February 7, 2026 Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com The Cartersville girls’ and boys’ basketball teams completed regular-season sweeps of Woodland on Friday night at the Storm Center, while the girls’ teams at Adairsville and Cass also picked up region wins. CARTERSVILLE GIRLS 66, WOODLAND 18 The 8th-ranked Lady Canes overpowered visiting Woodland on Friday evening in the Storm Center, 66-18, to remain tied with Dalton at the top of the Region 7-AAAA standings with one league game remaining in the regular season. Cartersville led 28-3 after one quarter and was up 56-8 at the end of the third. Reese Gibson scored a game-high 20 points for Cartersville. She added eight rebounds and three steals. Trinity Montgomery followed with 17 points, four rebounds, and four assists. Zoe McCurry knocked down 11 points, while Blakely Morris grabbed 12 rebounds and scored nine points. Cathryn Sneed led the Lady Cats with eight points. Woodland (3-21, 0-13) hosts Southeast Whitfield on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Cartersville (19-4, 12-1) closes out the regular season at Cedartown on Tuesday at 6 p.m. CARTERSVILLE BOYS 64, WOODLAND 46 Nas Bennett led the Canes with 20 points and six rebounds. The visiting Wildcats stayed within striking range for three quarters Friday night at the Storm Center, but host Cartersville outscored Woodland 23-7 over the final eight minutes to take a 64-46 victory. Nas Bennett paced the Canes with 20 points and six rebounds. Xavier Lowe scored 16 points and made three steals. Kyron McClendon finished with 13 points, six steals, and six assists. Grayson Warmack, Shakai Taylor, and Logan Van Pelt combined for 20 rebounds for Cartersville. Solomon James led Woodland with 12 points. Canden Davis scored 11. Clayton McArdle contributed nine points, and Landon Dougherty added eight for the Wildcats. Woodland (8-16, 1-12) welcomes Southeast Whitfield on Tuesday. Cartersville (19-4, 12-1) visits Cedartown on Tuesday. CASS GIRLS 54, ALLATOONA 41 The Lady Colonels secured the No. 3 seed for the Region 7-AAAA tournament with a 54-41 win at Allatoona on Friday in Acworth.  Cass, who will wrap up regular season play at home on Tuesday against Hiram, improved to 10-12 overall and 9-4 in region games with the victory. Allatoona slipped to 10-13 overall and 7-6 in Region 7-AAAA. ALLATOONA 70, CASS BOYS 47 The visiting Colonels stayed competitive in the first quarter and even outscored Allatoona in the third period. However, a 22-10 second quarter and a 16-7 final eight minutes secured a 23-point Region 7-AAAA win for the Buccaneers. Carter Turnbow and Andre Dupree led Allatoona with 20 and 14 points, respectively. Cam’ron Beauford led Cass with 16 points. Isaiah Moreno finished with 11. The Bucs improved to 15-8 overall and remained in third place in the region standings at 9-4. The Colonels (7-15, 6-7) host region co-leading Hiram on Tuesday. ADAIRSVILLE GIRLS 37, LAFAYETTE 32 The Lady Tigers completed a regular-season sweep of LaFayette on Friday night with a 37-32 home win over the Lady Ramblers. Adairsville won the first meeting at LaFayette in mid-January by a similar 47-42 score. Adairsville held slim leads of 16-15 at the intermission and 27-26 at the end of the third quarter before pulling out their five-point win down the stretch. Rihanna Crittenden and Alivia Joslin led the Lady Tigers with 10 points each. Lily Roberts added eight points. Erin Grant scored a game-high 14 points for LaFayette (16-9, 2-9). Adairsville (11-14, 5-7) will be the No. 5 seed in the Region 7-AAA tournament. ADAIRSVILLE BOYS 67, LAFAYETTE 62 The Tigers won a home region game on Friday night, topping the visiting Ramblers 67-62, and finished the regular season with two wins in the final three games. The loss dropped LaFayette to 14-9 on the season and 5-6 in Region 7-AAA. Adairsville will enter the Region 7-AAA tournament with a 4-21 overall mark. The Tigers were 3-9 in region games. They host Ridgeland on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. in the opening round of the region tournament.

February 9, 2026 Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com The Adairsville Tigers opened the 2026 baseball season on Monday with a 6-2 win at Pepperell. The Tigers produced only two hits in the game, but scored three runs in the top of the fourth to build a 4-1 advantage and later added two insurance runs in the top of the seventh to secure the win.  Adairsville pitchers Hudson Parr, Tyler Parker, and Kaden Coker limited the Dragons to just four hits. Parr (1ER, 1H, 2BB, 7K) made the start and worked four innings to collect the pitching win. Parker (1.1 IP, 1ER, 2H, 2BB, 1K) worked middle relief, and Coker (1.2 IP, 0R, 1H, 3K) closed out the game. Hunter Dudley (double, RBI) and Harrison Cole (RBI) had the two Adairsville base hits. Parr drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Westin Barr added one RBI, and the Tigers took advantage of ten walks issued by Pepperell pitchers. Adairsville (1-0) visits Cass on Wednesday for a 5:30 p.m. first pitch. WOODLAND 12, DOMINION CHRISTIAN 2 The Woodland Wildcats scored five runs in the bottom of the second and seven more in the third inning en route to a 12-2 season-opening home win. Woodland outhit the Knights nine to four and took advantage of seven walks and six Dominion Christian errors. Tucker James (2.2 IP, 1ER, 2H, 5BB, 5K) made the pitching start for the Wildcats and was credited with the win. Zaylen Cochran (1.1 IP, 0R, 0H, 1BB, 3K) and Logan Smith (1 IP, 1R, 0ER, 2H, 1BB) also pitched for Woodland. Sammy Ray (four RBI), Tommy Risner (RBI), and Steven Tumin (double, RBI) led the Wildcats’ offense with two hits each. Grant Tidwell (triple, two RBI), Preston Sorrells (double, RBI), and Jonathan Ryan each added one hit. Woodland (1-0) hosts North Cobb on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.

February 9, 2026 Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com Special Photo / Excel Christian School: (L-R) Coach Carson Ford, Colton Sims, Russell Jones, Gabriel Gossett, Levi McMillan, and Avery Honeycutt. Excel Christian Academy wrestler Gabriel Gossett won the 215-pound weight class of the Georgia Association of Private and Parochial Schools (GAPPS) state championships on January 30 at Cherokee Christian Schools to lead four Eagles who medaled at the tournament. Excel’s Levi McMillan (157-pound weight class), Russell Jones (165-pound weight class), and Avery Honeycutt (285-pound weight class) each placed third. Colton Sims also represented the Eagles at the state championships. Weather postponed the tournament from its original date, but the event featured over 100 wrestlers from across Georgia for the first time in GAPPS history.

February 9, 2026 Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com The Georgia Highlands Chargers swept a four-game home series with USC Lancaster on Friday and Saturday, outscoring the Lancers 40-15. The Chargers hit ten home runs in the first two games to win 16-5 and 13-3 on Friday. Starting pitcher David McKechnie tossed five scoreless innings, and closer Jack Burns collected two saves in Saturday’s games for 3-0 and 8-7 wins. Andrew Bishop had seven hits, including one homer and four RBI in the four-game series. Ian Fullerton (home run, three doubles, six RBI), Aidan Larkin (home run, double, four RBI), and Wyatt Gatlin (two home runs, two doubles, three RBI) produced five hits. Caden Marcos (home run, double, seven RBI), Carson Page (three doubles, four RBI), and Emilliano Dominguez (two home runs, five RBI) each contributed three hits. Starting pitcher Noah McMahan (3 IP, 5R, 1ER, 4H, 3K) collected the win in the series opener. Wyatt Gatlin retired the final seven outs of Game 2 with two strikeouts to pick up a pitching victory in relief. The Chargers utilized six pitchers in the series finale, with Heath Whitlock retiring the final out of the sixth inning to receive the win. The four losses dropped USC Lancaster to 1-5. Georgia Highlands College (7-3) visits Cleveland State CC (TN) for a doubleheader on Tuesday. The Chargers will host a four-game series on Friday and Saturday with Lincoln Trail College (IL). Doubleheaders begin at 1 p.m. on Friday and 12 noon on Saturday.

February 7, 2026 Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com The wrestling teams at Woodland and Cass finished first and second, respectively, in Region 7-AAAA, and repeated that order on Saturday at the GHSA Class AAAA Section A at Cambridge High School in Milton. Woodland finished first in the Sectional with 412-½ points, and Cass was runner-up with 316. Dalton (199-½), Ware County (197), and Cambridge (181-½) rounded out the top five teams. Cartersville (48) placed 16th. The Widcats advanced thirteen individuals to the State Finals tournament. The Colonels advanced eleven, and Cartersville advanced two. Five Woodland wrestlers secured Sectional titles with 4-0 records, including Adrian Zapata (126 pounds), Dylan Couey (144), Nathan Cates (157), Owen Jones (190), and John Gill (215). Five Wildcats finished as Sectional runners-up, namely Cayden Bagely (106), Nick Weathersbee (113), Noah Cates (138), Skylar Pizzutiello (165), and Paul Lanier (175). Will Thomas achieved a 5-1 record to claim third place at 285 pounds. Aiden Buchanan went 4-2, earning fourth place in the 150-pound class. Bryton Glenn (120) also advanced with a 3-2 record, finishing seventh. The Colonels had three individuals win Sectional titles and eleven total to advance to the state finals tournament. Sectional winners for Cass, each with a 4-0 record, were Hayden Trimm (120 pounds), Rowdy Duck (138), and Ethan Harrington (165). Three Colonels secured 3-1 records as runners-up in their weight classes: Luka Jensen (144), David Jewell (157), and Codey Dean (215). Finishing in third place were Brandon Lalbehari (106), Mason Tompkins (175), and Logan Crisp (190). Justus Fife (126) achieved fifth place with a 4-2 record, while Collin Armona (150) placed seventh with a 3-2 record.  Jair Flores (113) secured third place on Saturday for Cartersville with a 3-1 record. Peter Cepeda (5th, 165) and PJ Richards (8th, 175) also advanced to the state finals tournament. The Class AAAA Traditional State Finals Tournament is Friday and Saturday, February 13-14, at the Clayton County Convocation Center in Morrow. ADAIRSVILLE WRESTLING ADVANCES TWO Adairsville wrestlers Jarrett Chriswell (157 pounds) and David Coon (175) each placed fourth on Saturday at the GHSA Class AAA Section B Tournament at Cherokee Bluff High School in Flowery Branch. Chriswell went 4-2 in his bouts, and Coon went 3-2.  Tigers teammates Jude Lowery (106), Victor Singer (150), and Joey Harill (190) also competed on Saturday, but did not advance. Jefferson won the Section B team title, followed by Gilmer, Oconee County, West Laurens, and Heritage-Catoosa. The Class AAA Traditional State Finals Tournament is Wednesday and Thursday, February 11-12, at the Clayton County Convocation Center in Morrow.

February 7, 2026 Jaylee Long advanced to the GHSA Girls State Finals with a runner-up finish at the State Sectionals on Friday at Coahulla Creek. Photo credit: Adairsville Wrestling Community on Facebook. Adairsville sophomore wrestler, Jaylee Long, followed up her recent Area 7 championship with a runner-up finish on Friday at the GHSA Girls State Sectional at Coahulla Creek High School in Whitfield County. Long, who went 2-1 in the 100-pound weight class, advanced to the Girls All-Classification State Finals next Friday and Saturday, February 13-14, at the Clayton County Convocation Center in Morrow.

February 5, 2026 Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com The Excel Christian Academy boys basketball team won the GAPPS Region 1-IA championship on Thursday night in Powder Springs with an 85-69 victory over Praise Academy. The Eagles led 25-15 after one quarter; 47-35 at halftime; and 67-58 through three quarters en route to a 16-point win. Damir McBride led ECA with 33 points. Mier Bell scored 17, and Jamari Gatson added 13 points. Hunter Ivey paced Praise Academy (17-7) with 28 points. Caleb Dateayer followed with 18. Excel Christian (20-6) advanced to host a GAPPS Class A State Tournament quarterfinal game on February 13.  The Eagles’ opponent will be determined in the first round of play.

February 5, 2026 Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com Thirteen local high school swimmers competed on Thursday in the 2026 finals of the GHSA Swimming Championships at Georgia Tech. The girls’ and boys’ teams from Greater Atlanta Christian won the Class A-AAA team championship. The Adairsville boys tied for 36th place. In Class AAAA, Marist won the girls’ and boys’ team titles. The Woodland girls finished 22nd, and the Cartersville boys placed 18th. Results for local swimmers: ADAIRSVILLE Andrew Harris — 100-yard butterfly —19th — 59.30 Boys 200-yard freestyle relay team — Dylan Barrett, Brian Grist, Andrew Harris, Eli Burke — 18th — 1:38.89 CARTERSVILLE William Galland — 50-yard freestyle — 8th — 22.01 William Galland — 100-yard butterfly — 12th — 53.93 Grayson Paradis — 500-yard freestyle — 18th — 5:20.34 Boys 200-yard freestyle relay — William Galland, Nate Rives, Luke Gibson, Grayson Paradis — 12th — 1:34.71 Boys 400-yard freestyle relay — William Galland, Nate Rives, Luke Gibson, Grayson Paradis — 17th — 3:37.37 WOODLAND Girls 200-yard freestyle relay — Kailyn Black, Kimberlin Smith, Madysen Grano, Emily Guin — 17th — 1:52.24 CASS Anniston Duckett — 100-yard butterfly — 20th — 1:07.17

February 5, 2026 Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com A total of thirteen swimmers from local high schools advanced through the Georgia High School Association’s State Championship Preliminaries this week to reach the State Finals on Thursday at Georgia Tech. Adairsville, Cartersville, Cass, and Woodland will be represented across nine events in their respective classifications. In Class A-AAA, Andrew Harris of Adairsville qualified in the 100-yard butterfly with a 59.85 preliminary time. The Tigers’ 200-yard freestyle relay team also earned a spot in Thursday afternoon’s finals with a 1:38.21 mark. All of the other finalists are in Class AAAA. Cartersville freshman William Galland made the finals in the 50-yard freestyle (22.02) and the 100-yard butterfly (55.80). He will also join teammates Nate Rives, Luke Gibson, and Grayson Paradis in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:35.79 preliminary time) and the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:38.31). Freshman Anniston Duckett of Cass made the finals of the 100-yard butterfly with a preliminary time of 1:08.75, and the Woodland girls’ 200-yard freestyle relay team, consisting of Kailyn Black, Kimberlin Smith, Madysen Grano, and Emily Guin, reached Thursday’s finals with a time of 1:51.87. A total of 60 schools are represented at the Class A-AAA State Championships, and 37 schools have finalists in the Class AAAA State Championships. Most events for the local swimmers in the finals are scheduled for 3 p.m. or later on Thursday at Georgia Tech’s McAuley Aquatic Center. Exact starting times are available at GHSA.net .

February 4, 2026 Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com Cartersville boys' basketball head coach Mike Tobin (back center) collected his 600th career coaching victory on Tuesday as the Purple Hurricanes routed visiting Southeast Whitfield 72-19. The Cartersville High School basketball teams maintained their leading positions in the Region 7-AAAA standings with home victories on Tuesday night against Southeast Whitfield. The Lady Canes, ranked 8th, are still tied with 6th-ranked Dalton for first place, while the Cartersville boys are tied with Hiram in the region standings. The victory by the Canes also marked the 600th career coaching victory for Mike Tobin. In other games on Tuesday, the Cass boys defeated visiting Dalton, and the Adairsville girls secured a win at Calhoun. CARTERSVILLE GIRLS 76, SOUTHEAST WHITFIELD 13 The Lady Canes kept visiting Southeast Whitfield off the scoreboard in the first quarter on Tuesday en route to a 76-13 Region 7-AAAA home win. Cartersville led 30-0 at the end of the first quarter and 50-9 at halftime in the one-sided victory. Zoe McCurry led the Lady Canes with 25 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Trinity Montgomery finished with 21 points, five boards, and two assists. Blakely Morris added 14 points and nine rebounds. Dellyn Walston led the Lady Raiders (2-19, 1-10) with five points. The Cartersville girls (18-4, 11-1) host Woodland on Friday. CARTERSVILLE BOYS 72, SOUTHEAST WHITFIELD 19 Xavier Lowe scored 20 points and Kyron McClendon, Wyatt Thomason, and Grayson Warmack each added nine on Tuesday in the Hurricanes’ 72-19 home win over Southeast Whitfield. McClendon added five assists and five steals. Thomason contributed nine rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Warmack added five rebounds and four steals in the Canes victory. The Canes’ win was also the 600th career coaching win for Cartersville head coach Mike Tobin in 34 seasons — 14 with the Canes. His win total includes stints at Eden Prairie (MN) and Woodland in Cartersville. The loss kept the Raiders (0-21, 0-12) winless on the season. Cartersville (18-4, 11-1) welcomes Woodland on Friday. CASS BOYS 59, DALTON 54 The Colonels avenged an early January loss at Dalton on Tuesday night with a 59-54 home win over the Catamounts. Cass trailed 16-12 after one quarter, but led 25-21 at the intermission and 41-37 at the end of the third period before holding on for a five-point win. Isaiah Moreno led the Colonels with 23 points. Cam’ron Beauford contributed 15, and Jahlil Abdullah Kortey added 10 points. Jermichael Craft and Carmelo Weaver each scored 15 points for the Catamounts (13-9, 7-5). Cass (7-14, 6-6) visits Allatoona on Friday. ADAIRSVILLE GIRLS 39, CALHOUN 23 The visiting Lady Tigers kept the Calhoun girls winless in Region 7-AAA with a 39-23 decision on Tuesday night. Adairsville trailed 7-4 after the opening eight minutes, but gained the lead for good in the second quarter by outscoring the Lady Jackets 18-2. Alivia Joslin paced the Lady Tigers with nine points. Lily Roberts followed with seven. Dylan Duke led Calhoun (3-18, 0-9) with eight points. Adairsville (10-14, 4-7) hosts LaFayette on Friday. CALHOUN 70, ADAIRSVILLE BOYS 30 Tenth-ranked Calhoun stayed unbeaten in Region 7-AAA on Tuesday night with a 70-30 home win over Adairsville. The Yellow Jackets raced to a 27-7 lead in the opening eight minutes and held a commanding 41-15 advantage at the intermission. Jaden Perkins and Jaxon Moore led Calhoun (16-2, 9-0) with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Jackson Jarrett scored 12 points for the Tigers. Adairsville (3-21, 2-9) welcomes LaFayette on Friday. DALTON 80, CASS GIRLS 37 Sixth-ranked Dalton sprinted to a 36-16 first-half lead and won easily at Cass on Tuesday, 80-37. Aubriyana Camp scored a game-high 23 points to lead the Lady Catamounts. Emery Silvers scored 21, and Georgia Sanders added 13 points.  The Dalton girls (19-3, 11-1) remain tied with Cartersville for the top spot in Region 7-AAAA with two games remaining before the region tournament. Anizah Taylor scored 10 points for the Lady Colonels. Yvonne Ellison added six points. Cass (8-12, 7-4) remains in third place in the region and plays at fourth-place Allatoona on Friday at 6 p.m. CEDARTOWN 63, WOODLAND BOYS 56 The Wildcats trailed host Cedartown early on Tuesday night and, although they kept pace with the Bulldogs, failed to close the gap in a 63-56 region road loss. Cedartown led 18-6 after one quarter, 28-21 at halftime, and 50-43 through three quarters en route to a seven-point victory. Zane Diamond Pasley scored 25 points to lead the Bulldogs. JP Price and Devion Smith each added 15 points for Cedartown (8-14, 4-8). Caiden Moore paced the Wildcats with 15 points. Landon Dougherty, Canden Davis, and Amir Heath each finished with eight. Clayton McArdle added seven points. Woodland (8-15, 1-11) plays at Cartersville on Friday night. CEDARTOWN 50, WOODLAND GIRLS 19 Kenzlei Boozer scored 20 points, and Hadlee Robinson added 13 on Tuesday evening as the Lady Bulldogs defeated Woodland 50-19 in a Region 7-AAAA contest. Cedartown improved to 7-13 overall and 4-7 in region action. Bailey Gerstner and Destiny Jackson each scored four points for the Lady Cats. Woodland (3-20, 0-12) visits 8th-ranked Cartersville on Friday. PRAISE ACADEMY 44, EXCEL CHRISTIAN ACADEMY GIRLS 29 The Excel Christian Academy girls lost to Praise Academy on Tuesday night, 44-29, in Powder Springs. The loss came in a semifinal game in GAPPS Region 1-IA. The Lady Eagles’ season ended with a 5-11 record.

February 4, 2026 Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com The Adairsville Tigers punched five tickets to the GHSA Class 3A State Sectionals on Tuesday, advancing individual wrestlers from the Region 7-AAA Tournament held at LaFayette High School. Gilmer captured the region team championship, with Heritage-Catoosa taking second and host LaFayette finishing third. Adairsville placed seventh overall but delivered standout performances to secure multiple state sectional berths. Leading the way for the Tigers was David Coon, who battled to the finals and finished as region runner-up at 175 pounds. Jarrett Chriswell added a bronze at 157 pounds with a third-place finish, while Jude Lowery (106 pounds), Victor Singer (150 pounds), and Joey Harill (190 pounds) each earned fourth-place finishes to round out the qualifiers. All five Tigers will now compete at the State Sectional meet at Cherokee Bluff High School in Flowery Branch on Saturday, where they will vie for spots in the Class 3A State Championships.

February 3, 2026 Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com Georgia Highlands College baseball split a twinbill with visiting Cleveland State Community College on Tuesday, dropping the opener 13-5 before rallying to take the second game 18-17. The Chargers trailed the Cougars 5-3 in Game 2 heading into the bottom of the third inning, but struck for 15 runs over their next five frames for a walkoff win. GHC scored seven runs in the bottom of the third, four in the fourth, and two in the sixth to knot the score at 16-all heading to the final inning.  Cleveland State grabbed a one-run lead with a bases-loaded walk in the top of the seventh, but the Chargers loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh and tied the game on a wild pitch. After Kenton Collier walked to reload the bases, Aidan Larkin was hit by a pitch to drive in Georgia Highlands’ walk-off run. Collier led the Chargers’ offense with four hits, including one triple, one double, and one RBI. Caden Marcos smacked two homers and had six RBI. Andrew Bishop also hit two home runs with five RBI. Ian Fullerton also had two hits and one RBI. Carson Page and Larkin each had one hit and two RBI. Hayden Miller (double) and Oakley Willingham added one hit. Jack Burns picked up the pitching win as the pitcher of record in the seventh. He allowed one earned run on two hits and two walks with two strikeouts. Ty Jones, Braxton Wade, Evan Doss, Jowsell Seda, and Jackson Scali pitched for the Chargers. In Tuesday’s opener, Cleveland State outhit GHC 13-5 and won 13-5. Aidan Larkin (two RBI) and Andrew Bishop (RBI) hit homers for Georgia Highlands. Caden Marcos (two RBI), Ian Fullerton, and Kenton Collier each had one hit. The Chargers utilized seven pitchers in brief stints. Starter Alex Karst (1 IP, 2ER, 2H, 1BB, 1K) was charged with the loss. Reed Thursby, Nick Kane, Sam Clower, Wyatt Gatlin, Ian Mihalopolous, and Calvin Koo each pitched in the loss. Georgia Highlands (3-3) hosts a four-game series with USC Lancaster this weekend, with doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday at Commander Robert Bentley Field. Games begin both days at 1 p.m.