The Cartersville Purple Hurricanes ascended to the No. 1 ranking Sunday in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Class AAAA football poll, but ScoreAtlanta left Cartersville at No. 2 in their Monday poll release. Cartersville defeated North Cobb 34-31 last Friday and Buford suffered a 37-14 loss at McEachern. Buford’s loss snapped the Wolves’ 42-game winning streak. Photo: Cartersville seniors Terrius Callahan (8) and Miller Forristall (6). North Cobb was unranked and remains winless on the season through three games. McEachern (2-0) is ranked in the top three of Class AAAAAA in most polls. SCORE Atlanta Class AAAA -- Sept. 7 1. Buford 2. Cartersville 3. Woodward Academy 4. Jonesboro 5. Sandy Creek 6. St. Pius 7. Marist 8. Mary Persons 9. West Laurens 10. Burke County

With seven players currently in the PGA Tour FedExCup playoffs, golf coach to the pros and Cartersville Country Club Director of Golf Scott Hamilton has all but one of those players in solid position to advance to the third leg of the playoffs next week in Chicago. The PGA Tour is currently in the Boston area (Norton, MA) with the second stop of the four-event playoffs — Deutsche Bank Championship — which concludes on Labor Day. Steven Bowditch and Russell Henley missed the cut this week, but are still projected to remain within the Top 70 in the FedExCup points standings and will advance. The same holds true for former Scott Hamilton Golf Academy player and Acworth resident, Jason Bohn. He too missed this week’s cut in Boston, but remains firmly within the top 35. Harris English, Brendon Todd, Hudson Swafford, and Chris Kirk along with Boo Weekley all made the final 36 holes at the Deutsche Bank Championship. English entered Monday’s final round tied for 25th and is projected inside the top 50 in FedExCup points. Todd was tied for 51st after three rounds and also projected inside the playoffs’ top 50. Kirk appears safely inside the Top 40 in the projected standings. Boo Weekley and Hudson Swafford face the stiffest tests Monday of the Scott Hamilton Golf Academy affiliated players. Weekly and Swafford both entered the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship projected outside the Top 70. Without a big move up the leaderboard Monday, those two SHGA players are in danger of being eliminated from the 2015 playoffs. Henrick Stenson (-13) and Rickie Fowler (-12) were at the top of the leaderboard in Boston with 18 holes remaining. On other tours, SH Golf Academy senior player Joe Durant continued a stellar summer with a tie for 12th at the Dick's Sporting Goods Championship last week in New York. He currently ranks 7th on that tour's Schwab Cup playoff rankings. SH Golf Academy players Tom Gillis and Kyle Thompson will play in the WEB.com Tour finals next week in Fort Wayne, Indiana at the Hotel Fitness Championship. Bartow Sports Zone tracks the players affiliated with the Scott Hamilton Golf Academy each week during the PGA Tour season. SH Golf Academy is based out of Cartersville Country Club.

Brad Stephens brings his own Southern flavored sports perspective and humor to Bartow Sports Zone. He is a Bartow County native and has his own law office in Cartersville, but he's mostly a Georgia Bulldogs' football fan. ________________ There’s an old adage: “Lightning never strikes in the same place twice.” Well, that may be true but it struck close enough to end the festivities in Athens before the final horn could sound. As my grandmother used to say, “them boys got in a cloud,” As the thunder rumbled on the horizon. Georgia and Louisiana-Monroe’s matchup lasted far longer than anticipated and the coaches made the right call to end it. You could even see the refs nodding and I read their minds – “hurry up, so we can get to the Cracker Barrel out by 316.” Mercifully so for the Warhawks, who appeared to be on their way to giving up 60 points and possibly getting their quarterback, Garrett Smith, killed before their conference schedule begins. As good as Smith played, 51-14 was insurmountable and the Warhawks just punted the ball back to the Dawgs when the game was called. Give Smith all the credit, he can take a lick. The guy just kept getting up after Lorenzo Carter, Leonard Floyd and Jordan Jenkins pummeled him, play after play. He looked like those old quarterbacks from the 1970’s NFL Films – tattered jersey, pants smothered in mud and blood, limping around trying to find the open man before getting waylaid by a man twice his size. He was so old school, I was fully prepared to see Smith smoking a cigarette on the sideline between possessions. His gutsy play will suit ULM well and I foresee a great season for them in the Sun Belt conference. The Dawgs have some kinks to work out but overall, I feel like the day was a rousing success. Greyson Lambert managed the offense well in his debut, no turnovers and no silly mistakes. He did a great job handing the ball to Nick Chubb, Sony Michel and Keith Marshall, who received the loudest ovation of anyone all day. After missing 18 of the last 26 games, seeing Marshall out there in old form was cheese grits for the soul. (yeah, yeah…I know it’s supposed to be “chicken soup” but this is Georgia.) In fact, I have only heard three louder ovations in Athens in recent years: Bacarri Rambo being carted off the field against Auburn in 2009 after saving the game with a huge hit on Mario Fannin at the goal line Todd Gurley’s return from being suspended by the NCAA (National Corporation of Arbitrary Action) for earning money from his own name and accomplishments When the Jumbotron does that silly “Hide the McDonald’s fries” thing with UGA’s face. I seriously cannot grasp why fans get into this. Grown men are beside themselves when they guess correctly and everyone screams in joyous adulation when the fries appear behind the UGA face they selected. It is BEYOND ME. Georgia’s running game looked to be in mid-season form, it just took a few minutes to rev up the engine. The offensive play-calling was vanilla, as Richt is wont to do against opponents from smaller conferences. I know Bryan Schottenheimer is the offensive coordinator but the Dawgs of the Richt era always do this. No sweeps, very little play action, a couple of deep balls to keep the defense honest and that was about it. Richt is as likely to show his hand in these games as I am to eat Hunt’s ketchup and choose Pepsi over Coca-Cola. It ain’t happening, y’all. Nick Chubb and Sony Michel performed well, one could tell they were ready to hit someone other than their teammates. Chubb was dragging defenders downfield and may have said ten words all game. One ULM defender got in Nick’s face to talk trash at one point and within seconds, he was patting Nick on the shoulder. Nick obviously said, “I’m from Cedartown,” which caused the wayward Warhawk to step away before he was consumed by Polk County’s finest. Still water runs deep – that is a saying that applies to Nick Chubb in every facet of life. When he scores a touchdown, he acts like he just turned in homework. Michel runs between the tackles with the abandon of a seagull diving in for somebody’s unguarded sandwich at St. Simon’s Island. As one of my friends put it, “Sony Michel has two small children for arms.” The weight room clearly got its rent from Sony this summer. Marshall appeared to be much thicker as well, a testament to his work ethic and new strength coach, Mark Hocke. With the new physique and awesome dreadlocks, Marshall has a new edge to him that I like. The receivers and tight ends did a great job of getting open. Terry Godwin grabbed the first catches of his career. Malcolm Mitchell displayed his ability with a leaping grab for a touchdown and breaking tackles in the open field on a couple of other plays. Jeb Blazevich got in the mix with a touchdown, starting this season right where he left off. Lambert has plenty of options and the uncertainty before the game subsided with each completion. Jeremy Pruitt’s defense was stingy until the end of the first half and into the third quarter. The foot came off the gas (another trademark of the Richt era, sadly) and the Warhawks started moving the ball, causing murmurs in the stands and me wanting that bottle of Maalox I was saving for special teams. However, after the first lightning delay, the team came out motivated and ready to battle again. This cannot happen against the Head Ball Coach, despite South Carolina’s abysmal offensive performance against North Carolina on Thursday night. Special teams deserves many pats on the back. Collin Barber and Marshall Morgan punted and kicked off like the football stole their girlfriend and Tweeted about it. True freshman D’Andre Walker blocked a punt into the end zone for a safety. The Warhawks had no kick returns of note and spent much of the day backed up near their own goal line. The “Heart Attack Kids,” as I came to call them, allowed me to leave that bottle of Maalox in the medicine cabinet this week. In fact, the special teams players probably had more to fear from Coach Mike Ekeler, who was going wild on the sidelines all game. He was hip-bumping, fist-pumping and running up and down the field like he was a gunner on the kickoff team. Thank goodness headsets have gone wireless because any manager carrying Ekeler’s cord would be in the hospital today. That energy is contagious and personally, I think the Dawgs need someone like Ekeler to counterbalance Richt’s reserved nature. The next opponent is Vanderbilt, who lost to Western Kentucky in a game where the Commodores were underdogs. Let that sink in for a minute. Vandy lost to a directional school that has a red blob for a mascot. They have returned to the doldrums of old, hoping only to ruin someone’s season rather than make a bowl game. If there’s any consolation for Vandy, the man who caused their downfall lost to Temple yesterday. James Franklin left town for Happy Valley and the program has been in shambles ever since. Dawgs win big in Nashville and get ready for Steve Spurrier and his visor to come to town. No amount of lightning can stop Spurrier’s hatred of Georgia and the Dawgs better be ready for a war.

Cartersville is the new No. 1 team in Class AAAA according to the latest poll rankings released by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Canes avenged their only regular season loss of 2014 last Friday with a 34-31 home opening victory over Class 6-A North Cobb. Buford (2-1), the previous No. 1, had its 42-game winning streak snapped at Class 6-A McEachern 37-14. McEachern (2-0) is the No. 2 team in the state’s highest classification. The No. 1 ranking is the first for Cartersville (2-0) since 2005. Buford and Cartersville appear headed on a collision course again in 2015. The two met in the state semi-finals last season with Buford winning. If both teams win their respective regions, they would not meet in 2015 until the finals. Atlanta Journal-Constitution High School Football Poll (Sept. 6) (previous rank), (season record) Class AAAAAA 1. (1) Archer (2-0) 2. (2) McEachern (2-0) 3. (3) Colquitt County (3-0) 4. (4) Grayson (2-0) 5. (5) Roswell (2-0) 6. (8) Mill Creek (3-0) 7. (7) Etowah (3-0) 8. (NR) Walton (3-0) 9. (6) Lee County (3-0) 10. (10) Camden County (3-0) Class AAAAA 1. (1) Northside, Warner Robins (2-0) 2. (2) Houston County (2-0) 3. (3) Stockbridge (2-0) 4. (4) Jones County (2-0) 5. (5) Mays (3-0) 6. (6) Ware County (2-0) 7. (7) Coffee (2-0) 8. (9) Creekside (3-0) 9. (NR) Lanier (2-0) 10. (8) Glynn Academy (2-1) Class AAAA 1. (2) Cartersville (2-0) 2. (1) Buford (2-1) 3. (3) Woodward Academy (2-0) 4. (5) West Laurens (2-0) 5. (8) Mary Persons (2-0) 6. (6) Marist (1-1) 7. (10) Bainbridge (2-0) 8. (9) Thomson (2-0) 9. (NR) Burke County (3-0) 10. (NR) Jonesboro (3-0) Class AAA 1. (1) Calhoun (2-0) 2. (2) Blessed Trinity (2-0) 3. (5) Jefferson (3-0) 4. (4) Elbert County (2-0) 5. (6) Cedar Grove (1-1) 6. (7) Hart County (2-0) 7. (9) Peach County (1-1) 8. (NR) Westside, Macon (2-0) 9. (NR) Central, Carrollton (2-0) 10. (NR) Cook (1-1) Class AA 1. (1) Benedictine (1-0) 2. (2) Fitzgerald (3-0) 3. (3) Greater Atlanta Christian (2-1) 4. (4) Macon County (2-0) 5. (5) Pace Academy (3-0) 6. (6) Lamar County (1-1) 7. (7) Vidalia (2-1) 8. (9) Rabun County (2-1) 9. (10) Darlington (2-0) 10. (NR) Dublin (2-0) Class A 1. (2) Marion County (1-0) 2. (3) Prince Avenue Christian (2-0) 3. (4) Mount Paran Christian (3-0) 4. (1) Eagle’s Landing Christian (1-2) 5. (5) Landmark Christian (2-1) 6. (6) Irwin County (1-1-1) 7. (7) Charlton County (1-0) 8. (8) Calvary Day (2-0) 9. (9) Aquinas (1-1) 10. (10) Commerce (2-0)

The Cartersville High School cross country teams competed this weekend at the annual Berry College Clara Bowl 5K Invitational in Rome. The Mill Creek girls won the event by a wide margin while the Peachtree Ridge boys edged Blessed Trinity for the 2015 title. Cartersville’s Bree Cole ran 36th overall (20:34) and led the Lady Canes to a 26th place team finish in the field of 53 schools. Haden Boone led the Purple Hurricanes’ boys (18:22), just ahead of teammate Robby Earick (18:51). They finished 74th and 123rd individually. RESULTS Berry College Clara Bowl Invitational Berry College, Rome GA. GIRLS TEAM RESULTS 1. Mill Creek 97 2. Lovett 123 3. Huntsville (AL) 144 4. Blessed Trinity 198 5. Harrison 200 26. 738 Cartersville 738 ( 23:45 1:58:41) ================================================= 1 36 Bree Cole 20:34 2 113 Abby Foristall 22:20 3 167 Kayla Carpenter 24:00 4 205 Vanna Beach 25:26 5 217 Victoria Martino 26:21 6 (224) Krystinn Dabbs 26:42 ______________________________ BOYS TEAM RESULTS 1. Peachtree Ridge 87 2. Blessed Trinity 89 3. Hoover (AL) 154 4. Harrison 176 5. Walton 200 28. Cartersville 718 ( 19:10 1:35:50) ================================================= 1 74 Haden Boone 18:22 2 123 Robby Earick 18:51 3 157 Patrick Gordon 19:15 4 180 Andy Sims 19:40 5 184 Will Pruitt 19:42 6 (206) William Matherne 20:14 7 (209) Cody Cauffman 20:17

Athletes Beyond Bartow -- Saturday football updates UNC Charlotte — T.L. Ford (So., Cartersville HS) caught five passes for 63 yards with a long of 19 for UNC-Charlotte in the 49ers win at Georgia State. Georgia State University — Tarris Batiste (Sr., Cass HS) had six solo tackles, one assist, and broke up two pass plays in home loss to UNC-Charlotte. Reinhardt University — Trevor Carlton (Fr., Cartersville HS) had two tackles including one for a 3-yard loss in the Eagles 73-21 win Aug 29 over Point University. Georgia -- Punter Collin Barber (Sr., Cartersville HS) vs. UL-Monroe, 51-14 victory. 4 punts, 43.8 avg., 1 touchback, 2 inside 20, long of 50, Air Force — Defensive back Hayes Linn (Jr., Cartersville HS) vs. Morgan State, Air Force won 63-7, Linn saw action in each of the first three quarters. Maryville College — RB Chaz Rokins (So., Cass HS) had 2 carries for 14 yds. vs. Berry College Saturday. 43-17 win for the Scots. Maryville College -- Former Cass football defensive back, Da'Kelin Wells, had 2 tackles Saturday for Maryville College in the Scots' 43-17 win over Berry College. Wells started at cornerback. Follow all of these players plus others playing football and other sports on the Athletes Beyond Bartow page on this website. Use the 'More' link located on the menu at the top of each page.

Former Cass High School volleyball standout, Karlee Winecoff, has 31 kills, 4 assists, 7 digs, and 8 blocks through Point University's first five matches in 2015. The junior outside and middle hitter is a transfer to Point from Palm Beach State College. The NAIA Skyhawks have victories over Agnes Scott and St. Andrews with losses to Life, Reinhardt, and Columbia (S.C.) at the beginning of this season. The Skyhawks are members of the Appalachian Athletic Conference. You may follow Winecoff at Point University through this site's Athletes Beyond Bartow page. A link to her team page is provided.

Western Carolina University’s Katie O’Connor has 27 kills, 2 digs, and leads the Catamounts with 16 blocks through the her team's first five matches in 2015. The former Cartersville Hurricane is a 6-1 sophomore, middle blocker and appeared in 27 matches as a freshman. Western Carolina is 3-2 with wins over Georgia State, UNC-Asheville, and George Mason. The early season losses were to Murray State and Fresno State. O'Connor's collegiate career data may be followed on the Athletes Beyond Bartow page of this site.

Former Cartersville Purple Hurricane runner, Roger Herrera, led the Reinhardt University men's cross country team at the Dalton State Invitational Friday evening. Herrera, a junior, set a Reinhardt program record for a 6,000-meter event with a time of 20:52. The Eagles finished fourth just behind the host and a pair of schools receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25. William Carey finished in third, eight points ahead of the Eagles while Appalachian Athletic Conference foe Bryan placed second (66). RU's cross country teams run again Sept. 19 at the North Georgia Invitational. Former Cartersville runner and Clayton State junior, Troy Hickom, ran 56th overall in 16:43.80 at Jacksonville State University’s Struts Season Opener 5K Friday. The meet was held at the Oxford Lake Recreation Area and included cross country teams from Georgia, Georgia Tech, Mercer, Troy, Clayton State, Alabama State, West Georgia, Birmingham-Southern, Tuskegee, Clark Atlanta, Miles, and Stillman.

CARTERSVILLE 34, NORTH COBB 31 Cartersville (2-0); North Cobb (0-3) Links to Cartersville coverage: AJC http://highschoolsports.blog.ajc.com/2015/09/04/cartersville-34-north-cobb-31/ The Daily Tribune News http://www.daily-tribune.com/sports/item/3406-canes-execute-late-in-34-31-win-over-north-cobb Marietta Daily Journal http://mdjonline.com/view/full_story_sports/26843057/article-Cartersville-holds-off-Warriors--rally-?instance=prep_sports_news Photo: Marsha Massing CASS 41, COOSA 14 Cass (1-1); Coosa (0-2) Links to Cass coverage: Rome News Tribune http://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/prep_central/high_school/football/football-cass-shuts-down-coosa/article_79faad40-539a-11e5-81d7-a75adde70644.html The Daily Tribune News http://www.daily-tribune.com/sports/item/3404-colonels-make-gains-in-41-14-rout-of-coosa-eagles FORSYTH CENTRAL 39, WOODLAND 7 Forsyth Central (2-0); Woodland (0-2) Links to Woodland coverage The Daily Tribune News http://www.daily-tribune.com/sports/item/3405-wildcats-fall-short-against-bulldogs Forsyth County News http://www.forsythnews.com/section/106/article/28138/

Brad Stephens brings his own Southern flavored sports perspective and humor to Bartow Sports Zone. He is a Bartow County native and has his own law office in Cartersville, but he's mostly a Georgia Bulldogs' football fan. ________________ Fire up the band and tie a yellow ribbon ‘round the ole oak tree – college football is back. For those of us below the Mason-Dixon line, this time is sacred. Nothing on Earth captivates the mind of Southern males (and many females) like Saturdays in Athens, Tuscaloosa, Baton Rouge, Knoxville and other bastions of gridiron madness across this great land of ours. It is a time to relive old glories; to remember the good old days and the unstoppable teams that brought championships banners home to the masses. An opportunity to revel with 90,000 of your closest friends with the days between kickoffs filled by arguments about who is going to start, who is going to finish and who is going to have bragging rights for 364 days. The old become young and the young become enamored with the gladiators in helmets and shoulder pads, hoping for a chance to catch a glimpse of their heroes trying to etch their place in Southern folklore. You see, nothing immortalizes a man down here more than carrying a team to victory on a Saturday. There is a romanticism about this glorious, violent dance that cannot be recreated; it is our pastime above anything else. Beneath it all is the simplistic ideal that it is all a game. For all the pomp and circumstance, it certainly is just a game. In our fair state, there is a highly anticipated brouhaha in our midst. For the Dawgs of Georgia, the opponent rolling into Sanford Stadium on Saturday is the dreaded Warhawks of Louisiana-Monroe (“ULM”). A formidable foe from a state known for Cajun cuisine, “Duck Dynasty” and mean lady named Katrina. Many may wonder, “why would this be highly anticipated?” The Dawgs and Warhawks have no history of note – Georgia won the last meeting 44-7 in 2005. ULM plays in the Sun Belt Conference with (insert cricket noises). This is not to insult ULM, I just know as much about them as I do quantum physics. I personally cannot name one player from ULM without Google and a cup of coffee to motivate me. I do know they beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa in 2007 because all of my Bama friends wanted Nick Saban fired after that loss. Wouldn’t that have been the mistake of all mistakes? Patience is a virtue, boys and girls. ULM’s claim to fame has to be that Willie Robertson and Tim McGraw matriculated in their bayou at some point in the past. Maybe the excellent education that received at ULM provided the way to stardom and success. So, if you need duck calls and “Indian Outlaws,” then Monroe, Louisiana is right in your wheelhouse. No, this game is anticipated because of Georgia’s question marks. Mark Richt answered one of those last week, naming recent transferee Greyson Lambert the starting quarterback over longtime backups Faton Bauta and Brice Ramsey. While many fans are ecstatic, there are others who wonder how a guy who moved in this summer could win the job. Apparently, Lambert is smarter than the guy who invented coffee cup sleeves, so he was able to decipher the gargantuan playbook Georgia has pretty quickly. “Chubb left, Chubb right and Chubb up the middle” are the only plays I need Lambert to know. Then, we repeat said plays with the Haitian Sensation, Sony Michel. I feel that Sony will have a big year. He was showing flashes of his talent before being sidelined with a shoulder injury. After all, Michel was a dominant running back in high school down in Miami. If you can stand out in Dade/Broward County, Florida, you can play anywhere. ULM is going to find out how the other half lives with the Dawgs’ backs and offensive line. Nick Chubb clearly fears nobody – the boogeyman checks his closet for Nick Chubb, so I am told. The offensive line of Brandon Kublanow, Kolton Houston, John Theus, Greg Pyke and Isaiah Wynn are a proven bunch that will smash ULM’s defense like a lovebug on a windshield driving below Macon. What about the receivers? Malcolm Mitchell is the lone senior. He has all the talent but is as injury-prone as Wile E. Coyote. Justin Scott-Wesley is gone with a knee injury, again. Isaiah McKenzie is a proven return man but can he withstand the punishment of playing every down in the SEC? “Joystick,” as he is known, is smaller than my fifth grade Trapper Keeper. The other options on the two-deep are Terry Godwin and Michael Chigbu – two true freshmen with accolades but no field experience. These two have shined at fall camp, so they will see the action immediately. When Lambert goes back to pass, the uncertainty will fill the air like me when I am trying to decide between “scattered, smothered and covered” or just “country” hash browns. The defense is being coordinated by the sneering, seething, relentless Jeremy Pruitt. Apparently, this man can motivate the bark off of a plum tree, so all reports indicate that the defense will be top notch this season. Every position has game experience, especially in the case of Leonard Floyd and Jordan Jenkins, who feel like they have been in Athens since the Reagan Administration. The only real question is whether true freshman tackle Trenton Thompson will start, which seems to be the buzz. Thompson is giving the veteran offensive linemen fits in camp and reportedly ate three walk-ons, so I will be surprised if he does not put his hand in the dirt on the first play. The highly-regarded Thompson looks to do the fine town of Albany, Georgia proud on Saturday and I firmly believe he will make his mark. Trenton cried and hugged his mama when he committed to the Dawgs, how can you not pull for this guy? Special teams. Hmmm. I would say “cringe-worthy” comes to mind. Outside of Marshall Morgan and the field goal unit, every time any other special teams unit took the field last season was a dice roll. Mark Richt’s early years were rife with big special teams plays….for the good guys. Now, it seems the big plays happen and we are the ones looking at the sidelines saying “what had happened?” I would rather be shanked in jail than see another punt shanked in Sanford Stadium. Collin Barber appears rejuvenated and ready to step up. Being a Cartersville boy, I am pulling for him to the utmost. The coaches are plugging the best players in on punts and kickoffs now. Maybe, just maybe, I will not have to ingest an entire bottle of Maalox before every quarter. We shall see on Saturday. In any event, best of luck to the Dawgs on Saturday. Also, best of luck to your teams as well. Unless you’re Auburn, Tech, Tennessee and Florida – I hope your bus breaks down and you lose your playbooks. (smile)

The Bartow Sports Zone / WYXC Game of the Week Cass at Coosa — Friday, September 4 Live: AM1270 WYXC and www.bartowsportszone.com Pregame begins at 7:05pm __________________ Q & A with Coosa head coach Todd Wheeler: Q: What have you learned about your team at this point of the season? A: We’re a young football team that needs to grow up in several positions. We’re on pace, but need to progress quickly. We’re making strides in those areas. Q: Who are your team leaders? A: CB/RB Xavier Bailey, LB Patrick Zinnermon, and QB Evan Simms. Simms is a senior and a three-year starter. He’s played very well for us. We look to each of those guys for leadership on the field. Q: What have you seen from Cass in scouting them? A: Cass is athletic. Coach Hughes has done a great job over there. The quarterback has really matured and we think they are a better team than last year. They’ll be a great test for us and a real challenge. Q: Does Cass present any specific challenges for your team? A: Their athleticism causes us some issues. Their linebacker corp is good and the nose guard does a great job in the middle. Q: How do you describe your offensive and defensive schemes? A: Multiple set offense using the I-formation and the spread. We base our defense out of a 3-4 and like to move our front. Q: What are your keys to victory against Cass? A: We have to control the ball and keep their offense off the field. We have to try and limit the big play by paying attention to our pursuit angles. We have to try to keep them off the perimeter and make them earn what the get.