Don't you just love the excitement level? Friday night, the Adairsville Tigers defeated the Jackson Red Devils at Red Devil Hill Stadium in Jackson, GA, 34-16. One of the big plays of the night was captured on video by Becky Dabbs. Dallas Cannon scoops up a Jackson fumble in the second half after Jackson had cut Adairsville's lead to only five points. The Tigers went on to win with a pair of late scores and advance to the Class AAA Elite Eight. Adairsville will host Westminster Friday, Nov. 27 at 7:30 at Tigers Stadium.

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. ________________ “Man, it didn’t mean nothin’…” That was the reaction I witnessed from a fellow Dawg fan after I extolled the virtues of the victory over Auburn this past weekend. I get it – neither team is going to Atlanta. Both fan bases are majorly disappointed and the coaches are feeling the heat. Both teams have quarterbacks vying for “worst in the SEC” and our bowl games will probably be sponsored by a clothing store or a fast food chain. This is not exactly a reason to celebrate. After the South Carolina game, if you told the Dawg Nation that our quarterback would throw for 97 yards in a 20-13 win over Auburn to take us to 7-3 for the season, you probably would have been laughed out of the building. If somebody predicted we would not score a touchdown against Missouri or Florida, there would have been eye-rolling and head shaking. This season has become one of discontent and dissatisfaction. That is the breaks, figuratively (Greyson Lambert’s descent from greatness) and literally (Nick Chubb’s reconstructed knee). Alas, here we are. I even found myself becoming “Negative Nelly” for a couple of weeks, which is unlike me. One of my friends called me out and I realized how I sounded – an armchair quarterback with a serious case of male PMS. It is not befitting or helpful to anyone or anything. When I heard the aforementioned fan explain the meaninglessness of the Auburn win, I understood exactly why this attitude cannot stand. Despite the 7-3 record, we beat one of our major rivals at their place. Georgia and Auburn are as close as it gets, the series was tied 55-55-8 until 3:30 pm on Saturday. With our backs against the wall and down for most of the game, our players bowed up and got the job done. Special teams and opportunistic turnovers win games, just as much as a potent offense or stalwart defense. Auburn fans said we “stole one,” but I say that is hogwash. The history between the “Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry” runs deep. Many of our past games have decided the postseason future of one or another. Vince Dooley graduated from Auburn. Pat Dye was an All-American at Georgia. The Dawgs’ defensive line coach, Tracy Rocker, was an All-American at Auburn. Rodney Garner and Will Muschamp are on the Plains now, but they once roamed the sidelines in Athens. We compete for the same recruits. Auburn is closer to southwest Georgia, where many a talented football player resides. The home team has seen more than its fair share of Peach State prospects cross into the Central Time Zone and for some reason, become Auburn Tigers. In fact, over 40 players on Auburn’s current roster hail from Georgia. The school has billboards all over Atlanta, luring wayward Georgians into a trance of unspeakable horror as they travel south on I-85 to join the Auburn ranks. Jordan-Hare Stadium has been the sight of many a Dawg undoing, but not last Saturday. Our coach on the hot seat with rumors buzzing like flies over a cow patty in one of Auburn’s many pastures, yet we held on. Our offense, as sluggish as a traffic on I-285 at 5:00 pm on Fridays, woke up when the time was right. The defense shut down the passing game and special teams yielded the biggest play of the game, a punt return for a touchdown by the smallest man on the field, Isaiah McKenzie. Was it pretty? No way. We are accustomed to shootouts where two offenses bash each other to pieces with amazing runs and acrobatic catches all over the field. Sharp quarterback play and two lines that can run and pass block with the best in the country. The games of 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009 were some of the most amazing I have ever witnessed. While this game was not up to par with those contests, it came down to the wire and both teams fought hard. If we lost, where would we be? If a win “don’t mean nothin’” then what is a loss? It would mean everything. Richt’s seat would be in flames. The discontent would be intolerable. It would hurt recruiting, our bowl prospects, fan attendance for the rest of the year and pundits would fill the social media world with stories of how far Georgia has fallen. So, take this win and savor it. We have 364 days of bragging rights over our loudmouthed neighbors, who we will see again and again. Recruits saw how we rebounded and took the game in the fourth quarter in a hostile environment. Our true freshmen are gaining valuable experience for the years ahead, which will hopefully have better results. One of our coaches is now famous for injuring Rico McGraw during a celebration. If anything, we are an excitable bunch, Richt notwithstanding. Then there is Will Muschamp. The guy is literally the greatest double agent the Dawgs have ever had. He takes job after job with our rivals and he just keeps losing. Whoever hired him at Auburn, we certainly appreciate it. Maybe we can get him something in Tuscaloosa. ______________________ What do you think? Post your comments on the Bartow Sports Zone Facebook page or on Twitter @bartowsportszon Use #bradstephens

The Excel Christian Academy boys’ basketball team rallied from behind in the fourth quarter Friday night at Gordon Central to send the game into overtime. The Eagles then outscored the home-standing Warriors 12-4 in the extra period to improve to 2-0 on the season. The Lady Eagles outscored Gordon Central 17-8 in the fourth quarter to pull out a come-from-behind victory as well. The ECA girls improved to 1-1. Darius Thrower scored ten of his game-high 32 points in the overtime period, including 8 of 8 free throws late in regulation and overtime to lead the Eagles. Latrel Jones followed with 17 points. Chris Hale finished the night with nine points, Caleb West tallied eight, Dylan Drew scored six, Ryan Pickens four, and Hunter Johnson added three for ECA. Nesbitt and Culpepper led Gordon Central with 18 and 17 points, respectively. Brighton McCollum poured in 23 points to lead the Lady Eagles. Rylie Boston scored seven, followed by Xena Enos with four and Kalli Beth Scheff added two. The Eagles and Lady Eagles return home Tuesday (Dec. 1) to host North Paulding. The girls’ game is scheduled for 6pm with the boys’ game to follow. Excel then returns to the road at Walker Friday (Dec. 4) and at Temple on Saturday (Dec. 5).

ADAIRSVILLE 34, JACKSON 16 Atlanta Journal-Constitution The Daily Tribune News Next for the Tigers: Home vs. Westminster, Fri., Nov. 27, 7:30pm, Class AAA State Quarterfinals CARTERSVILLE 28, LIBERTY CO. 7 Atlanta Journal-Constitution The Daily Tribune News Next for the Purple Hurricanes: Home vs. Jonesboro, Fri., Nov. 27, 7:30pm, Class AAAA State Quarterfinals

The Adairsville High School swim team competed Thursday night against Cherokee and Coahulla Creek finishing second all all categories -- men, women, and combined. Freshman Rylee Moss of the Lady Tigers continued her torrid early season pace by setting team records and qualifying for state in her four events. Moss qualified in the 200 yard intermediate medley with a time of 2:21 and also the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 1:04. On the boys side, the 200 yard freestyle relay team posted a time fast enough to qualify for the state meet. Dylan Smith, Johnathon Wilkes, Daniel Sullivan, and Jake Eberly finished the event in 1:39. The Tigers earning points in Thursday's meet included Moss, Eberly, Smith, Wilkes, Sullivan, Cicily Flores, Alyssa Miller, Dylan Coker, Nathan Dahlberg, Sierra Matthews, Katherine Sullivan, Katie Schwan, Stephanie Corona, Felicia Miller, Alexis Copple, Lilli Kennedy, Jason Bromby, Brantley Hughes, and Destiny Adams. Gillian Ballard, Sierra Fritz, Madison McCommon, and Ella Hendrix each posted times utilizing new strokes. The Tigers will be back in the pool Thursday, December 3 to host Heritage-Catoosa.

The Woodland swim team finished behind Calhoun, but defeated Darlington in combined team scores Tuesday night at Darlington. Calhoun finished the night with 294 combined points, followed by Woodland with 155 and Darlington 146. Woodland's Jordan Baldwin took three more seconds off his 100 yard backstroke time for a 14 second drop in only two weeks. Leah McDonald took two seconds off her 200 yard freestyle time; Chelsea Palacios improved her 100 yard butterfly time by two seconds; Madilyn Tuplin dropped five seconds off her 100 yard backstroke time; and Virginia Peach improved by five seconds in the 100 yard breast stroke. The Wildcats travel to the Cherokee Aquatic Center December 4 to challenge River Ridge. The meet is scheduled for 7pm.

The Georgia High School Association and its Reclassification Committee released their results this week for the new classification assignments for the 2016-18 school years. Each of the local schools -- Adairsville, Cartersville, Cass, Excel Christian, and Woodland -- remained in their current classifications even though an additional classification was created. Several of the local schools' regions will be comprised of different schools, however, as many other schools will find themselves in different classifications for the next two-year cycle. Now that all the schools are assigned to a classification, the geographic region assignments for each school will be debated and worked out by the GHSA committee membership. The new region assignments are scheduled to be released December 1. The GHSA created a new classification (for now dubbed Class AAAAAAA) for the largest schools in the state that will include schools larger than 2090 students in grades 9-12. Schools like Mill Creek, Norcross, Brookwood, Peachtree Ridge, Meadowcreek, and Collins Hill have over 3000 students. Mill Creek is the largest at just under 4000. Forty eight schools were assigned to this new classification for the largest schools. The smallest schools with 520 students or fewer are assigned to Class A. Those schools will compete in state playoffs in either the Class A Private Schools or Class A Public Schools championships. The schools between 521 students and 2089 students are divided equally among Class AA, Class AAA, Class AAAA, Class AAAAA, and Class AAAAAA. Provided GHSA retains the eight region format that has been in existence for many years, there will be six to ten schools assigned to each geographic region. Cass and Woodland remained in Class AAAAA. The school size range in Class AAAAA is 1345 students to 1673 students. The only exception was Buford, who was forced up to Class AAAAA due to the school having 17 percent of its student body membership from outside its home county. The new rule, in place for the first time, requires any school with more than 3 percent of its student body from outside its own county be moved up one classification. Buford has an enrollment of 1299 students and would have otherwise been placed in Class AAAA. There were several middle and south Georgia county schools impacted by the new rule, but they were left in their original classification following appeals to the GHSA committee. As a result, only private and independent (city system) schools with greater than 3 percent out-of-county composition were moved up for the 2016-18 cycle. Woodland is the fifth largest school in the classification with 1643 students. Cass is the 19th largest school in the classfication with 1560 students. There are 55 schools in Class AAAAA for 2016-18. Cartersville remains in Class AAAA. Cartersville is the 33rd largest of 54 schools assigned to the AAAA classification which primarily contains schools ranging in size from 1127 to 1341 students. The schools moved up to Class AAAA due to the new "out of county rule" include Woodward Academy, Jackson (Atlanta), St. Pius X, Jefferson, Blessed Trinity, and Riverside Military. Adairsville stays in Class AAA with 948 students. With most schools ranging in size from 875 to 1115 students, Adairsville is the 41st largest school of 56 schools currently assigned to Class AAA. The schools moved up the Class AAA due to the "out of county rule" include private schools Westminster, Marist, Greater Atlanta Christian, and Lovett. The "out of county" move up also included Bremen, which is an independent, city school. Excel Christian Academy with 91 students remains in Class A and will compete in the private school division for state playoffs. GHSA Schools listed by 2016-18 Classification NOTE: Region assignments are scheduled for release Dec. 1 Class 7A (AAAAAAA) Mill Creek Norcross Brookwood Peachtree Ridge Meadowcreek Collins Hill Lambert South Forsyth Lowndes Parkview Berkmar East Coweta North Cobb Grayson North Gwinnett Duluth Walton Campbell South Gwinnett Archer Cherokee Pebblebrook Camden County Colquitt County West Forsyth North Forsyth Etowah Hillgrove Newton McEachern Shiloh Newnan Woodstock Central Gwinnett Milton Lassiter Tift County Marietta Kennesaw Mountain Forsyth Central Wheeler Lakeside, DeKalb Discovery Rockdale County Roswell North Paulding Mountain View Westlake Class 6A (AAAAAA) Johns Creek Dacula South Cobb Alpharetta Valdosta Harrison Richmond Hill Cambridge Pope Osborne Alcovy Gainesville Chattahoochee Centennial Langston Hughes Habersham Central Northview Creekview Winder-Barrow Douglas County Effingham County Lee County Glynn Academy Heritage, Conyers Coffee Evans Grovetown Dalton Sequoyah Tucker Drew South Paulding Mundy's Mill Northside, W. Robins Tri-Cities Lanier Northgate Houston County Lovejoy Allatoona Brunswick Sprayberry Mays Greenbrier Alexander Creekside New Manchester North Atlanta Apalachee Jonesboro Paulding County Rome Dunwoody Bradwell Institute East Paulding Lakeside, Evans River Ridge Class 5A (AAAAA) Harris County McIntosh Flowery Branch M. L. King Woodland, Cartersville Clarkston Hiram North Springs Forest Park Stephenson South Effingham Jones County Villa Rica Statesboro Lithia Springs Mt. Zion, Jonesboro Cedar Shoals Ware County Cass Ola Warner Robins Banneker Riverwood Cross Keys Loganville Veterans Miller Grove Dutchtown Union Grove Stockbridge Bainbridge Kell Carrollton Wayne County Thomas County Central Woodland, Stock. Johnson, Gainesville Whitewater Clarke Central Lithonia Walnut Grove Locust Grove Griffin Starr's Mill New Hampstead Ridgeland Eastside Eagle's Landing Chamblee Chapel Hill Grady Fayette County Northside, Columbus Southeast Whitfield Arabia Mountain Madison County Buford Class 4A (AAAA) Pickens Richmond Academy Riverdale Morrow Heritage, Catoosa Northwest Whitfield Troup Perry North Clayton Upson-Lee LaGrange Americus-Sumter Howard Salem Chestatee Carver, Atlanta Druid Hills Hardaway Columbus Baldwin Westover Spalding Sandy Creek Southwest DeKalb LaFayette Shaw Thomson Columbia Gilmer Cross Creek Mary Persons West Laurens Cartersville Carver, Columbus Cairo North Oconee Burke County Central, Carroll Decatur Stephens County White County Cedartown Hampton West Hall Luella Oconee County East Hall Pike County Woodward Academy Jackson, Atlanta St. Pius X Jefferson Blessed Trinity Riverside Military Class 3A (AAA) Franklin County Lumpkin County Monroe Area Liberty County Jackson County Crisp County Central, Macon Sonoraville Westside, Macon Windsor Forest Haralson County Rutland Calhoun Cedar Grove Dawson County North Hall Monroe Pierce County Henry County Ringgold Redan Stone Mountain Coahulla Creek Jackson North Murray Beach Morgan County Peach County Appling County Islands Hephzibah Lakeview-Ft. Oglethorpe Murray County Jenkins Towers Hart County Tattnall County Brantley County East Jackson Southeast Bulloch Adairsville Kendrick Dougherty Worth County Banks County Long County Gordon Central Cook Rockmart Fannin County Douglass, Atlanta Westminster Marist Greater Atlanta Christian Lovett Bremen Class 2A (AA) Pepperell Jeff Davis Southwest Savannah Arts Dodge County South Atlanta Washington Therrell Toombs County Spencer Washington County Callaway Albany Fitzgerald Chattooga Union County Elbert County Johnson, Savannah Jefferson County McNair Berrien Jordan Butler Lamar County Thomasville Westside, Augusta Coosa Northeast Benedictine Putnam County Harlem Vidalia Glenn Hills Bleckley County Swainsboro St. Vincent's Hapeville Charter Model Groves Monticello Rabun County Temple Oglethorpe County Early County KIPP Atlanta Heard County Screven County Savannah Josey Dublin Bryan County East Laurens Dade County Bacon County Metter Armuchee Laney Stilwell Arts Social Circle Brooks County CLASS A (Public and Private) Holy Innocents' Woodville-Tompkins Coretta Scott King Telfair County B.E.S.T Academy Wesleyan Greene County Crawford County Macon County Manchester Gordon Lee Charlton County Atkinson County Chattahoochee County Irwin County Darlington Washington-Wilkes Seminole County Pace Academy Drew Charter Mt. Paran Christian Technical Career Magnet McIntosh County Academy Commerce Pelham Paideia Marion County Mt. de Sales Trion Wilkinson County Morris Innovative Davidson Fine Arts Mt. Zion, Carroll Bowdon Claxton Lanier County Savannah Christian Taylor County Terrell County Schley County Dooly County Hawkinsville First Presbyterian Mitchell County Turner County Lincoln County Eagles Landing Christian Our Lady of Mercy Clinch County Hebron Christian Fellowship Christian Walker Atlanta International Johnson, Augusta Jenkins County Towns County Emanuel County Institute North Cobb Christian Johnson County Treutlen Athens Academy Brookstone DeKalb Arts St. Francis Stratford Academy Calvary Day School Greenville Randolph-Clay Wilcox County Mt. Vernon Elite Scholars George Walton Providence Christian Hancock Central Galloway Montgomery County Pinecrest Academy Mt. Pisgah Georgia Military Academy Prince Avenue Miller County Landmark Christian Tallulah Falls Strong Rock Christian Savannah Country Day King's Ridge Wheeler County Whitefield Academy Twiggs County Aquinas Lakeview Academy Savannah Early College Portal Echols County Athens Christian Weber Baconton Charter Calhoun County St. Anne-Pacelli Glascock County Tattnall Square Central, Talbotton Christian Heritage Warren County Fulton Leadership Stewart County Pataula Charter Webster County Ben Franklin Academy Atlanta Jewish Academy Excel Christian Quitman County Baker County Lake Oconee Academy ACE Charter Greenforest Christian Georgia School for Deaf Georgia Academy for Blind Atlanta Classical W.D. Mohammed Taliaferro County SW Atlanta Christian Woody Gap

The 10U and 12U youth football all star teams for the Bartow County Recreation Department won quarterfinal round contests Tuesday night in the 2015 Georgia Recreation and Parks Association (GRPA) District 5 playoffs. Meanwhile Tuesday night, the Cartersville 10U, Cartersville 8U, and Bartow 8U teams were eliminated from the District 5 playoffs. 12U results November 17 at Hamilton Crossing Park BARTOW 6 MURRAY COUNTY 0 The 12-and-under Bartow youth football all stars defeated Murray County 6-0 Tuesday night in a GRPA District Five quarterfinal contest. Following a defensive battle and scoreless first half, Bartow’s offense methodically march down field after receiving the second half kickoff. Bartow used the entire third quarter clock before scoring on a six yard run by Thomas Knight. Murray threatened with one offensive drive in the fourth quarter, but once again the Bartow defensive unit made the stop and secured the narrow win. With the win, Bartow advances to the GRPA District Five semifinals and will host Rockmart at Hamilton Crossing Park. Kickoff is slated for 6:30pm. Calhoun hosts Cedartown Thursday in the other district semifinal. The winners meet Saturday at Calhoun High School at 2pm for the District Five Championship. __________ 10U results November 17 at Hamilton Crossing Park BARTOW 38 CARTERSVILLE 8 The Bartow County 10U all star youth football team broke open a close game in the second half Tuesday night to eliminate Cartersville from the Georgia Recreation and Parks District Five playoffs, 38-8. Devin Henderson broke loose for a 50 yard touchdown run and Martavius Cochran connected on a two-point PAT kick to give Bartow an early 8-0 lead, but Cartersville answered to tie the game on a Paul Gamble 10 yard run and a two-point kick of their own. Just before the half, Chris Roper scored the first of his two touchdown’s on the night and Cochran added another kick to give Bartow a 16-8 advantage at the intermission. The second half was dominated by Bartow. Roper scored on a two yard run, Caleb Cooley scampered in from 30 yards out, and Kevin Henderson added a Bartow touchdown on a fumble recovery, scoop and score. Bartow advances to the GRPA District Five semi-finals Thursday at Cedartown. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30pm. Murray County will host Calhoun in the other 10U district semifinal. The semifinal winners meet Saturday at Calhoun High School for a noon kickoff and the District Five title game. __________​ 8U results November 17 at Dalton State College DALTON 14 CARTERSVILLE 0 The Cartersville Recreation Department 8U youth football all stars fell to Dalton Tuesday on the new Dalton State College sports turf surface field at Lakeshore Park. The two teams battled through a scoreless opening period on a blustery evening with the Cartersville defense coming up with two big stops deep in their own territory. In addition to Dalton’s 3 to 1 offensive time of possession advantage, Cartersville struggled with three turnovers during the night and had one long touchdown run negated by a holding penalty. Dalton mounted a late second quarter drive and capped it off with a 3 yard touchdown run with only five seconds remaining in the half to take a 7-0 lead at the intermission. In the second half, Cartersville generated a few nice runs by Baylon Long, but Dalton added the game’s only other score with just over three minutes to go in the game. The loss ends Cartersville’s season, while Dalton advances to the District Five semifinals to play at Cedartown Thursday night. _________ 8U results November 17 at Calhoun CALHOUN 26 BARTOW 6 Game details were not made available. Calhoun will host Rockmart Thursday in the GRPA District Five semifinals. The winner will play the Dalton/Cedartown winner Saturday at Calhoun High School at 10am. Youth football results and information provided by BCRD and CPRD and sponsored on Bartow Sports Zone by CiCi’s Pizza of Cartersville.

Led by Kera Lawhon (28 pts.), Caliope Miron (26 pts.), Ashlyn Smith (26 pts.), Maggie Monforte (20 pts.) and Lyrica Miron (18 pts.), the Woodland swim team beat Dalton in the Wildcats first meet of the season November 12. Lawhon, a junior, posted a 50 yard freestyle time of 27.75 seconds. This established Kera as the fastest girl of the night. The time missed qualifying for the state meet by only 1.25 seconds. Freshman Lyrica Miron posted a new personal record of 2:40.38 in the 200 yard individual medley. That was good for a seven second drop off ast year's best time. The boys were led by Tanner Campbell (9 pts.), Dawson McClure (9 pts.) and Jordan Baldwin (8 pts.). Baldwin, a sophomore, posted an eleven second drop off his 200 yard individual medley time and a seven second drop in his 100 yard backstroke time. Campbell, also a sophomore, posted a 13 second drop in his 100 yard breast stroke time. The Wildcats travel to Darlington Tuesday (Nov. 17) to take on the host Tigers and the Calhoun Yellow Jackets.

The Adairsville High School swim team finished second at their opening meet November 12 in Calhoun. The Tigers were competing in the Region Warm-up Meet hosted by Calhoun High School. Adairsville freshman, Rylee Moss, made her impact immediately for Adairsville in her first high school meet. She set new pool and school records in two events and qualified for the state meet with her times. The records and state qualifying times came in the 100 yard butterfly (1:02) and the 500 yard freestyle (5:32), She also competed in the 200 yard medley relay and the 200 yard freestyle relay. Sierra Matthews garnered the second most points for Adairsville, competing in the 200 medley relay, 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, and 200 freestyle relay. Other top performances for the Tigers: Johnathon Wilkes in the 200 medley relay, 200 individual medley, 200 freestyle relay, 100 breaststroke; Dylan Smith in the 200 medley relay, 100 butterfly, 100 backstroke, 200 free relay; Jake Eberly in the 200 medley relay, 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 200 free relay; Daniel Sullivan in the 200 medley relay, 50 free, 100 breast, 200 free relay; Cicily Flores in the 200 free, 500 free; Jason Bromby in the 200 individual medley; Katherine Sullivan in the 200 medley relay, 50 free, 100 free, 200 free relay; Dylan Coker in the 100 free; Katie Schwan in the 200 medley relay, 200 individual medley, 200 free relay; Felicia Miller in the 100 backstroke; Alexis Copple in the 100 breaststroke; and Alyssa Miller in the 100 backstroke.

The Excel Christian Academy basketball teams opened their 2015-16 season Friday night and came away with a split. The Eagles defeated visiting Galloway 58-43, but the girls lost a close battle 53-49. The Lady Eagles fell behind 13-9 after one quarter and were outscored by three in the second period to trail 28-21 at halftime. Excel rallied in the third period to narrow the gap, but were ultimately edged in the final quarter, 53-49. Brighton McCollum and Rylie Boston led the Lady Eagles with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Whitney Harris scored eight, while Xena Enos added six. Kalli Beth Scheff scored three points, followed by Lindsey Mauldin with two and Bailey Cox with one. Caitlin Felts led Galloway with 13 points. Kaitlyn Poindexter and Melinda Hartz both reached double figures with 12 and 11. In the nightcap, Darius Thrower and Caleb West led the Eagles' boys team to victory with 18 points each. Excel led throughout the game. The Eagles took an 11-4 lead in the opening quarter and led 26-13 at halftime. Galloway narrowed the gap to nine after three quarters, but Excel pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 15 point win. Chris Hale scored eight of his ten points in the second half for the Eagles. Latrel Jones chipped in with six points, Joseph Cuomo scored four, and Max Rowland added two points. Galloway was led by S. Tokanel and A. Richards with 14 and 10 points, respectively. The Excel teams travel to Gordon Central Friday (Nov. 20) and will be back at home Tuesday, Dec. 1 to host North Paulding.

The Cartersville Purple Hurricanes' swim team competed last Thursday (Nov. 12) at Rome against the host Wolves and Blessed Trinity. Rome and Blessed Trinity tied with 265 points each with an edge going to the Rome boys and the Blessed Trinity girls. Click here for complete team and individual MEET RESULTS.