Woodland volleyball and Cass volleyball each split a pair of matches Tuesday evening. Woodland played at Gordon Central while Cass hosted Adairsville and Fannin County. Woodland fell to Murray County in their opener, 22-25 and 14-25. Caroline Gore and Emmaline Payne had five and four digs, respectively. Madison Mayton contritubed four assists and Sydney Molinaro finsihed with three blocks. The Lady Cats then bounced back to stop Gordon Central in three sets. Payne totaled six kills, two aces, and six digs. Gore had four aces and three digs. Mayton added six assists, six digs, and three aces. Shiannne Coetzee had three digs. Woodland (1-4) hosts Allatoona and Wheeler Thursday at 5 pm and will entertain Marietta and Model on Tuesday, August 22 at 5 pm. Cass defeated Adairsville in straight sets Tuesday night, 25-8 and 25-12, before being edged in three sets by Fannin County 17-25, 25-13, and 12-15. The Lady Colonels play at Model Thursday at 5 pm and will host Gordon Central and Armuchee next Tuesday, August 22.

The Cartersville softball team was shutout Tuesday night by visiting Central-Carrollton, 8-0, in a Region 5-AAAA game. Central scored three runs in the top of the first, added a run in the second, and scored four more runs in the sixth inning while Central freshman pitcher Maggie Harris blanked the Lady Canes. Harris allowed only three hits and did not walk a batter. She fanned four. Faith Bennett and Mary Beth Griffin had two hits each for the Lady Lions. Paris Poston had two hits for Cartersville including a double. Hope Short had the only other Lady Canes’ hit. Central improved to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in region play. Cartersville (1-2, 0-2) hosts Darlington Thursday in a non-region game. CASS-WOODLAND WASHED OUT Woodland and Cass traded leads through most of three innings with the Lady Cats leading the Lady Colonels 5-4 when the game was rained out by a sudden downpour. Since the game was only in the third inning, it will be rescheduled and start over from the beginning. No reschedule date has been announced.

The Woodland Lady Cats’ softball team lost its season opener Monday night at home against Carrollton 5-4 on a seventh inning RBI double by the Lady Trojans’ Carlie Monsour. Monsour drove in Montana Dallas who had reached base on an error earlier in the inning. Carrollton led 3-1 heading to the Woodland half of the fourth inning when the Lady Cats took the lead with a three-run fourth. The visiting Trojans scored single runs in the fifth and seventh, however, to escape with a one-run Region 7-AAAAA win. Two of Carrollton’s runs — including the game-winner — were unearned. The Wildcats committed four errors in the contest. A pair of Carrollton pitchers — Olivia Fannin and Aslinn Spradlin limited Woodland to a single earned run on four hits and four walks. Lady Cats’ pitcher Sarah Baynard (7 IP, 5R, 3ER, 9H, 3BB, 2K) was tagged with the pitching loss. Carrollton (3-0, 1-0) out-hit Woodland nine to four. Ansley Barge and Dallas led the Trojans with two hits each. Madgie Robinson, Bella Carnes, Caroline Higdon, and Ansley Evans had the Woodland base hits — all singles. Audrey Morris had one RBI and Carnes stole a base. Woodland (0-1, 0-1) plays at Cass Tuesday at 5:55 pm and will host Villa Rica Thursday at 5:55 pm. Both games are Region 7-AAAAA contests.

The Lady Canes’ softball team scored runs in the second and third innings Monday night at Cedartown to knot the score at 2-2, but the host Lady Bulldogs pulled away down the stretch to hand Cartersville an 8-2 Region 5-AAAA loss. Cedartown pitchers limited the Lady Canes to only four hits and one walk in the contest while the Bulldogs erupted for 13 hits. Cedartown scored twice in the bottom of the first before Cartersville tied the game. The Lady Bulldogs then added a four-run fifth and two more runs in the sixth for their six-run victory. Beeman had three hits and an RBI to lead the Lady Dawgs. Wigley (RBI), Diamond, and Blankenship (3 RBIs) added two hit apiece. AnnaKate McElhaney and Colbi Ballard had one hit and one RBI each for Cartersville. Jolea Prokop and Paris Poston added the other Lady Canes’ safeties. Prokop also stole two bases. Hope Short added a sacrifice. Ballard (5 IP, 7ER, 11H, 4BB, 1K) suffered the Cartersville pitching loss. McElhaney (1 IP, 1R, 0ER, 2H, 0BB) worked an inning in relief. Cedartown improved to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in region play. Cartersville (1-1, 0-1) hosts Central-Carrollton Tuesday in another region matchup and Darlington Thursday in the second game of their non-region, home-and-home series with the Lady Tigers. Both games are scheduled for 5:30 pm.

Cartersville senior quarterback Trevor Lawrence, the nation’s No. 1 pro-style quarterback and overall top recruit in the senior class, was included in this year’s Super 11 high school football players selected by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The AJC has identified an annual Super 11 in Georgia high school football each year since 1985. Lawrence, who was named the AJC’s all-classification player of the year in 2016 after leading the Hurricanes to their second consecutive state championship, is within 2,500 yards and 40 TDs of Deshaun Watson’s state records in those categories. Lawrence, who is committed to Clemson, is the first Cartersville Super 11 selection since John McClain in 1990. The 2017 Super 11: Adam Anderson, Rome Brenton Cox, Stockbridge Justin Fields, Harrison Matthew Hill, Brookwood Kearis Jackson, Peach County Trevor Lawrence, Cartersville Justin Mascoll, South Gwinnett Kyler McMichael, Greater Atlanta Christian Dameon Pierce, Bainbridge Otis Reese, Lee County Jamaree Salyer, Pace Academy For details on the Super 11 and each player, please see this link to the AJC story: http://highschoolsports.blog.ajc.com/2017/08/11/trevor-lawrence-cartersville/

The Cartersville Purple Hurricanes will open defense of their back-to-back Class 4A state titles as the top-ranked team in the first statewide poll release by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Grayson, Tucker, Rome, Peach County, Benedictine, Eagles Landing Christian, and Clinch County are the No. 1 teams in the other classifications. Sandy Creek, a member of Cartersville's Region 5-AAAA, is in the pre-season Top 10 in Class 4A. Calhoun, a member of Adairsville's Region 6-AAA, is in the pre-season Top 10 in Class 3A, while Rome (#1), Carrollton (#4), and Kell (#6) in Class 5A are all members of the same region with Woodland and Cass. Class AAAAAAA 1. Grayson (14-1) 2. Colquitt County (8-5) 3. Roswell (14-1) 4. Lowndes (10-3) 5. McEachern (11-2) 6. Brookwood (8-4) 7. Mill Creek (13-1) 8. Parkview (8-4) 9. Norcross (11-1) 10. Westlake (10-4) Class AAAAAA 1. Tucker (13-2) 2. Valdosta (14-1) 3. Harrison (10-2) 4. Northside-Warner Robins (11-3) 5. Lee County (8-3) 6. Dalton (13-1) 7. Mays (11-2) 8. Coffee (7-6) 9. Glynn Academy (11-2) 10 Alpharetta (7-4) Class AAAAA 1. Rome (13-2) 2. Buford (13-2) 3. Stockbridge (13-1) 4. Carrollton (11-2) 5. Ware County (8-4) 6. Kell (11-3) 7. Thomas County Central (8-4) 8. Bainbridge (5-6) 9. Griffin (11-2) 10. Loganville (9-3) Class AAAA 1. Cartersville (15-0) 2. Blessed Trinity (10-3) 3. Thomson (14-1) 4. Sandy Creek (8-4) 5. Woodward Academy (11-2) 6. Jefferson (12-2) 7. Marist (7-4) 8. Mary Persons (11-3) 9. Cairo (11-2) 10. Ridgeland (9-2) Class AAA 1. Peach County (12-2) 2. Greater Atlanta Christian (13-2) 3. Calhoun (10-3) 4. Cedar Grove (13-2) 5. Westminster (10-3) 6. Crisp County (13-1) 7. Lovett (8-4) 8. Liberty County (11-2) 9. Pace Academy (6-5) 10. Dawson County (7-3) Class AA 1. Benedictine (15-0) 2. Hapeville Charter (10-4) 3. Fitzgerald (13-2) 4. Screven County (11-2) 5. Rabun County (11-1) 6. Callaway (13-1) 7. Pepperell (10-2) 8. Brooks County (8-4) 9. Jefferson County (10-2) 10. Rockmart (9-3) Class A (private) 1. Eagle’s Landing Christian (14-0) 2. Prince Avenue Christian (12-1) 3. Wesleyan (9-3) 4. Landmark Christian (10-2) 5. Fellowship Christian (13-1) 6. Mount Paran Christian (10-2) 7. Darlington (8-4) 8. Tattnall Square (12-1) 9. Aquinas (6-5) 10. Calvary Day (10-1) Class A (public) 1. Clinch County (11-2) 2. Macon County (12-2) 3. Manchester (10-2) 4. Emanuel County Institute (11-1) 5. Taylor County (10-2) 6. Irwin County (8-5) 7. Commerce (9-3) 8. McIntosh County Academy (10-3) 9. Turner County (8-4) 10. Lincoln County (7-4-1)

The Woodland Wildcats softball team opens its 2017 season Monday at home when they host the Carrollton Lady Trojans in a Region 7-AAAAA matchup scheduled for 5:55 pm. The game was originally scheduled for August 10 but was moved due to inclement weather. For Lady Cats’ head coach Colman Roberts, Woodland returns a lineup loaded with experience. “Every starter returning this year played in the state playoffs last year against Whitewater,” Roberts pointed out. “This is a group that has faced some really good competition and had a strong finish last year, so they should be ready. It’s my job to help make sure our chemistry is where it needs to be.” Woodland’s 2016 season started slowly, but the Lady Cats rallied down the stretch to squeeze into the Class 5A state playoffs as a No 4-seed. Woodland won 8 of 11 games in a late regular season, region, and state playoff surge that included an opening round state playoff series sweep of Miller Grove. They were then knocked from the playoffs in the Round of 16 by Whitewater to finish the year 15-21 overall. The Lady Cats were 9-9 in region play. “We made a lot of errors in the early portion of last season,” noted Roberts. “Errors are always a concern. Teams like Carrollton, Villa Rica, Kell, and even Paulding County, Cass, Hiram and East Paulding will make you pay if you give them extra outs.” Those seven teams, along with Woodland and Rome make up the nine-team Region 7-AAAAA league. The top four teams qualify for the state playoffs. “I would say Carrollton, Villa Rica, and Kell are the teams to beat,” conceded Roberts. “Kell’s pitcher broke her hand at the end of last season and now she’ll be back as a sophomore. She had 16 strikeouts in both games against us last year. They are tough with her in the circle.” In addition to their region slate, Woodland will play home-and-home games with Cartersville and a road game at Lassiter. The Lady Cats will also face top competition in the Allatoona Buccaneer Bash, the Bartow County Championship Tournament, and the Lowndes Lady Vikes Invitational in Valdosta. “I like playing good competition,” added Roberts. “I think it makes us better.” Roberts lineup will be anchored in the pitching circle by junior Sarah Baynard. She finished last season with 99 strikeouts, 14 wins, and a 3.51 ERA. Jordan Duck, is also a junior who will start at third base and contribute some time as a pitcher. Behind the plate, Skylar Chappell will do the bulk of the catching. She hit .406 in the Lady Cats’ two state playoff series last year and finished the year hitting .318 with a pair of homers and 21 RBIs. The junior also led the region last season with a .962 fielding percentage. Left-handed hitting senior Brittney Cox will start at shortstop for the Lady Cats. Cox hit .398 last season including a .472 average with 10 RBIs in the region and state playoffs. The remainder of the expected starters will include outfielders Madgie Robinson (Jr.), Audrey Morris (Sr.), and Caroline Higdon (Jr.), along with sophomores Bella Carnes at second base and Morgan Bailey at first base. “Freshmen Ansley Evans and Kendyl Hardin will definitely see some varsity time too,” said Roberts. “Hardin is a catcher and corner infielder and Evans has the ability to play a lot of different positions.” Roberts knows the early part of the season will go a long way in determining the level of contribution for some of his players. “We all wear the exact same uniform — JV and varsity, with no duplicate numbers — so I tell the girls all the time they could move up or down between varsity and JV from game-to-game.” Rounding out the varsity roster for Woodland are Hope Schultz (sophomore pitcher), Madi Bentley (freshman pitcher) Morgan Cooper (freshman utility), Makayla Dowdy (freshman outfielder), Allyssa Motes (sophomore outfielder), Maggie Pruitt (freshman infielder), Gracie Styles (freshman OF/1B), Brianna Hill (sophomore, 1B), Kaylee Jones (junior outfielder), Katie Brookshire (sophomore outfielder), and Hannah Miller (freshman infielder). Some of the Lady Cats got a taste of competition this past weekend as Woodland helped host the Allatoona JV Tournament. Woodland’s JV team went 4-0 in the tournament with wins over South Paulding, Coahulla Creek, Woodstock, and Sonoraville and did not commit an error in any of those games. Following Monday’s varsity opener, Woodland travels to Cass Tuesday and hosts Villa Rica on Thursday in two more Region 7-AAAAA games. Both are 5:55 pm starts. PHOTO CREDIT: Woodland Lady Cats' team photo courtesy TCPicsOnline.com

The Lady Canes scored twice in the top of the first inning Saturday afternoon at Darlington and never looked back on their way to a 15-4 opening day rout of the Lady Tigers in a non-region game. Cartersville added two more runs in the third, four runs in the fourth, and put the game away with an seven-run seventh inning. The Lady Canes pounded out 16 hits in the game, including a grand slam home run by Colbi Ballard and five more extra-base hits by her teammates. Ballard also gave Cartersville a strong performance in the pitching circle. She allowed only two earned runs on four hits and five walks in earning the pitching victory. Hope Short had a four-hit performance and Ballard added three hits. Short drove in four runs and scored twice. Ballard’s monster day included two doubles with her homer and seven RBIs. Presley Edwards drove in three runs with a pair of hits including a double. Lauren McElhaney also doubled and had two hits. Cio Seigler (RBI, sac bunt), Kalli Beth Scheff, AnnaKate McElhaney (triple), Rylie Harris, and Paris Poston (HBP 3 times, stolen base) added hits for the Canes. Cartersville (1-0) travels to Cedartown for a make-up game Monday at 5:30pm and hosts Central-Carrollton Tuesday and Darlington next Thursday at the Cartersville Sports Complex on Sugar Valley Road. Both home games are also scheduled for 5:30pm starts.

Three of the four local high school teams hit the gridiron Friday night for their official GHSA scrimmages with other schools. Cartersville appeared ready to defend their back-to-back state title runs with a 31-0 blanking of Westminster while Woodland tasted victory at Adairsville, 21-7. CARTERSVILLE 31, WESTMINSTER 0 Cartersville, playing under the home lights of Weinman Stadium, utilized its primary starters into the middle of the second quarter as the Hurricanes took a 24-0 lead into the intermission. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw for 134 yards and two touchdowns before exiting the game mid-second quarter. The Clemson signee and nation's top recruit had TD tosses to running back Marcus Gary (photo) and tight end Jackson Lowe. Gary totaled 46 yards rushing on six attempts. He also caught two passes for 20 yards. Lowe's TD reception was for 14 yards. Canes’ running back Rico Frye added a first quarter 55-yard run and a touchdown and finished with 75 yards on 5 carries. Sophomore quarterback Tee Webb saw substantial time in the scrimmage. He was 3-for-4 for 60 yards but did toss one interception. Kaleb Chatmon caught two balls for 88 yards. JKobe Orr added two receptions for 23 yards and Turner finished with 42 yards receiving. Meanwhile, Cartersville’s defense was active and hard-hitting, led by Nyvin Nelson and a first-half interception by Marko Dudley. (NOTE: Cartersville game stats courtesy Evan Greenberg, Daily Tribune News.) WOODLAND 21, ADAIRSVILLE 7 Following a scoreless first half with the teams exchanging a pair of fumbles each, Woodland quarterback Brody Williams scored the game’s only touchdown involving the two varsity lineups in the third quarter. The Wildcats added a pair of third quarter scores and Adairsville added a long fourth quarter touchdown run after the first line players for both teams had been removed for the night. Freshman running back Jimmy Davis scored twice in the third quarter for Woodland and Adairsville’s B.J. Roper scored on a 70-yard jaunt for the Tigers in the fourth quarter. Next week Adairsville, Woodland, and Cartersville will open their 2017 regular season slates. Adairsville hosts Ridgeland, Woodland entertains River Ridge, and Cartersville travels to Allatoona. Cass, who held an intrasquad scrimmage Friday, will host Pepperell next Friday in the Colonels’ official GHSA scrimmage. Cass opens the 2017 regular season at home August 25 against Adairsville.

The Cartersville High School volleyball team opened its 2017 campaign Thursday evening with a pair of wins in matches at Rome High School. The Lady Canes defeated Rome 25-9, 25-18 and then downed Unity Christian School 25-14, 25-19 for a pair of sweeps. In the opening win over Rome, Lauren Wenzell (.300 hitting percentage) and Nedu Evans (.350 hitting percentage) each had five kills, Catie Heilman (.290 hitting percentage) finished with four. Grace Hunter contributed 15 assists for the Hurricanes and Bekah Stevens had 11. Jayla Delgado and Addie Smith each totaled seven digs. Hunter added with five aces and Heilman four. “I felt like we came out really strong in the first set,” commented Lady Canes’ coach Dutch Cothran. “We served tough and were able to pull away early. Our ball control could've been better, but it was enough to help us get the win. The second set, Rome played better, and we made some of those early season mistakes that teams tend to make. Coaches hate to see those, but we all know they are bound to happen. I loved our energy and tenacity. There's plenty of room for improvement of course, but it was a nice start to our season.” In Cartersville’s second match of the night, Evans (.630 hitting percentage) had seven kills to lead the way. Hunter and Stevens added 14 and 11 assists, respectively. Addie Smith and Jayla Delgado finished with eight digs each. Hunter totaled seven digs and five aces. Smith added three aces. Cothran reflected on his team’s opening night sweep. “One of my goals tonight was to get some playing time for some of our players who are playing varsity for the first time. We were able to do that against Unity. We got some contributions from Emily Petty, Cristina Cruz, London Shaw, and Bella Corrigan. It was nice to be able to rest some players going into this weekend. We'll need everyone firing on all cylinders in the Sequoyah Tournament.” Cartersville (2-0) opens the Sequoyah Tournament Friday against South Forsyth and Northside-Columbus with matches at Creekview High School in Canton at 6pm and 8pm. PHOTO: Courtesy Nancy Brant / Cartersville Lady Canes Volleyball.

The Cass volleyball team split a pair of matches Thursday night at Pickens County High School. The Lady Colonels defeated Gilmer County in straight sets 25-21 and 25-22 to win their opener but were edged by the host Lady Dragons in a three set match. Cass dropped the opening set 21-25, won the second set 25-13, but fell in the final set 22-25. The Lady Colonels (3-1) will host Pickens County and Adairsville next Tuesday, August 15 in a 5pm start. The Woodland volleyball team slipped to 0-3 on the season Thursday night with a pair of losses to Rockmart and East Paulding at Rockmart High School. In the first match, the Lady Cats fell to the host Yellow Jackets 25-23, 19-25, 13-15 despite leading 11-3 in the deciding third set. Emmaline Payne had eight aces, four kills, and a pair of digs for Woodland. Caroline Gore contributed five aces and three digs in the opening loss. Woodland fell to East Paulding in the second match 15-25, 20-25. Noelle Dickey had three digs and a pair of kills. Gore contributed four aces. The Lady Cats play next Tuesday at Gordon Central at 5pm. They will face the host Warriors and Murray County.

Should college and pro football teams schedule games on Friday nights? That is the growing question that was addressed this week by the national organization governing high school athletics. From NFHS.org -- In an effort to re-emphasize that Friday nights in the fall should be reserved for high school football, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) has adopted a resolution that urges schools and teams at the college and professional levels to honor that longstanding tradition and schedule games on other days. The NFHS membership, composed of state high school associations in the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, has adopted the following resolution: “Be it RESOLVED that every Friday night during the fall in America is ‘High School Football Night.’ “Be it FURTHER RESOLVED that college and professional football teams should refrain from scheduling contests on Friday nights. Such restraint would be an investment in their own future success. It would also demonstrate that high school football has value well beyond the field of play. Schools, communities and scholastic teams for girls and boys all benefit when football is strong. “THEREFORE, the National Federation of State High School Associations urges all parties to observe the central premise of this resolution.” Although some major college football games have been played on Friday nights for about 20 years, the numbers continue to increase. This year, more than 50 major college football games will be played on Friday nights, including eight on September 1 – the Friday night before Labor Day weekend. Most recently, the Big Ten Conference joined a growing number of conferences that has scheduled a handful of games on Friday nights. “The value of tradition cannot be overstated,” said Bob Gardner, NFHS executive director. “Friday nights offer communities a traditional time and place to congregate and support their students. If a major college football game was scheduled in the area on a Friday night, it could affect attendance at the high school game or cause the game to be moved to another day. In addition, many of the Friday night college games are televised, which could result in lower attendance at high school contests nationwide. “We believe retaining Friday nights for high school contests is a plus for colleges as well as they reap the benefits of healthy programs at the high school level.”