Big plays, defense powers Canes in first-round win
November 14, 2026
Scott Barkley / CanesAthletics.com
On a night that honored state championships in boys’ golf and competitive cheer, a 42-3 opening-round win over Perry showed why Cartersville remains a favorite to claim the same hardware in football this season.
After giving up a 35-yard Panther field goal on the opening possession, the Canes (11-0) responded with 42 unanswered points. The win sets up a second-round home matchup with Stockbridge, who moved to 9-2 with a 42-37 win over Flowery Branch Friday night. Perry finishes its season at 5-6.
Cartersville would’ve hit the 48-point mark for the 11th straight game to open a season, if not for a penalty that nullified a Kaiden Kent pick-six. The junior picked off Perry quarterback Jhamard Cobb at the Panther 34 near the visitors’ sideline before crossing the field, then reversing course back across the field again and collapsing into the end zone out of sheer exhaustion.
“I felt like I was running a 400, I was so tired,” said Kent, also a member of the Canes’ state championship boys’ track and field team last season.
Underestimating Perry based on their record would’ve been a mistake, as the Panthers rode Cobb’s passing to 6’4” wide receiver JD Arnette and Jamarion Brown on the other side of the field, as well as physical runs by running back Kam Oliver up the middle. In fact, Perry’s 17 first downs weren’t far behind the Canes’ 20.
Panther turnovers and Cartersville’s big-play ability ended up producing the final score, though.
After forcing a Canes turnover on downs at the Panther 32 early in the second quarter with the score 14-3, Perry marched to the Cartersville 16 over nine plays, including a fourth-and-one conversion by Oliver up the middle. On the tenth snap, though, Noah Cagle recovered a fumble to end the threat.
The Canes responded with an 11-play, 86-yard drive of their own that consumed nearly four minutes and ended with a seven-yard pass from Harris Turner to Tyon Coe for a 21-3 lead with 3:08 to play in the half.
Trailing 21-3, Perry had a chance to force an early stop after Cartersville received the second-half kickoff, still ahead 21-3.
At their own 21 and facing third-and-nine, Turner found Kent along the sideline for a first down. Six plays later, Brayden Doss floated a 27-yard pass to Oxx Davis into the end zone that Davis picked off the back of the defender’s helmet for a 28-3 lead.
“There’s a lot of little moments in a game that get overlooked,” said head coach Conor Foster of Turner’s third-down completion. “He made another play earlier where on second and long, he ran for five yards and was decisive to get us into a good third-down distance. Harris made a lot of headsy plays today; not a ton of flashy plays, but a lot of that put us in good position. I’m really proud of his leadership and his growth in that perspective.”
“That play was big,” said Turner. “2K (Kent) ran a good route, and it was a huge momentum swing, for sure. It helped us get to where we could put the game away.”
In terms of running styles, Davis may be a Lamborghini and Doss a Ferrari, with Turner admitting he’s more like a Ford F-250.
“I’m not the most athletic, but I like to run it when I need to,” he said. “There’s no reason to force a throw when you don’t have to.”
The Cartersville defense pushed the game beyond reach on Perry’s ensuing possession when linebacker Cole Crawford came free on an edge blitz and knocked the ball loose from Cobb. Defensive end Kylen Pope picked it up and battled his way into the end zone from seven yards out for his second defensive score of the season.
“There were a couple of factors,” said Crawford. “[The blocker] kind of slid away from me because the last time I went up there I dropped back. I ended up getting to him and punching the ball out and we got the score.
“After that first series, we played really disciplined, strong and fast.”
Cobb threw the ball 31 times, completing 16 for 163 yards and an interception. Arnette caught five of those passes for 63 yards, with Brown just behind at 62 yards on four receptions. Oliver, who had averaged 143.3 yards on the ground in the previous three games, finished with 71 yards on 25 carries.
“They were really physical in the way they were running their routes,” said Kent, who ended up being credited with a 16-yard interception return after the penalty. “[Arnette] is really talented. But we worked on keeping them in front of us and getting them on the ground if they made a catch.”
A balanced Canes attack led to 443 yards of total offense.
That included 238 yards through the air. Davis accounted for 166 of them on seven receptions and two touchdowns, including an 81-yarder that included a stiff-arm to a defender at midfield. Cooper Melvin followed with 39 yards on four catches, and Kent had 20 yards on three receptions. Coe’s seven-yard touchdown was his lone reception. Lance Tippett and Cagle each finished with one catch for three yards, Cagle’s going for a touchdown from Turner that made the score 42-3 with 38 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Turner went 15-of-21 for 213 yards and three touchdowns, while Doss completed both of his passing attempts for 25 yards and a score.
Coe’s 86 yards on 16 carries led a 205-yard rushing effort. Doss finished with 59 yards on 10 rushes, including a one-yard score to put the Canes up 7-3. CJ McClendon had 46 on six carries. AJ Townsend delivered five yards on three totes.
Jayden Nevarez went 6-of-6 on extra points. Penalties on three of them, though, pushed the kick to a 25-yard attempt.
“We answered the bell,” said Foster. “I told anyone who would listen that Perry was a really good football team that deserved a much better rank than 31. They won a state championship just a couple of years ago and have played in big environments. I thought our kids responded to everything they threw at us today, staying connected and making adjustments to figure things out.”
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