Canes shutout Cherokee, 35-0

The Cartersville Purple Hurricanes opened the 2022 season Friday night in Canton with a dominant 35-0 win over the Cherokee Warriors.

The Cartersville defense kept the Warriors behind the chains much of the night and earned a shutout in the season opener.

The Canes built a 28-0 lead in the first half and scored on all but two possessions in the first two quarters. One possession ended with a Cartersville punt that Cherokee misplayed. That Warriors' muff led to a Cartersville score.

After the Hurricanes added a third quarter touchdown, the final period was played with a continuous clock enabling the Cartersville coaching staff to get a large number of younger players in the game for their initial varsity experience.

Quarterback Paul Gamble connected on three touchdown passes including one on each of the Canes’ first two possessions. The first was a 13 yard completion to Collin Fletcher. His second scoring toss went to Jaylen Scott.

Malachi Jeffries had a pair of short touchdown runs to build a 28-0 lead at halftime, then Gamble hooked up with Romo Pace on a 46 yard strike to build a 35-0 Cartersville lead.

Jesus Gutierrez successfully booted all five PATs for the Canes.

Cartersville (1-0) plays its home opener next Friday with the Jonesboro Cardinals coming to Weinman Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.