Woodland softball took a 3-0 lead early in the Bartow County Championship Tournament’s title game and held off Cass down the stretch for an 8-5 win and the county trophy. With their win, the Lady Cats capture the Bartow County Tournament championship for the second year in a row. Cartersville finished third and Adairsville was fourth. The “Pink Out” event helped raise money for a local woman fighting breast cancer. In the title game, Cass narrowed the margin to 3-1 in the bottom of the third inning but Woodland scored three in the top of the fifth inning to build a 6-1 lead. The Lady Colonels had an answer again in the bottom of the frame, scoring three times to make the score 6-4. Woodland added single runs in the six and seventh frames while Cass managed only one more run in the sixth for the 8-5 final score. Woodland pitcher Lainey Baker was a complete-game winner in the circle for the Lady Cats. She struck out ten. Kylee Hembree (7 IP, 8R, 7ER, 12H, 7BB) was the losing pitcher for Cass. Five different Lady Cats hitters finished with two hits apiece. Michiah Hicks (double, three RBI), Allyssa Motes (double, RBI), Morgan Bailey (RBI), Hannah Miller (triple), and Cassie Jones all finished with two hits. Dylynn Motes hit a solo home run in the second inning that gave Woodland a 2-0 lead and Bella Carnes had the other base hit for the Wildcats. Alexis Woods had a double, a triple, and one RBI for Cass. Rachael Lee also finished with two hits. Eryn Lee (RBI), Ansley Hight (double, RBI), Hembree (RBI), Haley Smith, and Kelly Young had the other Colonels’ base hits. With their runner-up finish, Cass is now 7-7 overall and 3-5 as they return to region play next week. The Lady Colonels play at Villa Rica Monday, host Rome Tuesday, and entertain Kell on Thursday. All three games are region contests and all three are scheduled for 5:55 p.m. With the two wins Saturday, Woodland has now won seven consecutive — including five straight in Region 7-AAAAA. The Lady Cats (9-5, 6-2) host East Paulding Monday and travel to Carrollton Tuesday as the three teams at the top of the region standings will go head to head. Both Woodland games are 5:55 p.m. starts. CARTERSVILLE 9, ADAIRSVILLE 4 (Third place game) The Lady Canes broke open a 3-3 game in the sixth inning with a five-run outburst on their way to winning the Bartow County Championship Tournament’s third place game over host Adairsville, 9-4. The Tigers took a 3-0 lead through three innings before Cartersville tied it 3-3 in the top of the fourth. A scoreless fifth inning followed before the Hurricanes posted six runs over the final two frames. Adairsville added one run in their final frame. McKinley Chada (4 IP, 1R, 0ER, 4H, 3K) picked up the pitching victory for the Canes in relief of starter Ava Perkins (3 IP, 3R, 2ER, 4H, 2K). Taylor Rhoades (5.1 IP, 8R, 5ER, 14H, 0BB, 1K) was tagged with the pitching loss for Adairsville. Victoria O’Neal (1.2 IP, 1ER, 3H, 1BB, 3K) retired the final five outs. Megan Gregory had two hits and one RBI for the Lady Tigers. Alexa Varner also finished with two hits. Olivia Talarico doubled. Chloe Souders drove in a run and had one hit. Sadye Johnson and Alyssa Jarrett contributed one hit apiece. Lauren McElhaney paced the Lady Canes with three hits including a pair of doubles, two runs scored, and three RBI. AnnaKate McElhaney followed closely with three hits and two RBI. Cio Seigler also had three hits in the win. Hope Short and Kiley Arnold had one hit and one RBI each. Campbell Rogers and Chada added the other Hurricanes’ hits. Adairsville (6-9, 3-1 Region 6-AAA) returns to region play Tuesday at home against Calhoun at 5:30 p.m. and will host region foe Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe Thursday with a 5:30 p.m. first pitch. Cartersville (8-9, 4-4 Region 5-AAAA) plays at Darlington Monday at 5 p.m. and hosts Coahulla Creek Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. before returning to region action at home Thursday against Sandy Creek. CASS 5, ADAIRSVILLE 1 (Semi-finals) After playing the top three teams in Region 7-AAAAA over the last seven days, the Lady Colonels snapped a three-game skid with a 5-1 win over host Adairsville in the semifinal round of the 2019 Bartow County Championship Tournament. Playing as the home team, Cass scored three runs in the first inning on an Ansley Hight home run and added single runs in the third and fifth frames to take a 5-0 lead into the final inning. In the seventh inning, Adairsville got a leadoff double from Victoria O’Neal and two groundouts from Taylor Rhoades and Alyssa Jarrett to advance the runner and plate thei Tigers only run. Cass pitcher Rachael Lee went the full seven innings in the circle for the victory. She scattered five hits and a walk while fanning five. O’Neal (6 IP, 5R, 4ER, 7H, 2BB, 10K) suffered the pitching loss for the Tigers. O’Neal finished with a pair of hits. Sadye Johnson, Megan Gregory, and Olivia Talarico had the other Adairsville base hits. All seven hits for the Lady Colonels came from their top four spots in the batting order. Alexis Woods, Eryn Lee, and Rachael lead (RBI) had two hits each. Hight’s three-run blast was the other safety. Woods stole two bases. Rachael Lee and Eryn Lee also swiped a base for Cass. WOODLAND 15, CARTERSVILLE 3 (Semi-finals) The hottest team of the four participants Saturday in the Bartow County Championship Tournament at Adairsville was clearly Woodland. The Lady Cats arrived Saturday riding a five-game region win streak in one of the toughest regions in the state in Class AAAAA. The Woodland bats produced 15 runs on 18 hits in the run-rule shortened, four-inning game and advanced to meet Cass in Saturday’s county championship game with a 15-3 win over Cartersville. Cartersville got a bases loaded, base clearing double off the bat of AnnaKate McElhaney to pull the Lady Canes to within a run at 4-3 in the first inning, but that would be as close as they would come. Woodland followed with eleven unanswered runs. Campbell Rogers and Kiley Arnold had the only other Cartersville hits. Hope Schultz was the winning pitcher for Woodland. Cartersville countered with a trio of pitchers: Chada McKinley (0.1 IP, 4R, 3ER, 4H, 1K), Arnold (2 IP, 8ER, 9H, 2BB), and Ava Perkins (1.2 IP, 3ER, 5H, 2BB, 2K). Hannah Miller led Woodland’s offense with three hits including a triple and five RBI. Morgan Cooper also had three hits including a double and two RBI. Bella Carnes produced two triples and one RBI. Kendyl Hardin had two hits including a double and two RBI. Ansley Evans contributed two hits including a double and one RBI. Morgan Bailey (RBI) and Cassie Jones both added two hits and one RBI. Allyssa Motes finished with a pair of hits and Michiah Hicks drove in a run.

McKenna Trapheagen and Rylee Evans finished first and second individually Saturday in the 13th annual Run at the Rock at Woodland High School as the Class AAAAA 5th-ranked Lady Cats finished second to Holy Innocents’ in the 19-team 5k girls race. The Woodland boys, ranked 6th in Class AAAAA, also performed well with a fifth place finish in a 21-team field. Trapheagen, the top ranked runner in Georgia, set a new course record with a time of 18:17.54 in winning the girls race. Evans was runner-up in 19:45.21.The field included 150 runners. The Holy Innocents’ girls had three runners in the top seven and a fourth runner in the top twenty to take the girls title. River Ridge placed third. Woodstock and Rome rounded out the girls top five teams. Danielle Thayer (19th overall, 21:54) and Marlee Bowles (22nd, 21:59) were next for the Lady Cats. Emma Segars (31st, 22:19) had Woodland’s next scoring run and Erica Boatner (60th, 23:33) was next for the Lady Cats. Denmark won the boys championship with their top five runners all within to top twenty-eight finishers. Joe Sapone (16:28.97) of Holy Innocents’ was the individual winner by less than two seconds over Denmark’s Ethan Ashley in a field that included 189 runners. Tyler Jones was the top finisher for the Wildcats in 17:19. He was 11th individually and was followed by teammates Patrick Bollwerk (24th, 17:44), Dylan Stermer (30th, 18:00), John Forsyth (35th, 18:11), and McKinley Chappell (40th, 18:19). Rounding out the event for Woodland were Kameron Chappell (71st, 19:07), Ian Van Order (84th, 19:28), Drew Thayer (85th, 19:29), Gabe Shephard (98th, 19:47), and Pierre Brunet (121st, 20:35). In the middle school races, the Woodland Middle School girls and boys teams won their respective two-mile races. Woodland Middle School girls won by 29 points over the Jr. Mustangs XC Club. The middle school Lady Cats had all seven runners finish in the top twenty-six of 184 competitors. The Cartersville Middle School girls placed fourth among 15 teams with Red Top Middle School finishing eleventh. Olivia Berry of Woodland Middle placed third overall in 14:18. Miranda Pelow (14:43.16) and Autumn Lottner (14:43.99) finished sixth and seventh overall for Woodland. Megan Shultz (13th, 15:16), Teagan Bollwerk (17th, 15:40), Bailee Motes (20th, 15:47), Libby Morgan (26th, 16:31), Carlie Forman (27th, 16:36), Katelyn Thayer (44th, 17:36), Kiera Pedigo (45th, 17:37), Lily Hiott (46th, 17:38), Trinity Bowley (50th, 17:49) were the other Woodland Middle School runners. Cartersville Middle School was led by Meredith Gaines (11th, 15:01) and Kaylana Ellis (12th, 15:16). Also runner for the middle school Lady Canes were Milena Bihm (32nd, 17:01), Katelyn Shook (38th, 17:28), Hattie Williams (51st, 17:50), Annabelle Wiliams (53rd, 17:59), Neurexi Montero (62nd, 18:27), Ariana Gray (73rd, 18:58), Maci Nicklas (81st, 19:25), Sydney Rhodes (83rd, 19:29), Lily McWhorter (110th, 20:38), Violet Earwood (113th, 20:43), Gabrielle Culberson (127th, 21:24), and Jilian Busek (142nd, 22:32). Kaitlyn Godwin (15th, 15:26) was the top placer for Red Top Middle School. She was followed by fellow Lady Miners Leighann McClendon (36th, 17:20), Leigha Wheeler (67th, 18:38), Alexis Godwin (108th, 20:33), Brionna Carver (114th, 20:44), Sophia St. James (129th, 21:30), Evelynn Mackiewicz (140th, 22:23), Olivia Mackiewicz (149th, 23:32), Elizabeth Giltz (163rd, 24:47), Sarah Dickey (166th, 25:02), and Sarah Crock (178th, 26:25). Woodland Middle School boys won with all seven of their top competitors finishing in the top twenty of 247 runners. The Cartersville Middle School boys placed third and the Red Top Middle School boys were eleventh among 16 represented teams. Woodland Middle boys had a total of 17 runners compete including: Kain Tanturri (5th, 12:14), Landan McSwain (6th, 12:21), Heath Tatum (10th, 12:55), Andy Forsyth (11th, 12:56), Zachary Wiggins (13th, 13:02), Kaiden Pirkle (14th, 13:08), Will Parker (19th, 13:19), Cam Williams (20th, 12:23), Michael Berry (21st, 13:27), Knox Koontz (22nd, 13:27), Rowan Lee (27th, 13:35), Noah Vincent (28th, 13:44), Austin Daves (35th, 13:56), Jacob McDaniel (50th, 14:11), Grayson Moore (60th, 14:42), Gavin Hubbard (75th, 15:07), and Kurtis Thomas (132nd, 16:48). Cartersville Middle School boys featured two of their twenty-one competitors in the top four. Ryan Johnson was second in 11:41 and Malachi Vosburgh was fourth in 12:13. Other middle school Hurricanes included Kaleb Lanier (30th, 13:49), Hayden Mitchell (41st, 14:01), Jackson Graves (62nd, 14:46), Sahaj Patel (64th, 14:50), Logan Buchanon (81st, 15:20), Jackson Harwell (91st, 15:43), Charlie Crum (96th, 15:51), Gustavo Cruz-Garcia (103rd, 16:08), Cainen Crowder (104th, 16:13), Anthony Morales (109th, 16:16), Eduardo Hernandez (115th, 16:19), Josh Baer (16:21), Jose Ramos (123rd, 16:23), Brayden Rippy (124th, 16:24), Kaleb Wolfe (130th, 16:39), Alex Hernandez (136th, 16:59), Mark Carter (145th, 17:21), John Evans (165th, 18:01), and Cooper Adams (193rd, 19:39). Finishers and times for Red Top Middle School include Erick Garcia (43rd, 14:03), J.P. Morris (47th, 14:09), Eri Palma (49th, 14:10), Kaleb Hyde (73rd, 15:06), Jordy Gonzalez (82nd, 15:24), Alex Mendoza (88th, 15:38), Kellon Johnson (112th, 16:18), Caiden Echols (171st, 18:17), Indiana Diaz (212th, 21:03), Sage Talbott (222nd, 22:20), and Mason Gonzalez (231st, 24:57). HURRICANES RUN AT CARROLLTON ORTHOPEDIC INVITATIONAL The 8th-ranked Cartersville boys finished 14th of 36 teams in the Carrollton Orthopedic Invitational Saturday at Carrollton High School and the Hurricanes were to top school in Georgia Class AAAA. The Lady Canes placed fifth and had the individual division champion in the varsity 4A-5A race. Parkview won the boys championship race, finishing just ahead of Norcross and Lambert. The individual champion was Cooper Bocko of Lambert who covered the 5k course in 16:27. Sidney Stegall led the Canes with a 44th place finish individually in 17:45. He was followed by teammates Bill Archer (53rd, 17:52), Alex Rios (63rd, 18:00), Levi Booth (112th, 18:32), Max Florence (116th, 18:38), Colin McCann (142nd, 18:55), and Sam Peters (172nd, 19:27). The girls Championship race saw McIntosh, Blessed Trinity, and Oconee County take the top three places. Creekview’s Makena Gates was the individual champion in 19:13. In the girls Class 4A-5A race, the Lady Canes finished fifth of nine schools with sophomore McKinsey Spinks winning the individual division in 22:53. She was followed by teammates Trinity Atkins (10th, 24:57), Alice Terry (26th, 26:29), Jaxiry Betancourt (35th, 28:26), Trista Kelly (37th, 28:44), Metzli Munoz (50th, 30:14), and Monica Ngugi (58th, 35:04).

Cartersville volleyball won the 2019 Bartow County Championship Tournament with three straight victories Saturday at Woodland High School. The Lady Canes, who have won the county title in 13 consecutive years according to head coach Dutch Cothran Sunday morning, had wins over Woodland and Cass to reach the championship match which was a rematch with the host Lady Cats. In the championship match, Anna Grace Brock set the tone with an ace to begin the match. Seniors Lauren Wenzell and Halle Matthews racked up kills, and a nice run of service by Mason Cline helped give the Canes a healthy advantage before the Wildcats could respond. The Wildcats battled back, however. After splitting the final 24 points of the first set, Woodland stayed close in the second set. Behind the solid play of Matthews and Wenzell, Cartersville extended its lead to 14-8. Then Woodland began to chip away. Sydney Molinaro had a pair of aces to help claw the Wildcats within a point at 17-16. At that point, Cartersville's Macey Vaughn -- who transferred to Cartersville after spending her sophomore season at Woodland -- had a key kill to keep the Canes in the lead. Wenzell, who finished with 10 kills in the match, followed with three point-winning spikes in a four-point span. Woodland called for a timeout and rallied back to tied the match at 23. Cartersville then used a timeout and posted the next two points to capture the championship. Woodland's Molinaro finished her team's four consecutive matches with 31 kills, 31 assists, 19 digs and nine aces. Caroline Gore had 15 kills, 14 digs and three aces over the final three matches. TOURNAMENT FINAL SCORES: Cartersville defeated Woodland 25-22, 25-21 Cass defeated Adairsville 25-17, 25-21 Woodland defeated Adairsville 25-22, 25-17 Cartersville defeated Cass 25-9, 27-29, 15-7 Woodland defeated Cass 20-25, 25-23, 15-8 CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH Cartersville defeated Woodland 25-13, 25-23 All-Tournament Team: Lauren Wenzell-Cartersville Anna Grace Brock-Cartersville Macey Vaughn-Cartersville Sydney Molinaro-Woodland Caroline Gore-Woodland, Keegan Krause-Cass Aaliyah Applin-Adairsville

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. Recipients for August 2019: Wade Conduff -- Adairsville High School McKenna Trapheagen -- Woodland High School Lauren McElhaney -- Cartersville High School Alexis Woods -- Cass High School The Adairsville High School August 2019 Elite Athlete of the Month is Wade Conduff. A senior wide receiver and defensive back on the Tigers’ football team, Conduff is also a member of the baseball team at Adairsville. In the Tigers first two games of the season, he has contributed as a down-field threat and a consistent possession receiver. More importantly, Conduff has relished his role as an aggressive downfield blocker and has helped spring multiple explosive running plays for the Tigers’ offense. On defense, he has been a sure tackler as well as a difference-maker on special teams. “Wade’s contributions on Friday nights are second to none for this year’s Tiger football team,” noted Adairsville offensive coordinator Pat Konen. “More importantly, however, is the work he is putting in during practice week. When he is not perfecting his skill set for our offense and defense, he volunteers as a valuable member of the scout team to give us a great replication of upcoming opponents.” The son of Bucky and Carla Conduff, he has been a full-time dual enrolled college student as a junior and senior in high school. He plans to attend Kennesaw State University. Lauren McElhaney represents Cartersville High School as the Purple Hurricanes’ August 2019 Elite Athlete of the Month. The daughter of Patrick and Dawn McElhaney, the Cartersville senior is a catcher and outfielder for the Lady Canes’ softball team. Through the season’s first 14 games, McElhaney has a .451 batting average that includes 14 RBI. She has scored 14 runs with seven doubles and a triple. Her 57 plate appearances also includes a dozen walks with only four strikeouts. McElhaney has an on-base percentage of .419 along with a slugging percentage of .627 and a 1.119 OPS. “Lauren’s success does not come by surprise,” said Lady Canes’ softball head coach Shannon Suarez. “Her success is a result of her dedication and hard work on and off the field. Over the past four years, Lauren has assumed many roles and played multiple positions. She is a team player who leads by example and always puts the team’s needs ahead of her own.” McElhaney is an Honor Roll student taking AP classes, honor classes, and she is dual-enrolled with Shorter University. She plans to attend the University of West Georgia to major in nursing. She also plans to play collegiate softball. The August 2019 Elite Athlete of the Month for Woodland High School is McKenna Trapheagen. Currently ranked 1st in the state of Georgia and 10th in the United States, the cross country and track athlete is the daughter of Alec and Sheri Trapheagen. “McKenna is a pleasure to coach,” Wildcats track and cross country coach Rob Forbes said. “She excels both in the classroom and on the field. When she sets a goal, she plans and executes.” The Lady Cats’ senior is currently ranked first in her graduating class and seeks to run cross country and track in college. Trapheagen plans to pursue a degree in Speech Therapy. Alexis Woods is the August 2019 Elite Athlete of the Month at Cass High School. A freshman on the Lady Colonels softball team, Woods paces the team with a .462 batting average. Hitting in the leadoff spot, she also has contributed eight RBI. A two-sport athlete, Woods juggles a very demanding year-round softball schedule while playing basketball in the winter. “Although she is young and only about a month into her high school career, Alexis has already proven she plays the game like a veteran,” said Cass athletic director Dr. Nicky Moore. Woods participates in honors classes where she has accumulated a GPA of 3.5. The ninth grader approaches academics as seriously as she does athletics and intends to continue her playing career at the college level. She is the daughter of Kenneth and Jamie Woods. 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.

Two of the three local teams picked up victories Friday night with Cartersville and Cass winning their respective home openers. Woodland suffered their first loss of the season, but rallied in the third quarter to threaten in a 34-28 loss at East Hall. HURRICANES WIN 50TH CONSECUTIVE REGULAR SEASON GAME The Cartersville Purple Hurricanes football team took its bye in the schedule ast week to get back to the basics and regain the form it has shown since 2014. The strategy clearly worked. Cartersville defeated the visiting Luella Lions 47-0 Friday night at Weinman Stadium to improve to 2-0 on the season. The win also marked the program’s 50th consecutive regular season victory. The 50-game streak began with the first Trevor Lawrence start against North Paulding in 2014. Friday night, Tee Webb completed 10 of his 11 passing attempts for 189 yards to accompany his three touchdowns. The Louisville commit had one rushing touchdown and two through the air. He totaled 201 yards with 189 via passes. Devontae Ross had a 57-yard touchdown reception and returned the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown. He finished with four catches for 86 yards. Marquail Coaxum added a 69-yard touchdown reception on a halfback pass throw by Evan Slocum in the second quarter. Quante Jennings collected two touchdowns on four carries that totaled 45 yards. Cartersville raced to a 27-0 lead after one quarter and led 40-0 at the half. There was a running clock in the second half, but that didn’t stop Cartersville from adding one more score with its reserves in the game. Jalen Thomas reached the end zone on a fourth and three play from 36-yards out to add insurance to the Canes’ lead. Cartersville will hosts McNair next Friday night at Weinman Stadium at 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on WBHF with Countdown to Kickoff presented by the Glenda Mitchell Law Firm beginning at 6:00, Kickoff at 7:30, and the Harry Daniel Insurance Post Game Party following the game. COLONELS CASH IN TURNOVERS, DEFENSE COMES UP BIG IN HOME WIN OVER FORSYTH CENTRAL Cass took advantage of three first half turnovers by Forsyth Central, scored all 15 of their points in the first 13 minutes of the game, and made it hold up in a 15-7 home opening win over the Bulldogs. Following the first Forsyth Central turnover at the Cass 30 yard line, Colonels quarterback Logan Nelson connected with Santino Jones for 50 yards and a touchdown for a 6-0 lead with 5:59 remaining in the first quarter. A two-point conversion pass attempt failed from a direct snap on the “swinging gate” formation. Again taking advantage of a Bulldogs’ turnover, it was the Colonels’ Mark Purdue who ‘scooped and scored’ from 80 yards away when a faulty option pitch was hauled in on a couple of bounces off the new Cochran Stadium sports turf. The defensive touchdown gave Cass a 12-0 lead with 1:05 remaining in the first quarter. This time from a more conventional formation, a Logan Nelson pass for an attempted two-point conversion fell incomplete. A third first half fumble set up the Colonels for their final points. Cass drove deep into Forsyth Central territory before settling for a 31-yard Kaleb Speights field goal and a 15-0 advantage with 11:25 left in the second quarter. Exchanged possessions and strong play by both defenses closed out the first half with Cass leading 15-0. Tajh Dawson returned the second half kickoff deep into Forsyth Central territory, but the Colonels stalled and the third quarter finished with Cass still clinging to their 15-point lead. Late in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs rallied for their only score of the night. It came on an 8-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Bronson Landreth to Caydin Mowen with 3:31 remaining in the game. Forsyth Central would force one more Cass punt and drove deep into Cass territory in the waining seconds, but Santino Jones came up with a clutch interception at the 10-yard line to seal the Colonels win. Forsyth Central (1-1) travels to Denmark for another non-region game next Friday. Cass (1-1) travels across town to open Region 7-AAAAA play at Woodland (1-1). The Cass-Woodland game will be broadcast live via BartowSportsZone.com as the Johnny’s NY Style Pizza Bartow County Game of the Week with pregame coverage beginning at 6 p.m. and kickoff at 7:30 p.m. WOODLAND RALLY COMES UP SHORT Following a big win over Southeast Whitfield on opening night, the Woodland offense struggled out of the gate and went scoreless Friday night in a 34-28 loss to East Hall in Gainesville. Meanwhile, the host Vikings took a 21-0 into the intermission and limited Woodland to only 60 yards of offense in the first half. Matthew Lott scored first for East Hall on a 10-yard run. Mon Tabor scored on a 70-yard jaunt, and a Woodland punt was blocked and recovered for a touchdown for the Vikings’ first three scores. Woodland rallied in the third quarter to get back into the game. The Wildcats posted 20 unanswered points to make the score 21-20, but East Hall was able to answer. DeMarcus Williams got Woodland on the scoreboard with a 2-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter. JT Thomas raced into the end zone from 48-yards out for the Wildcats’ second score, and Williams added a 9-yard scoring run and a two-point conversion run to narrow the Vikings’ advantage to one point. Clete Cooper connected with Drew Highfield for a 31-yard touchdown in the first minute of the fourth quarter to extend the Vikings’ lead to 28-20. Following a Woodland fumble, Cooper connected with Prather for a long pass to the Wildcats’ 15-yard line. That set up a 15-yard scoring strike from Cooper to Prather with nine minutes remaining that gave East Hall a 34-20 lead. Noah Tidwell added a 7-yard touchdown run for Woodland with about four minutes remaining and Asa James ran for a two-point conversion to make the score 34-28, but East Hall was able to handle the ensuing kickoff with their hands team and run out the clock for a six-point win. For Woodland, James finished with 74 yards on 13 carries, while Williams totaled an estimated 146 yards on 21 carries. Tidwell contributed almost 50 yards on six attempts in the second half. Thomas added 28 rushing yards and 25 passing. East Hall evened their season record at 1-1. Woodland (1-1) will begin Region 7-AAAAA play at home next Friday when they host Cass (1-1). The game will be broadcast on BartowSportsZone.com as the Johnny’s NY Style Pizza Bartow County Game of the Week. Pregame coverage will begin at 6 p.m. with kickoff at 7:30 p.m. ______________ -- Charles Wilson and Kevin Pate contributed to this report.

Lainey Baker tossed a one-hit shutout Thursday night as the Woodland Lady Cats won their fifth straight Region 7-AAAAA game at Paulding County, 10-0. Baker needed only 58 pitches in her five inning effort. She did not walk a batter and fanned eleven Patriots. First baseman Autumn Romines managed the only Paulding County hit and was the Patriots only baserunner. Her hit was a two-out, ground ball single back through the middle in the second inning. __________ ABOVE PHOTO: Ansley Evans -- who finished with three hits Thursday night tags out a Kell baserunner in a game earlier this season as Bella Carnes looks on. Ansley Evans and Hannah Miller both had three hits and one RBI apiece for the Lady Cats. One of Miller’s hits was a double. Kendyl Hardin had a double and two RBI. The trio of Allyssa Motes, Cassie Jones, and Morgan Bailey contributed one hit and one RBI each. Bella Carnes added a base hit and Kailey Baker contributed a sacrifice hit and one RBI. Carnes, Jones, and Michiah Hicks each stole a base. The loss drops Paulding County to 4-11 on the season and 2-6 in Region 7-AAAAA. Woodland (7-5, 6-2) moves into a second place tie in the region with East Paulding. Those two teams trail leader Carrollton who remains unbeaten in league play. The Lady Cats play Cartersville Saturday morning in their opening game of the Bartow County Championship Tournament at Adairsville at 11 a.m. CARROLLTON 5, CASS 2 Region 7-AAAAA leader Carrollton scored four runs in the top of the first inning at Cass Thursday night, then held off the Lady Colonels for a 5-2 region win. The visiting Lady Trojans (13-1, 8-0) strung together six singles in the first inning to take their early lead, but Cass pitcher Kylee Hembree (7 IP, 5R, 4ER, 10H, 1BB) limited Carrollton to only one more run and four additional hits over the final six innings to keep the game close. Rachael Lee had two hits for the Colonels. Hembree contributed a double and one RBI. Ansley Hight drove in a run and had one hit. Alexis Woods doubled. Kelly Young, who also stole a base, and Haley Smith added the other Cass base hits. Haillie Owens contributed a sacrifice. Cass (6-6, 3-5) opens the Bartow County Championship Tournament Saturday morning at 9 a.m. against the host Adairsville Tigers. CENTRAL-CARROLL 7, CARTERSVILLE 2 A four-run sixth inning for the host Lady Lions broke open a one-run game as Central-Carroll topped visiting Cartersville Thursday evening, 7-2. Freshman Carley Fuller scattered seven Cartersville hits and struck out eight to earn a complete-game pitching victory. Taylor Stevens had three hits for the Lions and drove in a run. Chelsea Jeffers finished with two hits and two RBI while Addi Lyle and Ava Tyson also contributed two hits apiece. Ava Perkins (6 IP, 7R, 5ER, 11H, 0BB, 3K) suffered the pitching loss for the Hurricanes. McKinley Chada had two hits to pace the Cartersville offense. Mattie Johnson had a double. Campbell Rogers, Lauren McElhaney, Hope Short, and Perkins had the other Canes’ base hits. Central improved to 9-5 overall and continues to lead Region 5-AAAA with a 7-1 league mark. Cartersville (7-8, 4-4) will face Woodland at 11 a.m. Saturday at Adairsville as the four local teams play the 2019 Bartow County Championship Tournament. ROCKMART 10, ADAIRSVILLE 3 The host Lady Tigers led Rockmart 3-2 Thursday night through three innings, but the visiting Yellow Jackets scored eight, unanswered runs in innings four through six to defeat Adairsville in a non-region game, 10-3. Rockmart out hit Adairsville nine to seven, but the Lady Tigers contributed to their own demise by committing eight errors. Carlee Graham (5 IP, 3R, 2ER, 6H, 1BB, 4K) picked up the Rockmart pitching win in the circle. Gracey Arnold (2 IP, 0R, 1H, 0BB) pitched in relief. Graham was the only Yellow Jacket with two hits. Kinsey Jones drove in two runs. Victoria O’Neal (4.1 IP, 5R, 3ER, 5H, 1BB, 3K) suffered the pitching loss for Adairsville. Taylor Rhoades (2.2 IP, 5R, 0ER, 4H, 1BB, 2K) pitched in relief. Sadye Johnson (photo) led the Tigers offense with three hits. Chloe Souders hit a first inning, solo home run. Megan Gregory contributed a double. Alyssa Jarrett and Rhoades had the other Adairsville base hits. O’Neal had a sacrifice and drove in a run. Rockmart, leaders of Region 7-AA, improved to 11-1 on the season. Adairsville (6-7, 3-1 Region 6-AAA) will host the Bartow County Championship Tournament Saturday and will play Cass in the first game at 9 a.m.

The Woodland, Cartersville, and Adairsville volleyball teams each split a pair of matches Thursday night while the Cass team lost twice. Woodland lost to host Cedartown in three sets, but came back later in the evening to defeat Douglas County in straight sets. Adairsville opened the night with a win over Murray County before dropping a straight sets decision to Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe. Cartersville — in action at River Ridge High School — lost in straight sets to the host Lady Knights, but responded with a tough, three set victory over Cambridge. Cass lost a pair of non-region matches at Rome, falling to the host Lady Wolves and Northwest Whitfield. CEDARTOWN 2, WOODLAND 1 WOODLAND 2, DOUGLAS COUNTY 0 Woodland took the first set 25-22 Thursday night at Cedartown, but the Bulldogs came back to win the tightly contested match in the next two sets 25-22 and 15-13. Grace Webb had four kills, eight blocks, three digs, and two ces. Emily Cigainero totaled three kills, two assists, eight digs, and two aces. Sydney Molinaro contributed six kills, eight assists, two digs, and two aces. Caroline Gore added seven kills, four digs, and an ace, while Lauren Morris finished with two kills, seven assists, five digs, and two aces. “We played hard,” said Woodland coach David Condon, “but had some lapses in execution which put us in a hole in all three sets. We had to climb out of the hole in the first-set, but we just couldn't do it in the second and third sets. We were able to bounce back, however, and found the energy and effort to be Douglas County.” The Lady Cats defeated Douglas County in straight sets 25-17 and 25-13. Molinaro had four kills, six assists, three digs, four aces, and a block. Webb finished with five kills, two digs, three aces, and a block. Gore contributed two kills, seven digs, and three aces. Woodland will host the Bartow County Tournament Saturday starting at 9 a.m. -- photo by TCPics ADAIRSVILLE 2, MURRAY COUNTY 0 LAKEVIEW-FORT OGLETHORPE 2, ADAIRSVILLE 0 Following a narrow opening set win over Murray County 26-24, the Lady Tigers routed the Indians in the second set 25-1 to begin the night with a win. In the nightcap at Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe, Adairsville lost to the host Warriors 25-19 and 25-20. Megan Smith had seven service aces and three assists in the win over Murray County. Autumn Henderson added three blocks and one kill. Against LFO, Smith had three digs, three aces, and a pair of kills. Lexie Childers finished with five blocks. The Lady Tigers return to the hardwoods Saturday at Woodland in the Bartow County Championship Tournament. They will open play against Cass. RIVER RIDGE 2, CARTERSVILLE 0 CARTERSVILLE 2, CAMBRIDGE 1 The host Knights of River Ridge defeated Cartersville in Thursday’s opener 25-12 and 25-11 before the Lady Canes held off a pesky Cambridge Bears squad in three sets. Cartersville won the first set 25-23. Cambridge took the middle set 25-20 and the Hurricanes took care of business in the deciding set, 15-5. “There really weren’t many bright spots for us in the match with River Ridge,” said Canes’ head coach Dutch Cothran. “River Ridge brought a lot more energy tonight.” In the win over Cambridge, Cothran noted the ups and downs of a close match. “It was another streaky performance,” said the Hurricanes’ coach. “We had good moments and we had some poor ones. I don’t think we are always playing up to our potential and maybe I’ve been focused too much on the X’s and O’s. We’ll be addressing cohesion and selflessness, it’s my job to find the barrier that’s holding us back.” Cartersville (11-9, 2-0) will play at 9 am Saturday at Woodland in the Bartow County Tournament. NORTHWEST WHITFIELD 2, CASS 0 ROME 2, CASS 1 Playing in non-region matches at Rome High School, the Lady Colonels fell to Northwest Whitfield 25-12 and 25-21 before going three sets with Rome. Cass won the opening set against the Wolves 25-17, but Rome came back to take the final two sets 25-20 and 15-12. Cass opens the Bartow County Championship Tournament Saturday at Woodland High School against Adairsville.

Weeks zero and one are in the books for the 2019 Georgia high school football season. Here are the region standings and this week's games for the three leagues that include local teams.

The Woodland Lady Cats powered their way past the visiting Hiram Lady Hornets Wednesday night 4-2 to collect their fourth straight Region 7-AAAAA win and keep pace with the top teams in the league. Woodland broke open an early pitchers’ duel between the Lady Cats’ Lainey Baker and Hiram’s Sydney Adomnik with three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take a 3-0 lead. Bella Carnes tripled and later scored on an Ansley Evans groundout. That was followed by back-to-back home runs by Morgan Cooper and Kendyl Hardin as the Wildcats got on the scoreboard. Hiram answered with two runs in the top of the sixth to make the score 3-2, but Woodland added an insurance run in the bottom of the frame before Baker closed out the final inning with a pair of strikeouts and a groundout. Adomnik (6 IP, 4R, 4ER, 7H, 4BB, 6K) kept the Lady Hornets in the game but was tagged with the pitching loss. Baker was even better, allowing only two unearned runs on five hits and three walks. She struck out 16. Megan Smith had two hits including a double for Hiram. Kyleigh Haney added a double and Dallas Hardy drove in a run with one hit. Carnes finished with three hits and a walk. Her night at the plate included a double, a triple, and two runs scored. She also swiped a base. Cassie Jones and Morgan Bailey had the other Woodland base hits in addition to the homers by Cooper and Hardin. The loss drops Hiram to 4-9 overall and 4-3 in Region 7-AAAAA. Woodland (6-5, 5-2) travels to Paulding County Thursday for a 5:55 p.m. first pitch in another region tilt and will open the Bartow County Championship Tournament Saturday at 11 a.m. against Cartersville at Adairsville. EAST PAULDING 7, CASS 5 Hosting one of the top teams in Region 7-AAAAA Wednesday night, the Lady Colonels battled into the seventh inning and had the potential tying runs on base before falling to the East Paulding Lady Raiders 7-5. The East Paulding offense was productive throughout the night scoring at least one run in every inning except the third. The Raiders led 3-0 through three innings and added single runs in their final four frames. Cass scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth to narrow the margin to 4-2 and tied the game 5-5 in the bottom of the fifth with three runs. Unfortunately for the Lady Colonels, they could not push across a late run to keep pace. Maggie O’Kelley (6.1 IP, 5R, 4ER, 9H, 3BB, 5K) picked up the pitching win for East Paulding by working into the seventh inning. Kyra Lightner (0.2 IP, 0R, 0H) retired the final two outs in the seventh for a save. Cass pitcher Kylee Hembree (7 IP, 7R, 4ER, 10H, 1BB, 1K) gave the Colonels a chance, but suffered the loss in the circle. Graci Summers had three hits including a double and one RBI for the Raiders. Kylie Manning finished with a double and a triple. Three other Raiders had one hit and one RBI each — Hannah Bobo, O’Kelley, and Hannah Davis. Rachael Lee was the only Colonel with two hits. She also drove in a run. Kimberly Allen, Ansley Hight, and Hembree (RBI) all tripled. Haylee Dishmon (RBI), Saydee Najarro, Kelly Young, and Alexis Woods added one hit each for Cass. East Paulding improved to 9-8 overall and 6-2 in Region 7-AAAAA. It doesn’t get any easier for the Lady Colonels (6-5, 3-4). They host region-leader Carrollton Thursday at 5:55 p.m. before playing at Adairsville Saturday morning at 9 a.m. in the opening game of the Bartow County Championship Tournament.

The Cartersville High School volleyball team took both area matches Tuesday night in Carrollton, defeating Cedartown and host Central-Carroll in straight sets. The Lady Canes defeated Cedartown 27-25, 25-21 and topped Central 25-18, 25-23. In the opening win over the Bulldogs, Anna Grace Brock finished with 12 kills, 10 digs, and six aces. Lauren Wenzell had 11 digs, nine kills, and three service aces. Halle Matthews added seven kills and Macey Vaughn distributed 29 assists. “I wasn’t thrilled with our energy in the match against Cedartown," said Canes coach Dutch Cothran. “We were flat and need to carry ourselves with more confidence. Halle Matthews deserves a lot of credit in the middle tonight. When we struggled, she picked up the slack.” In Cartersville’s win over the host Lady Lions, Brock had 14 kills, eight digs, and three aces. Wenzell contributed 11 kills, nine digs, and a pair of aces while Macey Vaughn added 25 assists. “We weren’t as crisp as I’d like, but played better against Central,” said Cothran. Grace Brock had a big match. She did a great job of finding holes in their defense. Macey Vaughn played well tonight too. She made good decisions and got the ball to the right hitters. That goes a long way when you have a couple of hitters who are hotter than others.” Cartersville (10-8, 2-0 in 5-AAAA) travels to River Ridge Thursday where they will also face Cambridge. Saturday is the Bartow County Tournament at Woodland. LADY COLONELS DROP AREA MATCHES The Cass volleyball team lost a pair of Area 7-AAAAA matches Tuesday night at Paulding County. The Colonels fell 25-20, 25-19 to the host Patriots and also fell 25-14, 25-23 to East Paulding. Cass travels to Rome Thursday where they will face the host Lady Wolves and Northwest Whitfield. WOODLAND TOPPED IN AREA MATCHES Woodland volleyball dropped a pair of area matches at home Tuesday night, falling to Villa Rica in three sets and to Kell in straight sets. The Lady Cats won the opening set with Villa Rica 25-21, but lost the final two sets 25-21 and 15-7. “We played hard and overall played really well,” noted Woodland coach David Condon, “we just didn’t execute as well down the stretch as we needed to pull out the win.” Sydney Molinaro finished the opening match with five kills, eight assists, four digs, and a service ace. Caroline Gore totaled nine kills and two aces. Grace Webb contributed four kills, two blocks, and a pair of aces and Lauren Morris added six assists, two aces, and one kill. The straight set loss to Kell was 25-20 and 25-8. “We played well in the first set, but played flat in that second set,” said Condon. Webb finished with three kills, two assists, two digs, and four blocks. Molinaro totaled three kills, three assists, and one block. Gore had four kills and one ace while Morris added four assists and two digs. Woodland travels to Cedartown Thursday where they will face the host Bulldogs and Douglas County.

Cartersville softball broke open a tied game Tuesday night in the sixth inning with a five-run frame and defeated visiting Cedartown 8-3 in Region 5-AAAA action. The Lady Canes held leads of 2-0 through two innings and 3-1 through four inings before Cedartown tied the game in the fifth. In Cartersville’s sixth inning, the Lady Canes posted five runs on five singles and a Cedartown error. Ava Perkins earned the pitching victory for Cartersville with a complete-game, 99-pitch effort. She scattered seven hits and two walks recording two strikeouts. Roslyn Blankenship and Reagan Peek combined for four hits and three RBI for Cedartown. Madi Reynolds (6 IP, 8R, 4ER, 11H, 1BB, 5K) was the losing pitcher for the Lady Bulldogs. Cartersville got three hits each from Elizabeth Nelson and Campbell Rogers. AnnaKate McElhaney finished with two hits and four RBI. Lauren McElhaney drove in one run and had two hits. Cio Seigler had a leadoff single in the sixth inning and made her way around to score the Hurricanes’ go-ahead run. The loss drops Cedartown to 9-10 overall and 4-3 in region play. With the win, Cartersville (7-7, 4-3) moves into a third place tie with the Lady Bulldogs behind Central-Carroll and LaGrange in the Region 5-AAAA standings. The Lady Canes travel to Central-Carroll Thursday for a 5:30 p.m. region contest and will open the Bartow County Championship tournament against Woodland Saturday at 11 a.m. at Adairsville.

Following a bye week and last Friday without a game, the Cartersville Purple Hurricanes and the Woodland Wildcats seek to remain among the state’s unbeaten teams this Friday night. Meanwhile, Adairsville will take a bye week this Friday night and Cass will look to break into the win column for the first time in 2019. A quick glance at this week’s local high school football matchups. LUELLA LIONS (0-1) at CARTERSVILLE HURRICANES (1-0) The only meeting ever between these two programs was last year’s 55-3 Canes victory. Lions’ head coach Jason Jackson is 4-17 in his third season at Luella. Three of those wins came last season as the Lions finished 3-7 overall and 2-5 in Region 4-AAAA. Last week, Luella lost 18-6 to Trinity Christian — a Class A private school in Sharpsburg as Cartersville won 14-13 at Class 6A Allatoona August 23 to mark head coach Conor Foster’s debut. The Canes are ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the Class 4A polls — depending on the source. Series: 2018 — Cartersville 55, Luella 3 Projections: CalPreps — Cartersville by 58 Massey — Cartersville by 42 Maxwell — Cartersville by 41 Local Broadcast: — WBHF-Cartersville (100.3 FM / AM 1450, TuneIn app, wbhfradio.org, pregame at 6 p.m. / kickoff at 7:30 p.m. WOODLAND WILDCATS (1-0) at EAST HALL VIKINGS (0-2) Woodland, seeking its first winning season since 1999 and first non-losing season since a 5-5 campaign in 2008, got off to a great start two weeks ago with a dominant 35-7 win over visiting Southeast Whitfield. Wildcats’ head coach Tony Plott (9-32 in fifth season) will look to keep the momentum this week as Woodland has its first road test following a bye week. Woodland started 4-0 last year, but dropped its last six games to finish 4-6. Among those wins was a 55-6 trouncing of the Vikings. This will be the Wildcats final non-region tune-up before starting Region 7-AAAAA play at home September 13 against Cass. Last year’s Woodland-East Hall contest is the only meeting ever between the two schools. The Class AAA Vikings are 0-2 under new head coach Michael Perry who was 15-8 in two seasons at Centennial before arriving in Rabbittown. East Hall lost its season opener at Flowery Branch 50-0 and dropped its home opener last Friday to Union County, 49-8. Series: 2018 — Woodland 55, East Hall 6 Projections: CalPreps — Woodland by 26 Massey — Woodland by 15 Maxwell — Woodland by 12 Local Broadcast: Live look-ins during the Cartersville-Luella broadcast on WBHF. Score updates during the Cass-Forsyth Central broadcast on bartowsportszone.com. FORSYTH CENTRAL BULLDOGS (1-0) at CASS COLONELS (0-1) The Bulldogs and Colonels will meet for the seventh time Friday night as Cass hosts its first varsity contest on the new sports turf at Cochran Stadium. The two teams have split six previous matchups dating back to 2000. Each team won at home in 2000 and 2001, then split a pair of games played in 2014. The Colonels and Bulldogs faced one another a second time in 2014 due to the region’s cross-over playoff/consolation format. Cass won in 2015 and the two programs renewed their series last year when Forsyth Central won by 12. The Bulldogs won their 2019 opener August 23 over Chamblee, 43-10. Cass lost its opener last week at Adairsville, 14-7. Forsyth Central’s Frank Hepler is 194-294-9 in his 12th season as a head coach. He was 51-18 at West Forsyth and is currently 11-20 with the Bulldogs in his fourth season. The Bulldogs of Region 5-AAAAAAA returned to the post-season last year, going 7-4 after an 0-10 season in 2017 and 3-6 mark in 2016. Forsyth Central lost to Archer 56-0 in the first round of the Class 7A playoffs, but it was the Bulldogs’ first playoff appearance since the 2001 season. Cass head coach Bobby Hughes enters Friday’s matchup with a career mark of 62-78. He is 15-36 at Cass in his sixth season. Prior to taking the top spot with the Colonels, Hughes was 5-25 at Howard (2008-2010) and 42-17 at Macon County (2003-2007) with a pair of region titles and state playoff appearances in all five seasons with the Bulldogs. Cass is seeking its first winning season since going 6-4 in 2015. The Colonels have not made the state playoffs since 2006 and 2004. Series: 2018 — Forsyth Central 24, Cass 12 2015 — Cass 42, Forsyth Central 18 2014 — Forsyth Central 27, Cass 14 2014 — Cass 13, Forsyth Central 6 2011 — Forsyth Central 28, Cass 0 2010 — Cass 30, Forsyth Central 10 Projections: CalPreps — Forsyth Central by 24 Massey — Forsyth Central by 14 Maxwell — Forsyth Central by 14 Local Broadcast: This is the Johnny’s NY Style Pizza - Bartow County Game of the Week on bartowsportszone.com. Pregame coverage begins at 6 p.m. with kickoff at 7:30 p.m. To listen to the live broadcast, return to the website and click on the green ‘Listen Live’ button at 6 p.m. ADAIRSVILLE TIGERS — BYE WEEK The Tigers have an open week in their schedule following last Friday’s 14-7 win over visiting Cass. Adairsville travels to Coahulla Creek September 13 to open play in Region 6-AAA. Series information from GHSFD.