Woodland softball dominated Lithia Springs in their Class AAAAA state tournament first round series Monday night, 8-0 and 13-0. Wildcats’ pitcher Lainey Baker tossed a no-hitter in the first game. She struck out 15 in the six inning victory. In Game 2, Cassie Jones allowed only two hits and struck out three in a four inning win. Hannah Miller had three hits in the doubleheader and homered in both games. Ansley Evans (RBI), Michiah Hicks (triple, 2 RBIs), and Kailey Baker (double, 2 RBIs) all had three hits each. Cambrie Carrington finished with two hits including a double and one RBI. Morgan Cooper (sac fly, 2 RBIs), Lainey Baker, and Dylynn Motes added one hit apiece. Lithia Springs had its season end with an 18-12 record. Woodland (22-9) will now host Greenbrier in the second round Thursday and Friday if needed. Greenbrier (17-12) is a 4-seed and swept St. Pius Monday night in Atlanta.

Local middle school runners from Cartersville, Red Top and Woodland competed Saturday in the Georgia Middle School State Championship Meet at Bleckley County Elementary School. Samantha Gough had the local girls' top individual performance with a fourth place finish. Rowan Lee of Woodland took fifth overall in the boys' race. Middle School State Meet Championship Large School Girls 28 schools / 193 runners 1st - Buford 2nd - Richmond Hill 3rd - Dean Rusk 5th - Woodland 7th - Cartersville 27th - Red Top Top Local Individuals: 4th - Samantha Gough - Adairsville (13:17) 17th - Miranda Pelow - Woodland (13:56) 27th - Bianca Jackson - Woodland (14:20) 32nd - Kaylana Pennington-Brooke - Cartersville (14:30.22) 33rd - Viviana Vest - Cartersville (14:30.25) 35th - Autumn Lottner - Woodland (14:34) 38th - Leyla Booth - Cartersville (14:37) 52nd - Genevieve Alessandro - Woodland (14:51) 64th - Teagan Bollwerk - Woodland (15:14) 74th - Jordan Hathaway - Cartersville (15:30) 75th - Hadley Finnemore - Cartersville (15:31) 79th - Annabelle Williams - Cartersville (15:38) 88th - Milena Bihm - Cartersville (15:51) 94th - Libby Morgan - Woodland (15:59.2) 96th - Maddie Weightman - Woodland (15:59.9) 101st - Jimena Perez - Red Top (16:17) 171st - Sarah Crock - Red Top (19:22) 177th - Elizabeth Glitz - Red Top (19:53) 180th - Mia Cantu - Red Top (20:15) 187th - Olivia Mackiewicz - Red Top (21:20) Championship Large School Boys 24 schools / 170 runners 1st - Taylor Road 2nd - Richmond Hill 3rd - Dacula 4th - Cartersville 8th - Woodland 19th - Red Top Top Local Individuals: 5th - Rowan Lee - Woodland (11:55) 17th - Juan Mendoza - Red Top (12:33) 21st - Austin Daves - Woodland (12:38) 32nd - Barrett Stepp - Cartersville (12:48) 37th - Hayden Mitchell - Cartersville (12:57) 39th - Kaleb Lanier - Cartersville (12:59) 52nd - Alex Mendoza - Red Top (13:12) 54th - Micah Sanders - Cartersville (13:13) 55th - Omar Pina - Cartersville (13:13.5) 74th - Michael Berry - Woodand (13:29) 83rd - Owen Jones - Woodland (13:45) 87th - Will Parker - Woodland (13:50) 102nd - Ethan Nix - Cartersville (14:05) 108th - William Irish - Cartersville (14:10) 118th - Gavin Hubbard - Woodland (14:23) 120th - Deiby Sanchez - Red Top (14:30) 148th - Caiden Echols - Red Top (15:57) 152nd - Kadin Keith - Red Top (16:08)

AHSBA had its second tournament of the season on Saturday, launching out of Payne Boat Ramp on Lake Allatoona. Fifty-five students from the Bartow County area competed in the Junior and Senior League events. Anglers weighed in 161 fish for a combined total of 188.39 pounds. Local anglers finishing in the Top 10: Senior League @ Lake Allatoona 2nd Place - 10.34 lbs - Damien West & Tyler Smith (both of Cass High) - also won big fish with a 4.30 lb largemouth 7th Place - 6.19 lbs - Carter Rice (Cartersville Middle) & Hudson Lusk (Woodland Middle) 8th Place - 6.10 lbs - Austin & Evin Jensen (both of Adairsville High) 9th Place - 5.83 lbs - Chaney Ray & Brenden Carroll (both of Adairsville High) Junior League @ Lake Allatoona 2nd Place - 5.19 lbs - AC Riseden (Cass) & Dyllen Baldwin (Adairsville Middle) 3rd Place - 3.72 lbs - Owen Wiggins & Bill Gaines (both of Woodland Middle) 5th Place - 2.95 lbs - Cooper Moon & Andrew Lutjens (both of Cartersville Middle) 6th Place - 2.67 lbs - Brandon Willard (Red Top Middle) & Bryan Gayton (Woodland Middle) 7th Place - 2.13 lbs - Jarrett Scott & Jackson Mealer (both of Adairsville Middle) - also won big fish with 2.13 lbs AHSBA would like to thank Kadin West of Woodland Middle School for helping the staff track weights during weigh-in.

The Woodland boys finished eighth overall and the Woodland girls were eleventh at the Pickens and Grinnin’ Invitational competed Friday and Saturday in Jasper. The Cass boys also ran in the event placing 26th in the 33-team event. Gainesville won the boys title by three points over Chestatee. West Forsyth, Dawson County, and Flowery Branch rounded out the top five teams. Tyler Doty (16:15) of West Forsyth won the individual title. There were 278 male runners. McKinley Chappell led the Wildcats with a 29th place finish in 17:08. Other runners for Woodland included: Patrick Bollwerk (37th, 17:19), John Forsyth (39th, 17:23), Drew Thayer (83rd, 18:07), Kameron Chappell (87th, 18:10), Kain Tanturri (90th, 18:12), Andy Forsyth (96th, 18:22), and Ian Van Order (193rd, 19:44) The top runner for Cass was Critton Gearhart (75th, 18:03). He was followed by teammates Jake Wright (77th, 18:03.7), Adam Pierce (218th, 20:23.3), Prem Patel (219th, 20:23.4), Bryson Elrod (263rd, 22:26), Max Vosejpka (269th, 23:01), and Aldon Aquarian (270th, 23:16). The girls meet included 27 teams and 220 runners. West Forsyth took the team title by 79 points over Flowery Branch. Creekview, Gainesville, and Centennial rounded out the top five. Makena Gates (17:50) of Creekview won the girls individual title. Rylee Evans of Woodland was second overall in 18:37. Other Woodland runners included Olivia Berry (46th, 21:37), Danielle Thayer (57th, 21:54), Marlee Bowles (66th, 22:00), Emma Segars (86th, 22:23), Megan Schultz (123rd, 23:09), Kathryn Kovacic (149th, 23:51), Kameron Diaz (160th, 23:58), Erica Boatner (165th, 24:07) and Bailee Motes (186th, 25:44).

Cartersville and Woodland volleyball both earned a berth in the Class AAAAA state playoffs Saturday with wins at the Region 7-AAAAA tournament. It was Cartersvile, however, that won the region’s No. 3-seed in next week’s state tournament with a 25-21, 25-20 victory over Woodland. The Wildcats will advance as a No. 4-seed. Cartersville’s Lily Gochee had 13 assists, two aces, and one dig in the win over Woodland. Ailee England contributed five kills, four aces, and three digs. Elizabeth Brown had four digs and three aces. Mia Nicklas totaled four kills, four digs, and one ace. Abby Allen added four digs, two kills, and an ace. Sydney Molinaro had seven digs, seven kills, two assists, two blocks, and one ace for Woodland. Emmalee Cigainero had seven digs and one ace. Kailynn Mullinax contributed three kills, two digs, and one block. Cayley Stantz finished with five assists and two kills. To reach the region tournament’s third place match, Cartersville defeated Cass earlier in the day 25-2 and 25-10. Woodland outlasted Hiram in three sets, 25-21, 18-25, and 15-12. In Cartersville’s win over Cass, Gochee had 17 assists and eight aces. England finished with eight kills and three digs. Tennessee Abernathy totaled five kills and two digs. Nicklas contributed six aces, four digs, and three kills. In Woodland’s win over Hiram, Molinaro had seven kills, seven digs, five aces, two assists, and a block. Cigainero totaled 11 digs, three aces, and two assists. Stantz finished with six digs, three assists, three aces, and one kill. Cartersville will open the state tournament Tuesday at Villa Rica, runner-up from Region 6-AAAAA. Woodland begins the state tournament Tuesday at North Springs. The Spartans won Region 6-AAAAA.

The Cartersville Purple Hurricanes (5-1, 1-0) defeated the Cass Colonels (5-1, 0-1) on Friday night 59-0 in both teams’ Region 7-AAAAA opener. Cartersville outscored Cass 21-0 in the first quarter and 24-0 in the second quarter. The Canes added a pair of touchdowns in the second half with a running clock. Quante Jennings had first half rushing touchdowns from 2- and 7-yards. Devonte Ross had two touchdown receptions, including an opening score of 80-yards from quarterback Stratton Tripp. Tripp added an early 64-yarder to Kolbe Benham and finished with four in the contest. New transfer quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, a University of Florida commit, was 2-for-6 for 46 yards and a score in his debut with the Canes. He also ran for 24 yards on two attempts. Jaylon Benham added an 11 yard touchdown run and Malachi Jeffries had a 67-yard score. Placekicker Jesus Gutierrez contributed a 33-yard field goal just before the intermission that gave the Hurricanes a 45-0 lead at the half. Cartersville will host Hiram next week while Cass will travel to Woodland. RINGGOLD 23, ADAIRSVILLE 17 The Adairsville Tigers fell to the Ringgold Tigers Friday night 23-17 in Region 6-AAA action. Adairsville never appeared to find its footing on offense, as the Tigers were turnover-prone throughout the night. Adairsville threw two interceptions and had two fumbles recovered by Ringgold. Ringgold got on the board first with a 76-yard touchdown pass from Mason Parker to Peyton Williams to grab a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter. Adairsville would answer back with an 11-yard touchdown run by Ja’Maury Johnson to tie the game, but Ringgold wasn’t finished. With 4:03 left in the first half, Kori Dumas rushed 14 yards into the end zone to go on top of Adairsville 14-7. Adairsville then turned the ball over but appeared to avoid damage when Ringgold missed a 35-yard field goal. On the ensuing Adairsville possession, their punt was blocked and bounced out of the end zone for a Ringgold safety. Trailing 16-7 at the intermission, Adairsville scored first in the third quarter on an 8-yard run by Eli Agnew. That narrowed the margin to 16-14 with 6:31 remaining. Unfortunately for Adairsville, a fumble on their next possession was converted into Ringgold points. Price Pennington capped a six play, 43-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown run. The next Adairsville possession ended with an interception and Ringgold took over to milk some clock. Adairsville drove to the Ringgold red zone on their next possession and -- down two scores -- coach Eric Bishop decided to take a 34-yard field goal by Emmanuel Lopez to pull his team within one score at 23-17. Adairsville then attempted an onside kick that did not travel the required ten yards and was recovered by Ringgold at midfield. From there, Ringgold was able to run out the clock. Adairsville quarterback Conner Crunkelton finished 12-for-18 for 114 yards. Ja'Maury Johnson rushed for 90 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries. Eli Agnew finished with 51 yards and one touchdown on 11 attempts. Courtney Slocum added 12 yards rushing and 22 yards receiving. Adairsville will look to get back in the win column next week as it hosts Coahulla Creek for a 7:30 PM Friday kickoff.

All four local high school volleyball teams slipped into their respective region tournament losers’ brackets Thursday in playoff action. All four will return to action Saturday with an opportunity to play their way into the state playoffs. Woodland edged Cass in an opening round match at Blessed Trinity 25-22 and 25-23, but dropped a championship bracket semifinal to the host Titans, 25-8 and 25-11. At Calhoun, Cartersville defeated Hiram in the opening round 25-19 and 25-21 before falling to the host Yellow Jackets, 25-14 and 25-19. In the win over Hiram, Cartersville’s Ailee England had seven kills. Abby Allen totaled eight kills and four assists. Macey Vaughn contributed 16 assists while Mia Nicklas and Elizabeth Brown added seven digs each. In the Canes’ loss to Calhoun, Lily Gochee had three kills. Vaughn finished with eight assists and Nicklas added ten digs. The Region 7-AAAAA tournament continues Saturday at Blessed Trinity. Cass and Cartersville will square off in a losers’ bracket semifinal and Woodland will face Hiram in the same round. The winners will advance to the state playoffs as either a 3- or 4-seed. Adairsville won the middle set in their best of three first round tournament match Thursday at Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe. The host Warriors took the first and third sets, however, to advance in the championship bracket of the Region 6-AAA tournament. In a tightly contested match, LFO won the opening set 25-23 and Adairsville won Set 2 by the same 25-23 score. The Warriors won the deciding set, 25-12. LFO advances to play Sonoraville in a championship bracket semifinal. Adairsville moves to the losers’ bracket against North Murray. The remainder of the Region 6-AAA tournament will be played at LaFayette Saturday.

In a final regular season game Thursday night, the Cass Colonels lost at Class 6A Allatoona, 10-5. The game was a non-region, tune-up for both teams as they prepare for the opening round of their respective GHSA state tournaments beginning Monday. Both teams will be on the road for their opening round, best-of-three series. Allatoona is the No. 4-seed from Region 6-AAAAAA. The Buccaneers will play at the Region 7-AAAAAA champions — either Creekview or Sequoyah. Cass (16-12) begins its first round, best-of-three series at Chapel Hill Monday with a doubleheader starting at 5 p.m. Despite the five-run loss, the Colonels did not trail the entire way Thursday at Allatoona. Cass held early leads of 1-0 in the first inning and 2-1 in the third, before the host Bucs’ offense took control. Allatoona (11-13-1) posted a single run in the bottom of the first, three in the third, four in the fourth, and two more in the fifth on their way to victory. Maci Strickland had a three-hit game for the Bucs. Payton O’Connor (3 RBIs), Emma Bailey, Zoe Porche (RBI), and Rylee Reeves each had two hits for the hosts. KiKi Daniels hit a three-run home run in the fourth inning. Alexis Woods had two hits including a two-run home run for the Colonels. Kimberly Allen hit a solo home run. Kelly Young had the only other Cass base hit. Rachael Lee (6 IP, 10R, 9ER, 14H, 2BB, 2K), who drove in two runs, took the pitching loss.

Two local high school softball teams have qualified for the Class 5A state playoffs that begin Monday at higher-seed school sites. Both local teams — Woodland and Cass — will square off in the opening round against opponents from Region 6-AAAAA. The Woodland Wildcats (20-9, 2-seed) will host their best-of-three first round series with Lithia Springs (18-10, 3-seed). A doubleheader Monday at 5 and 7 p.m. will be followed by a third game at Woodland on Tuesday at 5 p.m. if needed. Cass (16-11, 3-seed) actually wraps up the regular season Thursday evening with a non-region game at Allatoona. Then the Colonels will hit the road for their best-of-three series at Chapel Hill (15-10, 2-seed). This series begins with a doubleheader Monday at 5 and 7 p.m. in Douglasville and will continue with a third game at Chapel Hill Tuesday at 5:55 p.m. if needed.

Clemson continues to roll through every team in the ACC, and Trevor Lawrence remains a big reason why. The top-ranked Tigers turned a top-10 matchup into a one-sided blowout Saturday at home, where they trounced then-No. 7 Miami. Lawrence, for his part, threw for three touchdowns and ran in another, as he continues to look like the Heisman Trophy front-runner and No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft. Lawrence has still never lost a regular-season game in which he started — either at Clemson or at Cartersville High. Based on how he and the Tigers have played so far this season, it appears that streak won’t end anytime soon. Elsewhere in college football, Alabama tight end Miller Forristall scored a touchdown during a Saturday night game that actually exceeded the hype, with the Crimson Tide defeating Ole Miss in a high-scoring affair. At the pro level, Vic Beasley Jr. might not have to wait much longer for his second game with Tennessee. However, due to the COVID-19 outbreak the team has experienced, there’s a possibility Tuesday night’s game against Buffalo could be postponed again. PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL Vic Beasley Jr. (Tennessee Titans, Adairsville) — As of this writing, Tennessee is scheduled to host Buffalo Tuesday night. Yes, that’s correct. The NFL has taken to liberally adjusting its schedule during this most unusual of seasons. Likewise, the Titans were forced into taking their bye last week after a COVID-19 outbreak — which has continued to impact several players and other team personnel — pushed back their scheduled meeting with the Pittsburgh Steelers into their original open date. COLLEGE FOOTBALL Jonathan Cruz (Charlotte Jr., Cartersville) — Cruz didn’t attempt a single field goal Saturday, but that was a good thing for Charlotte, as the 49ers kept finding the end zone in a 49-21 victory at North Texas. For what it’s worth, Cruz nailed all seven of his point-after tries. The 49ers (1-2, 1-1 Conference USA) are set to host Florida International this weekend. Jordan Ferguson (Middle Tennessee State R-Jr., Cartersville) — For the second straight week, Ferguson recorded three total tackles, including one solo. The Cartersville High grad also finished with one sack and one quarterback hit. MTSU finally came out on the right side of a game, pulling out a 31-28 win Saturday at Florida International. The Blue Raiders (1-4) will hope for a similar result this week, when they host North Texas. Miller Forristall (Alabama R-Sr., Cartersville) — Forristall had his lowest yardage total of the season but certainly made up for it with his fifth career touchdown catch and first of the season. Overall, the redshirt senior caught two passes for 16 yards, including the 3-yard score, in a 63-48 barnburner against Ole Miss Saturday in Oxford, Mississippi. No. 2 Alabama will host third-ranked Georgia in a battle of unbeatens this week. Trevor Lawrence (Clemson Jr., Cartersville) — Lawrence tossed three touchdown passes for the third straight game and added a rushing touchdown to that number for the second time in three outings in a Saturday night rout of then-No. 7 Miami. The top-ranked Tigers easily despatched of the Hurricanes, 42-17, behind Lawrence’s latest masterpiece. A sure-fire first-round pick if he declares for the 2021 NFL draft, Lawrence completed 29 of 41 passes for 292 yards, while adding 34 yards on the ground. His touchdowns consisted of two passes to Braden Galloway, one throw to Calhoun product Davis Allen and a 3-yard run in the third quarter after he briefly went down injured. Through four games, the 6-foot-6, 220-pound quarterback has recorded 10 touchdown passes and four rushing scores. Lawrence hasn’t thrown an interception in almost a calendar year (since Oct. 19, 2019). Clemson (4-0, 3-0 ACC) will visit Atlanta this week to take on Georgia Tech. Avery Showell (Georgia Tech R-Jr., Cartersville) — Showell assisted on one tackle in Friday’s 46-27 win over Louisville in Atlanta, as the Yellow Jackets improved to 2-2 overall and 2-1 in the ACC. --- special thanks to Nicholas Sullivan, The Daily Tribune News, for his contributions to Athletes Beyond Bartow.

Woodland softball handed Calhoun their only region loss of the year Tuesday night with a 5-1 defeat of the visiting Yellow Jackets. Woodland took a 1-0 lead in the first inning and extended their lead to 4-0 through five frames. Both teams scored single runs in the sixth for the 5-1 final score. Wildcats’ pitcher Lainey Baker (7 IP, 1R, 0ER, 7H, 0BB, 10K) struck out ten in her complete game victory. Lyndi Rae Davis paced Calhoun’s offense with three hits. Michiah Hicks had two hits and one RBI for Woodland. Morgan Cooper (2 RBIs), Hannah Miller (RBI), Ansley Evans, Dylynn Motes, Cambrie Carrington, and Cassie Jones (RBI) added one hit apiece. Calhoun finished the regular season with a 19-8 record overall and 14-1 mark in Region 7-AAAAA. The Yellow Jackets will open the Class AAAAA state playoffs at home next week as a No. 1-seed. The state playoffs are scheduled to begin October 19. As Region 7-AAAAA’s No. 2-seed, Woodland (20-9, 12-3) will host a best-of-three, first round state playoff series against the third place team from Region 6-AAAAA.

The Cartersville boys placed fifth and the Cartersville girls were 10th Saturday in the 5K High School Division of the Atlanta Track Club’s Wingfoot Invitational held at Sam Smith Park in Cartersville. Meanwhile to the south, the Woodland boys finished fifth in the Championship Division of the Atlanta Classic at Clinton Farms in Douglasville while the Woodland girls placed tenth. The Cass cross country teams also competed at the Wingfoot, with the girls placing 16th and the boys 17th. The Decatur boys won the Wingfoot Invitational followed by Walton and Brookwood. Eoin McNally of Decatur took top individual honors by finished the 5K race in 16:46 to top 443 other runners. Top finishers for Cartersville: Sam Peters (12th, 17:50), Bill Archer (19th, 17:57), Colin McCann (20th, 27:59), Sidney Stegall (23rd, 18:05), Levi Booth (26th, 18:10), Carson Gage (55th, 18:50), Matthew Wilson (59th, 18:52), Omar Hernandez-Santos (79th, 19:11), Banks Wilson (83rd, 19:13). Top finishers for Cass: Jake Wright (78th, 19:11) and Critton Gearhart (104th, 19:40). Riverwood won the girls team title at the Wingfoot followed by Cambridge and Walton. The 265-runner competition was won by Riverwood’s Elle Mezzio in 18:58. Top finishers for Cartersville: McKinsey Spinks (33rd, 22:18), Elizabeth Nelson (36th, 22:25), Trinity Atkins (53rd, 23:18), Samantha Herrera (71st, 24:00.7), Meredith Gaines (72nd, 24:00.8), Grace Smith (119th, 25:06), Jaxiry Betancourt (145th, 26:09), Yuleidy Pacheco (178th, 27:22). Top finishers for Cass: Jessica Zukowsky (99th, 24:38), Mariza Martinez (188th, 27:42), and Scarlett Hale (196th, 28:07). In Douglasville, Marietta won the boys team title over McIntosh and Denmark. There were 13 teams in the championship division for a total of 97 runners. Sully Shelton of Harrison won the 5K race in 15:40. Top finishers for the Woodland boys: The same three teams — Marietta, McIntosh, and Denmark — took the top three team spots in the girls championship division that included ten teams and 73 runners. Woodland’s Rylee Evans placed second overall in 18:58. The race was won by Simone Rojas of Evans in 18:39. Top Woodland runners: Cartersville, Cass, and Woodland will all compete October 17 in Jasper at the Pickens and Grinnin’ Invitational.