The Woodland wrestling team reached the state duals finals for the seventh consecutive year Friday night with a 59-13 semifinal win over Ola High School. The Wildcats will meet Buford at 4pm at the Macon Centreplex for the Class AAAAA state duals title. Buford has wins over Arabia Mountain (84-0), Veterans (41-23), and Union Grove (30-27) on their way to the championship match. Woodland defeated Harris County and Whitewater in the first two rounds. Cass, who fell out of championship contention Thursday with a quarterfinal round loss to Union Grove, won a consolation match Friday over Ware County, 46-17, and will face Veterans in another consolation match Saturday morning at 8:30am. The Colonels would need three straight wins Saturday in consolation rounds to place third in the state tournament. Woodland won the state duals championship in 2003 and 2011.

The Excel Christian Academy Lady Eagles came-from-behind late to edge region foe Gordon Lee Friday night in Chickamauga, while Cass had a seven-game win streak snapped by Class AAAAA 10th-ranked Villa Rica. The Adairsville and Cartersville girls also suffered losses Friday night. EXCEL CHRISTIAN ACADEMY GIRLS 45, GORDON LEE 43 The Excel Christian Academy Lady Eagles recovered from a slow start Friday night in Chickamauga to defeat Gordon Lee and come away with a narrow, two-point region victory. The dramatic, come-from-behind effort, was capped by a three-point play by Rylie Boston and an ensuing steal by Brighton McCollum after Excel had fallen behind by one point in the final 16 seconds. Gordon Lee led 16-5 after the first period, but the Lady Eagles narrowed the gap to 22-17 by the intermission. Excel then outscored the Lady Trojans 16-5 in the third quarter to take a 33-27 lead and then held on for an important Region 6-A win that included the last second heroics. Kalli Beth Scheff, Whitney Harris, and Rylie Boston scored 11 points each to lead Excel in the scoring column. Brighton McCollum followed with nine points. Bailey Cox chipped in two points and Landry McCollum rounded out the scoring with one point. Gracie O’Neal led Gordon Lee with 11 points. Molly Thomason scored nine for the Lady Trojans. Gordon Lee fell to 7-9 overall and 3-3 in region play. Excel (8-3, 4-1) plays at Christian Heritage next Tuesday and will host Mt. Zion-Carroll on Friday and North Cobb Christian for homecoming Saturday, January 21 at 1pm. CHAPEL HILL GIRLS 60, CARTERSVILLE 38 Another slow start doomed the Lady Canes Friday night at Chapel Hill in a 60-38 Region 5-AAAA loss. Chapel Hill led 21-10 after the first eight minutes and 37-22 at halftime. Alexia Wallace and Breanna Stephens led the Lady Panthers with 13 points each. Takayla Robinson and Kennedy Wilson also reached double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Madison McKinney led Cartersville in scoring with 13 points. Monica Matuba and Addie Smith scored six points each. India Reid and Kimora McClinic added four apiece. Camilla Rodriquez and Chloe Davis chipped in two points each. Amya Davis added one. Chapel Hill improved to 7-6 overall and is 3-0 in region play. Cartersville (6-8, 0-3) entertains Calhoun Saturday at 2:30pm. SONORAVILLE GIRLS 53, ADAIRSVILLE 43 A furious rally and 21-point fourth quarter was not enough for the Adairsville Lady Tigers to overcome a sizable early lead as Sonoraville held on for a 10-point Region 6-AAA win Friday night. The Lady Phoenix led 26-15 at halftime and pushed their advantage to 41-22 after three periods. Maliyah Parks scored 13 points to lead the Lady Phoenix. Cortney Williams followed with 12 points and Grace Darnell added 11. Zay Harris led Adairsville with 13 points, followed by Havyn Isaac with 11 and Josie Summerville with 10 points. Taylor Green chipped in four points. Chloe Powell added three points and Emily Collum two for the Lady Tigers. Sonoraville improved to 4-13 overall and 3-5 in region play. Adairsville (6-9, 2-5) hosts Pickens Tuesday. No. 10 VILLA RICA GIRLS 75, CASS 37 The 10th-ranked Lady Wildcats jumped out to an 18-7 lead after one quarter and never looked back on their way to a 75-37 Region 7-AAAAA win at Cass Friday night. Villa Rica led by 15 at halftime and controlled the contest 55-27 after three quarters. DeAsia Merrill led Villa Rica with 26 points. Jaila Orozco scored 20 for the Lady Wildcats who improved to 15-1 on the season and 8-1 in region play. Chanel Clemmons had 10 points for Cass. Jana Morning totaled six. Cass (11-4, 5-3) hosts Paulding County Saturday and travels to East Paulding Tuesday.

The Cartersville and Cass boys basketball teams earned important region wins Friday night over Chapel Hill and Villa Rica, respectively, while Adairsville and Excel Christian Academy came up short. CARTERSVILLE BOYS 74, CHAPEL HILL 59 The Hurricanes led 23-13 after one quarter and 43-25 at the intermission on their way to a Region 5-AAAA win at Chapel Hill Friday night. The Panthers fell to 2-11 overall and 2-1 in region play. Jaylon Pugh scored 18 points to lead the Canes’ scoring column. T.J. Horton added 16 points. JKobe Orr and Perignon Dyer tossed in 11 points each. Cartersville (10-3, 2-1) will host Calhoun Saturday at 4pm in the Storm Center for a non-region matchup. CASS BOYS 45, VILLA RICA 29 Cass only held a one point lead after one quarter Friday night at home, but extended their lead to 22-9 at halftime on their way to their seventh Region 7-AAAAA victory of the year. The Colonels, led by Ashton Burley’s 15 points, led 31-11 after three periods. Cass (12-4, 7-1) hosts Paulding County in another region tilt Saturday at 4:30pm. SONORAVILLE BOYS 79, ADAIRSVILLE 52 The Adairsville boys trailed 16-10 after one quarter and 31-19 at halftime Friday night at Sonoraville. The Phoenix then led 49-34 after three quarters on their way to a 27-point, Region 6-AAA win. Sonoraville improved to 15-2 overall and 8-0 in region play. The Phoenix have a non-region game at Southeast Whitfield Saturday and will host Calhoun on Tuesday in a crucial region game. The Yellow Jackets are also unbeaten in region play. Adairsville (10-7, 4-4) plays a non-region game at Pickens Saturday at 4pm. GORDON LEE BOYS 66, EXCEL CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 24 Gordon Lee led 26-9 after one period and 38-17 at halftime on their way to a region win Friday night over Excel Christian Academy. Kannen Derryberry scored 11 points to lead Gordon Lee. Justin Wooden added eight as the Trojans improved to 5-11 overall and 1-5 in Region 6A. Kyrie Tucker led Excel with nine points and Taylor McDaniel added seven. ECA (0-9, 0-4) plays at Cornerston Prep Academy Saturday at 3:30pm and at Christian Heritage in Dalton Tuesday at 7:30pm.

The Woodland High School basketball teams fell to the Lady Raiders and Raiders of East Paulding Thursday night in Region 7-AAAAA games. EAST PAULDING GIRLS 57, WOODLAND 52 East Paulding —— 12 - 26 - 44 - 57 Woodland ————14 - 25 - 38 - 52 Woodland scoring: Lexie Robinson 16 Carli Clymer 12 Danielle Downes 9 Jamison Kilgo 6 Madgie Robinson 6 The Lady Raiders improved to 3-13 overall and 1-7 in Region 7-AAAAA. Woodland (0-11, 0-6) plays at Carrollton Saturday at 3pm. EAST PAULDING BOYS 97, WOODLAND 70 East Paulding —— 17 - 51 - 83 - 97 Woodland ———— 20 - 34 - 51 - 70 Woodland scoring: Justice Hayes 14 Hunter Johnson 10 Justice Carter 9 Jaylen Ballard 7 Camden Royal 7 Charles Norman 7 Kenneth Womack 5 East Paulding improved to 6-11 overall and 2-6 in Region 7-AAAAA. Woodland (1-10, 0-6) plays at Carrollton Saturday.

The Woodland wrestling team reached the Class AAAAA State Duals Championship semifinals Thursday night with a 48-20 win over Whitewater. Woodland, who defeated Harris County in the first round Thursday afternoon, will now face Ola in the state semifinals Friday evening at 5:30pm. A win over Ola would put the Wildcats in a state championship match Saturday against either Union Grove or Buford. Those two teams will meet in the other state semifinal Friday. The Cass wrestling team opened the state tournament Thursday afternoon with a 73-6 win over Decatur, but fell to Union Grove 46-17 in the quarterfinals. Cass will now compete in the consolation bracket with an opportunity to finish as high as third. The Colonels begin that effort Friday at 12:30pm against Ware County. Cass would need four consecutive wins in the consolation bracket to achieve third place.

The Cass Lady Colonels and Colonels picked up Region 7AAAAA road wins Wednesday night at Rome, while the Adairsville Tigers routed visiting Haralson County at home for a Region 6AAA victory. Meanwhile, the Adairsville Lady Tigers, facing the 8th-ranked Lady Rebels of Haralson County, struggled in the first quarter and failed to recover. CASS GIRLS 72, ROME 50 The Lady Colonels won their seventh straight Wednesday night and improved their region standing with a road victory at Rome. Jana Morning and Esmeralda Thomas led Cass with 22 and 21 points, respectively. Kyla Michienzi scored nine points and Payton Stoddard added six. Sharia Wade scored three points for the Lady Colonels. Lyric Curtis and Kyler Trouten added two points each. Taya Gibson led the Lady Wolves with 23 points. Rome fell to 10-3 overall and 4-2 in the region. Cass (11-3, 5-2 Region 7AAAAA) hosts sixth-ranked Villa Rica Friday at 7pm and Paulding County on Saturday at 3pm. CASS BOYS 52, ROME 35 Cass led 32-24 at halftime and limited the visiting Wolves to only 11 points in the second half in a 52-35 home region win over Rome Wednesday night. Mark Chester led the Colonels with 15 points. C.J. Bennett followed with 10. Jake Collum, Ashton Burley, and Ian Whittington scored seven points each and Jacquez Milles contributed six. The loss evened Rome’s season mark at 6-6 overall and the Wolves slipped to 1-4 in region play. Cass (11-4, 6-1 Region 7AAAAA) hosts Villa Rica Friday at 8:30pm and Paulding County Saturday at 4:30pm. ADAIRSVILLE BOYS 71, HARALSON COUNTY 41 Adairsville led 28-11 at half and led by 21 after three quarters on their way to a 30-point Region 6-AAA home victory Wednesday night. Denzel Pitt led the Tigers with 14 points followed by Hunter HIce with 13. Trevis Williams, Cole Hewatt, and Ethan Belcher contributed eight points each. Grayson Dailey and Juan Perez scored five apiece. James Sims and Cody Henderson added four points each and Mason Boswell scored two. Nick Vaughn scored 11 points to lead the visiting Rebels (1-15, 0-5). The Tigers (10-6, 4-3) host Sonoraville Friday. No. 8 HARALSON COUNTY GIRLS 75, ADAIRSVILLE 45 Haralson County took a 24-3 lead after one quarter and never looked back on their way to a convincing 30-point win Wednesday night at Adairsville. The Lady Rebels (14-3, 4-2 in 6AAA) had five players to score in double figures. Alexis Boykin led Haralson County with 16 points and Tori Causey scored 15. Josie Summerville led the Lady Tigers with 16 points. Taylor Greene added seven, Zay Harris six, and Havyn Isaac scored five. Adairsville (6-9, 2-5 Region 6AAA) hosts Sonoraville Friday.

Whitney Harris and Kalli Beth Scheff of the Excel Christian Academy girls basketball team combined for 43 points as the Lady Eagles held off visiting Bowdon 57-50 in a Region 6-A game Tuesday night. Harris, who finished with four three-pointers in the game and made nine of 14 free throws in the second half scored 22 points to lead the Lady Eagles. Scheff scored 14 of her 21 total points in the second half. Excel led 13-7 after one period and 23-20 at halftime. The Lady Eagles then outscored the Lady Red Devils 18-10 in the third quarter to take a 41-30 lead into the final period. Maci Holloway scored 17 of her 19 points in the second half to lead Bowdon in scoring. She was followed by teammates Rylee Robins and Lake Thompson with 13 and eight points, respectively. Rylie Boston scored nine points for Excel. Brighton McCollum added three points and Lindsey Mauldin two for the Lady Eagles. Bowdon fell to 3-11 overall and 2-3 in Region 6-A with the loss. The Lady Eagles (7-3, 3-1) play at Gordon Lee Friday in a 6pm tip. BOWDON BOYS 92, EXCEL CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 24 The visiting Red Devils improved to 7-8 overall and 2-3 in Region 6-A with a win at ECA Tuesday night. Octavius Meadows led all scorers with 26 points for Bowdon. Zach Ledbetter added 17. Dylan Drew led the Eagles with 10 points. Taylor McDaniel scored six. Excel (0-8, 0-3) plays at Gordon Lee Friday.

The Georgia High School Association has released the brackets and schedule for this weekend's Class AAAAA state duals wrestling championship at the Macon Centreplex. Woodland and Cass are the two teams representing Area 7-AAAAA. They were voted into the state tournament by Area coaches after weather, road conditions, and school cancelations caused the Area tournament to be canceled. Woodland was 9-0 and Cass 8-1 in matches with Area opponents. The GHSA state tournament begins Thursday, January 12 and runs through Saturday, January 14. Tickets are $7 on Thursday; $10 on Friday and Saturday; or $24 for a 3-day pass. CLASS AAAAA CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET CONSOLATION BRACKET

The wrestling teams from Woodland and Cass will advance to this weekend’s GHSA State Duals Championships in Class AAAAA that begin Thursday at the Macon Centreplex. Due to weather delays and cancelations that extended from last Friday through Tuesday, the Area 7-AAAAA coaches voted to send the Wildcats as the Area’s No. 1 seed and Cass as the No. 2 seed to the state tournament. Weigh-ins begin Thursday morning in Macon with the top half of the Class AAAAA bracket hitting the mats at 10:30am. The bottom half of the bracket will begin the first round at 1pm. The tournament continues throughout the day Friday and will conclude late Saturday afternoon.

The Cartersville wrestling team took fourth place Tuesday at the Area 5-AAAA team duals hosted by Central of Carrollton. Troup won the championship with LaGrange finishing second to claim the two slots for Area 5-AAAA at this weekend’s GHSA State Duals Championship in Macon. The Canes opened with a 54-30 first round win over Cedartown, but lost to Troup in the semifinals. After blitzing Chapel Hill 84-0 in their first consolation match, Cartersville faced Central-Carrollton with the winner advancing to wrestle LaGrange for a spot in the state tournament. The host Lions edged the Canes 39-32 in that match, but Cartersville coach Garvin Edwards was pleased with his team’s performance. “Central beat us badly earlier in the year,” noted Edwards. “Our kids wrestled hard today and did a really good job. Our guys pushed the pace and had some opportunities to knock them off, but we came up just short.” Canes’ wrestlers Jonathan De La Cruz and Carlos Aborresco — both juniors — went undefeated in their matches to lead Cartersville to a fourth place finish. Senior Robby Earick lost just one match, falling to his opponent in the match with Troup. Cartersville will now transition to the traditional format for the remainder of the 2016-17 season. The traditional format still has a team aspect, but now team points are earned by individuals in their respective weight classes advancing bracket rounds at each event. Cartersville will begin preparations with a Senior Night event next Tuesday. “We will bring in officials for some challenge matches,” said Edwards. “We will have some guys face off in some of the weight classes to earn a spot in the lineup during the traditional segment of the schedule. We’ll also recognize the seniors in our program,” the coach concluded.

The Purple Hurricanes battled back-and-forth throughout the night at 2nd-ranked Sandy Creek, but were edged down the stretch 86-80 in a Region 5-AAAA tilt Tuesday night. Cartersville led 9-8 on a Jaylon Pugh three-pointer early in the opening period, but trailed 21-16 after the first eight minutes. Sandy Creek (9-4, 1-0) led by as many as 11 points in the second quarter, but the Canes rallied to narrow the lead to 42-41 in the final minute of the half. The Patriots’ Chris Porter hit a three-pointer just before the intermission that put Sandy Creek up 45-41 at the break. Sandy Creek pushed their lead to 54-45 midway through the third quarter, but a 16-2 run by the Canes allowed Cartersville to take a 63-61 lead to the final period. The Patriots took another lead early in the fourth quarter, but a pair of free throws by T.J. Horton tied the game inside the three-minute mark, 73-73. Back-to-back baskets by Eric Williams and Evan Jester, however, gave Sandy Creek a 77-73 lead. Pugh — who scored 10 of the Canes' final 15 and finished with 23 points — made a bucket to cut the Patriots’ lead to 77-75, but the Canes would get no closer as Sandy Creek held on for a six-point victory. Perignon Dyer, Isaac Gridley, Trase Fezzia, and T.J. Horton all reached double figures for Cartersville. Dyer and Gridley finished with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Fezzia and Horton added 10 points each. JKobe Orr scored nine for the Canes. Jester and K.J. Wilkins led Sandy Creek with 19 points apiece. Jarred Godfrey and Eric Williams scored 14 each for the Patriots. Xavier Brewer added 13 points for the Patriots. Cartersville (9-3, 1-1) plays at Chapel Hill Friday at 7:30pm and will host Class AAA 8th-ranked Calhoun Saturday at 4pm. SANDY CREEK GIRLS 65, CARTERSVILLE 35 The Lady Canes fell to the 9th-ranked Sandy Creek Lady Patriots Tuesday night in Tyrone, 65-35. Sandy Creek (9-4, 1-0 Region 5-AAAA) led 19-10 after one quarter and led by as many as 14 points in the second quarter before holding a 34-24 advantage at halftime. The Lady Patriots put the game away by outscoring the Lady Canes 21-5 in the third quarter. Madison McKinney scored nine points for Cartersville. Kimora McClinic added eight and London Shaw five. Cartersville (6-7, 0-2) has now dropped four of their last five and will hit the road again Friday for a 6pm start at Chapel Hill before hosting Class AAA 7th-ranked Calhoun Saturday at 2:30pm.

CARTERSVILLE PARKS AND RECREATION BASKETBALL RESULTS FOR JANUARY 3 and 5, 2017 10U BOYS CANES CURTIS 25, CANES-HEATH 19 CURTIS: D.J. Cain 7, Jayden Curtis 7, Ethan Smith 4, Christian Thomas 2, Justin Hilburn 2. HEATH: Thomas Peters 6, Charles Rothschild 6, Landen Heath 2, Cainen Crowder 2, Payton MacDonald 2, Maddox Frazier 1. CANES-WOODALL 28, CANES-GIBSON 18 WOODALL: Parnel Gamble 8, Kamdyn Woods 6, Levy Jalen 6, Evan Archer 4, Brayden Channell 4. GIBSON: Adam Reed 4, Tayshaun Jackson 4, Jackson Barkley 3, Weston Chatman 2, Luke Gibson 2, Cooper Adams 1. CANES-CLINE 21, CANES-McWHORTER 19 CLINE: Julian Cline 6, Asa Mitcham 6, Cayden Aleman 4, Jordyn Woods 4, Cade Horn 1 McWHORTER: Brodie McWhorter 8, JaKeveon Porter 5, Bear McWhorter 4. 14U BOYS LAKEPOINT 30, CANES-WILSON 20 LAKEPOINT: Jackson Heilman 7, Ben Williams 5, Andrew McCary 4, Jake Lawson 4, Cal Goss 3, Bodie Mott 2, Nathan Trayler 2, Curt Bonner 1. CANES-WILSON: Kason Fearon-McLeod 10, Phillip Schiltz 7, Aadam Mahmood 3. CANES-DAVIS 41, CANES-CHANDLER 28 DAVIS: Buck Brumlow 13, Alex Freeman 12, Luke Kottemann 6, Lance Shields 4, Blane Davis 4. CHANDLER: Travian Johns 10, Noah Ford 6, Matthew Wilson 4, Charlie Heidmann 4, William Cline 2, Micah Earwood 2. 17U BOYS PURPLE HURRICANES 53, BARTOW BUCKS 52 CANES: Ali Mahmood 14, Joshua Franklin 12, Ricardo Torres 10, Tyrese Jackson 6, Mohammed Karim 5, Josh Robbins 4. BUCKS: Evan Maddox 16, Jalen McClendon 14, Joshua Bowling 14, Jack Douglas 4, Malachi Bradley 4. ADULT COMPETITIVE LEAGUE TOYO ALL-STARS 80, TOYO HIGHLANDERS 63 STARS: Quan Maartin 18, Tony Mitchell 13, Cory Warn 10, Deion Jackson 8, Keith McEver 7, James Smith 6, Tim Dudley 5, Anthony Jackson 4, Donlin Hinton 4, Curtis Palmer 3. HIGHLANDERS: Eddie Melvin 19, Jozel Payne 10, Bryan Owens 9, Devon Cordell 8, Shannon Winters 6, Tomar McClendon 2, Cedric Spivey 2. PRI 53, SHAW X-MEN 49 PRI: Cyrus Banks 19, Corey Davis 13, Laine Frazier 9 SHAW: Eugene King 19, James Williams 15, Reo Johnson 3, Cyril Young 2 ALL WASHED UP 60, TOYO ALL-STARS 55 AWU: Monterio Fezzia 20, Darrell Wilkins 9, Blake Thompson 9 Courtney Gamble 4 STARS: Deion Jackson 14, Keith McEver 11 Cory Warn 8, Donlin Hinton 7, Tony Mitchell 7 ADULT RECREATION LEAGUE CARTERSVILLE FIRST BAPTIST-RED 64, KRACKERJAX 28 KJAX: Blake Wilkey 13, Landon Adams 5, Mike Ezell 4, Adam Chance 3, Patrick Jones 3. CFB-RED: Kent Howard 23, Tyler McCurry 13, Matt Gibson 8, Mitch Jones 7, Andy Bishop 5, Tyler Heath 3, Craig Lidsay 2. THE MONSTARS 50, HAWKS 43 MONSTARS: Jordan Lothan 18, Justin Reed 10, Josh McWhorter 10, Jacob McWhorter 8, Xavier Davis 2. HAWKS: Ben Bridges 12, Nick Whorton 8, Teddy Kellogg 7, George Russell 7, Payton Russell 3 Zack Tasker 3, Bryan Warlick 2. KRACKERJAX 47, THE MONSTARS 44 KJAX: Mike Ezell 15, Blake Wilkey 10, Landon Adams 6, Jay Frazier 6 MONSTARS: Justin Reed 13, Jordan Lothan 10, Mark Womack 7, Josh McWhorter 5, Jacob McWhorter 5 GF WILLIS 64, HAWKS 49 GFW: Michael Woodard 24, Andy Tummins 14, Greg Johnson 9, Bill Hassell 8, Ty Mitchum 6, Brad Stephens 3 HAWKS: Ben Bridges 14, Georgia Russell 14, Nick Whorton 11, Joe Owen 4, T.J. Hemphill 2 THE BEARDS 43, CARTERSVILLE FIRST BAPTIST-GRAY 39 BEARDS: Paul Monroe 17, Kyle Lundberg 13, Chase Corder 5, Kevin Harris 4, Zack Morgan 2, Gregg Sizemore 2. CFB-GRAY: Joshua Christian 7, Dionata Christian 7, Donlin Hinton 6, Adam Jones 6, Logan Bagley 6. All youth and adult basketball capsules provided to Bartow Sports Zone by the Cartersville Parks and Recreation Department and the Bartow County Parks and Recreation Department.