The Cartersville High School football team will be headed to the Georgia Dome for the Class AAAA State Championship game Saturday morning and they are asking you to join them for a special send off. The football team will participate in a Canes’ Walk at 11:45am leaving from the school, to Church Street, to Main Street, to I-75. Come out and cheer on the Canes as they hit the road for their trip to the Dome. Bring your signs, shakers, noisemakers, and line the streets to show your support. The state championship game with undefeated Thomson is scheduled for 4:30pm. Cartersville (14-0) has won 29 straight games and the Hurricanes are the defending Class AAAA state champions.

The Cartersville Clash Storm 16U girls soccer team recently won their Georgia Soccer division in the fall season and a spot in the Georgia Division 2 and Division 3 State Championships. Cartersville Clash Storm 16U will compete in the Division 2 state championship being hosted at Lovejoy Park in Clayton County. Members of the Cartersville team include Kendyl Anderson, Iveth Betancourt, Kelly Betancourt, Sydney Eaves, Holly Eger, Tiera Feanny, Devondria Johnson, Azeneth Landaverde, Kaylee Lovinggood, Anna McCrary, Brittney Milian, Cassie Randolph, Leidi Toribio, Emily Varga, Grace Webb, Autumn Woody and Janet Zazueta. Other teams at the event include: AFC Lightning Red, AFC Lightning Black, DSC Revolution White, Effingham United, Georgia Storm VR, Lady Rapids FC, Liberty SC East Red, NTH Tophat White, TSC Southside Heat, and UFA South Georgia Premier. The tournament begins Saturday, Dec. 10 with pool play in three groups. Cartersville Clash Storm is assigned to Group C with the following schedule: vs. Lady Rapids FC — Sat. Dec. 10, 11:30am vs. UFA South Georgia Premier — Sat. Dec. 10, 4pm vs. Effingham United — Sun. Dec. 11, 11:30am The three group winners and one wild card team will advance to the state semifinals Sunday afternoon at 3pm. The Division 2 State Championship match will be Saturday, December 17 at 11:30am back at Lovejoy Park with the winner earning a spot in the Regional Presidents Cup in Tulsa, OK.

Thirteen local high school football players have been invited to play in the American Youth Council’s 4th annual Georgia Northwest Bowl on Saturday, December 17 at McEachern High School in Powder Springs. The high school all-star game will be part of a quadruple-header. The Georgia Southeast All-Star game will kick off the day at 9am, the Georgia Southwest Bowl will follow at 12:30pm, the Georgia Northwest Bowl is next at 4pm, and the Cobb Senior Bowl will start at 7:30pm. Four Cartersville Hurricanes will play on the Giants team of the Northwest Bowl. Trase Fezzia, Xavior Coaxum, Dalen Curtis, and Antoine Jefferson will be joined by players from Douglas, Cedartown, Chapel Hill, East Paulding, Hiram, Lithia Springs, North Paulding, Paulding County, Rockmart, and South Paulding to makeup a 48-man roster. Players from Adairsville, Cass, and Woodland will be on the opposing, 48-man Generals roster. Chad Lowery, Devon Isaac, Jacob Potter, Chase Powell, and Denzel Pitt from Adairsville; Jacob Wilson of Cass; and Dustin McElwee, Cody Costlow, and Shakur Brown of Woodland will be joined by players from Calhoun, Chattooga, Christian Heritage, Cosa, Dade County, Darlington, Gordon Central, Gordon Lee, Heritage-Catoosa, Lakeview-Ft. Oglethorpe, Model, North Murray, Northwest Whitfield, Pepperell, Ridgeland, Ringgold, and Trion. The players will practice December 10, 12, 13, and 15 in preparation for the December 17 games.

The Cass High School swim team hosted a tri-meet Tuesday evening at the Adairsville Swim Center with Coahulla Creek and Southeast Whitfield. Coahulla Creek won the meet. Cass placed second and Southeast Whitfield was third. Top performances for the Colonels and Lady Colonels included: - Boys 200 Medley A-Relay Team took 1st place. - Boys 200 Free A-Relay Team took 1st place. - Girls 200 Medley A-Relay Team took 1st place and the - Girls B-Team placed 3rd. - Girls 200 Free A-Relay Team took 1st place and the Girls B-Team placed 2nd. - Senior Lauren Gonzalez placed 1st in the Girls 200 Free. - Senior Joseph Stoelzle placed 1st in the Boys 50 Free and 100 Free. - Senior Kelsey Bunch placed 1st in the Girls 50 Free and the 100 Free. - Sophomore Selena Le placed 2nd in the Girls 50 Free and 100 Free. - Senior Benjamin Fairbanks placed 2nd in the Boys 100 Backstroke. - Senior Jaclyn Albertson placed 2nd in the Girls 100 Backstroke. - Sophomore Trinity Byrd placed 1st in the Girls 100 Breaststroke. The Cass swim team is back in action Saturday (Dec. 10) at the Tiger Plunge Invitational hosted by Adairsville High School. The meet will include many of the top teams from northwest Georgia and Tennessee. Photos courtesy coach Danny Fairbanks.

Wrestling fans were treated to an exciting dual match Tuesday night at Cartersville with the Purple Hurricanes coming away with a 45-27 win. The meet started with the 145-pound weight class and was tied 18-18 after the first six matches. The Canes then reeled off four straight wins to go ahead 36-18 before Gordon Central narrowed the gap to 36-27 with a decision and a forfeit. Cartersville closed out the Warriors, however, with two wins in the final three pairings. CARTERSVILLE 45, GORDON CENTRAL 27 JUNIOR VARSITY RESULTS: -- Devin Smith (Cartersville, 285) won by pin -- Wyatt Borkowsky (Cartersville, 195) won by pin Cartersville is scheduled to compete in The Rumble at the Rock hosted Saturday (Dec. 10) by Northside-Columbus.

A pair of storied high school football programs will tee it up Saturday afternoon at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta for the Georgia High School Association Class AAAA state championship. Both programs have not only enjoyed recent success, but both have numerous region championships and multiple state titles in their annals. Thomson has won five state championships and 27 region titles in a football history dating back to 1912. The Bulldogs won Class AAAA in 2002. They captured Class AAA titles back-to-back in 1984 and 1985. Thomson won Class A in 1967 and 1968. Cartersville has claimed three state championship and 18 region titles in a football history dating back to 1909. The Purple Hurricanes won Class AA state championships in 1999 and 1991 to go with last season’s Class AAAA title. The two programs have combined to send 11 players to the NFL. Surprisingly, the two teams have only met once over the years. Cartersville beat the Bulldogs 21-13 in the 2012 Class AAA quarterfinals. Cartersville, riding a 29-game winning streak over two years is 14-0 this season. The Purple Hurricanes are the consensus top-ranked team in the classification and are the No. 1 seed from Region 5-AAAA. Thomson (14-0) won the Region 3-AAAA championship and has been ranked second in Class AAAA virtually all season. Rob Ridings is the head coach of the Bulldogs and is 25-2 over the past two seasons after a 4-7 year in his first season at Thomson in 2014. Ridings was head coach at Glynn Academy 2004-2013 and held the top spot at Troup 1996-1998. Cartersville is 41-2 the past three seasons under head coach Joey King (photo right). This is King’s first head coaching position. He took over the Canes after serving as an assistant at Carrollton. The game appears to be a contrast of offenses. The Canes, with the nation’s top-ranked junior quarterback Trevor Lawrence, have thrown for more than 264 yards per game. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs have featured a ground attack that has rushed for more than 312 yards per game. Lawrence is 236-of-373 for 3,708 yards this season with 49 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Antoine Jefferson (59 receptions, 819 yards, 4 TDs) leads five Cartersville players with at least 30 receptions. (photo right) Two-way player and Wake Forest commit, Avery Showell, Trey Creamer, E.J. Turner, and T.J. Horton round out that talented group of receivers. Showell (photo left, #28) has 16 touchdown catches and 762 yards and E.J. Turner has caught eight touchdown throws. Creamer (photo left, #1), a University of Minnesota commit, has been the Canes’ top rusher with 711 yards on 123 attempts and 17 touchdowns. He has also caught four touchdown passes and has 538 receiving yards. The Bulldogs have thrown for just over 112 yards per game. Thomson features a pair of 1,000-yard rushers. Senior Michael Thomas (2,240 yards, 259 carries, 24 TDs) has rushed for 100 yards or more in nine games this season. Sophomore Bubba Murray (1,007 yards, 132 carries, 17 TDs) has three, 100+ yard games. Bulldogs’ junior quarterback Mills Ridings (90-of-133 for 1,393 yards, 15 TDs) has completed over 67 percent of his throws this season and is averaging just under 100 yards per game through the air. The top two targets for Ridings have been seniors Trey Parker and J.T. Thomas. Parker has 30 catches for 639 yards and 10 touchdowns. Thomas has 24 receptions for 490 yards and seven touchdowns. Junior defensive back, Christian Tutt, has also been a dangerous return man on kickoffs and punts for the Bulldogs. The two defenses have been impressive all season as well. Cartersville has allowed only 8.6 points per game. Thomson has yielded a mere 9.7 points per game. Senior strong safety Zack Johnson (5-9, 170) has led Thomson in tackles and sacks. Junior linebackers Artest Banks (6-1, 225) and Xzavious Lewis (5-11, 180) are the Bulldogs’ next top tacklers. Tutt leads the team in interceptions and along with fellow corner Jacorey Crawford, the Bulldogs have presented a stingy secondary. Thomson’s defensive line has been anchored by 260-pound sophomore Trabias Jones and 235-pound junior Devin Randall. The Canes’ defensive line had an impressive week during their semifinal win over Mary Persons. Brandon Wade, Darian Poellnitz, and Torrian Scrutchins combined for a forced fumble, 14 tackles, five sacks, and a defended pass. It continued what has been an outstanding year for the Canes’ leaders on the line of scrimmage. Cartersville linebackers Sean Holton, Nyvin Nelson, and Trevor Lowe have compiled huge seasons, while senior defensive backs Trase Fezzia, Xavior Coaxum, and Creamer have limited opponents’ passing games. Cartersville placekicker/punter Jonathan Cruz has been an important contributor also. The junior specialist has placed a very high percentage of his kickoffs in the end zone for touchbacks this season and has plenty of distance in his leg on scoring opportunities. Thomson senior kicker/punter Dakota Gergen has also been impressive this season. Gergen has made 7-of-8 field goal attempts with a long kick of 48 yards. He has successfully converted 80-of-85 extra point kicks and has served as the team’s directional punter, pinning opponents inside the 20 on two of eight attempts. Junior Marcus Cade also handles some of the Bulldogs’ punting duties with an average just of 41 yards per punt and a long punt of 45 yards. Cartersville is favored by 6 points by the Maxwell Ratings’ projection. The Canes are a 12-point favorite on a neutral field via CalPreps.com projections. Neither team has lost a state championship game (Thomson is 5-0, Cartersville is 3-0). GHSA / Georgia Dome / 2016 Schedule of Games Fri., Dec. 9 10:00 am -- Class A Private -- Fellowship Christian vs. Eagles Landing Christian 1:00 pm -- Class 3A -- Cedar Grove vs. Greater Atlanta Christian 4:30 pm -- Class 5A -- Buford vs. Rome 8:00 pm -- Class 6A -- Valdosta vs. Tucker Sat., Dec. 10 10:00 am -- Class A Public -- McIntosh Co. vs. Macon Co. 1:00 pm -- Class 2A -- Benedictine vs. Fitzgerald 4:30 pm -- Class 4A -- Cartersville vs. Thomson 8:00 pm -- Class 7A -- Roswell vs. Grayson Historical information source: Georgia Football Historians Statistical source: MaxPreps.com

The Cass wrestling team defeated Adairsville, but the Colonels were edged by Sonoraville Wednesday night in a tri-meet at Cass High School. The dual match with Sonoraville went to the final match with the Phoenix pulling out a 37-33 victory. The Colonels defeated Adairsville 58-12 and Sonoraville also picked up a win over Adairsville. Cass match results: SONORAVILLE 37, CASS 33 CASS 58, ADAIRSVILLE 12 Cass will split its squad this weekend with wrestlers at both the Allatoona High School Parlay Invitational and the Sequoyah Duals. The Allatoona tournament begins Friday evening and continues Saturday. The Sequoyah Duals begin Saturday morning. Adairsville will compete in the Dalton Carpet Classic this Friday and Saturday.

The Bartow County Recreation and Parks Department will host a season-opening tournament this week to begin the 2016-17 recreation seasons for its 8U, 10U, and 12U youth teams. The Hoops for Hope Tournament will run Thursday through Saturday with games at Manning Mill, the Houston Suggs Youth Facility at Hamilton Crossing, and the Old Cass High School gymnasiums. No admission is charged for the games, but proceeds from raffle tickets sold during the event will benefit Family Promise of Bartow County. For more information about this organization, please visit their website --- http://www.familypromisebartow.com/ The 10U girls and boys jamboree style, abbreviated time tournament games begin Thursday, with the two other age groups beginning play on Friday. Participating Teams: The 10U Girls teams include: Mystics, Lynx, Sun, Liberty, Fever, Storm, Sparks, Dream, and Stars. The 10U Boys teams include: Mavericks, Knicks, Lakers, Cavaliers, Warriors, Celtics, Bulls, Rockets, Bucks, Suns, Clippers, Kings, Hawks, Wolves, Heat, and Spurs. The 8U Girls teams include: Liberty, Stars, Dream, Mystics, Sun, and Storm. The 8U Boys teams include: Bucks, Spurs, Hawks, Knicks, Suns, Heat, Celtics, Clippers, Cavaliers, Mavericks, and Bulls. The 12U Girls teams include: Stars, Dream, Liberty, Sun, Mystics, and Storm. The 12U Boys teams include: Rockets, Lakers, Heat, Suns, Spurs, Celtics, and Bucks. The tournament continues on Friday and concludes with a championship round Saturday afternoon.

The first annual LakePoint Basketball Showcase presented by the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame is scheduled for this Saturday at the Champions Center in Emerson. The Showcase will feature boys and girls high school teams from Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. The one-day event includes three local schools in Cartersville High School, Hillgrove High School and North Cobb Christian School. Game times have been changed from the original release information, with the updated schedule as follows: 11:30 AM -- Cartersville vs. Meadowcreek -- (Boys) 1:00 PM -- Winder-Barrow vs. The Lovett School -- (Girls) 2:30 PM -- Hillgrove vs. Warner Robins -- (Boys) 6:00 PM -- Chattanooga (TN) McCallie vs. Charlotte (NC) Providence Day -- (Boys) 7:30 PM -- North Cobb Christian vs. Sandy Creek -- (Boys) With the Cartersville High School football team in the state championship game later in the day Saturday at The Georgia Dome, the Cartersville boys game with Meadowcreek is now set for 11:30am. The Canes are 3-0 and won the Dalton Thanksgiving Classic to open their season. The Mustangs out of Region 7-AAAAAAA are 6-1 headed into to their Friday night game at Brookwood. The 1pm game features the top-rated girls basketball player in the nation, Olivia Nelson- Ododa, and Winder-Barrow (3-3) as they take on The Lovett School (2-5). Following the girls match-up, the boys will take over as two Georgia teams, Hillgrove (6-1) and Warner Robins (3-1), face off at 2:30. The 6pm game will feature two out-of-state teams in Chattanooga (TN) McCallie and Charlotte (NC) Providence Day. Providence Day boasts one of the top guards in the nation, Devon Dotson, while McCallie will look to continue their success coming off a 25-win season. The final game of the night will pit two of Georgia's top-rated teams, North Cobb Christian and Sandy Creek. Sandy Creek (3-1) is the current No. 1 team in Class AAAA. North Cobb Christian (5-1) is ranked second in Class A Private. Both teams are coming off 20+ win seasons a year ago. Tickets will be available at the door for $7 per adult and $5 per student. Floor seating will be available for $10 per game. For more information and game previews, visit lakepointsports.com/basketballshowcase.

WRESTLING EVAN COLE — Cumberland University (Jr., Cartersville HS). . . won his match 11-7 at the 149-pound weight class Thursday, December 1 as the 17th-ranked Phoenix defeated Bellarmine University at home, 25-13. Cumberland will wrestle next in the 38th annual Midwest Classic in Indianapolis December 17-18. SAMMY ROSARIO — Cumberland University (Sr., Cass HS). . . pinned his opponent to win at the 133-pound weight class Thursday, December 1 as the 17th-ranked Phoenix defeated Bellarmine University 25-13 at home. Cumberland will wrestle next in the 38th annual Midwest Classic in Indianapolis December 17-18. BASKETBALL SYDNEY BOYD — Brewton-Parker College (Soph., G, Woodland HS). . . as a starting guard, scored nine points with three rebounds and one assist in 31 minutes during an 82-44 home loss to Loyola-New Orleans December 1. She also came off the bench to score three points with two rebounds and one assist in 25 minutes during an 89-26 loss at Jacksonville State November 29. The Lady Barons (3-3, 1-1) host Florida Memorial University Saturday afternoon before a Southern States Conference road trip December 29-31 to Martin Methodist College (Pulaski, TN) and Bethel University (McKenzie, TN). EMMANUEL HOLLOWAY — UU-Korihait (Finnish Pro League) - (G, Illinois State, Woodland HS). . . scored 18 points with two rebounds and three assists in a 96-79 win over Helsinki Seagulls November 30. Holloway scored six points with a pair of rebounds, two blocks, an assist, and a steal during an 81-67 loss to KTP December 2. UU-Korihait (4-9) plays BC Nokia Wednesday and Kouvot on Friday. A.J. MOSBY — Alcorn State University (Jr., PG/SG, Cartersville HS). . . scored six point with three rebounds, three steals, and two assists last Saturday in an 83-59 loss at California. Mosby scored three points with four rebounds, four assists, and three steals in a 98-65 loss at Louisiana Tech Monday night. Alcorn State (2-6) plays at Georgia Tech on Sunday, December 18 and at Grand Canyon University December 20, before hosting Rust College December 22. ADRIAN RODGERS — Malbas Oresund - Swedish Pro League (Cartersville native, Southern University). . . scored 11 points with four rebounds, three assists, and two steals in a 102-58 loss to Jamtland. Malbas Oresund (1-10) plays UMEA December 9. COREY TOBIN — Reinhardt University (G, Jr., Cartersville HS). . . scored eight points with three rebounds and two steals in an 82-79 loss at Tennessee Wesleyan last Saturday and scored four points with two rebounds, three assists, and three steals in a home 111-94 win over Voorhees College Monday night. The Eagles (9-2, 4-1 Appalachian Athletic Conference) host conference foe St. Andrews (NC) Wednesday and travel to Montreat College (NC) Saturday for another AAC tilt. RUDY WINTERS — Columbus State University (G/F, Jr., Excel Christian Academy). . . started both games, but limited to only three points total in games at Fort Valley State and University of West Georgia November 30 and December 4. Winters also totaled eight rebounds, three assists, and had one steal in the Cougars two most recent games. He has started all five games and is averaging 11.6 points and four rebounds per game as Columbus State has gone 5-0 to start the season. CSU hosts Fort Valley State next Monday in their final non-conference game before traveling to Peach Belt Conference rival Flagler College in St. Augustine Saturday, December 17. PHOTO RIGHT: Rudy Winters, Columbus State University, goes up for a shot vs. MIddle Georgia State. (Photo Credit: Anne Appleton, Columbus State University) Did we miss someone this week? If we did, please let us know. Use the 'Contact' link at the top of this page or email: bartowsportszone@comcast.net. Please also visit our 'Athletes Beyond Bartow' page on this website.

The Cass girls and boys teams swept Paulding County Tuesday night in Region 7-AAAAA play, while the Excel Christian Academy girls and the Adairsville boys also picked up local victories. Tuesday night's local results: CASS GIRLS 49, PAULDING COUNTY 28 The Lady Colonels led by nine after one quarter and by 19 at the intermission on their way to a 21-point road victory Tuesday night. Payton Stoddard led the Lady Colonels with 11 points. Lyric Curtis followed with nine. Jana Morning scored seven points. Chanel Clemons and Kyla Michienzi finished with six points. Esmeralda Thomas and Kyler Trouten added five points each. Cass (3-2, 1-1 Region 7-AAAAA) plays East Paulding Friday at home. CASS BOYS 63, PAULDING COUNTY 56 Ashton Burley led the Colonels with 17 points. C.J. Bennett, Ian Whittington, and Jake Collum added 10 points each as Cass won its third straight. The Colonels led 12-7 after one quarter and 23-17 at halftime, before pushing their lead to 11 after three quarters at 45-34. Carter Hedden added six points for the Colonels. Mark Chester and Jacquez Milles scored five points each. Braylon Sheffield score 22 points to lead the Patriots. Shihem Mitchell added 15 points for Paulding and Jeremiah Reed scored 10. Paulding County slipped to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in region play with the loss. Cass (4-1, 2-0 Region 7-AAAAA) hosts East Paulding Friday night. EXCEL CHRISTIAN ACADEMY GIRLS 38, MOUNT PISGAH 22 Excel led throughout, including a 19-12 advantage at halftime. Rylie Boston scored 11 points to lead all scorers in the game. Kalli Beth Scheff scored 10 points. Whitney Harris and Brighton McCollum finished with seven points each for Excel. The Lady Eagles (3-1) play Friday at Mount Zion-Carroll. NORTH MURRAY GIRLS 61, ADAIRSVILLE 34 The Lady Mountaineers led 20-10 after one quarter and 30-20 at halftime, but it was a 22-6 advantage in the third quarter that put Adairsville away Tuesday night in this 6-AAA matchup. Nikayah Washington led Adairsville with 11 points. Josie Summerville followed with eight and Taylor Green contributed five points for the Lady Tigers. North Murray improved to 4-2 overall and 2-0 in region play. Adairsville (2-3, 0-2) plays at Murray County Friday. ADAIRSVILLE BOYS 57, NORTH MURRAY 52 The Tigers and Mountaineers battled to a 40-40 tie through three quarters, but Adairsville edged North Murray down the stretch for a five-point Region 6-AAA home win Tuesday night. Adairsville led 13-7 after one quarter, but trailed 29-27 at halftime. Hunter Hice led Adairsville with a game-high 16 points. Cody Henderson scored 11 points. Ethan Belcher added nine points and Ronald Hardin finished with eight. James Sims added six points for the Tigers. Adairsville (3-3, 1-1) plays at Murray County Friday. No. 7 CARROLLTON GIRLS 63, WOODLAND 13 The Lady Cats suffered a home loss Tuesday night to the 7th-ranked Lady Trojans in Woodland’s Region 7-AAAAA opener. Carrollton shutout Woodland 10-0 in the first quarter and led 24-6 at halftime, before posting 39 more points in the second half. Aleea Bone led Carrollton (4-0) with nine points. Rayven Brown and Elexus Bell added eight each. McKenzie Hobbs led Woodland with nine points. Madgie Robinson and Jamison Kilgo added two points each. Woodland (0-3) plays at Paulding County Friday and at Villa Rica on Saturday.

The original Harlem Globetrotters will perform Thursday night at 7pm at the LakePoint Champions Center in Emerson. The Champions Center at LakePoint serves as the training center for the world-famous Harlem Globetrotters traveling basketball troupe. Tickets are available at the LakePoint ticket office at the Champions Center. Tickets are $20 plus tax each. Tickets are also available online through TicketWeb. Use the link below: LINK TO TICKETWEB