pushed to December 12. PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL Sam Howard (Pittsburgh Pirates, Cartersville) — Howard tossed a scoreless inning against postseason-bound Cleveland Friday on the road in what ended up being his final outing of the season. The left-hander allowed one hit and one walk but countered with a pair of strikeouts. In his only other appearance of the week, Howard gave up one run on one hit in 1/3 of an inning. For the season, the former Colorado Rockies reliever went 2-3 over 22 appearances, finishing with a 3.86 ERA and 1.24 WHIP. Howard posted 27 strikeouts in 21 innings. PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL Vic Beasley Jr. (Tennessee Titans, Adairsville) — Beasley made his debut for the Titans during Sunday’s 31-30 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. The former Tiger — at Adairsville and Clemson — played just 16 snaps (25%) according to Pro Football Reference. Although Beasley wasn’t credited with any defensive stats, he did help finish off a sack during the game. The edge rusher will look to make a bigger impact next week, when Tennessee hosts Pittsburgh. COLLEGE FOOTBALL Jordan Ferguson (Middle Tennessee State R-Jr., Cartersville) — Ferguson compiled five tackles (two solo), with one of his assists coming on a tackle for loss last week. Middle Tennessee, though, dropped a 37-35 heartbreaker at Texas-San Antonio last Friday. The Blue Raiders will seek their first win of the year against Western Kentucky Saturday at home. Avery Showell (Georgia Tech R-Jr., Cartersville) — Showell contributed two solo tackles to the cause, but the Yellow Jackets fell 37-20 Saturday at Syracuse. Georgia Tech is off this week before a Friday night matchup against Louisville on ESPN Oct. 9 in Atlanta. -- contributed by Nicholas Sullivan, The Daily Tribune News