The Northwest Georgia Tip-Off Club honored 10 boys and girls basketball players Tuesday night (March 1) at its annual awards program. Girls Players of the Year Cartersville - Madison McKinney Cass - Jana Morning Excel - Whitney Harris Woodland - Gabby Bradley Boys Players of the Year Cartersville - Jaylon Pugh Cass - Mike Sims Excel - Darius Thrower Woodland - Jonathan Pritchett Boys Players of the Month Cartersville - Cade Archer and Travon Davis Cass - C.J. Bennett and Ashton Burley Excel - Caleb West and Darius Thrower Woodland - Jarvis James and Brady Jernigan Girls Players of the Month Cartersville - Kimora McClinic and Ka’ia Bolton Cass - Lexy Wallraven and Esmeralda Thomas Excel - Whitney Harris and Rylie Boston Woodland - Erykah Pender and Madgie Robinson The Northwest Georgia Tip-Off Club will host its annual all-star game March 10 on the Rome Georgia Highlands College campus. Lexy Wallraven (Cass) and Gabby Bradley (Woodland) will participate in the girls game at 6 p.m. Cartersville head coach Mike Tobin will lead one of the teams in the boys game that follows. Cade Archer (Cartersville), Kobie Whitfield (Cartersville), Darius Thrower (Excel), Caleb West (Excel), Mike Sims (Cass), and Jonathan Pritchett (Woodland) will be on Tobin’s roster.

The Bartow Blue 10-and-under girls recreation all-star basketball team opened the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association state tournament Friday night with a 25-17 victory over Henry County. The tournament is being hosted in Brookhaven at Lynwood Park. Mikaela Jackson and Campbell Rogers led Bartow with 9 and 8 points, respectively. Julia Shinholster, Alexis Woods, Nxaria Roberts, and Zoe Casey each added two points in the victory. The win advanced Bartow to the semifinals to be played Saturday at 12:45pm. Bartow will face the winner of a Saturday morning quarterfinal game between Savannah and Fulton County. The state championship game is scheduled for 4:15pm on Saturday.

Marissa Mowry scored three goals and had one assist in a 4-1 Cartersville girls soccer win Friday over Sprayberry. Mowry scored in the 18th, 26th, and 60th minutes, then assisted Courtney Rhea’s goal in the 78th minute. Lady Canes’ goalkeeper, Abby Robinson, had 12 saves in the victory. Cartersville (4-1) face Southeast Whitfield Tuesday. The Cartersville boys soccer team defeated Sprayberry Friday night, 3-1. The Yellow Jackets opened the scoring in the opening five minutes, but Cartersville bounced back with three unanswered goals. Grant Farmer scored in the game’s 15th minute off an assist by Rhett Pasley, then the Canes went ahead on a goal by Cesar Abeja off a corner kick from Osbaldo Cinderos in the 27th minute. Cartersville’s Pedro Robledo scored on a penalty kick in the 74th minute to round out the scoring. Marvin Osario picked up the win in goal stopping 15 shots. The Canes are now 5-1 and face Southeast Whitfield on Tuesday.

Excel Christian Academy’s bats came alive Friday night as the Eagles picked up their first win of the year, defeating Armuchee 11-4 at State Mutual Stadium in Rome — home of the Class A affiliate Rome Braves. ECA scored nine runs in the first three innings and took advantage of some solid pitching to distance themselves early from the Indians. An RBI single by Joseph Cuomo, an Armuchee error, an RBI single by Dylan Drew, and a two-run hit by Jordan Wilkie got the Eagles on the scoreboard early. Michael Duncan added a two-run single in the second inning to push Excel’s lead to 7-0. The Eagles added four more runs with two each in the third and the sixth. Two runs scored in the third on just one hit by Trace Still. Wilkie walked and later scored on an error. Still scored on a groundout. In the sixth, Cuomo singled and later scored on another Armuchee miscue. Wyatt Karlovich reached on an error, stole second, and eventually came around to score on the Indians fifth error of the game. Wilkie started on the mound for Excel and worked two shutout innings. He allowed a pair of hits and a walk while striking out three. Blaine Belisario (3.2 IP, 4R, 1ER, 4H, 0BB, 5K) and Levi Blackwell (1.1 IP, 0R, 1H, 1K) pitched the final five innings for the Eagles in relief. Cuomo finished with three hits, three RBI, and three runs scored. Duncan drove in two runs with a hit and scored a run. Still, Karlovich, Belisario, Drew, and Wilkie (2 RBI) had the other Excel hits. Excel (1-3) hosts North Cobb Christian Saturday (Mar 5) at 5pm and will travel to Mount Paran Christian Monday (Mar 7) for a 4:30pm start.

The Cass boys soccer team took a 2-0 lead to the intermission, then took advantage of a red card to a Woodland player in the second half. That forced the Wildcats to play short-handed for much of the second half and the Colonels cruised to a 10-0, mercy-rule finish late in the second half. Andrew Palma and Anthony Navarro both scored two goals for the Colonels. Alex Martinez, Moises Martinez, Julio Medina, Carlos Perez, Jorge Cabanas, and Luis Suarez added one goal apiece for Cass. Gavin Smith was credited with three assists on Cass goals. Suarez and Navarro assisted on two goals each, and Mayron Medina had one assist. The Colonels (3-1-1 overall, 1-0 in 7-AAAAA-A) play at Paulding County on Wednesday, March 9 (7:30pm) and at Sequoyah on Friday, March 11 (7:30pm). Woodland falls to 0-5 on the year and 0-2 in sub-region play. The Wildcats host Kell on Friday, March 11 (7:30pm).

The Cass Colonels took advantage of some outstanding pitching and capitalized on scoring opportunities Friday night to defeat Creekview 4-1 in a Region 7-AAAAA, Sub-Region A matchup. With the home victory, the Colonels captured two of three games in the week-long series. It was the first sub-region series of the season for both teams. The Colonels’ Jake Collum struck out five and allowed only one earned run on four hits and two walks in five innings of work to collect the pitching win. Cass scored three runs in the bottom of the third to take the lead. Evan Hinton walked and stole second to start the inning, before Collum singled to centerfield and moved Hinton to third. After Bailey Campbell walked to load the bases, Casey Patterson reached on a fielder’s choice that drove in a run. Boo Reed coaxed a walk that scored Collum and Steven Spell gounded out to second to score Campbell to make it 3-0. The Colonels’ other run was scored in the bottom of the fifth. Patterson singled to open the Cass fifth and Spell drove him home with an RBi single to left field. Austin Pruett worked the final two innings in relief for Cass. Pruett entered the game in the sixth after Collum issued a leadoff walk. He allowed three hits with no walks and struck out one. Creekview scored its only run of the game on an RBI single by Griffin Potts in the sixth inning. Ryan Stubbs had three hits, including a double, for the Grizzlies. Cass (3-2 overall; 2-1 in 7-AAAAA-A) has a bye week in sub-region play next week, so the Colonels will play a pair of games at LakePoint in Emerson. They play Griffin at 5:30pm Tuesday and will face North Oconee at 5:30pm on Wednesday. The Colonels will also makeup a game at Adairsville on Saturday, March 12.

The Woodland girls soccer team fell behind early in the second half, but responded with three unanswered goals down the stretch as the Lady Cats defeated visiting Cass 3-1 in a Region 7-AAAAA match Friday night. Following a scoreless first half, Cass got on the scoreboard first with a goal by Sidney Vermaas in the 50th minute off an assist from Kelsey Rivera. Woodland answered quickly with a goal by Kaitlin Winnenberg on an assist from Lindsay Scifers in the 52nd minute. A little more that a minute later, Winnenberg gave the Lady Cats the lead with her second goal of the night. Woodland’s Keri Cagle provided an insurance goal in the 65th minute on another assist from Scifers and the Lady Cats held on for the victory. Sam Simmons picked up the win in net for Woodland. Woodland improved to 2-4 overall and 1-1 in sub-region A of Region 7-AAAAA. Cass falls to 2-4-1 overall and 0-2. The Lady Cats play at Kell next Friday, March 11. Cass travels to Paulding County next Wednesday, March 9 and plays at Sequoyah on Friday, March 11.

The River Ridge Knights had six hitters to combine for 11 hits, 11 RBIs, and 13 runs scored in a 16-4 defeat of the Woodland Wildcats Friday night in Woodstock. With the victory, River Ridge completed a sweep of Woodland in both teams' first three-game sub-region series of the season. Woodland struck first in the game, scoring four runs in the top of the first. The inning was highlighted by a three-run double by Adam Martin. The Knights answered quickly, however, scoring seven runs of their own in the bottom half of the first. Nine more runs by River Ridge over the next two innings put the game away. Martin finished with three RBI for the Wildcats. Mitchell Taylor, Trent Harrison, Brandon Allen, Hunter Reaid, and Jacob Frye had the other Woodland hits. Grayson Bagwell suffered the pitching loss in only one inning of work. Harrison pitched the final three innings for the Wildcats. Woodland is now 1-5 overall and 0-3 in Region 7-AAAAA-A. The Wildcats have a three-game sub-region series with Rome next week. Woodland plays at home Monday and Friday. The Wolves will host Wednesday. All three games are scheduled to start at 5:55pm.

The Cass and Adairsville high school track and field teams got together for an early season meet Wednesday with the following event winner reported: GIRLS 3200m - Sophia Lopez (A), 12:59 4x100m - Cass "A", 55.3 1600m - Haley Pittman (A), 7:23 400m - Destiny Adams (A), 78.49 100m - Sabrina Buggs (C), 13.78 100 hurdles - Hillary McCarver (C), 18.47 800m - Sophia Lozez (A), 3:27 200m - Sydney Mays (C), 29.4 4x400m - Cass "A", 5:28 Discus - Dawna Garrett (C), 69' Shot Put - Hayley Gildersleeve (C), 35'2" Long Jump - Sabrina Buggs (C), 14'3" Triple Jump - Brianna Stephenson (C), 27' High Jump - Kyler Trouten (C), 4'6" Pole Vault - Kyler Trouten (C), 6'6" BOYS 3200m - Jameson Leker (A), 11:59 4x100m - Cass "A", 44.27 1600m - T.J. Boswell (A), 5:34 400m - Matt Felder (C), 55:18 100m - Terry Beerden (C), 11.21 100 hurdles - Ray Varnum (C), 16.68 800m - Noah Cole (A), 2:19 200m - Laizon West (C), 25.79 4x400m - Cass "A", 4:19 Discus - Jacob Potter (A), 110'8" Shot Put - Sidnee Johnson (A), 36'10" Long Jump - Ray Varnum (C), 18'7.5" Triple Jump - Dionte Ward (C), 39'4" High Jump - Devin Pritchett (C), 5'10" Pole Vault - Matt Felder (C), 8' Cass and Adairsville will compete next at the Southeast Whitfield Invitational Saturday (March 5).

The Adairsville boys soccer team fell behind 2-1 at Model Wednesday night, but rallied for the second straight game to come-from-behind and pick up their fifth win of the year, 3-2. “We’re playing very well right now,” said Tigers coach Kelly Abernathy. “We’ve exhibited some great offensive play and ball movement.” The Tigers put 23 shots on goal against the Blue Devils. Three different players scored goals for Adairsville. Freshmen Chris Rodriguez and Joseph Pacheco along with sophomore Danny Carillo found the back of the net. Senior team captain Jesus Garcia had two assists on the night. Abernathy has also been impressed with his team’s defense. “We were able to shut Model down in the second half of the game,” noted the Tigers’ coach. Senior keeper and captain, B.J. Hardman, combined with Stuart Abernathy and Nick Jackson for ten saves in net. Tyler Lummus and Austin Barry were both credited with great defensive plays that negated Model scoring chances. The Tigers (5-1) travel to Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe Tuesday (March 8) to open Region 6-AAA play. They host Coahulla Creek Thursday (March 10).

The Adairsville Tigers scored twice in the top of the seventh at Darlington Wednesday, to escape with a 5-3 win. Lane Griffith and Hayden Morrow had a pair of hits and one RBI each for Adairsville. Sam Seaman, Taylor Whitley, Drake Arp, and Orry Carter had one hit each. Whitley, Arp, and Kyler Pelfrey drove in a run. Pelfrey picked up the pitching victory in relief. He worked three scoreless innings down the stretch yielding two hits, a walk, and recorded two strikeouts. Seaman pitched the first inning and one-third for Adairsville. He allowed a pair of earned runs on three hits and three walks. Seaman struck out four. Noah Kelly recorded two outs in the fourth, allowing one run and a pair of walks. Trey Yunger had two hits for Darlington. Jay Shadday drove in two Darlington runs. Jake Womack, who pitched 5 and 2/3 innings, suffered the pitching loss. Womack allowed the final three Adairsville runs on seven hits and four walks. He struck out two. Adairsville (2-0) hosts North Cobb Saturday at 1pm and will play Kennesaw Mountain Tuesday (March 8) at LakePoint in a 5:55pm start. The Tigers open their region slate Friday (March 11) at Lakeview-Ft. Oglethorpe.

The Cartersville girls and boys soccer teams both shutout LaFayette Wednesday to open the 2016 region slate. The Lady Canes defeated LaFayette, 6-0. Chloe Davis, Courney Rhea, and Marissa Mowry scored two goals each for Cartersville. Claire Choate, Sydney Miller (2), Mowry, and Davis were credited with assists. Abby Robinson earned the shutout in net for Cartersville. The Lady Canes are now 3-0 overall and 1-0 in Region 7-AAAA. The Cartersville boys soccer team also opened play in Region 7-AAAA with a 7-0 blanking of LaFayette. Pedro Robledo and Osbaldo Senderos scored a pair of goals each for the Canes. Jonathan Cruz, Blake Cheek, and Victor Guevara scored the other Cartersville goals. The Canes (4-1, 1-0) and Lady Canes host Sprayberry Friday.