Canes swat Hornets; Blessed Trinity on deck

Carlos del Rio-Wilson had one rushing touchdown and threw for two more in Cartersville's 51-26 home win over Hiram.

The Cartersville Purple Hurricanes routed the Hiram Hornets on Friday night 51-26 to earn their second region win of the year.

Cartersville led 21-9 after the first quarter and 37-12 at the half. The Canes scored on a pair of rushing touchdowns by Quante Jennings, two receiving touchdowns by Sam Phillips, and new quarterback Carlos del Rio-Wilson totaled three scores (one rushing, two passing). Phillips and Collin Fletcher were the recipients of his passes.

On the defensive side, Brittan Walker had a 40-yard pick-six with 2:18 left in the second quarter and Case Adams had an interception at the end of the third period. Oscar Hernandez booted a 47-yard field goal just before the intermission as Cartersville took a 37-12 lead at halftime.

Hiram (0-7, 0-2) kept the game close early, but Cartersville’s quick-strike offense was too much to handle for the Hornets’ defense. Omar Grant and Jirah Douglas had rushing touchdowns for the Hornets, while Dalton Moyse kicked a pair of Hiram field goals. Hiram added a fourth-quarter fumble recovery in the end zone for its final touchdown. Cartersville’s quarterback Stratton Tripp went 10-for-14 for 156 yards and one touchdown, while Del Rio-Wilson completed 11 of 14 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns. Tripp also rushed for five yards on three attempts and Del Rio-Wilson rushed for 32 yards and one touchdown on three attempts. Philips finished the night with seven Cartersville receptions for 143 yards and two touchdowns, Kyler Johnson caught three passes for 59 yards and Collin Fletcher had three grabs for 39 yards and one score. Jaylon Benham finished with 33 yards on two catches and Kolbe Benham and Brynen Wilkins also had 25 and 21 receiving yards respectively. Cartersville (6-1, 2-0) hosts second-ranked Blessed Trinity next Friday at Weinman Stadium.