A pair of former Bartow County football players helped nearby Reinhardt triumph in its Mid-South Conference opener Saturday in Grayson, Kentucky. Adairsville High product Bryce Burgess and Cartersville High graduate Bryce Wilkins each stepped up in the resounding 71-21 thrashing of Kentucky Christian. Burgess finished second on the team in rushing and scored a touchdown, while Wilkins had four tackles and a sack. Elsewhere, Euharlee resident Kurt Moore was named Southern Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 30. This week, he helped Birmingham Southern to its fifth win in six tries. PRO FOOTBALL Vic Beasley (Atlanta Falcons; Adairsville) — Beasley played 53 snaps on Sunday, according to Pro Football Reference, but did not record any stats in Atlanta's 53-32 road loss to Houston. COLLEGE FOOTBALL Chris Blackston (West Georgia Sr., Adairsville) — Blackston had a pair of tackles to help West Georgia defeat Shorter, 44-34. Bryce Burgess (Reinhardt So., Adairsville) — Burgess helped now-No. 20 Reinhardt roll to a 71-21 victory over Kentucky Christian on Saturday at home. The former Tiger racked up 55 rushing yards on a joint-team-high seven carries. Burgess had a 4-yard touchdown run barely four minutes into the game to give the Eagles a 13-0 lead. Dalen Curtis (Brevard College Jr., Cartersville) — Curtis recorded a 3-yard reception in a 22-10 win over Maryville. Grant Harris (Victor Valley So., Cartersville) — Harris had a monster game in helping his side to a 31-24 victory Saturday at Santa Monica. The former Cane made five tackles, including two for loss, and recorded a 10-yard sack. Sean Holton (Davidson Jr., Cartersville) — Holton had a kickoff return in a 42-31 win Saturday over Morehead State. Emmanuel Jones (Colorado State Jr., Woodland) — Jones assisted on one tackle in a 24-10 home loss to San Diego State on Saturday. Bradley Kirk (Shorter So., Cartersville) — Kirk posted 11 tackles, including eight solo stops, in Saturday's loss to West Georgia. Nick Root (Carson-Newman R-Fr., Cartersville) — Root was on the participants' list for Carson-Newman's 69-18 Saturday victory over UNC Pembroke. Jake Walker (Furman Jr., Cartersville resident) — Walker saw action as now-11th-ranked Furman routed Samford by a 58-14 final score Saturday. Bryce Wilkins (Reinhardt So., Cartersville) — Wilkins recorded a 9-yard sack as part of a four-tackle performance in Reinhardt's rout of Kentucky Christian. CROSS COUNTRY Baylee Evans (Troy Fr., Woodland) — Evans placed 42nd overall out of 164 runners in Jacksonville State's Foothills Cross Country Invitational. She finished seventh on her team, as Troy put five runners inside the top-20 en route to a third-place showing. Evans completed the 5k course in 20 minutes, 47.9 seconds. SOCCER Emily Collum (Georgia Southwestern So., Adairsville) — Collum played 51 total minutes in a pair of losses this past week. She saw a dozen minutes off the bench in a 3-1 defeat against Clayton State on Wednesday. Collum saw the field for 39 minutes in Saturday's 3-0 loss to Georgia College. Havyn Isaac (Georgia Military Fr., Adairsville) — Following a 10-0 shutout of Andrew College, in which she played the entire 90 minutes in goal, Isaac held Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College scoreless for a half in an 11-0 victory last Tuesday. She had one save apiece in the two outings. Stats were not available for the Bulldogs' 3-2 loss Thursday at Oxford College. Kurt Moore (Birmingham Southern Sr., Euharlee resident) — The reigning Southern Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Week, Moore made one save in a 3-1 victory over Rhodes on Saturday. It marks the fifth win in the last six games for Birmingham Southern. Marissa Mowry (Anderson So., Cartersville) — Mowry continues to start every game for the Trojans. She attempted two shots in 72 minutes of Anderson's 4-0 win over Coker on Wednesday. Mowry played all 90 minutes of Sunday's 1-0 loss to Tusculum. Madison Putzer (Young Harris Jr., Cartersville) — Putzer saw a combined 11 minutes in a pair of victories this past week. The junior played six minutes in a 2-0 win over Albany State and five minutes in a 1-0 victory against Francis Marion. Payton Putzer (Young Harris Jr., Cartersville) — Putzer started each of her team's wins. She went 78 minutes in Wednesday's triumph and 75 minutes with two shot attempts on Saturday. Anthony Robledo (Reinhardt So., Cass) — Robledo played the final 3:10 of the Eagles' win over Truett McConnell on Wednesday. VOLLEYBALL Nedu Evans (Augusta Fr., Cartersville) — Evans featured in four of five sets in a 3-2 road victory over Flagler on Friday. She totaled five kills on 15 attacks and added two block assists. No stats were listed for Evans from Augusta's 3-2 defeat last Tuesday at West Georgia. -- contributed by Jason Greenberg, The Daily Tribune News

Woodland cross country standout McKenna Trapheagen won another race Saturday, taking the individual title at the Alexander / Asics Invitational at Foxhall Sporting Club in Douglasville. Trapheagen covered the 5k course in 17:32.69 and set a new school record. McKenna Croft of Douglas County finished second in 17:36.35 with Erin Fegans of Landmark Christian third in 17:39.92. The Woodland girls team finished ninth in the 28-team championship race won by Blessed Trinity. Cambridge was runner-up and Westminster placed third. Rylee Evans finished ninth for Woodland in 18:24. She was followed by fellow Lady Cats Marlee Bowles (76th, 20:33), Danielle Thayer (83rd, 20:39), Emma Segars (112th, 21:25), and Erica Boatner (133rd, 22:01). The girls championship division included 230 competitors. The Woodland boys team finished 17th of 35 teams in the Boys Championship race. The boys team title went to Broughton (North Carolina) with 71 points. Archer was second and Norcross finished in third place. Tyler Jones led the Wildcats with an 85th place finish in 16:51. He was followed by Dylan Stermer (98th, 16:58), Patrick Bollwerk (99th, 16:58), John Forsyth (134th, 17:25), McKinley Chappell (135th, 17:26), Kameron Chappell (177th, 18:04), Ian Van Order (186th, 18:11), and Drew Thayer (187th, 18:12). CARTERSVILLE BOYS SECOND, GIRLS 20TH AT JESSE OWENS CLASSIC The Cartersville boys cross country team ran to a runner-up finish Saturday in the Jesse Owens Classic Silver Division at Oakville Indian Mounds Park. Father Ryan High School finished ahead of the Hurricanes with 51 points in the 41-team event. Cartersville had 88 points. Vestavia Hills High School was third with 166. There were 303 runners in the Boys Silver Division. Bill Archer and Sidney Stegall finished fourth and fifth, respectively, to lead Cartersville. Archer completed the 5k course in 16:35.12. Stegall ran a 16:35.62 Walt Johnson of Oxford won the individual title in 15:59.86. The other Cartersville top finishers were Alex Rios (10th, 16:49), Levi Booth (20th, 17:10), Max Florence (51st, 17:46), and Colin McCann (56th, 17:48). The Cartersville girls placed 20th of 32 teams in the Girls Silver Division. Leading runners for the Lady Canes were: McKinsey Spinks (24th, 20:44), Trinity Atkins (85th, 22:20), Alice Terry (89th, 22:25), Metzli Munoz (198th, 25:47), Samantha Herrera (201st, 26:10), and Monica Ngugi (239th, 31:39).

The Adairsville Tigers and Cartersville Hurricanes earned hard-fought region victories Friday night in local high school football action, while Cass and Woodland suffered one-sided losses to two of Class AAAAA's best teams. TIGERS EDGE LFO WITH LATE 2-POINT PLAY Adairsville Tigers’ head coach Eric Bishop rolled the dice Friday night with less than two minutes to play and came away with a thrilling 22-21 home victory over Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe in a key Region 6-AAA contest. Trailing 21-14 late in the game, Adairsville quarterback Connor Crunkleton (photo) ran for a 31-yard touchdown to pull the Tigers to within one point of the visiting Warriors at 21-20. But instead of kicking the PAT for a tie, Bishop and the Tigers again called on Crunkleton with a keeper and he converted the two-point conversion with 1:44 remaining and it enabled Adairsville to escape with a one-point region win. Forced to try and throw late, LFO turned the ball over on downs following a Malachi Gardner tackle for loss and a sack by K.J. Weaver. The Warriors led 7-0 early on a 52-yard touchdown run by Jevonnie Womble, but Adairsville answered with a touchdown pass from Crunkleton to Wade Conduff to tie the score 7-7. Courtney Slocum recovered a faulty LFO option pitch in the endzone for a Tigers’ 14-7 lead in the second quarter and then Adairsville recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff. The Tigers drove inside the Warriors’ 10-yard line before the half, but coughed up a fumble to thwart that drive. A long Womble run set up a short touchdown run for LFO to knot the score at 14-14 and a nine-minute drive in the fourth quarter set up the Warriors final score. LFO quarterback Malachi Powell found the end zone on a 3-yard keeper to give the Warriors a 21-14 lead with only 3:28 remaining in the game. Crunkleton finished 5-for-10 passing for 75 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for 35 yards on 10 attempts with a touchdown and a two-point play. Jamaury Johnson carried 14 times for 51 yards and Wade Conduff added 40 yards on a pair of attempts. Eli Agnew contributed 33 yards on five carries. Garrett Ellis and Gardner led the Tigers’ defense with 12 total tackles each. Dakota King and Tokyo Gordon added 10 stops apiece. LFO falls to 2-4 overall and 2-2 in Region 6-AAA. Adairsville (3-3, 2-2) plays at Calhoun next Friday night. CARTERSVILLE OUTDUELS CENTRAL-CARROLL, 16-14 The Class 4A top-ranked Hurricanes had their hands full Friday night at Central-Carroll, but stayed unbeaten on the season with a 16-14 victory in Carrollton. Cartersville led 3-0 at halftime on a 28-yard field goal by Oscar Hernandez. The successful kick came with 7:19 remaining in the first quarter and was set up by an interception by Devonte Ross. Central started the second half with a drive the took over 10 minutes resulting in a Kashif Taylor 3-yard touchdown run. The Lions’ PAT put Central up 7-3 with less than two minutes to go in the third quarter. Canes’ quarterback Tee Webb, who completed nine passes for 182 yards and one touchdown on the night, connected with Ross on a 73-yard screen pass for a touchdown as the clock rolled to 0:00 in the third period. The play gave Cartersville a 10-7 lead following the Hernandez PAT. Jalen Thomas capped the Canes final drive with a touchdown run with 7:32 left in the game. The PAT kick was blocked, but Cartersville held a 16-7 lead. The Lions stayed close with their ensuing possession. Taylor connected with Shane Brooks for a 70-yard touchdown pass with 6:53 remaining in the game. The PAT kick pulled the Lions within two at 16-14, but that would be as close as it would get. Central’s final possession was haulted by an Amari Orr interception with just over two minutes left in the game. The loss leaves Central 3-3 for the year and 1-1 in Region 5-AAAA. Cartersville (6-0, 2-0) travels to LaGrange next Friday. CARROLLTON 50, CASS 14 Carrollton sophomore quarterback Myles Morris tossed five touchdown passes and ran for one touchdown as the Class 5A, 2nd-ranked Trojans blasted Cass to win their Homecoming game at Grisham Stadium in Carrollton, 50-14. After Carrollton kicker Damean Dominquez opened the scoring with a first quarter 32-yard field goal, Morris connected with Brandon Marenco for 35 yards, Grant Briscoe for 18 yards, and scored on a one-yard keeper as Carrollton took a 23-0 lead in the first quarter. Morris added three more first half touchdown passes as the Trojans raced to a 44-0 lead at halftime. Morris connected with Terrell Carmichael on two scoring passes (25 yards and 80 yards) and a 2-yard pitch and catch to Melvin Edwards. The latter was set up by a long catch by Carmichael who finished with 162 receiving yards. The final Carrollton score was a 67 yard scamper by Mecose Todd to start the third quarter that made the score 50-0. Cass added third quarter touchdown passes from Logan Nelson to Tajh Dawson from 23 yards out and a 15-yard pass from Triston Mize to Santino Jones. Kaleb Speights added both PATs for a 50-14 final score. Morris finished the night 9-for-14 for 259 yards and five touchdowns. Tanayce Calhoun had 40 yards rushing for Cass on 13 attempts with a long run of 36 yards in the second half. Zay Jackson followed with 37 yards rushing on five carries. Nelson finished 4-for-10 passing for 63 yards. Carrollton (6-0, 4-0) hosts Woodland next Friday. Cass (3-3, 2-2) hosts Hiram. ROME 41, WOODLAND 0 The 8th-ranked Wolves got three touchdowns by E.J. Burke and one each from Ahijah Blackwell and Caleb Ellard in a 41-0 Region 7-AAAAA victory. Burke had scoring runs of 19, 12, and four yards. Rome kicker Alonzo Rodriguez added a 27-yard, second quarter field goal that made the score 31-0 at halftime and a 49-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. Asa James finished with 52 yards rushing for Woodland on 19 attempts. He added one reception for 17 yards. Rome improves to 4-2 overall and 3-1 in region play. Woodland (1-5, 0-4) travels to Carrollton next week to challenge the 2nd-ranked Trojans.

The Woodland Lady Cats softball team secured their fourth consecutive state playoff berth Thursday night with a win over Hiram, but Friday night captured a No. 3 seed by blanking Kell 8-0 to wrap up the Region 7-AAAAA tournament at home. Carrollton won the region by beating East Paulding in a best-of-three series earlier in the week. Those two teams will be the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds. Kell will be the No. 4 seed. Friday night, Woodland pitcher Lainey Baker was dominant again. She scattered three hits and three walks while striking out six Kell batters. Woodland started fast with five runs in the first two innings and were never really threatened. The Lady Cats added two more runs in the fourth inning and a run in the bottom of the sixth to end the game by run-rule. Kendyl Hardin (photo) hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first to start the Woodland scoring. The Wildcats added two more runs on a Morgan Cooper single, back-to-back Longhorn errors, and a single by Brianna Hill. Allyssa Motes single and scored on a Bella Carnes triple in the second inning for a 5-0 Woodland lead. After a scoreless third inning, Woodland strung together a pair of hits and a pair of walks for two more runs and a 7-0 lead. Kell contributed as well with another error — this time in the outfield. In the Wildcats’ sixth inning, Carnes singled and came around to score the walk-off run following two hit batsmen and a Kailey Baker RBI single. Carnes (triple, RBI), Kailey Baker (double, RBI), and Motes finished with two hits each. Hardin had the two-run homer. Ansley Evans (RBI), Hill (RBI), Cooper, and Morgan Bailey added one hit apiece. Woodland (19-10) opens the Class AAAAA playoffs Tuesday at Chamblee. The Bulldogs are the No. 2-seed from Region 5-AAAAA and are 21-6 this season. The best-of-three first round series begins with a doubleheader. The first game will start at 2 p.m. with the second game at 4:30 p.m. If a third game is needed, it will be Wednesday at Chamblee at 4 p.m.

The Woodland softball team, led by pitcher Lainey Baker’s 16 strikeout, two-hitter, blanked visiting Hiram Thursday night 4-0 to secure a berth in the Class AAAAA state playoffs for the fourth straight season. Baker (7 IP, 0R, 2H, 1BB, 16K) retired 11 straight to begin the game and only allowed singles in the fourth and fifth innings. She then struck out the side in the sixth and ended the game with a pair of pop ups and a strikeout in the seventh. Bella Carnes had three hits and stole a base for the Woodland offense. Kendyl Hardin added a pair of hits and scored a run. Hannah Miller drove in two runs with a hit and a ground out while Ansley Evans scored a run and had the other Lady Cats’ base hit. Cassie Jones and Michiah Hicks scored the other Woodland runs. Woodland (18-10) will face Friday’s Kell/Hiram winner. One more Woodland win earns the No. 3-seed for the upcoming state playoffs. CASS ELIMINATED WITH LOSS TO KELL The Cass Lady Colonels had their season come to an end Thursday evening with a 10-0, six-inning loss to Kell in a Region 7-AAAAA tournament elimination game played at Woodland. Kell, who lost to Cass in the opening round of the tournament Tuesday 10-2, took a 4-0 lead through two innings Thursday and put the game away with a six-run sixth inning as they out hit the Colonels 15 to 6. Rachael Lee (3 IP, 4ER, 8H, 1BB) started in the circle for Cass and suffered the pitching loss. Kylee Hembree (3 IP, 6ER, 7H, 3BB, 1K) retired the final nine outs. Alexis Woods, Eryn Lee, and Ansley Hight had two hits each for Cass in the loss. The Lady Colonels season closes with a 13-17 record.

The Woodland volleyball team completed a regular season ending and Senior NIght celebration sweep Thursday with victories over Gordon Central and Cass heading into next week’s region tournament. The Lady Cats beat Gordon Central 25-21 and 25-15 then outlasted Cass in three sets. Woodland won the first set 25-11, dropped the middle set 27-25, and won the final set 17-15. Sydney Molinaro had seven aces, six assists, three digs, and four kills against Gordon Central. Lauren Morris contributed six assists, four days, two kills, and one ace. Grace Webb totaled three kills, three blocks, and an ace against the Warriors. In Woodland’s win over Cass, Molinaro had 13 kills, 11 assists, four digs, and three aces. Webb finished with seven aces and two kills. Morris contributed 10 assists and three kills while Caroline Gore added six kills, three aces, and three digs. The Lady Cats improved their season record to 20-17 heading into the Region 7-AAAAA tournament Tuesday at Kell High School. Woodland, the region’s 7-seed, will open the tournament against 2nd seeded Carrollton. Cass defeated Gordon Central earlier in the evening in a three-set match. The Lady Colonels won the opening set 25-16, dropped the middle set 25-20, but won the third set 15-10. According to Cass coach Alan Potter, Makina Gorham and Keegan Krause led the Lady Colonels with excellent front row play. Libero Bailey Elrod led the defensive effort on the back row. In the loss to Woodland, Cass was forced to play short-handed in the second and third sets without setter Madison Philpot. The Lady Colonels will begin Tuesday’s region tournament at Kell High School as the No. 6 seed. Cass will open the tournament against 3rd seeded Villa Rica in the opening round.

The region standings and this week's games for the three leagues that include local teams.

Lady Colonels’ pitcher Rachael Lee tossed a three-hit shutout Wednesday as Cass advanced with an 8-0 win over Rome in an elimination game at the Region 7-AAAAA tournament at Woodland. Lee walked one and struck out one in the five-inning victory. Cass took a 5-0 lead through three innings and ended the game with only one out in the fifth inning by scoring three more runs. Alexis Woods had two hits for the Colonels including a double and two RBI. Saydee Najarro had two hits and one RBI. Kelly Young also finished with two hits including a triple and one RBI while Lee added two hits as well. Kimberly Allen doubled and drove in a run. Haley Smith contributed a hit and one RBI. Cass improves to 13-16 on the year and will play another elimination game Thursday at Woodland against Kell. The Lady Colonels need a win Thursday at 7 p.m. and another win Friday to reach the state playoffs. Cass opened the region tournament Tuesday with a 10-2 win over Kell. Meanwhile, Woodland plays Hiram Thursday at 5 p.m. The winner secures a berth in the state tournament. The loser will face the Cass/Kell winner Friday at 5 p.m. Carrollton swept a best-of-three series with East Paulding to win the region title Tuesday and will represent the region as a No. 1 seed. East Paulding will be the No. 2 seed. The playoff tournament winner will be the No. 3 seed and the playoff tournament runner-up will be the No. 4 seed.

The Cartersville boys won the annual Cass-Cartersville Invitational 5k Tuesday at Dellinger Park and the Cartersville girls placed fourth. The Cass boys finished seventh and Woodland sent a team that did not include their regular starters and placed eighth. The boys CCI included 10 boys teams and 66 individual competitors. The race was won by Barrett McAree of Centennial High School in 17:02 with the five Cartersville scoring runners following in second through sixth places. For Cartersville, the order of finish was Bill Archer (2nd, 17:18), Sidney Stegall (3rd, 17:35), Alex Rios (4th, 18:02), Levi Booth (5th, 18:10), and Colin McCann (6th, 18:14). Additional Canes runners included: Max Florence (13th, 18:46) and Sam Peters (14th, 18:49). Andrew Glaze led the Cass boys with a 16th place finish in 18:56. Bryce Kresho finished 32nd in 20:12; Jake Writh and Prem Patel were 40th and 41st in 20:48 and 20:51, respectively. Zach McKnight (46th, 22:15), Andrew Rampey (47th, 22:35), and Matthew Rampey (56th, 23:57) rounded out the Colonels’ runners. The Woodland team consisted of Pierre Brunet (39th, 20:48), Jhon Gordon (44th, 21:23), Gabe Shephard (48th, 22:43), Lane Simmons (49th, 22:44), Bryant Knox (51st, 22:54), and Brian Sanchez (61st, 24:42). The Cartersville girls placed fourth of eight teams. Pope won the title with all five scoring runners in the top twelve. Centennial was second and Harrison third. McKenna Croft of Douglas County won the individual 5k girls race in 19:26. McKinsey Spinks led the Lady Canes with a fourth place individual finish in 22:09. She was followed by fellow Cartersville runners: Alice Terry (18th, 24:27), Trinity Atkins (19th, 24:30), Trista Kelly (27th, 25:14), Jaxiry Bentancourt (29th, 25:32), Metzli Munoz (37th, 27:49), and Monica Ngugi (41st, 30:29). The top finisher for Cass was Ashton Johnson (31st, 25:58). Other Lady Colonels included Jessica Zukowsky (35th, 26:57), Melanie Armstead (48th, 37:22), Angel Williamson (49th, 40:59), and Aislynn Leckwald (50th, 40:59). Cartersville is scheduled to run Saturday at the Jesse Owens Classic in Alabama at the Oakville Indian Mounds Park. Woodland will be at the Asics Invitational in Douglasville at the Foxhall Sporting Club.

Recent youth football games reported by the Bartow County Parks and Recreation Department for Monday, September 30 and Tuesday, October 1. Monday, September 30 12U at Dellinger Park CARTERSVILLE HURRICANES 32, CALHOUN COLTS 0 JaCaiden Leonard retured the opening kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown and later added a 23 yard touchdown run. Luke Parker connected with Jordyn Woods for an 18 yard touchdown pass to close out the first half and Thomas Peters added a nine yard touchdown run in the second half. Myles Mitchell and Mason James were noted as top defenders for Cartersville. The Colts top defenders were Langston Butler and Eian Garland. Tuesday, October 1 10U at Old Cass High (Grassdale) CASS BLUE 45, CASS GOLD 0 Tyrie Glunt scored on touchdown runs of 47 and 15 yards. Giovanni Banks had a 25 yard interception return for a touchdown and a 16 yard touchdown run. Demontre Cochran returned a fumble recovery 30 yards for a touchdown and had a 12 yard touchdown run. Jacobian Sturgis scored with a 20 yard touchdown run and had a pair of PAT runs. Jordan White added a PAT run. Glunt, Cochran, and Banks were selected as the outstanding defenders for Cass Blue. Nigel Whitaker, Gavin Nale, and Brody Lingerfelt were the top defensive players for Cass Gold. ADAIRSVILLE TIGERS 26, CASS SILVER 18 Kam Hosey had touchdown runs of 46, 25, and 20 yards plus a PAT run for the Tigers. Braxton Elrod scored on a 6 yard run and Jackson Jarrett added a PAT run for Adairsville. Jarrett, Elrod, and Isaiah Craig were identified as top defenders for the Tigers. Cass Silver got a pair of scoring runs from Devin Ware from 55 and 33 yards. Jeremiah Sturdivant also scored on a 30 yard run. Ware, Dustin Wallin, and Connor Hartsook were the top defenders for Cass Silver. Information for the youth football updates provided by the Cartersville Parks and Recreation Department, the Bartow County Parks and Recreation Department, and the Bartow County Panthers youth football program. The updates are sponsored on Bartow Sports Zone by Cici's - Beyond Pizza in the Cherokee Place Shopping Center in Cartersville.

In Week 6 of the 2019 high school football season, the top-ranked Cartersville Hurricanes and the Cass Colonels hit the road for region games in Carrollton. Cartersville travels to Central-Carroll in Region 5-AAAA while Cass will challenge Class AAAAA 2nd-ranked Carrollton. The Woodland Wildcats are also on the road Firday at 8th-ranked Rome in another Region 7-AAAAA pairing while Adairsville hosts Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe in a key game in Region 6-AAA. CARTERSVILLE HURRICANES (5-0, 1-0) at CENTRAL-CARROLL LIONS (3-2, 1-0) Cartersville is ranked No. 1 in Class AAAA with a defense that has allowed only 22 points all season. The Hurricanes’ defense has two shutouts and effectively three since the only Cedartown points came on a safety last week. Cartersville is dealing with injuries to running backs Quante Jennings and Harrison Allen. They also had offensive lineman Devin Luckett, cornerback Marquail Coaxum, and linebacker Jaylon Akins on the sidelines last week plus Marko Dudley left the Cedartown game after a hard hit. Central started the region slate last week with a 17-14 win at LaGrange. The Lions also have wins this season over South Atlanta and Heard County. Their two losses were at Rockmart and at home to Mundy’s Mill. Central head coach Darius Smiley is 8-17 in his third season at Central — his first head coaching position. Cartersville first-year head coach Conor Foster leads the Hurricanes into their 23rd meeting all-time with the Lions. Cartersville leads the series that dates back to 1980, 16-6. All six of the Lions’ wins came in succession between 1983 and 1987. That stretch includes two wins over Cartersville in 1987. The second game was for the Region 7-AA championship in a year the region was subdivided. The Canes enter Friday night’s game having won 13 straight over the Lions since 1994. Projections: CalPreps — Cartersville by 29 Massey — Cartersville by 28 Maxwell — Cartersville by 37 CASS COLONELS (3-2, 2-1) at CARROLLTON TROJANS (5-0, 3-0) With a win over Rome already in hand, the Class AAAAA 2nd-ranked Trojans sit as the current favorites to win Region 7-AAAAA. Carrollton is fresh off a 44-7 win last week at East Paulding and has an offense averaging better than 34 points per game. Cass won three of four games in September and the Colonels’ defense allowed only 9.3 points per game in the wins. The loss to Rome last week, however, was 49-10 with Cass trailing 42-3 at halftime. Besides Rome, the other common opponent for Carrollton and Cass this season has been Villa Rica. Carrollton defeated the Wildcats 23-2 September 13. Cass topped Villa Rica 17-14 the next week. Trojans’ head coach Sean Calhoun is in his fourth season as the mentor at Carrollton. His teams are 36-8 and have been in the state playoffs each year. Carrollton is his first head coaching job. Carrollton has dominated the 22 games played in this all-time series. The Trojans are 20-2 against Cass with games dating back to 1978. Both Colonels’ wins came in the 1983 season — once in the regular season and the second for the Region 7-AAA championship. Projections: CalPreps — Carrollton by 38 Massey — Carrollton by 34 Maxwell — Carrollton by 35 LAKEVIEW-FO WARRIORS (2-3, 2-1) at ADAIRSVILLE TIGERS (2-3, 1-2) Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe visits Adairsville Friday night in a game that is very important to both teams’ potential playoff chances. Adairsville in in a stretch of games that also includes top Region 6-AAA playoff contenders Haralson County, North Murray, Calhoun, and Sonoraville. After falling in region games the last two weeks to the first two on that list, the Tigers are seeking a win to get back to the .500 mark overall and in the region standings. LFO has region wins over Murray County and Ringgold along with a loss to Haralson County. The Warriors know they have the three-game stretch of Sonoraville, North Murray, and Calhoun in the final three weeks of their schedule. That string of future opponents makes picking up as many region wins as possible prior to that span vital for the Warriors. LFO head coach Bo Campbell is 15-31 in his fifth season leading the Warriors. His squad made the state playoffs last season as a No. 3 seed and for the first time since 2009, but lost to North Hall in the first round to finish 7-4. Campbell was 4-16 in two seasons as head coach at Chattanooga Central (Tenn.) in the mid-2000s. Friday night’s game is the 12th all-time meeting between the Tigers and Warriors. The only LFO win was in 2012. Adairsville won last season in Fort Oglethorpe, 13-12. Projections: CalPrep — Adairsville by 6 Massey — Adairsville by 2 Maxwell — Adairsville by 8 WOODLAND WILDCATS (1-4, 0-3) at ROME WOLVES (3-2, 2-1) The Wolves scored 42 points in the first half last week at Cass on their way to a 49-10 win while the Wildcats lost at home to Hiram, 30-0. 8th-ranked Rome has won two of the last three Region 7-AAAAA titles, but a 24-20 loss at Carrollton September 20 has the Wolves looking up the region standings with five regular season games to play. Since taking over at Rome, head coach John Reid’s teams have won 52 of 61 games hung two state championship banners at Barron Stadium. Reid is in his fifth season with the Wolves with previous stops at Tift County (14-17 in 2012-14); East Paulding (60-15 in 2006-11); Alcoa (Tenn.) (38-6, 2003-05); and William Blount (Tenn.) (5-6 in 2002). Rome leads the all-time series with Woodland 14-3 and has five straight with the Wildcats. The three Woodland wins over Rome were in 2013, 2009, and 1999. Projections: CalPreps — Rome by 45 Massey — Rome by 42 Maxwell — Rome by 40

Woodland pulled to within one win of advancing to the state playoffs Tuesday night with a 10-2 Region 7-AAAAA tournament win at home over Cass. The victory advances the Lady Cats to a Thursday matchup against Hiram with the winner locking down a state playoff berth. Cass defeated Kell earlier in the evening Tuesday by the same 10-2 score to reach the matchup with Woodland. The loss now sends the Lady Colonels to an elimination game Wednesday night at Woodland against Rome. Woodland pitcher Lainey Baker (photo) limited Cass to only four hits, a walk, and a single earned run. She struck out six. Brianna Hill had two hits and drove in three runs for Woodland. Kailey Baker drove in a pair of runs with two hits. Bella Carnes contributed two hits including a triple and one RBI while Ansley Evans also added two base hits. Morgan Bailey and Hannah Miller added hits for the Wildcats. Allyssa Motes drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Kylee Hembree (5.2 IP, 10R, 7ER, 11H, 4BB) suffered the loss in the circle for Cass. Rachael Lee had two hits for the Lady Colonels. Alexis Woods drove in a run with a double. Kelly Young and Hembree had base hits. Haley Smith added one RBI. CASS 10, KELL 2 In the win over Kell, Cass broke open a 1-1 game with a six-run fourth inning then added three more runs in the bottom of the next inning for a run-rule margin, 10-2. Lee (5 IP, 2ER, 5H, 0BB, 1K) picked up the pitching win. Ansley Hight had three hits including a double, a triple, a sac fly, and three RBI to lead the Colonels’ offense. Eryn Lee (3 RBI) and Woods (RBI) finished with two hits apiece. Young (RBI), Saydee Najarro (RBI), and Lee had the other Cass base hits. Hembree added one RBI. Cass (12-16) plays Rome at 7 p.m. Wednesday in an elimination game at Woodland. The winner stays alive in the loser’s bracket for a 7 p.m. Thursday. Woodland (17-10) will host Hiram at 5 p.m. Thursday. PHOTO: Randy Parker, The Daily Tribune News