This Friday night, the Cass Colonels open their 2018 football season by hosting county rival Adairsville in a continuation of the longest-running rivalry series in Bartow County. The series dates back to the 1956 season with Cass holding a 30-21-1 advantage in 52 games. While it is the season opener for the Colonels, Adairsville will enter the contest with a win under their belts. The Tigers scored a touchdown and added a two-point conversion with just over two minutes remaining last Friday to edge visiting Chattooga, 21-20. Adairsville won last season’s matchup with Cass 29-15, but the Colonels have won 10 of the most recent 13 games with a tie occurring in 2002. The Tigers controlled the series in the 1970s, winning 9 of 10 games between 1971 and 1980. That came on the heels of a stretch where Cass won 10 of 11 games between 1962 and 1970. This year’s game returns to Cochran Stadium on the campus of Cass High School. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. series data from GHSFH

Cartersville softball split a Region 5-AAAA doubleheader Saturday with visiting Troup County. The Lady Tigers won the opener 11-4 but the Lady Canes responded to blank Troup in Game 2, 5-0. Colbi Ballard tossed a complete-game, three-hitter in the shutout victory for Cartersville. Ballard walked three and fanned ten. She also went 2-for-2 at the plate with a walk and three RBI to help lead the offense. AnnaKate McElhaney and Presley Edwards both finished with three hits including one double apiece. In the opener, Troup’s Avery Pearson worked a complete-game victory in the circle. She scattered seven hits and a walk for only one earned run. Pearson struck out two. Skye Loftin led the Lady Tigers at the plate in their win. Loftin tripled, homered, and walked to finish the first game 3-for-3 with six RBI. Four Hurricanes had multi-hit days. Ballard finished the doubleheader 4-for-6 with a double, sacrifice fly, four RBI, and two stolen bases. Edwards was 4-for-7 with a double. AnnaKate McElhaney was 3-for-8 on the day with a double and scored a run while Lauren McElhaney had two hits and swiped a base. With the split, Troup County is now 5-7 overall and 2-1 in region action. Cartersville (4-2, 2-2) will entertain Sandy Creek in another region game Tuesday at 5:55 p.m.

The Cass High School volleyball team played three matches Saturday at the Coosa Invitational. The Lady Colonels picked up a win in one of those matches, beating Unity by scores of 25-22 and 25-16. Cass dropped their other two matches against defending AA state champion Coosa. The host Eagles won 25-13, 25-7 in the first match of the day and 25-8 and 25-10 to end the Colonels' tournament. Cass head coach Alan Potter credited Alexis Ware, Madison Philpott and Keegan Krause as standouts from the day, but noted the well-rounded team play of Coosa. Cass will travel to Rome on Tuesday in a tri-match with the Wolves and Chattooga.

The Adairsville High softball team struggled to score runs in the Lady Cat Classic in Dalton over the weekend, but did manage one win in the tournament. The Lady Tigers fell by scores of 2-1 to Ridgeland and 14-1 to Heritage on Saturday. On Friday night at the same tournament, Adairsville defeated Gilmer 5-1, but was shutout by Gordon Lee 6-0. Adairsville (2-7, 1-3) resumes action in Region 6-AAA Monday when the Tigers travel to Calhoun.

Three of the four local high school football teams were in action Friday night and all three came away with opening night wins. Adairsville and Woodland won back-and-forth battles with their opponents, while Cartersville blanked visiting Allatoona at Weinman Stadium. ADAIRSVILLE RALLIES FOR OPENING NIGHT WIN Adairsville senior quarterback Mason Boswell connected with junior slot Derrick Simmons for a 13-yard touchdown Friday night with 2:08 remaining in the game to set up Boswell’s game-winning two-point conversion run as the Tigers edged visiting Chattooga, 21-20. Adairsville head coach Eric Bishop made the decision to go for the win during a timeout — called by the Indians — following the Boswell to Simmons touchdown pass. The Tigers’ offense stayed on the sideline as the timeout ended and then sprinted to the ball as a group for the two-point conversion attempt. The two-point play was a direct snap to Boswell who found the end zone behind the right side of his line and lead blockers. The one point lead still had to be defended for two minutes and Chattooga threatened. A long pass from Indians’ quarterback Devin Price slipped through the hands of an open Clayton Johnson in their final possession. Johnson had somehow managed to get beyond the Tigers’ defense. A play later, Boswell picked off a pass to end Chattooga’s chances. Even that play ended in a fumble, but it was recovered by the Tigers who were able to run out the final seconds. Adairsville took the game’s first lead with 7:52 remaining in the first quarter. Boswell connected with Wade Conduff for a 37-yard touchdown pass to cap an 81-yard drive. Chris Rodriguez converted the extra point kick. Five minutes later, Malachi Mack finished off a 69-yard Chattooga drive with a one-yard plunge to tie the game, 7-7. The two teams went to the intermission knotted 7-7 after a scoreless second quarter. Chattooga took a 14-7 lead with 4:31 remaining in the third quarter. Lashaun Lester ran in the Indians’ score with a 12-yard dash. Adairsville answered just over four minutes later. Boswell capped an 11-play, 75-yard drive march with a five-yard touchdown run but the PAT was blocked and Chattooga retained a 14-13 lead. Chattooga went up 20-13 with 6:08 left in the game. E.J. Lackey scored on a 67-yard scamper, but this time the Indians missed the extra point. The Tigers responded with their game-winning drive that covered 69 yards on seven plays. Chatooga (0-1) will host Wesleyan next Friday night in Summerville. Adairsville (1-0) travels to Cass who was idle this week. CANES BLANK ALLATOONA Class 4A second-ranked Cartersville blasted Class 6A sixth-ranked Allatoona 35-0 Friday night at Weinman Stadium. Following a scoreless first quarter, Cartersville junior quarterback Tee Webb and senior running back Marcus Gary got the Hurricanes’ offense going. Webb finished 7-for-15 through the air for 150 yards and two touchdowns while Gary compiled 144 rushing yards and 94 receiving yards with two touchdowns. Webb connected with Trendon Horton for the Canes’ first touchdown at the beginning of the second quarter. He also tossed a screen pass to Gary who used some quality downfield blocking to score on a 50-yard play. Between those two plays, Gary scored on a 46-yard run and Marko Dudley rounded out the Canes’ 28-point second quarter by picking off an Allatoona pass the he returned 35-yards for a touchdown. Quante Jennings scored Cartersville’s final touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 4-yard run and the 35-point lead forced the game into a running clock for the final minutes. Oscar Hernandez missed a short early field goal attempt for the Canes, but he responded by nailing all five PAT kicks. Allatoona (0-1) travels to Creekview next Friday. Cartersville (1-0) takes next week off and will host Luella August 31 at Weinman Stadium. WOODLAND OPENS WITH WIN AT SOUTHEAST WHITFIELD Woodland captured a season-opening road win Friday night in Dalton with a 31-22 victory at Southeast Whitfield. The game was delayed more than 90 minutes between the third and fourth quarters as lightning and a heavy downpour moved through the area while the scored was knotted at 15-15. Southeast was in possession at the Wildcats’ 36 yard line as the stadium was vacated for safety reasons. When play resumed the Raiders took a 22-15 lead on a Christian Gillespie 13-yard touchdown run, but Woodland responded with 16 unanswered points down the stretch for their nine-point opening night win. Justice Carter scored first for the Wildcats on a nine-yard run. Titus Jones connected with Austin Potter for a two-point conversion that gave Woodland an 8-0 lead. Quarterback Jakob Foss found Demarcus Williams for a 37-yard touchdown pass that put Woodland ahead 15-0. Southeast made the score 15-7 at halftime with a 14-yard Adam Sowder to Zac Cole touchdown pass. A 32-yard touchdown run by Gillespie and a two-point conversion by the Raiders tied the game 15-15 with 4:39 remaining in the third quarter. Justice Carter added his second touchdown run of the night on an 8-yarder. Jones ran in another two-point conversion for a 23-22 Wildcats’ lead with 8:24 remaining. Jones then picked off a Southeast pass and later scored on a one-yard run with 1:18 left in the game. His third two-point conversion of the night sealed the Wildcats’ 31-22 win. Southeast Whitfield (0-1) hosts Murray County next Friday in a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. Woodland (1-0) has the week off before hosting East Hall on August 31.

Cartersville volleyball won one of three matches Thursday evening at the Storm Center earning their victory over Bremen in a third set. Cartersville won the opening set with Bremen 29-27, lost the second set 25-12, but won the final set 15-11 to take the match victory. Nedu Evans had 16 kills in the win. Grace Hunter totaled 33 assists. Anna Mathis and Anna Grace Brock contributed 19 digs each and Brock added five aces. The Lady Canes lost their other two matches of the night, falling to Cherokee and Northwest Whitfield. Cartersville took the opening game with Cherokee 25-23, but fell 25-11 and 15-13 in the next two. Against Cherokee, Evans had 15 kills. Hunter shared 39 assists. Brock totaled 14 digs and four aces. Northwest Whitfield edged Cartersville 23-25, 25-22, and 15-10. Evans tallied 19 kills. Hunter contributed 41 assists. Mathis had 19 digs and Brock had five service aces. “Overall it was a good night,” said Cartersville head coach Dustin Cothran. “I’m never content with two losses, but it was great to see the way we battled. There were four very evenly matched teams in the Storm Center tonight.” Cartersville (2-6) will look to continue their progress Monday in a 5 p.m. home match with Sequoyah. “We are starting to settle in to our rotation a little, and we’re getting some quality play from some first time varsity players and freshmen,” said Cothran. “We have some people playing new positions, but we seem to be adjusting well. I’m excited about our group, and I’m looking forward to seeing the team grow.” WOODLAND SWEEPS TO ROAD WINS Woodland volleyball picked up a pair of wins Thursday evening at Hiram High School by defeating Chapel Hill and the host Lady Hornets. Woodland defeated Hiram 25-13 and 25-22, then knocked off Chapel Hill 25-22 and 25-17. Noelle Dickey had five aces, two digs, two assists, and two kills in the victory over Chapel Hill. Macey Vaughn contributed six digs, six assists, and three kills. Caroline Gore added three kills and two digs. Against Hiram, Sydney Molinaro totaled eight aces, two kills, three blocks, and one assist. Emmaline Payne totaled three aces, three kills, and two digs. Vaughn added five assists, two kills, two digs, and a pair of aces. Woodland (3-2) travels to Rockmart next Tuesday to square off with the Yellow Jackets and Central-Carroll. CASS VOLLEYBALL FALLS IN SEASON OPENER The Cass High volleyball team was swept in a pair of home matches Thursday evening as the Lady Colonels opened their 2018 campaign. Rome defeated Cass 25-19, 25-17 and the Lady Colonels fell to East Paulding in the nightcap, 25-20 and 25-12. Next for Cass (0-2) is the Coosa Invitational Saturday in Rome.

AnnaKate McElhaney scattered seven hits and four walks while tossing a complete-game and four different Lady Canes drove in one run each as Cartersville edged cross-town rival Woodland Thursday evening, 4-3. McElhaney struck out five in earning the pitching victory. After Cartersville scored a run in the opening frame, Woodland took a 2-1 lead after three innings and led 3-2 through five innings. Cartersville came from behind, however, with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to secure the victory. Mattie Johnson tripled home Brooklyn Pittman to tie the game 3-3 and scored on an RBI single to left field by Hope Short. Woodland managed a pair of base runners with two outs in the top of the seventh, but McElhaney got a ground ball to Pittman at third for the final out to preserve the one-run decision. Colbi Ballard drove in Cartersville’s first inning run with a single into centerfield. The RBI hit scored Short who led off the inning with a hit. Cio Segler had a sacrifice in the inning and McElhaney moved Short to third with a single. Woodland tied the game in the second inning with a single by Hannah Miller, a pair of walks, and an RBI hit by Bella Carnes. The Lady Cats took a 2-1 lead in the third inning on a sacrifice fly by Caroline Higdon and led 3-1 in the fifth on Higdon’s bases loaded groundout. Cartersville narrowed the margin to 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth on a two-out, RBI single by Presley Edwards. Madi Bentley (5 IP, 2R, 1ER, 7H, 4BB, 5K) started in the pitching circle for Woodland. Sarah Baynard (1 IP, 2ER, 2H, 1BB) suffered the pitching loss in relief. Carnes (RBI, stolen base), Evans (stolen base, scored twice), and Miller (scored one run) paced the Lady Cats offense with two hits apiece. Higdon added a hit and two RBI. Kailey Baker contributed a hit for Woodland. Short (RBI, run scored), Johnson (RBI, run scored) and AnnaKate McElhaney had two hits each for Cartersville. Ballard (RBI, run scored, two stolen bases), Lauren McElhaney, and Edwards (RBI) produced one hit apiece for the Lady Canes. Cartersville improved to 3-1 on the season with the victory. The Lady Canes host Troup County Saturday in a Region 5-AAAA doubleheader at 12:30 p.m. Woodland (1-4) travels to Region 7-AAAAA foe Kell on Tuesday for a 5:55 p.m. first pitch.

ADAIRSVILLE EARNS MATCH SPLIT Adairsville volleyball split a pair of matches Tuesday. Adairsville defeated Southeast Whitfield 25-17, 25-16, but lost to Cherokee 25-11, 25-13. Adairsville travels to Fannin County Thursday to face the hosts and Union County. CARTERSVILLE SWEEPS ROCKMART Cartersville won its home-opener Tuesday, defeating Rockmart 25-8, 25-5, 25-16. The win helped the Lady Canes bounce back from an 0-4 start over the past weekend against some of the state’s top competition at the Sequoyah Classic. Nedu Evans had nine kills Tuesday, Grace Hunter had 20 assists and Bekah Stevens had seven aces. Anna Grace Brock totaled nine aces. Cartersville hosts Bremen, Cherokee, and Northwest Whitfield Thursday. WOODLAND SPLITS PAIR OF MATCHES Woodland went 1-1 Tuesday against Gordon Central and Marietta. Woodland defeated the Warriors in straight set 25-18, 25-14, and won the opening set against Marietta 25-23, before falling to the Blue Devils in the final two sets, 25-20 and 15-4. Macey Vaughn led the Lady Cats with 10 digs and 20 assists over the two matches. Caroline Gore added four aces, seven digs and three kills against Gordon Central, and had an ace, 10 digs and six kills against Marietta. Other top contributors for Woodland included Emmaline Payne with two aces, eight digs and three kills against Gordon Central; Lauren Morris contributed four kills and five blocks against Marietta; Sydney Molinaro had five blocks, three kills, two digs and an ace against Marietta; and Noelle Dickey totaled five digs, two kills and an ace against Marietta. Woodland travels to Hiram Thursday to take on the host Hornets and Chapel Hill.

Cass softball trailed early, but came from behind Tuesday evening at the Cass Athletic Complex to even their season record at 1-1 and defeat visiting Rome, 9-5. The Lady Colonels took a 1-0 lead in the second inning before Rome posted five runs in the top of the third to take a 5-1 lead. From there, the Cass offense chipped way scoring two runs in the third and three runs in both the fourth and sixth frames. Rachael Lee (5 IP, 0R, 5H, 3BB, 2K) picked up the pitching win for the Colonels in relief of starter Haley Owens (2 IP, 5ER, 7H, 2BB, 1K). Both teams finished with 12 hits and did not commit an error. Maci Andrews tripled twice and drove in two runs for the Lady Wolves. Cassie Covington, Madison Ingram, Mackenzie McNitt, and Hiley Curry each had two hits for Rome. Rachael Lee and Eryn Lee paced the Lady Colonels with three hits each. Rachael Lee’s night included a double, a stolen base, and four RBI. Eryn Lee’s contributions included a double, three stolen bases, and one RBI. Haley Smith had a double, a triple, and one RBI in a 2-for-3 performance. Jaden Musacchio, Kelly Young, Saydee Najarro, and Owens tossed in one hit apiece. Macenzie Dougharty added a sac fly for a run in the fourth inning. Maggie Collum walked three times and swiped a pair of bases. With the loss, Rome is not 3-6 overall and 0-3 in Region 7-AAAAA. Cass (1-1, 1-1) hosts Kell Thursday at 5:55 p.m. in their third-straight region game to open the season. CENTRAL-CARROLL 8, CARTERSVILLE 3 Central-Carroll scored six runs in the home-half of the first inning Tuesday evening and went on to defeat visiting Cartersville, 8-3, in a Region 5-AAAA matchup. The Lady Canes posted single runs in the second and fourth innings to narrow the margin to 6-2, but two runs by Central in the fifth inning gave the Lady Lions a comfortable 8-2 lead they would maintain. Cartersville added their final run in the sixth inning. Presley Edwards hit a second inning, solo home run for Cartersville and AnnaKate McElhaney added a pair of doubles to highlight the Lady Canes’ offense. Hope Short and Lauren McElhaney had the other Cartersville base hits. Colbi Ballard drove in a Canes’ run in the sixth with a groundout. Faith Bennett had two hits including a double and one RBI at the top of the Central batting order. Hayley Fehring had a double and two RBI while six other Lions had one hit each. Ballard (0.2 IP, 6ER, 7H, 1BB) started in the circle for Cartersville and was tagged with the loss. AnnaKate McElhaney (5.1 IP, 2ER, 2H, 8BB, 1K) entered in the first inning and finished the game. Central improved to 5-2 overall and 1-0 in Region 5-AAAA with their win. Cartersville (2-1, 1-1) hosts Woodland in a non-regon game Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CARROLLTON 8, WOODLAND 1 Carrollton (4-1, 2-0 in Region 7-AAAAA) broke open a close game with four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning Tuesday night to defeat visiting Woodland 8-1. After the Trojans took a 3-0 lead early, Woodland scored in the fifth to narrow the margin to 3-1 and trailed only 4-1 heading to the sixth. Woodland managed only four hits off Carrollton pitcher Olivia Fannin who fanned seven and earned the complete-game win. Morgan Cooper hit a solo home run for Woodland’s fifth inning run. Hannah Miller doubled. Kendyl Hardin and Jordan Duck had the other Lady Cats’ hits. Woodland (1-3, 0-2) plays at Cartersville Thursday afternoon in a non-region game at 5:30 p.m. SONORAVILLE 4, ADAIRSVILLE 3 Adairsville suffered a difficult Region 6-AAA loss at home to Sonoraville Tuesday night, 4-3. Sonoraville (5-0, 3-0 Region 6-AAA) scored all four of its runs in the top of the sixth inning for the come-from-behind victory. Adairsville (1-2, 1-2) hosts Coahulla Creek Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and will play five games in the Dalton Lady Catamount Invitational Friday and Saturday.

The Lady Cats led 4-2 after three innings and held a 7-3 advantage after five frames, but East Paulding rallied for six runs in the top of the seventh to spoil the home opener for Woodland Monday night, 10-8. East Paulding got a grand slam by Kaitlin Walden and a two-run homer by Kyra Lightner in their seventh inning comeback. Bella Carnes and Jordan Duck combined for six hits and six RBI to lead the Woodland offense. Carnes was 3-for-5 with a double, triple, and four RBI. Duck went 3-for-4 with two RBI. Morgan Bailey contributed a pair of hits and one RBI. Kendyl Hardin hit a leadoff home run in the fifth inning to give the Lady Cats a 5-3 lead at the time and Hannah Miller added Woodland’s other hit, stole a base, and scored three times. Madi Bentley (7 IP, 10R, 9ER, 12H, 5BB, 5K) was tagged with the pitching loss for Woodland in a complete-game effort in the circle. East Paulding improved to 4-2 with the win. Following their split with Northwest Whitfield over the weekend, Woodland slipped to a 1-2 record. The Lady Cats travel to Carrollton Tuesday for a 5:55 p.m. first pitch and play at Cartersville Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

Cass softball took an early lead Monday night on the road and led again late, but host Villa Rica won an 11-9 back-and-forth battle in the Lady Colonels’ season-opener. Cass scored three times in the top of the first inning and led 4-3 after three frames before the Lady Wildcats grabbed a 5-4 lead in the fourth. The Lady Colonels went back ahead 8-5 with a four-run fifth inning, but Villa Rica answered with six runs over the next two innings to take an 11-8 advantage. Cass scored a run in the top of the seventh and had the potential tying runs on base, but came up short in the final frame. Marley Couch, Madi Langford, and Hailey Hyatt combined for six of Villa Rica’s nine hits. The trio also totaled four RBI. Cass utilized four pitchers in the region opener with Macenzie Dougharty (1.1 IP, 3R, 2ER, 3H) suffering the loss in relief. Kylee Hembree (2.1 IP, 3R, 2ER, 2H, 3BB) started in the circle for the Lady Colonels. Haley Owens (1 IP, 2ER, 3H, 1BB, 1K) and Saydee Najarro (1.1 IP, 3R, 0ER, 3H, 3BB) worked middle relief. Eryn Lee paced Cass at the plate with a 4-for-5 performance that included a triple, three stolen bases, and three RBI. Rachel Lee contributed a double and two RBI. Haley Smith added a double and one RBI. Kelly Young (RBI), Hailie Owens, and Maggie Collum had the other Cass base hits. Collum also swiped two bases. Villa Rica improved to 2-1 with their victory. Cass (0-1) hosts Rome Tuesday and Kell Thursday. Both Region 7-AAAAA games are 5:55 p.m. starts.

As the final month of the 2018 minor league schedules begin to wind down, Cartersville's three professionals baseball players continue to make strides. Connor Justus and Anthony Seigler have remained consistent at the plate this summer. Meanwhile, pitcher Sam Howard remained in the Albuquerque starting rotation a week after being forced from a game after taking a line drive to his throwing shoulder. SAM HOWARD — Albuquerque Isotopes (5th-yr. pro; LHP; Triple-A Pacific Coast League; Colorado Rockies organization; Georgia Southern; Cartersville HS)… Although he had to leave the game in the first inning after being struck by a line drive in his start August 5, Howard was back in the Isotopes starting rotation Saturday night and tossed four innings in a no-decision outing eventually won by Albuquerque, 10-0. He did not allow a hit but issued a pair of walks and fanned five. For the year, Howard has a 3-6 record in 17 starts and 74.1 innings for Albuquerque. He has totaled 62 strikeouts and walked 29. The southpaw has also spent two brief stints with the Major League Rockies although he has only worked one inning at the MLB level. The Isotopes (55-64) are 12 1/2 games behind El Paso in the PCL Pacific Southern Division and are destined to miss the league’s post-season. CONNOR JUSTUS — Inland Empire 66ers (3rd-yr. pro; SS; Advanced Class A California League; L.A. Angels organization; Georgia Tech; Cartersville HS)… continued a five-game hitting streak Sunday night and was 6-for-19 (.316) this past week at the plate with two RBI and a stolen base. He also scored five runs as his season batting average improved to .236 in time split between Double-A Mobile and Inland Empire. In his time with the 66ers, he has a .291 batting average in 46 games. Inland Empire (28-22, second half) is 8 games behind Rancho Cucamonga in the California League’s South Division. The 66ers host San Jose in a three-game series Monday through Wednesday before heading to Modesto for a three-game set that begins Friday. ANTHONY SEIGLER — Pulaski Yankees (1st-yr. pro; C; Rookie Appalachian League; N.Y. Yankees organization; Cartersville HS)… was 5-for-22 (.227) with five RBI this past week in six starts. He also walked four times and scored a run. Seigler’s batting average is now .286 in 21 professional games in time split between the Gulf Coast League Yankees West and currently with Pulaski. He has one home run, three doubles, and nine RBI. Pulaski (24-28) is in fourth place in the Appy League’s East Division and trails Princeton by 8 games. The Yankees continue a three-game, home series with Danville through Tuesday and host Kingsport for a three-game series starting Thursday.