Lady Canes’ pitcher, Hannah Todd, is making this a weekly habit. After tossing a no-hitter exactly one week prior against Adairsville, she repeated the feat Saturday as Cartersville downed visiting Fannin County, 11-0. Making short work of Fannin, Todd yielded only one walk and struck out twelve. She also contributed a triple on offense with three RBIs. Tara Mathis (RBI) and Molly Wilson had two hits for Cartersville. Presley Edwards finished with a hit and three RBI. Hope Short, Lauren McElhaney, Madison McKinney (RBI), and Jolea Prokop added one hit each. In the second game, Cass pitcher Sarah Moore tossed a complete game scattering two hits and five walks in a 6-3 Lady Colonels’ victory. Only one run off Moore was earned. Cartersville (2-4) has home games Tuesday vs. Sandy Creek and Thursday vs. Chapel Hill. Both are scheduled for 5:55pm. The Lady Canes also play at North Paulding Friday at 5pm. Alexia Najarro drove in three runs with two hits for Cass. Sierrah Gani added a triple and scored a run. Arianna Mustin had one hit and one RBI. Shaniya Wilson and Moore also had hits for the Lady Colonels. Wilson Mustin, and Moore each stole a base. Fannin took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but Cass responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning to take a lead they would retain. The Lady Colonels were up 3-2 when they scored three more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to distance themselves from the Lady Rebels. Cass (2-4) hosts Hiram Tuesday at 5:55pm; Villa Rica Thursday at 5:55pm; and Darlington Friday at 5pm. Adairsville lost a pair of games Saturday at the Lakeview-Ft. Oglethorpe tournament. The Lady Tigers were shutout by Harris County, 8-0, and dropped a 9-4 decision to Dade County. Loren Harris (double), Bailey Robinson, and Macy Hufstetler had the only Adairsville base hits against Harris County. In their second game of the day, the Lady Tigers only trailed 5-3 after three innings but could get no closer. Alexa Varner and Robinson both had two hits including a double. Robinson also had a pair of RBIs. Macy Hufstetler, Mackenzie Gwin, Natalie Burrow (double), and Cortni Jacobs each contributed a hit. Harris (6 IP, 8R, 2ER, 6H, 5BB, 5K) took the pitching loss in the opener. Burrow (6 IP, 9R, 5ER, 12H, 0BB) worked the circle in the second game for the Lady Tigers. Adairsville (4-5) has a home game with Bremen Tuesday at 5:30pm.

Brad Stephens brings his own Southern flavored sports perspective and humor to Bartow Sports Zone. He is a Bartow County native and an attorney in Cartersville, but he's mostly a Georgia Bulldogs' football fan. Brad is also part of the Bartow Sports Zone broadcast team and provides color commentary during the Johnny's NY Style Pizza of Cartersville, Bartow County Game of the Week Friday nights in the fall. He is also a co-host of the Bartow Sports Zone radio show each Friday morning 7-9am on 100.3FM and AM1450, WBHF. He is also author of "Reflections in Muddy Water, Layin' Drag on life's highway in Cassville, Georgia." “They got a long row to hoe.” That is a saying that old men in Cassville used when somebody was having a hard time. Growing up working at my dad’s store, I heard the overall-clad Greatest Generation members say that phrase hundreds of times, mostly in reference to somebody’s wayward children, a marriage going sour or the Atlanta Braves. Last night in Woodstock, the Woodland Wildcats’ row was longer than the Chattahoochee River. On a rainy night before a raucous River Ridge crowd on Senior Night, the Wildcats took it on the chin early and never recovered as the Knights controlled both sides of the ball in a 36-8 victory over Tony Plott’s young squad. The result was surprising to me, as I met with Coach Plott earlier this week and I felt a quiet confidence in him leading up to Friday night. Despite having over fifty freshmen and sophomores on the roster, Woodland did not appear to be apprehensive in practice. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Brody Williams was making his pitches to Justice Carter on option plays, defenders were filling gaps in the walk-throughs and flying to the ball on simulated pass plays. Emmanuel Jones, the resident man-child of the team, appeared to be loose and confident. The entire team was miffed at the thought of being the away team at another school’s Senior Night. That bulletin board material was a perfect segue to a potential Wildcat victory. Coach Plott could not have foreseen the disastrous first quarter that was marked by Wildcat miscues on special teams, the defense getting caught flat-footed and twenty unanswered points by the Knights, who almost seemed as surprised as Woodland. The Knights are coming off a dismal 1-9 season with very little hype behind the 2016 squad, but on this night, they looked like world-beaters. The Knights scored on their first and second offensive plays of the game, mainly due to excellent field position and a lack of execution by Woodland. The Knights completely owned the line of scrimmage and for Woodland and their Wing T attack, that cannot happen. Brody Williams was unable to get any kind of rhythm going and took several hard hits that definitely caused some cringing up in the press box. He is not a sizeable young man, so Woodland cannot afford defensive ends and tackles hitting him with a full head of steam. To his credit, he kept up the fight and did all he could to keep Woodland in the game. Carter and Demarcus Williams tried to find yardage where they could, but frankly, River Ridge’s pursuit was just too much. Gaps closed quickly and long yardage plays were as rare as cheese grits in New York City. After spotting the Knights a thirty-six point lead in the first half, the ‘Cats just could not muster a comeback of any kind. Other than a couple of pass plays in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats did not move the ball consistently against the stingy River Ridge defense. Where does Woodland go from here? The Wildcats have to find some building blocks from this defeat and move on, as the schedule only gets harder. I know Coach Plott will watch the game film, apply the lessons learned on Friday night and hope his young team responds. They took some lumps last night, but Woodland needs to have a short memory right now. Due to reclassification, Woodland now sits in a region with Kell, East Paulding, Rome and Carrollton, all of which are ranked in the top ten by at least one publication. Another region opponent, Paulding County, sits just outside the top ten according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. You cannot forget cross-town rival Cass, Hiram, and Villa Rica, who surprised many people by beating Central of Carrollton last night. Clearly, the ‘Cats cannot dwell on this loss with a virtual Murderers’ Row coming down the pipe. I believe Coach Plott and the players can fix their issues in the off week and start anew against non-region foe Rockmart on September 2. The Yellow Jackets thrashed Cherokee County (AL) 54-28 over in Centre last night and the Wildcats will be “bringing to the Rock” when they tee it up. You can bet the Polk County natives will be restless and ready, as they always tend to be. That long row is just going to get longer in 7-AAAAA. Hopefully, Woodland can rebound against Rockmart and be the confident squad I saw on the practice field last week.

CARTERSVILLE 30, ALLATOONA 14 Cartersville built an early 21-0 lead and then held off the Bucs for the Canes' 16th straight win. Cartersville’s five-star junior quarterback Trevor Lawrence opened his junior season with a 46-yard touchdown pass to E.J. Turner on the fourth play of the game and added a 36-yard touchdown pass to Avery Showell later in the quarter. Wake Forest commit Showell recorded four sacks, one for a safety, along with 10 tackles, a fumble recovery and two receptions for 58 yards and a touchdown on offense. The Bucs got on the board with a Tate Tatum touchdown pass to Jacob Perry before the half and opened the third quarter with a Keeton Bowen 4-yard touchdown run that was set up by a 76-yard carry by Charles Anderson to narrow the margin to 21-14. Lawrence added a 12-yard touchdown pass to Turner and Showell made a tackle in the end zone for a safety for the final score. Cartersville (1-0) is idle this week before traveling to Calhoun September 2. RIVER RIDGE 36, WOODLAND 8 The Knights scored 36 unanswered points in the first half after opening with three touchdowns in the first quarter. The Wildcats only score came in the game's final minute. Quarterback Brody Williams connected with Brycen Kellett for a 40-yard touchdown pass and Justice Carter ran in a two-point conversion. Woodland (0-1) is idle next week before traveling to Rockmart September 2. RIDGELAND 49, ADAIRSVILLE 7 Ridgeland rolled up 300 yards of total offense and took a 35-0 first half lead over Adairsville in Rossville. The speedy Panthers were led by Jaylin Shelton who carried 13 times for 144 yards and three touchdowns with one reception for 25 yards just in the opening half. Shelton finished with 166 yards and four touchdowns on 16 carries. Sophomore receiver Stephon Walker had two catches — both for touchdowns — and 40 yards. Starting quarterback Ivy Bohm was 5-for-6 passing for 75 yards and a touchdown. Ridgeland finished with 433 total offensive yards to just 146 for Adairsville. Roger Redd connected with Chad Lowery for a 39-yard touchdown on the Tigers' opening possession of the second half and Josh Honea made the extra point for Adairsville only score. Adairsville (0-1) will host Cass next Friday. CASS SCRIMMAGE Pepperell 12, Cass 0

In their 2016 home opening matches at The Storm Center, the Cartersville volleyball team swept Pepperell 25-14 and 25-6, but fell to Creekview in three sets in the nightcap Thursday. In the victory over Pepperell, Catie Heilman totaled six kills. Lauren Wenzell added five kills and nine aces. Kameron Hendrix contributed nine assists and three aces, and Grace Hunter had seven assists and three aces. Creekview won the Lady Canes’ second match of the night in three sets. Cartersville took the first set 25-18, but the Lady Grizzlies rallied to win 25-20 and 25-21 in the last two. Wenzell had eight kills against Creekview. Heilman finished with seven kills, five digs, and a pair of aces. Hendrix added a dozen assists and two aces. Anna Mathis contributed six digs, 25 service receptions, five assists and five aces. “We came out strong,” stated Cartersville head coach Camille Spradley. “ We just didn’t convert our service gains into points against Creekview.” Cartersville (7-4) plays in the Lakeview-Ft. Oglethorpe tournament Saturday.

Woodland volleyball won twice Thursday at Cedartown in a pair of non-region matchups. The Lady Cats swept both matches in straight sets each. Woodland defeated Model 25-17 and 25-23. The Lady Cats also swept Cedartown in a much closer match, 25-23 and 25-22. Adairsville lost a home match to visiting Fannin County Thursday. The visiting Lady Rebels swept the Lady Tigers, 25-12 and 25-17. Woodland (4-4) and Adairsville (2-4) compete in the “At The Rock” Tournament Saturday in Rockmart. Cass volleyball lost a pair of non-region matches Thursday in Rome, falling to the host Lady Eagles to Coosa, 25-13 and 25-11. The Lady Colonels also lost to Ridgeland at the three-team event, 25-10 and 25-15. Up next on the Cass schedule, a match at Cartersville High School on Tuesday. The Lady Colonels (3-3) will also face Woodland in the tri-match. Cass will also travel to Fannin County to play the Lady Rebels and North Murray on Thursday, before playing in the Coosa Invitational August 27.

The Lady Canes softball team lost a 3-0 decision at Darlington Thursday in a non-region matchup. Cartersville out hit the Lady Tigers five to four, but Darlington was able to convert on offensive opportunities. Darlington’s Josie McKibben was the complete game pitching winner. She allowed only the five hits and one walk in seven innings and needed only 72 pitches. She did not record a strikeout and the Tigers’ defense committed only one error behind her. Colbi Ballard (6 IP, 3R, 2ER, 4H, 6BB, 6K) pitched well for Cartersville although she suffered the loss. Darlington (2-2) posted two runs in the bottom of the first inning and added their final run in the fifth frame. Gabbie Fuller and McKibben led the Darlington offense with two hits each. Lauren McElhaney had a double for the Canes. Jolea Prokop, Hannah Todd, Cio Seigler, and Molly Wilson had the other Cartersville hits. Cartersville (1-4, 0-1) hosts Fannin County at 11am Saturday at Stars Field and also has region home games with Sandy Creek and Chapel Hill Tuesday and Thursday. Cartersville will then play in the Allatoona Invitational on Friday and Saturday. VILLA RICA 20, WOODLAND 12 Villa Rica scored sixteen runs over the opening three innings and held on for a 20-12 Region 7-AAAAA win at home over Woodland. Woodland narrowed Villa Rica’s early margin to 4-3 in the top of the second, but Villa Rica put eight runs on the board in the bottom of the second to make it 12-3. Woodland responded with a six-run third inning, but Villa Rica’s four in the bottom of the inning kept the margin 16-9. The Lady Cats scored in each of their final three frames, but again, Villa Rica scored one in the fifth and three in the sixth for the eight run margin. Woodland (1-2) begins play in the Allatoona Tournament Monday against the hosts.

Paulding County scored eight runs in the first two innings at Cass Thursday night and that was enough for an eventual 10-2, five-inning Region 7-AAAAA victory. Cass scored two runs of their own in the bottom of the first to narrow the visiting Lady Patriots’ lead to 7-2, but that would be as close as they would come. Paulding (2-2, 2-1 in region play) scored two more runs in the top of the fifth for the eight run advantage. Abbie Crawford, Macey Jauregui, and Abbie Dorrough combined for five hits and three RBIs to lead the Lady Patriots offense. Cass managed only four hits. Sierrah Gani, Hope Elrod, Arianna Mustin (2 RBI), and Mae Mae McIntyre had the Lady Colonels’ hits. Taylor Queen contributed to the offense with a sacrifice. Cass (1-4, 0-3) hosts Fannin County Saturday at Stars Field in Cassville and will host region foe Hiram on campus next Tuesday at 5:55pm.

The Woodland Lady Cats softball team lost 10-2 Wednesday night at Darlington in a non-region game. Darlington, coached by former Lady Cats’ and Georgia Tech standout Jessica Weaver, scored ten runs in the first three innings to take control. Woodland’s two runs came in the top of the fifth. Kathryne Ledbetter (5 IP, 2ER, 5H, 0BB, 5K) was the complete game pitching winner for the Lady Tigers. Alex Gardner and Sydney Seymour were among the top bats for Darlington with multi-hit games. Gabby Fuller added five RBIs. Madgie Robinson led Woodland with two hits and one RBI. Bella Carnes (RBI), Audrey Morris, and Jamison Kilgo had the other hits for the Lady Cats. Jordan Duck (3 IP, 10ER, 10H, 5BB, 2K) suffered the pitching loss for the Lady Cats. Sarah Baynard (1 IP, 0R, 2H, 0BB) worked the final frame in the circle. Woodland (1-2, 1-1) travels to Villa Rica for a region game Thursday at 5:55pm.

The Woodland Lady Cats’ and Cass Lady Colonels’ volleyball teams each split a pair of matches Tuesday. Woodland, playing at Wheeler High School in Cobb County, defeated Meadowcreek in three sets, 25-15, 15-25, and 26-24. Grace Ryan totaled three aces, four kills, and two digs for the Lady Cats. Madilyn Tuplin added three aces, nine kills, five digs, and six blocks. Kalia Henry finished with 13 assists, two kills, three aces, and four digs. Ansley Flowers posted 10 digs in the victory. In the nightcap, Woodland fell to Wheeler in straight sets, 25-19 and 25-20. Ryan had two kills and four digs. Tuplin finished with three kills, three digs, three blocks, and a pair of aces. Henry added four assists, eight digs, three aces, and a pair of kills. Flowers contributed nine digs and a kill. Cass, playing at Model High School, lost to Rome 26-24 and 25-14 in their first match of the evening, but bounced back for a three set win over the host Lady Blue Devils, 25-18, 20-25, 25-21. Woodland (2-4) is scheduled for matches with Model and Cedartown at Cedartown High School Thursday. Cass (3-2) travels to Ridgeland Thursday to face the Lady Panthers and the Coosa Eagles.

The Adairsville Lady Tigers softball team took advantage of a late error by Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe Tuesday night for a come-from-behind 3-2 Region 6-AAA win at home. Morgan DeBoard reached on an infield single and later scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth on an infield error by the Lady Warriors. Loren Harris, who threw a no-hitter Monday to beat North Murray, allowed only two earned runs on three hits and a walk. She struck out eight in seven innings in the circle. LFO took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but the Lady Tigers bounced back to tie in the bottom of the second frame. DeBoard singled and scored on a Breeana Wilson groundout. Harris had a single to advance DeBoard. Sierra Tanner then singled to centerfield scoring T Lee who was a courtesy runner for Harris. The Lady Tigers out hit Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe eight to three. DeBoard finished with two hits and stole a base. Havyn Isaac, Bailey Robinson, Tanner, Macy Hufstetler (double), Cortni Jacobs, and Harris had one hit each. Adairsville (3-3, 2-2) plays at Murray County Thursday and will participate in the LFO Invitational Friday and Saturday.

Cartersville softball was shutout Tuesday night in a region duel at Central-Carroll. Central took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning and later added three runs in the fifth and another in the sixth inning to seal the contest. Emily Williams tossed a three-hit shutout in the circle for the Lady Lions to earn the pitching victory. She struck out 17 and did not issue a walk in seven innings of work. Williams also homered in two hits at the plate and drove in three runs. Abby Cook contributed a pair of RBIs for Central with a double. Molly Wilson had two hits for Cartersville. Paris Poston added a double. Hannah Todd (4.1 IP, 5R, 2ER, 6H, 0BB, 3K) and Colbi Ballard (1.2 IP, 1R, 0ER, 1H, 3BB, 2K) split the pitching duties for the Lady Canes. Cartersville (1-3) plays at Darlington Thursday at 5:30pm and will host Fannin County Saturday at 11am at Stars Field.

If you enjoy lots of scoring and offense, then Woodland’s Region 7-AAAAA home softball victory over Cass Tuesday night was the place to be. Woodland defeated Cass 17-11 in a back-and-forth matchup that lit up the scoreboard. Cass took a 5-0 lead early, but the Lady Cats scored 17 runs over the next three innings to take a lead the Lady Colonels could not overcome. Cass out hit Woodland 17 to eight, but the Lady Colonels committed four errors and Cass pitchers issued ten walks and hit five batters. In the Lady Cats' seven run bottom of the second inning, Caroline Higdon doubled to get things started. Brittney Cox moved Higdon to third with a bunt single. Skylar Chappell and Sarah Baynardd reached on back-to-back outfield errors that plated three more runs. Jamison Kilgo reached on a fielder’s choice and Audrey Morris followed with a bunt single. Bella Carnes drove home Jamison Kilgo and Audrey Morris with a two-run triple. Canes then scored on a wild pitch. Madgie Robinson walked to continue the frame and she scored on a Jordan Duck RBI double that gave Woodland its first lead at 7-5. Woodland pushed the lead to 9-5 in the bottom of the third inning. Cox singled, Baynard walked, and Kilgo was hit by a pitch to load the bases for the Lady Cats. After a force out at the plate on a grounder, Bella Carnes drew a base on balls to force in a run. Robinson then bunted to reach on an error that forced in another run. Cass narrowed the margin to 9-7 in the top of the fourth inning. Hope Elrod and Sarah Fox singled in the inning and Arianna Mustin drove them in with a two-run RBI double. Woodland answered again with eight runs in the bottom of the fourth to extend their lead to 17-7. Higdon and Robinson had RBI singles in the frame. Kilgo and Duck picked up RBIs with walks. There were three hit batsmen and another walk in the frame plus three more runs scored when Cox reached on an infield miscue. Cass scored four runs in the top of the fifth, narrowing the Lady Cats’ lead to 17-11. Brittnee Mayer, Elrod, and Fox singled to load the bases. Mustin drew a bases loaded walk to force home a run. Moore added a two-RBI single and Alexia Najarro contributed an RBI single. Following all those offensive fireworks, the two teams went scoreless the rest of the way. Cass took a 5-0 lead early. Sierrah Gani singled in the top of the first and later scored by taking home on a double steal play. Elord and Mustin had hits in the inning and Najarro and Maggie Collum added RBI singles. The Lady Colonels pushed their early lead to five in the top of the second on three singles with two outs. Mustin and Sarah Moore had hits and Najarro drove in a run with a hit. Najarro and Mustin had three hits and three RBI each for Cass. Fox (RBI) and Elrod also finished with three hits. Moore drove in a pair of runs with two hits. Mayer, Collum (RBI), and Gani had the other Lady Colonels’ hits. Gani (2), Elrod, and Najarro had stolen bases for the Lady Colonels. Higdon (double) and Cox led Woodland with two hits apiece. Carnes finished with a triple and four RBIs. Duck had two RBI with a double. Robinson added a hit and an RBI and Audrey Morris contributed a hit for the Lady Cats. Baynard drove home three runs. Chappell and Kilgo had one RBI each. Kilgo also stole a base. Cass (1-3, 0-2 in 7AAAAA) will host Paulding County Thursday at 5:55pm and will play Fannin County Saturday at 1pm at Stars Field. Woodland (1-1, 1-1) plays at Darlington Wednesday at 5:30pm and will travel to Villa Rica for another region game Thursday at 5:55pm.