Cartersville volleyball won a pair of matches Monday night at The Storm Center to even their season record. The Lady Canes swept Rome 25-12 and 25-17 before taking down McEachern 25-11 and 25-16. With the two wins, Cartersville is now 6-6 on the season. “We had great ball control against Rome and our serve receive was much better,” said Canes coach Dutch Cothran. “Halle Mathews was very solid. She blocks or touches a lot of balls and she transitions well and terminates points offensively.” Lauren Wenzell and Anna Grace Brock had 10 kills each against the Wolves. Brock added 11 digs and Wenzell totaled nine digs. The tandem also added two aces each. Macey Vaughn contributed 23 assists. In the sweep of McEachern, Wenzell finished with eight kills, nine digs, and three aces. Brock added seven kills, 10 digs, and a pair of aces. Mia Nicklas had three aces and Macey Vaughn added 20 assists. “We played with more focus this time against McEachern. Last time we gave up a huge lead and lost a set. Tonight we played with more focus,” said Cothran. “The JV girls picked up a win tonight against Rome as well. It came at a good time. They play in a tournament in Rome this weekend.” The varsity Lady Canes have a week off in their schedule. Cartersville plays Coosa and Holy Innocents August 27 at Coosa.

After appearing in six games with the MLB Colorado Rockies, local left-hand pitcher Sam Howard was sent back to Triple-A Albuquerque by the organization. The sixth-year pro made three quality appearances for the Isotopes last week. Elsewhere, Elliott Anderson made his seventh appearance of two or more innings Saturday at home against the Johnson City Cardinals. Connor Justus hit .333 for the week in a series with division-leading Biloxi, and Luke Schiltz made an appearance with Arizona League playoff-bound AZL Rangers. ELLIOTT ANDERSON — Burlington Royals (1st yr. pro; LHP; Rookie Advanced Appalachian League; Kansas City Royals organization; Auburn; Cartersville HS)… made a two and one-third inning scoreless appearance Saturday at home against Johnson City. Anderson allowed one hit and three walks while striking out two. For the season, he is 2-1 with a 1.14 ERA in 15 appearances working just under 24 innings. Anderson has 25 strikeouts and has earned three saves. Burlington (34-23) is second in the Appalachian League East Division trailing Pulaski by three and one-half games. SAM HOWARD — Albuquerque Isotopes (6th yr. pro; LHP; Triple-A Pacific Coast League; Colorado Rockies organization; Georgia Southern; Cartersville HS)… After appearing in six games for the MLB Rockies, Howard returned to Albuquerque where he made three appearances last week. With the big league club, Howard worked eight and one-third innings and allowed seven earned runs on nine hits, six walks, and a pair of hit batsmen. He had eight strikeouts with the Rockies. With the Isotopes last week, he did not allow a hit or walk and fanned two in two and two-thirds innings dropping his Triple-A season ERA to 3.61 and 0.90 over his last ten appearances in the PCL. Albuquerque (53-71) is third in the Pacific Southern Division trailing El Paso by 19 games. CONNOR JUSTUS — Mobile BayBears (4th yr. pro; Infielder; Double-A Southern League; L.A. Angels organization; Georgia Tech; Cartersville HS)… made four starts last week at division-leading Biloxi and went 4-for-12 at the plate with one RBI and two walks. Through 102 games and 306 at-bats this season, Justus has a .193 batting average with 21 RBI. Defensively, he has a .957 fielding percentage in 369 total chances and has been part of 45 double plays for the BayBears. Mobile is 17-36 in the South Division second half standings, 44-77 for the full season, and has been eliminated from post-season contention. LUKE SCHILTZ — AZL Rangers (1st yr. pro; RHP; Rookie Arizone League; Texas Rangers organization; Cartersville native; Stoneman Douglas [FL] HS)… gave up one earned run on two hits and a walk last Thursday in a one-inning appearance at Arizona Brewers Blue. For the season, Schiltz is 1-0 in 10 appearances and 13 innings with a 4.85 ERA. He has recorded eight strikeouts. The Rangers (28-21 overall) are 9-12 in the second half West Division standings and trail the AZL Royals by three and one-half games. The Rangers won the first-half division title with a 19-9 mark to clinch a post-season berth.

The 12U Bartow County Panthers stifled the Dalton Catamounts Saturday 21-0 to open their 2019 season with a non-league victory. The Panthers are members of the Northwest Georgia Youth Football League which begins league action August 31 with a full slate of games. Defense was the story of the day Saturday for the Panthers as they limited Dalton to a mere seven yards of total offense. Dalton had 27 rushing attempts in the contest and attempted three passes. One of those tosses was picked off by Keve Porter of the Panthers. Meanwhile, the Bartow County offense amassed 262 total yards on 36 plays. The Panthers finished with 185 yards rushing and two rushing touchdowns on 27 attempts. They also threw for 77 yards and a score. Baylon Long led the Panthers rushing attack with 72 yards on seven attempts and one touchdown. Porter followed with 49 yards on four carries and a score. Isaiah Livsey contributed 41 yards rushing on six attempts. Jacob Ellis carried four times for 12 yards and quarterback Brodie McWhorter added 11 yards on six carries. McWhorter completed 4-of-9 passes for 77 yards and one touchdown. He connected with Talan Nix three times for 56 yards and a touchdown. Davis Waddell had the other 21-yard catch. The Panthers NWGYFL schedule will be released by league officials this Friday.

Local golfer Chad Branton has earned a spot in the 2019 U.S.G.A. Mid-Amateur Championship to be held September 14-19 at Colorado Golf Club in Parker, CO and CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora, CO. The stroke play portion of the 39th Mid-Amateur Championship will be held on both courses with the match play portion moving to Colorado Golf Club. A starting field of 264 competitors will play 36 holes to determine the low 64 qualifiers for match play. The stroke play rounds are Saturday and Sunday, September 14 and 15. The Round of 64 in match play will be Monday, September 16. Rounds two and three of match play are Tuesday, September 17 with the quarterfinals and semifinals set for Wednesday, September 18. The 36-hole Championship Match will be held Thursday, September 19. The United States Mid-Amateur Championship is open to any amateur golfer who has reached their 25th birthday as of September 14 and whose USGA Handicap Index does not exceed 3.4. Colorado Golf Club, designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, opened in 2007 and has previously hosted the 2010 Senior PGA Championship and the 2013 Solheim Cup. Over 4,750 players entered sectional qualifying for the national championship at 65 sites around the country. Branton fired a 2-under-par 70 in 18-hole qualifying August 12 at Pinetree Country Club in Kennesaw to earn one of six spots available at that qualifier among a field of 132 golfers. Matthew Hayes, Michael Pearson, and Timothy Schaetzel shot 68 to tie for medalist at Pinetree. Bryan Jones had a 69 to finish fourth, while Taylor Smith took the sixth spot with a 71. Raymond Wooten and Matt Bernstein are alternates after also finishing with 71s. Branton is a Bartow County resident and member at Cartersville Country Club.

The 9U Bartow County Panthers youth football team won its opening contest Saturday in Dalton over the River City (TN) Bills, 14-6. Kaiden Kent rushed for a pair of touchdowns and a total of 65 yards on seven carries to pace the locals’ offense. He had scoring runs of 21- and 25-yards. Cooper Melvin and Trace Hawkins followed with 38 and 39 yards, respectively. Hawkins also connected on 2-of-6 passes for 33 yards. Both receptions were made by Kent. On defense, ten different Panthers recorded at least one stop each. Lance Tippett and Melvin led with seven tackles each. C.J. McClendon had five tackles. Jatayvious Whatley, Solomon James, and Isaiah Moreno contributed four tackles each. Jahari Whatley made three tackles. Kent and Javious Davis finished with two tackles each and Javien Finney had one solo stop. James forced one fumble recovered by Davis and Kayden Blackwell picked off one River City pass. The 9U BC Panthers (1-0) await the release of the Northwest Georgia Youth Football League schedule, but will open league play August 31.

Cartersville softball split a Region 5-AAAA doubleheader at Troup County Saturday with the Lady Canes taking the opener 5-2 before dropping the second game 12-11. In Game 1, Cartersville pitcher McKinley Chada and the Canes’ defense scattered ten hits and two walks to allow only two fourth inning runs. Chada struck out five to earn the win. Campbell Rogers had two hits including a triple and two RBI for Cartersville. Elizabeth Nelson also finished with two hits. Lauren McElhaney had two RBI with a hit. Chada contributed a hit and one RBI with Cio Seigler and AnnaKate McElhaney adding the other Cartersville base hits. The Lady Canes led Game 2 heading to the final frame, but the host Lady Tigers scored twice in the seventh inning to escape with a 12-11 win and a split of the doubleheader. Cartersville held a 2-0 lead through two innings, but fell behind 10-5 heading to the sixth. The Lady Canes posted six runs in their half of the sixth inning to take an 11-10 lead they would relinquish in the next frame. AnnaKate McElhaney (3 RBI) and Elizabeth Nelson led the Canes’ offense with three hits each. Lauren McElhaney doubled twice and drove in a pair of runs. Campbell Rogers finished with two hits including a double and one RBI. McKinley Chada had two hits and Cio Seigler added one hit and one RBI. Rylie Harris drove in a Cartersville run in the sixth inning with a groundout. Kiley Arnold (3.2 IP, 6R, 4ER, 9H, 2BB, 2K) started in the circle for Cartersville. Chada (3.1 IP, 6R, 2ER, 8H, 4BB, 2K) was saddled with the pitching loss. Following the region doubleheader split, Troup County is now 6-5 overall and 2-2 in the league. Cartersville (3-4, 2-2) plays at Sandy Creek Tuesday at 5:55 p.m. and travels to Chapel Hill Thursday. The Lady Canes then step out of region action Friday and Saturday with games at Hamilton Crossing Park as part of the Allatoona Buccaneer Bash. Cartersville is scheduled to face Ridgeland, East Paulding, and Spalding. HERITAGE-CATOOSA 12, ADAIRSVILLE 3 Playing in the Dalton High School Lady Cats Invitational, Adairsville softball lost to Heritage-Catoosa 12-3 Saturday morning in a game the Tigers managed only three hits and committed eight errors. Victoria O’Neal had a two-RBI third inning single that tied the game 3-3 at the time. Katie Smith and Kyleigh Linn had the other Adairsville safeties. Heritage broke the game open with a six-run fourth inning and added three more insurance runs in the fifth inning for their nine-run win. The Generals totaled eleven hits in the contest. Taylor Rhoades suffered the pitching loss for the Tigers working all five innings in the circle. She struck out six, did not walk a batter, and all 12 Heritage runs were unearned. CEDARTOWN 4, ADAIRSVILLE 2 The Lady Tigers led the Bulldogs 2-0 through two innings, but a four-run fifth inning lifted Cedartown to a 4-2 win in a game Saturday afternoon at the Dalton Lady Cats Invitational. Sadye Johnson had two hits including a solo home run to lead the Tigers’ offense. Taylor Rhoades also contributed a pair of hits. Chloe Souders and Megan Gregory contributed the other Adairsville base hits. Kyleigh Linn added one RBI. Victoria O’Neal was tagged with the pitching loss despite not allowing an earned run. She fanned four and allowed six hits with no walks.

The Cartersville High School cross country teams started their season Saturday morning at the Pickens Preview 5K at Roper Park in Jasper with the boys team coming away with a strong fifth place finish among fourteen teams. Pace Academy raced to the team title with Pope, North Gwinnett, and Dawson County rounding out the top four boys squads. Sidney Stegall led the Hurricanes with a 16th place finish in 17:30.71 among the 126 individual runners. Rounding out the top five scoring runners for Cartersville was Colin McCann (25th, 17:59.84), Alex Rios (33rd, 18:09.16), Max Florence (35th, 18:09.71), and Levi Booth (36th, 18:10.02). Dawson County’s Ben McGinnis won the individual title with a time of 16:24.72. Meanwhile, the Lady Canes placed thirteenth of fifteen teams in the girls race. McKinsey Spinks paced Cartersville with a 39th place finish in 23:14.60. She was followed by teammates Trista Kelly (81st, 25:58.48), Jaxiry Betancourt (94th, 27:01.03), Alice Terry (98th, 28:10.87), and Metztli Munoz (101st, 28:47.90). Next for Cartersville is the Clara Bowl Invitational August 31 at Berry College.

The unofficial opening night of the 2019 high school football season for all four local teams wrapped up Friday night with as many wins as possible for the local teams. Both Cartersville and Cass came-from-behind to defeat Dalton and Pepperell, respectively, while the other two local teams squared off in Adairsville with Woodland taking a scrimmage victory over the host Tigers. WOODLAND 21, ADAIRSVILLE 14 Senior Demarcus Williams scored on a 60-yard scamper and sophomore Asa James broke off a 74-yard touchdown run to give Woodland a 14-0 halftime lead. Wildcats sophomore kicker Jordan Holbrook converted the PATs. Adairsville took advantage of a Woodland turnover near midfield in the third quarter with Tigers sophomore Eli Agnew scoring on a long run that narrowed the Wildcats’ lead to 14-7. Woodland freshman running back Christian Vera gave Woodland a 21-7 lead with a 90-yard touchdown run and Adairsville freshman quarterback Chris Roper scored on a short keeper that made the final 21-14. All-state punter Emanuel Lopez converted the Tigers’ PATs. Both teams open the regular season Friday against teams they defeated in 2018. Adairsville travels to Chattooga while Woodland will host Southeast Whitfield. The Woodland-Southeast Whitfield game will be broadcast live on BartowSportsZone.com via our Meridix portal partner. Pregame coverage will begin at 6 p.m. with kickoff at 7:30 p.m. Use the green “Listen Live” button at the top of the page beginning at 6 p.m. each Friday for the Johnny’s NY Style Pizza Bartow County Game of the Week. CARTERSVILLE 24, DALTON 21 A pair of storied programs banged heads Friday night in a preseason scrimmage at Weinman Stadium with the host Hurricanes coming away with a 24-21 victory in new head coach Conor Foster’s unofficial debut. Dalton stopped Cartersville twice to open the game and the Catamounts drove for one score to grab an early 7-0 advantage. Dalton also came up just short on another deep drive, but junior cornerback Devonte Ross broke up a pass in the end zone. The batted ball went high into the air and was picked off by junior safety Evan Slocum to keep the Dalton lead at 7-0. Cartersville kicked a field goal on the ensuing drive to make the score 7-3 before an Amarai Orr interception on Dalton’s next possession set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Quante Jennings. The PAT gave the Hurricanes a 10-7 lead. Ross picked off a pass on the next Catamounts’ possession, but Dalton’s Jahmyr Gibbs — a Georgia Tech commit — picked off a Canes’ pass and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown to give the Cats a 14-10 lead at the intermission. Cartersville scored on its second drive of the second half with a Jennings 3-yard run capping off a 10-play, 43-yard drive that included a pair of fourth-down conversions. With the Canes up 17-14, both squads turned to many of their younger players in the fourth quarter. Dalton grabbed a 21-17 lead with a long run, but Cartersville countered with a late fourth quarter 60-plus yard scoring run by junior running back Earl Harris. “I think we played better as the night went along — especially on defense,” said Canes’ first-year head coach Conor Foster. “It’s always good to get the kids on film in a live game situation. We will take a look at the film Sunday and get ready for Allatoona. We will make a lot of progress next week.” CASS 23, PEPPERELL 21 Junior place kicker Kaleb Speights nailed a 25-yard field goal Friday night in Lindale to give the Colonels a pleasing 23-21 come-from-behind win on the final play of the game. The host Dragons led 14-0 early. Pepperell scored on a five-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter and added a 50-yard scoring dash on their next possession for a 14-0 lead. Speights converted a 46-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining in the first half to get the Colonels on the scoreboard at the intermission. Although Cass failed to hit pay dirt in the first half due to several penalty set backs, the running back trio of David Gbadie, Zay Jackson, and Cameran Hill had productive evenings according to Colonels’ head coach Bobby Hughes. “They had some good runs and our quarterbacks — Logan Nelson and Triston Mize — did fine. We made some mistakes, but I’m pleased with their efforts and performances,” said Hughes. On the first play of the fourth quarter Pepperell extended its lead to 21-10, but the Colonels would score the game’s final 13 points to escape with a win. Morocco Wilkey scored on a 40-yard run and Speights converted a field goal with just over seven minutes remaining to narrow the Dragons’ lead to 21-20. Pepperell used multiple timeouts to try and “ice” the Colonels’ junior kicker and it worked on an initial 35-yard miss, but a Dragons’ penalty gave Cass a second chance and Speights nailed the 25-yarder for the win. “We outlasted a really good football team tonight that has a lot of tradition,” said a happy Cass head coach Bobby Hughes after the game. “Tonight is definitely something we can build on. Our kids keep believing in what we are doing. They stayed with it tonight.”

Adairsville softball started its region schedule in quality form Thursday night with a 4-0 home win over the North Murray Mountaineers. Pitcher Victoria O’Neal tossed a complete-game shutout, doubled twice, and drove in a run in the victory. O’Neal needed only 83 pitches in her seven innings of work and scattered three hits and a pair of walks to earn the victory in the circle. She fanned eight Mountaineers. Adairsville third baseman Sadye Johnson got things started for the Tigers on offense with a first inning solo home run. She scored again in the fourth inning on one of O’Neal’s doubles and Adairsville added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth inning. Alexa Varner and Alyssa Jarrett added the other Lady Tigers’ base hits. The loss drops North Murray to 1-1 overall and 0-1 in Region 6-AAA. Adairsville (2-3, 1-0) opens play in the Dalton Lady Cat Classic Saturday at 10:30 a.m. against Heritage-Catoosa.

Woodland softball scored seven runs in the first two innings Thursday night for a come-from-behind victory over visiting Cartersville, 10-6. The Lady Canes struck first with three runs in the top of the first inning before Woodland answered with three in the first and four more in the second inning. The Lady Cats added three more runs in the fourth inning and Cartersville rallied for three of their own in the sixth but came up four runs short. Lainey Baker (7 IP, 6R, 3ER, 9H, 4BB, 8K) went the distance in the circle for Woodland to pick up the pitching win. Ava Perkins (1.1 IP, 5ER, 3H, 3BB), Kiley Arnold (1.2 IP, 5R, 4ER, 7H, 1BB), and McKinley Chada (3 IP, 0R, 1H, 2BB) all pitched for Cartersville. Hope Short and Lauren McElhaney had three hits each to pace the Lady Canes’ offense. Short’s hits included a double and one RBI. McElhaney had a pair of doubles and three RBI. Anna Kate McElhaney, Campbell Rogers, and Chada contributed one hit each. Ava Perkins and Mattie Johnson both drove in a run. Three Wildcats finished with two hits each including Hannah Miller with two RBI, Kendyl Hardin with three RBI, and Bella Carnes. Morgan Bailey (RBI), Ansley Evans (2 RBI), Morgan Cooper, Brianna Hill, and Allyssa Motes (double) added one hit apiece for Woodland. Cartersville (2-3, 1-1 in 5-AAAA) plays a region doubleheader at Troup County Saturday at 12 noon. Woodland (2-1, 1-1 in 7-AAAAA) hosts region opponent Kell Tuesday at 5:55 p.m. LADY COLONELS WIN 2ND STRAIGHT Cass softball has now won two straight region games following Thursday night’s 9-2 come-from-behind win at Kell. The Lady Colonels defeated Rome Tuesday night after opening the season with a home loss to Villa Rica. All three games to start the season for Cass have been Region 7-AAAAA contests. Thursday night Kell led 2-0 after one inning. That score stood until Cass scored five times in the sixth inning and added four insurance runs in the top of the seventh for their seven-run win. The Lady Colonels out hit the Longhorns eleven to five. Meanwhile, Cass starting pitcher Rachael Lee (7 IP, 2ER, 5H, 1BB, 2HBP, 1K) kept the Longhorns in check by tossing six consecutive scoreless innings after falling behind to earn a complete-game win. Ansley Hight led the Colonels’ offense with two hits including a double and four RBI. Lee had two hits and one RBI. Eryn Lee also tossed in a pair of hits. Kylee Hembree (RBI), Macenzie Dougharty (RBI) Hailie Owens, and Alexis Woods added one hit apiece for Cass. With the loss, Kell is now 2-3 overall and 1-2 in region action. Cass (2-1, 2-1) hosts county rival Woodland in yet another Region 7-AAAAA contest next Thursday at 5:55 p.m.

Cartersville volleyball swept its home opener Thursday night at the Storm Center defeating Bremen and Villa Rica — both in straight sets. Cartersville beat Bremen 25-22 and 25-7 before outlasting Villa Rica 25-22 and 25-22. In the win over Bremen, the Lady Canes actually found themselves down by ten before battling back. “We are still dealing with some inconsistency and it put us in a deep hole in the first set,” said Cartersville head coach Dutch Cothran. “The girls showed a lot of heart to come back and we were much sharper in the second set. We reduced our mistakes and that is what it will take to win matches this season.” Anna Grace Brock had 11 kills in the win over Bremen. She added five aces and 11 digs. Lauren Wenzell totaled ten kills, three aces, and a dozen digs. Halle Matthews had six kills and four blocks while Macey Vaughn added 25 assists. The nightcap with Villa Rica was a back-and-forth battle with the lead changing hands often throughout. “The match with Villa Rica was tough,” said Cothran. “We dealt with some gamesmanship on their part, but the girls used it as motivation and took care of business.” Brock had ten kills, ten digs, and three aces against the Wildcats. Wenzell finished with nine kills, 12 digs, and two aces. Vaughn added 18 assists. The Lady Canes (4-6) host Rome and McEachern Monday night at 5 p.m. in the Storm Center. WOODLAND WINS TWICE The Woodland High volleyball team picked up a pair of non-region wins Thursday evening at home, beating both Chattooga and Murray County in comfortable sweeps. In the first match against Chattooga, Woodland won 25-20 and 25-9. Emmalee Cigainero had two aces, four kills and three digs against Chattooga; Caroline Gore had eight kills and four digs; Grace Webb had three kills, three digs and an ace; and Sydney Molinaro had four kills, 14 assists, four digs and an ace. The second match against Murray County was more of the same, with Woodland winning 25-18 and 25-14. Webb had six kills, five blocks and four digs in that match; Molinaro added three kills, seven assists, four digs and two aces; and Cigainero had nine digs and two aces. Woodland returns to action on Tuesday at home against Model and Haralson County.

Cartersville pitchers Ava Perkins and Kiley Arnold combined on a three-hitter Wednesday evening as the Lady Canes defeated Adairsville 4-1 in a non-region matchup. Perkins did not allow a hit, but walked five in the first two innings as Adairsville took a 1-0 lead. Perkins also struck out three. Arnold, who picked up the pitching win, took care of the final five innings in the circle for Cartersville and did not allow a run while scattering three hits. Arnold did not issue any walks. Trailing by a run, Cartersville scored twice in the bottom of the third inning to take a 2-1 lead. The Lady Canes then added a pair of insurance runs in the fourth inning to help secure the win. Lauren McElhaney led the Canes’ offense with three hits including a triple. AnnaKate McElhaney finished with two hits including a double and two RBI. McKinley Chada drove in two runs and had one hit. Rylie Harris, Elizabeth Nelson, and Hope Short had the other Cartersville base hits. Victoria O’Neal and Taylor Rhoades split the pitching duties for Adairsville. O’Neal (3 IP, 2R, 1ER, 2H, 2BB, 7K) started and suffered the pitching loss. Rhoades (3 IP, 2R, 0ER, 5H, 0BB, 2K) worked the final nine outs for the Tigers. O’Neal had two hits. Kyleigh Linn added the other Adairsville base hit. The loss drops Adairsville to 1-3 on the season. The Lady Tigers open play in Region 6-AAA Thursday against North Murray. Cartersville (2-2) plays at Woodland Thursday. First pitch is set for 5:30 p.m.