Bartow Country Parks and Recreation Department Youth Football Results for Thursday, September 29 10U football BARTOW COLTS 18, BARTOW FALCONS 6 Richard Houston had touchdown runs of 55 and 50 yards plus Kelson Mitchell added a three yard scoring run for the Colts. Jonathan Gough hit paydirt for the Falcons on a 22 yard run. BARTOW PACKERS 41, BARTOW STEELERS 12 Jamarion Pullum scored three touchdowns to help lead the Packers. He had a pair of rushing touchdowns from 30 and 38 yards and returned a kickoff 70 yards for a score. A.J. Harris scored on a 20 yard run; Hayden Blalock scored on a 10 yard pass reception from Seth Abernathy; Jakevian Harris returned a fumble 50 yards for a touchdown for the Packers. Truett Hayworth added an extra point kick while Abernathy and Chase HIlburn also added extra points. Jamauri Brice ran for a pair of touchdowns for the Steelers, scoring from 28 and 70 yards. Youth football results are provided by the Cartersville and Bartow County Parks and Recreation Departments and sponsored on BartowSportsZone.com by CiCi's Pizza of Cartersville.

CARTERSVILLE 59, CENTRAL-CARROLL 9 Trey Creamer scored on a 12-yard run; Avery Showell had a 16-yard touchdown reception and a fumble return of 25 yards for a touchdown; plus Trevor Lawrence connected with Antoine Jefferson in the first quarter as the Canes took a 28-0 lead. Jonathan Cruz nailed a 43 yard field goal that gave the Canes a 45-0 lead late in the second period before Central-Carroll connected on a 78-yard pass play to make the score 45-6 just before the intermission. The Canes other two scores of the second quarter came on a 3-yard run by Creamer and a 5-yard run by Lawrence. The starters did not play in the second half. Dominique Williams scored on a 9-yard run for Cartersville in the second half and Marquail Coaxum scored on a 36 yard pass from freshman quarterback Tee Webb late in the game for a 59-9 final. Creamer finished with a pair of scores on six rushes for 44 yards and a 15-yard reception. Showell scored twice on a reception and fumble return. Lawrence, who was 11-of-18 for 152 yards, threw for two touchdowns and ran for another. JKobe Orr added 48 yards receiving for the Canes. Cartersville (6-0, 2-0) hosts LaGrange next Friday. The Grangers (2-4, 1-1) lost to Cedartown 27-17 Friday night. HIRAM 49, WOODLAND 13 Marcel Murray scored on touchdown runs of 5, 39, and 43 yards to lead Hiram past visiting Woodland Friday night, 49-13. Hiram’s Sophomore quarterback Nate Presnell ran for a 9-yard touchdown and threw for a 9-yard score to Ky’Shun Hairson. Jermaine Banks scored on a 7-yard run and Justin Crayton added a 14-yard rushing touchdown for the Hornets as they improved to 4-2 overall and 2-2 in Region 7-AAAAA. Woodland (0-6, 0-4) trailed 21-0 at halftime and 28-0 before getting on the board with 6:36 remaining in the third quarter. Cedric Lacey recovered a Hiram fumble at the Hornets’ 35 yard line to set up a six play touchdown drive culminated by a 19-yard pass from Titus Jones to Brycen Kellett. The Wildcats added another score on their next possession to make the score 35-13. Jones connected with Lacey on a 55-yard pass play for the score. Woodland travels to Paulding County next Friday to battle the Patriots in another Region 7-AAAAA contest.

Sarah Baynard tossed a complete game shutout and the Lady Cats scored four times in the fifth inning to win the deciding game of their three-game Region 7-AAAAA playoff series Friday night over Paulding County at home, 4-0. Lilly Jordan, Skylar Chappell, Jamison Kilgo, Audrey Morris, Bella Carnes, and Brittney Cox all singled in the decisive fourth inning. Madgie Robinson also reached base on a dropped third strike. Paulding County pitcher Abbie Crawford (6 IP, 4R, 3ER, 8H, 1BB, 6K) was tagged with the hard-luck loss for the Lady Patriots. Carnes (RBI) and Chappell finished with a pair of hits each for the Lady Cats. Cox (RBI), Morris (RBI), Kilgo, and Jordan had one hit each as Woodland out hit Paulding eight to five. Woodland (12-17) advances to the next segment of the Region 7-AAAAA playoffs and locks down a Class AAAAA state playoff berth with their win. A double-elimination format with the four remaining teams in the region begins Monday at Hiram.

The Cartersville volleyball team garnered a pair of straight set victories Thursday night at the Storm Center with a 25-15, 25-16 win over Pickens and a 25-20, 25-9 sweep of Woodland. Against Pickens, standout players for the Canes were: Elsa Evans with 6 kills and 4 aces; Grace Hunter with 4 kills, 2 aces, and 9 assists; Rebekah Stevens with 4 kills; and Kameron Hendrix with 10 assists. In the victory over Woodland, standout players for Cartersville were: Lauren Wenzell with 5 kills and 2 aces; Catie Heilman with 3 kills, 2 digs, and 3 aces; Grace Hunter with 5 aces and 8 assists; and Kameron Hendrix with 7 assists and 2 digs. The Lady Canes (24-16) will close out their regular season with a home match Tuesday against Darlington. Cartersville will also honor their seniors at The Storm Center. First serve is scheduled for 6:30pm. The Area 5-AAAA playoffs will begin next Thursday (Oct. 6) at Sandy Creek High School in Tyrone. Cartersville’s opening opponent will be determined after some other area matches to be played Monday night.

Excel Christian scored four runs in the top of the fifth to break open a tight game at Darlington Thursday evening on their way to a 6-1 victory. Lady Eagles’ pitchers, Hannah Lee and Taylor Gibson, limited Darlington to a single, unearned run and only two hits. Lee (5 IP, 1R, 0ER, 2H, 1BB, 8K) picked up the win. Gibson (2 IP, 0R, 0H, 1K) closed out the victory in the circle and earned a save. Lee had three for Excel. Brighton McCollum (RBI) collected two hits. Landry McCollum doubled with two RBIs. Lindsey Mauldin (RBI), Whitney Harris (RBI), Taylor Gibson (RBI), Kalli Beth Scheff (double), Aliza Baker, and Rachel Parrott had the other Excel hits. ECA (9-13) closes out its regular season slate Monday with a home game against Mt. Zion-Carroll at 5:30pm. Excel was rated 22nd in the most recent GHSA power ratings for Class A Private schools. The victory over Darlington should help with those ratings. The top 24 teams qualify for the state playoffs.

After falling 12-5 to Paulding County in the first game of their Region 7-AAAAA playoff doubleheader Thursday evening, Woodland bounced back to force a deciding game Friday with an 11-3, five inning win in Game 2. Sarah Baynard, who pitched every inning for Woodland, bounced back in the nightcap to limit the Lady Patriots to only three runs on seven hits and five walks to pick up the win in the circle. Baynard struck out two. Playing as the visiting team in the second game, the Lady Cats scored three runs in the top of first and led 3-2 going to the fourth inning. Woodland then posted a five-spot in the fourth and added three more runs in the fifth to put the game away and even the series. The Lady Cats out hit Paulding eleven to seven and took advantage of seven defensive miscues by the Lady Patriots in the second game. Abbie Crawford hit a two-run homer for Paulding County in the bottom of the first inning and added another hit and RBI to account for all the Patriots’ runs. Crawford also pitched both complete games for Paulding. Skylar Chappell (RBI), Caroline Higdon (RBI), Madgie Robinson and Brittney Cox (2 RBIs) had two hits each for the Lady Cats in their win. Emma Jordan added a single and three RBIs. Jordan Duck (2 RBIs) and Bella Carnes also had hits. GAME ONE PAULDING COUNTY 12, WOODLAND 5 Woodland fell behind early and never recovered in the opening game. Paulding led 6-0 after 4 and 1/2 innings before the Lady Cats got on the board with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth to narrow the margin to 6-2. The Lady Patriots matched those two runs with two of the own the next inning. Woodland struck for three runs in the bottom of the sixth, but Paulding put the game away with a four run seventh and a seven run win. Paulding out hit Woodland fifteen to eight in Game 1 and were able to win despite committing five errors. Crawford (7 IP, 5R, 2ER, 8H, 1BB, 6K) was the winning pitcher for the Lady Patriots in the first game. Macey Jauregui, Kayla Tucker, and Crawford combined for nine hits and nine RBIs. Makayla Powell and Crawford both hit home runs for Paulding County. Cox and Jordan had two hits each for the Lady Cats in the opening game. Carnes (2 RBIs), Robinson, Jamison Kilgo, and Audrey Morris had one hit each. Chappell added one RBI. Baynard (7 IP, 12R, 11ER, 15H, 5BB, 6K) suffered the pitching loss in Game 1. Woodland (11-17) and Paulding County (9-15) return to the Lady Cats’ diamond Friday afternoon at 5pm for a third and deciding game in the series. The winner advances to the region semifinals and locks down a spot in the Class AAAAA state playoffs.

The Woodland High School girls cross country team moved to the No. 1 spot of Georgia High School Association's Class AAAAA in the latest rankings release by MileSplit GA. Coach Matthew Landolt's Lady Cats swapped places with former top-ranked Union Grove who is now ranked second. MileSplit GA also ranks the Woodland girls as the No. 10 team in all eight Georgia classifications. The Lady Cats have been led throughout the 2016 season by a young group that includes three freshmen, a sophomore, and a junior among their top five runners. 2016 Woodland Lady Cats Angela Cochran (Fr.), Carli Clymer (Fr.), Lindsay Scifers (Jr.), Cheyenne Spinks (Soph.), Makenna Trapheagen (Fr.), Casey Bolan (Sr.), Abigail Campos (Fr.), and Mackenzie Stephenson (Fr.) MileSplit Georgia Top 10 rankings of September 29, 2016

For most teams, high school football in Georgia has reached the mid-point of the 2016 season. Region 7-AAAAA moves into its fourth week of region games. Region 5-AAAA enters its second week of region match-ups, and Region 6-AAA begins sub-region games this week. In Region 7-AAAAA, Kell is as high as No. 2 in the MaxPreps rankings and is third in the most recent composite of six different polls published in Georgia. Carrollton is ranked third in four polls and no lower than sixth in any of the statewide polls, and Rome is ranked somewhere between sixth and tenth in the various polls. In Region 5-AAAA, Cartersville is the unanimous No. 1 team in all statewide polls. Sandy Creek is the second-ranked team in the Maxwell Power Ratings in Class AAAA and is either No. 3 or No. 4 in all the other polls. In Region 6-AAA, Calhoun is currently third in the Maxwell Ratings in Class AAA, but ranked sixth in four of the other five polls. The Jackets are ranked eighth in the current Georgia Public Broadcasting poll. Local region high school football standings for the week of September 30 and schedules for the next two weeks:

Hannah Todd’s fourth no-hitter of the season and her second in three games led Cartersville past visiting Darlington Wednesday evening in the Lady Canes’ final regular season game. The University of North Carolina commit, tossed a six inning no-no as the Lady Canes added their 15th win of the year -- 8-0 over the visiting Lady Tigers. Todd walked four and struck out nine. The performance comes on the heels of a doubleheader sweep at LaGrange last Saturday as Todd worked all 14 innings of a 7-0 no hitter and a 3-0 one hitter. She struck out 22 in that two-game performance. Cartersville struck for six runs in their first two offensive innings Wednesday, but the visiting Tigers contributed with miscues. Only two of the Lady Canes’ runs in the game were earned. Darlington committed six errors while Cartersville collected eight hits. Todd had two of Cartersville’s hits including a triple and two RBIs. Lauren McElhaney also had two hits for the Lady Canes. Presley Edwards (2 RBIs), Paris Poston, Madison McKinney, and Kayla Stephenson had the other Cartersville base hits. Cartersville (15-10) is seeded fourth and opens the Region 5-AAAA playoffs by hosting an opening round doubleheader Saturday at 2pm against LaGrange. If a third game in the best-of-three series is needed, it will be played Monday.

The Atlanta Falcons have won back-to-back road games, improved their record to 2-1 and taken the lead in the NFC South, but looming questions remain for the team’s defense. For the Falcons to continue their rise, the defense will have to make dramatic improvements to compete with the opponents on the horizon of their schedule. A telling statistic regarding the Falcons’ defensive failures so far is their leading tackler has been safety Kemal Ishmael with 27 stops. Rookie linebacker Deion Jones follows with 25 tackles. Atlanta is 29th of 32 teams in passing defense and 22nd in rushing defense. Sean Weatherspoon, the Falcons’ sixth-year linebacker made 10 tackles Monday night. Jones had nine and fourth-year cornerback Robert Alford recorded eight tackles. Former Adairsville Tigers star, Vic Beasley, had three tackles in Monday night’s win at New Orleans and recorded the Falcons’ first sack of the year the week before. The Atlanta defense, however, continues to rank 30th of 32 teams in total defense and has allowed 433 yards per game and 30.3 points. Only the two teams the Falcons defeated — New Orleans and Oakland — rank worse in total defense. The Falcons' inability to put pressure on passers was a major problem in 2015 and the trend has continued in the first three games of 2016. Atlanta and three other teams are tied for 28th in the NFL with three sacks. Only Pittsburgh, with one sack, has fewer. In stark contrast, Minnesota has already recorded 15 sacks this season to lead the league. The pourous Atlanta defense is preparing to face NFL MVP Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers at home this Sunday, followed by road games at Denver and Seattle. Beasley, a first round pick of the Falcons and second year pro out of Clemson, has five tackles and one sack this season. He is joined on the youthful Atlanta defense by three rookies (LB Deion Jones, Safety Keanu Neal, and LB De’Vondre Campbell) as well as second-year defensive lineman Grady Jarrett.

CARTERSVILLE PARKS & RECREATION DEPARTMENT YOUTH FOOTBALL 8U results for September 27 CANES SILVER 28, CANES WHITE 6 Reed Ezell scored on runs of 62 and 50 yards and returned an interception 60 yards to help lead Silver past White. He also added a pair of extra points. Zeke Price contributed a six yard touchdown run and the Silver defense forced a safety. Griffin Woodall put Canes White on the board with a 60-yard pick six. CANES PURPLE 20, CANES GOLD 7 Asa Mitcham scored on touchdown runs of 41, 43, and 14 yards as 8U Purple topped Gold. Mitcham also ran in a pair of extra points. Naiser Bennett scored on a 60-yard reception for Canes Gold. BARTOW COUNTY PARKS & RECREATION DEPARTMENT YOUTH FOOTBALL 10U results for September 27 BARTOW COLTS 22, BARTOW STEELERS 0 Richard Houston ran for two touchdowns and caught another in the Colts’ victory. Houston’s runs were from 5 and 50 yards. The reception was 40 yards from Xavier Darby. Levi Epelbaum added an extra point for the Colts. Wyatt Harris rushed for 90 yards and made eight tackles for the Steelers. Houston led the Colts’ defense with six stops. BARTOW PACKERS 33, BARTOW FALCONS 0 Jamarion Pullum and A.J. Harris finished with two touchdowns each to help lead the Packers. Jakevian Harris added a touchdown run. Seth Abernathy and Hayden Blalock scored extra points. Jonathan Gough was an offensive and defensive standout for the Falcons.

Elite Stone Supply, in conjunction with WBHF and Bartow Sports Zone, presents the ELITE ATHLETES OF THE WEEK. Each week, all five local schools will name an Elite Athlete of the Week and present the information on their honoree through Bartow Sports Zone and on 100.3FM and AM1450, WBHF in Cartersville. Recipients for the week ending September 24, 2016: McKenzie Cochran, Adairsville High School Tess Cochran, Woodland High School Antoine Jefferson, Cartersville High School Taylor McDaniel, Excel Christian Academy Derrick Smith, Cass High School McKenzie Cochran is the Elite Athlete of the Week representing Adairsville High School. Cochran, the daughter of Rusty and Judy Cochran, is a senior flyer for the Tigers’ competition cheerleading squad. Cochran is a third year varsity competition cheerleader and is the team captain. A tremendous athlete, she is hard working, motivated, dedicated, and shares a positive attitude with her team. In addition to being a great competitive cheerleader, she is also an honor student enrolled in all advanced placement and honors courses at Adairsville. Distance runner, Tess Cochran, is the Woodland High School Elite Athlete of the Week. Tess, the daughter of Josh and Nicole Cochran, runs cross country and track for the Lady Cats. Only a freshman, Cochran is already the school record holder in 5K cross country with a time of 19:10. She was also the winner of the Run at the Rock Invitational this year hosted by the Lady Cats and Wildcats cross country teams. Antoine Jefferson is the Elite Athlete of the Week for Cartersville High School. A senior wide receiver for the Canes, Jefferson had 10 receptions for 153 yards last week in a 44-6 victory at Cedartown and returned a punt for a touchdown in Cartersville’s win over Hapeville Charter the week before. Jefferson leads the Canes this season in total receptions and receiving yards. “Antoine is a phenominal kid,” shared Canes' head football coach Joey King. “He was also just recognized as our school’s D.A.R.E. recipient.” Taylor McDaniel is the Excel Christian Academy Elite Athlete of the Week. Taylor is the son of Carol and Joe McDaniel, and is a senior at Excel. He has attended ECA the past two years. McDaniel is a multi-sport athlete. He is captain of the cross country team, a member of the basketball team, and a pitcher and shortstop for the Eagles’ baseball team. An honor student, McDaniel serves as a mentor and positive role model for the younger students in the elementary and middle school. He tutors and works with other students to improve their academic skills. He is a member of the Church at Liberty Square and has given back to the community for the last five years as an active participant in Splash Bartow. Coach Boulier and Coach Taylor nominated McDaniel for Elite Athlete of the Week due to his strong work ethic and leadership skills. “Taylor has really stepped up to the plate and delivered this season,” noted Boulier. McDaniel’s favorite subject is Science because he finds it intriguing and interesting. His hobbies include running and spending time with his family. His future planning includes attending college and then attending medical school to become a pharmacist. Derrick Smith is the Elite Athlete of the Week for Cass High School. The son of Waldo and Patrice Smith of Cartersville, Derrick is a 15-year-old sophomore member of the Colonels’ cross country team. Smith, in his second year with the varsity squad, has already improved his personal record time this season. Cass cross country coach David Rawlins is appreciative of Smith’s contributions. “He is a leader and he is always looking to make a difference in every race,” said Rawlins. “We look forward to Derrick propelling the boys’ team to the state meet this year.” Editors Note: Photos and bios are supplied to Bartow Sports Zone and WBHF by the respective schools and their athletic departments.