The Cartersville cross country teams had strong runs Saturday at the Carrollton Orthopaedic Invitational. The Cartersville girls placed fourth in the Class 5A-7A race and later the Cartersville boys finished eighth in the All-Classification Championship race. The 5k competitions were held on the state championship course at Carrollton High School. In the Class 5A-7A girls race, Sequoyah won the team title ahead of Starrs Mill and Harrison. North Paulding rounded out the top five of 23 teams. Cartersville sophomore Elizabeth Nelson (22:20) was fourth overall of the 158 runners in the race. Nelson finished just behind Sequoyah runners Susanna Rogers (21:17) and Ella Grace Cothren (21:33) who were first and second overall. The Chiefs took four of the top individual spots in their win. Other Cartersville girls finishes include: Trinity Atkins (28th, 23:31), McKinsey Spinks (32nd, 23:38), Samantha Herrera (52nd, 24:29), Jaxiry Betancourt (60th, 24:45), Alice Terry (101st, 26:01), and Meredith Gaines (104th, 26:22). The Cartersville boys were paced by Bill Archer (17:34). The senior placed 24th overall in the 154 participant race. Lambert won the team title ahead of Pace Academy and Marietta. Kamari Miller of Marietta won the individual title in 15:41. Other Cartersville boys finishes include: Colin McCann (45th, 18:02), Levi Booth (52nd, 18:20), Sam Peters (56th, 18:25), Carson Gage (77th, 18:53), Alex Rios (101st, 19:21), and Ryan Johnson (117th,19:58). Next for the Cartersville teams will be the Wire2Wire Invitational at Dellinger Park September 26.

Thursday night was busy for local softball teams. Cass swept a region doubleheader at Blessed Trinity; Cartersville swept Hiram in a region doubleheader; Adairsville topped Coosa in non-region action; and Woodland lost a doubleheader at region-leading Calhoun. CASS 9, BLESSED TRINITY 5 Cass trailed 3-2 heading to the sixth inning and took a 4-3 lead in the top of that inning only to have the host Titans regain the lead 5-4 going to the final frame. The Colonels answered the challenge in the top of the seventh, however, posting five unanswered runs for a 9-5 victory in the opening game of a Region 7-AAAAA doubleheader. Kimberly Allen had two hits for Cass including a triple and two RBIs. Haylee Dishmon had two hits including a double. Kylee Hembree (3 RBIs), Haley Smith (RBI), and Rachael Lee (RBI) also added a pair of hits each. Eryn Lee and Ansley Hight contributed one hit apiece. Sydney Lancaster, Katelin Lanier, and Victoria Spencer combined for eight hits and four RBIs at the top of Blessed Trinity’s lineup. Rachael Lee (7 IP, 5R, 3ER, 11H, 2BB, 1K) worked the full seven innings in the circle for the Colonels to pick up the pitching victory. CASS 8, BLESSED TRINITY 6 In Game Two, Blessed Trinity led 4-1 through three innings before Cass took control with a six-run fourth inning. Cass went on to win the nightcap 8-6 and completed a three-game, season series sweep of the Titans. Kylee Hembree (7 IP, 6R, 4ER, 10H, 3BB, 4K) earned the pitching win with a complete-game effort. Kendyl Hardin finished with three hits including a double and two RBIs. Ansley Hight added two hits including a triple. Hembree had a hit and two RBIs. Rachael Lee had a hit and one RBI. Eryn Lee, Haley Smith, and Kimberly Allen contributed one hit. Kelly Young and Alexis Woods added one RBI each. Cass improved to 12-6 overall and 7-4 in Region 7-AAAAA. Blessed Trinity is now 5-8 overall and 4-7 in region action. The Colonels play at Cartersville Tuesday at 5 p.m. and will host Calhoun in a doubleheader Wednesday. CARTERSVILLE 18, HIRAM 3 Cartersville pitcher Ava Perkins (3 IP, 3R, 0ER, 0H, 5BB, 6K) tossed a three inning no hitter Thursday in the first game of the Canes’ Region 7-AAAAA doubleheader at Hiram. The Hornets’ scored two unearned runs in the first inning on three walks and an infield error. They added a third run in the second inning on a walk, an error, and a ground out. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes’ offense provided plenty of run support. AnnaKate McElhaney finished with three hits including a double, a home run, and five RBIs. Mikey Lewis (double), Perkins (two doubles), and Emery Jenkins also contributed three hits each. Kiley Arnold (double, RBI) and Taff Bradley (RBI), and Mattie Johnson tossed in one hit apiece. CARTERSVILLE 15, HIRAM 2 The Canes scored 14 of their 15 runs in the first two innings of Game Two as they completed the season series, three-game sweep. Kiley Arnold (4 IP, 2ER, 2H, 1BB, 7K) worked all four innings in the circle for the pitching victory. AnnaKate McElhaney had three hits including a double and two RBIs. Mikey Lewis followed with two hits including a double and two RBIs. Mattie Johnson drove in two runs with a triple. McKinley Chada had a hit and two RBIs. Marly Pruitt (RBI) and Ava Perkins contributed one hit each. Campbell Rogers (sac fly) and Taff Bradley were each credited with one RBI. Hiram slips to 1-11 overall and 0-9 in Region 7-AAAAA. Cartersville (6-16, 4-7) hosts Cass Tuesday at 5 p.m. and will entertain Blessed Trinity in a region doubleheader Thursday. ADAIRSVILLE 10, COOSA 1 The Tigers cruised to a five-inning, 10-1, non-region win Thursday at Coosa as Victoria O’Neal and Taylor Rhoades combined for a one-hitter. O’Neal (4 IP, 1R, 0ER, 0H, 0BB, 9K) was touched for an unearned run in the first inning without allowing a hit. Rhoades (1 IP, 0R, 1H, 0BB, 1K) worked around a two-out single in the bottom of the fifth inning for a scoreless appearance. Alissa Winters had a three-hit game with one RBI at the top of the Adairsville lineup. Makayla Wade followed with two hits. Victoria O’Neal hit a three-run home run in the fifth inning that gave Adairsville a 6-1 lead at the time. Megan Gregory (RBI), McKenzie Pullam (double, RBI), Alyssa Jarrett, Gabi Becerra, and Rhoades contributed one hit each for the Tigers. Adairsville (9-5, 4-4 Region 6-AAA) returns to region play Monday at Sonoraville and Tuesday at Coahulla Creek. Both games are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. starts. CALHOUN 6, WOODLAND 5 Woodland fell behind 4-0 through four innings Thursday in the first game of their Region 7-AAAAA doubleheader at Calhoun. The Wildcats rallied to score five runs over the final three innings but still came up just short. Morgan Cooper and Kailey Baker had RBI singles in the fifth inning for Woodland and Hannah Miller — who had four hits in the game — popped a two-run home run in the seventh. Unfortunately, the Wildcats went down in order after that. Ansley Evans, Michiah Hicks, Cassie Jones, and Dylynn Motes added one hit each for Woodland. Lainey Baker (6 IP, 6R, 5ER, 7H, 0BB, 7K) was tagged with the pitching loss in a complete-game effort. CALHOUN 7, WOODLAND 3 Calhoun broke open a close game with a four-run sixth inning to win the second game of Thursday’s doubleheader, 7-3. After the Yellow Jackets held a 2-0 lead through the first four innings, Woodland knotted the score with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth. Calhoun regained a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the frame and then took a 7-2 lead in the sixth. Calhoun pitchers Sydney Terry (4 IP, 2ER, 5H, 1K) and Avery Greeson (3 IP, 1R, 0ER, 1H, 1BB, 1K) limited Woodland to six hits. Cassie Jones (5.1 IP, 7R, 6ER, 12H, 2BB, 2K) took the pitching loss for the Wildcats. Lainey Baker (0.2 IP) recorded the final two outs. Espee Reyes — who finished with three hits, Lyndi Rae Davis, Jordan Blair, and Malysha Winston all homered for Calhoun. Ansley Evans had three hits including a pair of doubles for Woodland. Hannah Miller and Morgan Cooper (double) finished with one hit and one RBI each. Lainey Baker doubled for the other Wildcats’ hit. Calhoun improved to 9-7 overall and 8-0 in Region 7-AAAAA. Woodland (13-6, 7-3) travels to Blessed Trinity Tuesday for a 5 p.m. first pitch. The Wildcats play a region doubleheader at Hiram next Thursday.

Woodland volleyball started slowly Thursday night at home against Gordon Central, but came back from a first set loss to defeat Gordon Central 21-25, 25-6, 25-10, and 25-13. The victory made for a successful Senior Night celebration for the Lady Cats. Sydney Molinaro had 21 kills, 12 assists, 10 aces, and two digs. Emmalee Cigainero totaled 15 digs, one ace, and one kill. Cayley Stantz added 20 assists and four aces. Delaney Tuplin had eight kills, five digs, and two aces. Lexis Bubrick finished with four service aces. Woodland (5-12) travels to Cass Tuesday to play the host Colonels and non-region Kell. ADAIRSVILLE SPLITS MATCHES Adairsville volleyball split a pair of matches Thursday night at home. The Tigers swept Temple in a non-region match 25-15 and 25-13, but fell to region-foe Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe 25-19 and 25-14. In the win over Temple, Aaliyah Applin finished with nine digs, one assist, one kill, and one ace. Bailey Weaver contributed three aces, two digs, and one kill. Annie McCormick had nine assists and a pair of aces. Autumn Henderson added five kills. Hannah Hollingsworth and Haley Stiles finished with three kills each. Richlyn Blair contributed two kills and Katlyn Burnett added four digs. Against LFO, Applin had three digs and one ace. Burnett added five digs and one assist. Henderson finished with three blocks. Adairsville hosts East Paulding and Sonoraville Monday at 5 p.m.

The Tigers scored four runs in the first, two in the fifth, and one more in the seventh on their way to a 7-3 road, region win at North Murray Wednesday night. Pitchers Taylor Rhoades (3 IP, 3R, 0ER, 6H, 0BB, 1K) and Victoria O’Neal (4 IP, 0R, 2H, 2BB, 10K) combined for the win and 11 strikeouts. Sadye Johnson, who hit a solo home run in the seventh inning, finished with two hits. Rhoades doubled and had one RBI. Megan Gregory contributed a hit and two RBIs. Chloe Souders and Jenna Young added one hit apiece. Alissa Winters was credited with one RBI. Adairsville (9-5, 4-4) plays a non-region game Thursday at Coosa.

Cartersville volleyball swept a pair of Region 7-AAAAA matches Tuesday night at home over local rivals Cass and Woodland. The Canes beat Cass 25-15 and 25-16 before topping Woodland 25-16 and 25-13. In the win over Cass, London Moultrie finished with seven kills, Mason Cline had five kills, and Mia Nicklas added five kills and a dig. Macey Vaughn contributed five aces and 18 assists. Emma Cagle totaled four digs and a pair of kills while Layne Condra added six digs. Against Woodland, Nicklas finished with eight kills, three aces, three digs, and a block. Moultrie had six kills and two blocks. Vaughn compiled six assists, two digs, and one kill. Abby Allen had five digs and two assists. Condra contributed four digs and two assists with Vanessa Johnson adding three kills. Cartersville (12-7, 2-0) travels to Chatsworth next Tuesday to meet Rockmart and host Murray County in non-region action. WOODLAND DEFEATS CASS In the middle match of the evening at Cartersville, Woodland defeated Cass 25-18 and 15-14 to complete their Region 7-AAAAA slate with a 1-4 mark. Woodland had earlier season losses to region opponents Blessed Trinity, Calhoun, and Hiram. The Lady Cats (4-12 overall) will host Gordon Central and Allatoona Thursday. Cass (1-11, 0-2) plays at Model Thursday.

The Lady Canes wasted little time putting their game away Tuesday evening by scoring ten runs in the home half of the first half as part of an 11-1, four-inning Region 7-AAAAA win over Hiram. Cartersville sent 13 to the plate in the first inning and took control with four singles, a double, a bases loaded walk, and a three-run home run by AnnaKate McElhaney. The Hornets also committed three errors in the frame. Hiram had its only two hits and scored its only run in the fourth inning. Canes’ pitchers McKinley Chada (3.1 IP, 1ER, 2H, 1BB, 1K) and Ava Perkins (0.2 IP, 0R, 2K) combined for the win in the circle. McElhaney (HR, 3 RBI), Kiley Arnold (double, 3 RBI), and Mattie Johnson (2 RBI) had two hits each for Cartersville. Campbell Rogers, Mikey Lewis, and Chada added one hit apiece. The loss dropped Hiram to 0-7 in region action. The Hornets are 1-9 overall. Cartersville improved to 4-16 overall and 2-7 in Region 7-AAAAA. The two teams will complete their region 3-game series Thursday with a doubleheader at Hiram.

Sam Howard, a Cartersville High graduate currently pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates, collected his second win of the 2020 season last Thursday and stretched his current streak of scoreless appearances to nine with a scoreless inning Monday. The 27-year-old left-hander pitched the fifth inning of a seven-inning game last Thursday to earn a win over the Cincinnati Reds. His scoreless stretch includes two appearances against the Red, one against the Cubs, five against the Brewers, and one against the Indians dating back to August 20. The streak includes 8-1/3 total innings where he has allowed four hit and five walks while fanning seven. Howard spent the first six years of his career with the Colorado Rockies’ organization after being drafted in the third round out of Georgia Southern University. He was claimed off waivers by Pittsburgh this past offseason and was called up to the MLB Pirates in late July. He is currently 2-1 for Pittsburgh with a 2.30 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. He has 19 strikeouts in 15 appearances that include 15-2/3 innings. The Pirates are 13-26 this season and trail the Chicago Cubs by 9.5 games in the National League Central.

The Woodland offense struck for four runs in the first inning and five more in the fourth on their way to a 9-1 win over Cass in five innings in the championship game of the 2020 Bartow County Championship Tournament played Saturday at Cartersville. The victory secured Woodland's third consecutive county title. The Lady Cats again received a strong pitching performance from junior Lainey Baker who yielded only two hits and no walks while striking out seven. Rachael Lee (1 IP, 4R, 2ER, 3H, 2BB, 1K) suffered the pitching loss for Cass with Kylee Hembree (3 IP, 5R, 4ER, 6H) closing out the final three innings in the circle for the Lady Colonels. Ansley Evans and Morgan Cooper (RBI) led the Woodland nine-hit attack with two hits each. Hannah Miller (2 RBI), Kailey Baker (2 RBI), Michiah Hicks (RBI), Jessica Ryan (RBI), and Cambrie Carrington added one hit each. Lainey Baker was credited with one RBI. Cass (10-6, 5-4) travels to Blessed Trinity for a Region 7-AAAAA doubleheader Thursday at 4:30 p.m. Woodland (13-4, 7-1) makes the trip to region-leading Calhoun Thursday for a crucial doubleheader with the Yellow Jackets (6-0 in region play) at 5:30 p.m. SEMIFINAL #1 CASS 10, CARTERSVILLE 0 In the opening semifinal game of the 2020 Bartow County Championship Tournament Saturday morning at Cartersville, the Lady Colonels’ offense came out firing and posted eight runs in the first two innings on their way to a 10-0 win in five innings. That was more than enough scoring for winning pitcher Rachael Lee who went the distance for Cass and allowed only two hits and a walk. She struck out two. The pitcher also did plenty of work at the dish on offense where she had three hits including a double and three RBIs. Kendyl Hardin had a pair of hits and three RBIs including a second inning, two-run home run. Alexis Woods (RBI), Haylee Dishmon (double), and Ansley Hight also contributed two hits each for the Colonels. Eryn Lee added one hit and one RBI. Amelia Elrod (1 IP, 4R, 3ER, 4H, 1BB, 2K), Kiley Arnold (3.2 IP, 6ER, 8H, 2BB, 3K), and McKinley Chada (0.1 IP, 1BB) shared the pitching duties for Cartersville. Ava Perkins and Mikey Lewis had the two Lady Canes’ base hits. SEMIFINAL #2 WOODLAND 11, ADAIRSVILLE 0 In the second Bartow County Championship Tournament semifinal game at Cartersville, Woodland pitchers Lainey Baker and Cassie Jones combined for a no-hitter as the Lady Cats cruised to an 11-0 win over Adairsville in five innings. Baker struck out eight of the 13 batters she faced in the first four frames. Jones worked a clean fifth inning with one strike out. Michiah Hicks paced the Woodland offense with three hits, two RBIs, and three runs scored. Jessica Ryan doubled twice and drove in five runs. Morgan Cooper had two hits including a double. Ansley Evans, Hannah Miller, and Cambrie Carrington (RBI) contributed one hit apiece. THIRD PLACE GAME ADAIRSVILLE 2, CARTERSVILLE 1 An RBI single into right field in the fifth inning by Taylor Rhoades drove home Victoria O’Neal — who had doubled to lead off the frame — for the go-ahead run as Adairsville edged Cartersville in the third place game of the 2020 Bartow County Championship Tournament at Cartersville Saturday afternoon. Both teams scored single runs in the third inning but pitchers McKinley Chada (6 IP, 2R, 1ER, 3H, 0BB, 1K) of Cartersville and O’Neal (7 IP, 1ER, 6H, 1BB, 9K) of Adairsville otherwise kept their opponents off the scoreboard. Campbell Rogers had two hits including a double for the Canes. Mikey Lewis, Ava Perkins (RBI), Kiley Arnold, and Maggie Pruitt added one hit each. Rhoades had two hits and one RBI for the Tigers. O’Neal had the other Adairsville base hit. Adairsville improved to 8-5 on the season. The Lady Tigers will travel to North Murray Wednesday for a Region 6-AAA matchup and will step out of region play Thursday at Coosa. Both games are scheduled for first pitch at 5:30 p.m. The loss drops Cartersville to 3-16 for the season. They host Hiram Tuesday in a single game at 5:30 p.m. and will travel to Hiram Thursday for a doubleheader starting at 5 p.m. #Woodland #Cass #Cartersville #Adairsville #softball

The Cartersville boys finished first and the Woodland girls placed third at Saturday’s 14th annual Run at the Rock 5K event hosted by Woodland High School. The Woodland boys finished third and the Cass boys were 11th of 20 teams in the boys varsity race. The Cartersville girls were seventh overall in the 17-team girls varsity competition. River Ridge won the girls team event with Grady finishing second. Felipe Barrios of Calhoun won the boys individual race with a time of 16:48. He was followed by Bryson Gates of Creekview (16:51) and Cartersville’s Bill Archer (16:53). There were 175 runners in the boys race and 152 competitors in the girls varsity race. Makena Gates of Creekview (19:12) was the girls individual winner. Catherine Townsend of North Atlanta (19:34) was second with Rylee Evans of Woodland (19:44) placing third individually. Other local finishes in the varsity races: WOODLAND GIRLS Erin Bollwerk (22nd, 22:40) Olivia Berry (24th, 22:42) Danielle Thayer (30th, 22:54) Emma Segars (37th, 23:26) Marlee Bowles (52nd, 24:06) Megan Schultz (53rd, 24:10) CARTERSVILLE GIRLS Elizabeth Nelson (20th, 22:38) Trinity Atkins (38th, 23:31) Meredith Gaines (46th, 23:44) Alice Terry (55th, 24:22) Samantha Herrera (58th, 24:27) Jaxiry Betancourt (64th, 24:40) Grace Smith (74th, 25:08) Yuleidy Pacheco (127th, 28:07) Morgan Walker (135th, 28:41) CARTERSVILLE BOYS Colin McCann (12th, 17:36) Sam Peters (19th, 17:50) Levi Booth (21st, 17:51) Carson Gage (27th, 18:26) Alex Rios (50th, 19:12) Ryan Johnson (52st, 19:16) Banks Wilson (53rd, 19:17) Paul Hyman (54th, 19:20) Omar Hernandez-Santos (67th, 19:39) WOODLAND BOYS Tyler Jones (8th, 17:15) McKinley Chappell (13th, 17:37) John Forsyth (23rd, 18:15) Drew Thayer (26th, 18:22) Kameron Chappell (33rd, 18:40) Ian Van Order (55th, 19:20) Patrick Bollwerk (77th, 19:52) CASS BOYS Critton Gearhart (32nd, 18:34) Andrew Glaze (37th, 18:51) Jake Wright (72nd, 19:48) Prem Patel (92nd, 20:35) Adam Pierce (116th, 21:11) Ryan Turley (164th, 23:46) Aldon Aquarian (165th, 24:09) #Cartersville #Woodland #Cass #crosscountry #RunAtTheRock

Cartersville volleyball once again captured the Bartow County Championship Saturday in action at Adairsville High School. The Lady Canes won three matches — all in straight sets — to take the 2020 title and their 14th consecutive Bartow title. Cartersville opened with a 25-23 and 25-21 win over Woodland in the opening round. That match would be the tightest score of the day. Cartersville reached the championship round by defeating Adairsville 25-22 and 25-12 before topping Woodland in a finals rematch 25-12 and 25-17. Woodland was 2-2 on the day with a win over Cass 25-13 and 25-13 to go with a 25-15 and 25-12 victory over Adairsville. Adairsville avenged an earlier season loss to Cass in the opening round. The Tigers eased past the Colonels 25-11 and 25-13. #Cartersville #Woodland #Adairsville #Cass #volleyball

All four local high school football teams opened their 2020 regular seasons Friday night with wins. Cartersville extended the state's longest regular season win streak to 59 games with a home win over Morrow. Cass beat visiting Class AAA 10th-ranked Dawson County 23-7 in new head coach Steve Gates' debut. Adairsville scored late to hold off visiting Chattooga 35-28 and Woodland picked up a road, shutout win at Gordon Central, 14-0. CARTERSVILLE SETS NEW REGULAR SEASON WIN STREAK RECORD Cartersville cruised to a season-opening 42-0 win Friday night over Morrow at Weinman Stadium and set the state record for consecutive regular season wins in the process. The Canes’ 59th straight regular season win continues a streak that dates back to 2014. Quarterback Stratton Tripp — who was 11-for-16 for 256 yards and three touchdowns — had scoring tosses twice to Sam Phillips (51 and 11 yards) to go with an 85-yard scoring toss, catch, and run fto Devonte Ross for a touchdown. Phillips finished with six catches and 106 yards. Quante Jennings scored on touchdown runs of 25 and 48 yards. Jalen Thomas added a 36-yard scoring jaunt. Cartersville scored on all but one of its first-half possessions and the Canes’ defense stifled the visiting Mustangs throughout the night and earned a shutout. The Canes (1-0) host West Forsyth next Friday at Weinman Stadium. ADAIRSVILLE RALLIES IN FINAL FIVE MINUTES TO DEFEAT CHATTOOGA Adairsville scored a pair of unanswered touchdowns in the final five minutes Friday night to outlast visiting Chattooga, 35-28. The Tigers led 21-7 at halftime, but the Indians knotted the score at 21-all through three quarters. Chattooga’s only score of the first half was a 40-yard scoop and score by their defense. The two third quarter scores were through the air with the tying score coming on a 90-yard pass play. Chattooga scored its third unanswered touchdown on a 10-yard pass play midway through the fourth quarter to take a 28-21 lead, but the Tigers would answer with their late rally. In the first half, Adairsville scored on short touchdown runs by Eli Agnew and Courtney Slocum from five and three yards, respectively. The other first half score was a 62-yard touchdown pass from Connor Crunkleton to Evan Sanders. Trailing by a touchdown late in the final quarter, Chris Roper tied the game with a 29-yard touchdown run. He later caught a 39-yard Crunkleton pass for the go-ahead touchdown with 1:56 remaining. Adairsville (1-0) travels to Cass next Friday for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. WOODLAND BLANKS GORDON CENTRAL FOR SEASON OPENING WIN Asa James scored a pair of touchdowns Friday night as the Woodland Wildcats earned a 14-0 win to open the 2020 season at Gordon Central. James totaled 181 yards rushing on 23 carries. He hauled in a 55-yard touchdown pass from Johnathan Thomas for a 6-0 Wildcats’ lead and later scored on a 15-yard run with 5:34 left in the game. Thomas added a successful two-point conversion run. Meanwhile, the Woodland defense made key plays and kept the Warriors off the scoreboard. Woodland head coach Tony Plott was pleased with his team’s defensive effort. “Our defense played great and we played incredibly well up front. We controlled the line of scrimmage and really kept their two best players — the quarterback and running back — in check for most of the night,” Plott said. Woodland (1-0) will entertain Osborne in a 7:30 p.m. kickoff next Friday. CASS TAMES TIGERS IN GATES’ FIRST WIN New head coach Steve Gates picked up his initial win at the helm of the Colonels as Cass defeated Class AAA 10th-ranked Dawson County 23-7 at Cochran Stadium. Although penalties riddled both teams, Cass was in control most of the night and took a 14-0 lead into halftime. Freshman quarterback Devin Henderson connected with Jaiden Avalos for a 38-yard strike to open the scoring in the first quarter and the Colonels took advantage of good field position on their next position to build a two touchdown lead. Zay Jackson scored on a two-yard run to cap a 49-yard drive that took nine plays. The second PAT of the night by Kaleb Speights had Cass ahead 14-0 midway through the second quarter. Speights added three more field goals in the second half to account for the rest of the Colonels’ scoring. He made a 33-yarder midway through the third quarter for a 17-0 lead; added a 39-yarder with 1:19 left in the period and finished his night with a 26-yard field goal with 1:15 left in the game for a 23-7 final score. The lone Dawson County touchdown culminated an 80-yard, nine-play drive with 4:27 remaining in the third quarter that cut the Cass lead to 17-7 at the time. Tigers’ junior quarterback Zach Holtzclaw tossed a 31-yard pass to Tyler Lane for the Dawson County score. The Cass defense forced a fumble recovered by linebacker Elijah Harris in the first half and stopped the Tigers twice on downs in key situations during the second half. Henderson finished 10-for-21 passing for 154 yards and one touchdown. He also ran for 47 yards. Cass (1-0) will host Adairsville next Friday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

The Adairsville volleyball team defeated visiting Rockmart and Chattooga Thursday night to improve to move above the .500 mark for the season. The Lady Tigers swept Rockmart 25-19 and 25-21 and then won a three-set match with Chattooga, 25-16, 20-25, and 15-7. Against Rockmart, Aaliyah Applin finished with eight digs and three service aces. Autumn Henderson contributed six kills and a block. Kaylee Jordan had five digs and Annie McCormick totaled four assists and three digs. In the victory over Chattooga, Grace Collins had five aces, five digs, and one kill. McCormick totaled four assists and three digs. Jordan had seven digs and two kills. Applin contributed four digs and Hannah Hollingsworth added four kills. Adairsville (9-7, 3-3) hosts the Bartow County Championship tournament Saturday. CARTERSVILLE FALLS AT NORTH PAULDING The Lady Canes dropped a three-set match in straight sets Thursday at North Paulding, 25-16, 25-19, and 25-22. London Moultrie had 14 kills and two blocks in the contest. Macey Vaughn distributed 22 assists. Layne Condra finished 12 digs. Mia Nicklaus added eight kills, three aces, and three digs. Mason Cline contributed three blocks. North Paulding improved to 4-7 with their win. Cartersville (7-7) will play at Adairsville Saturday in the Bartow County tournament.