Canes win high-scoring showdown to advance to the state quarterfinals
November 23, 2024 Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com
The Purple Hurricanes’ offense scored on eight of nine possessions in a stretch and finished seven with touchdowns in the GHSA Class 4A quarterfinals Friday night at Weinman Stadium to hold off the Starrs Mill Panthers, 53-35.
Baylon Long rushed for three touchdowns, and the other four came through the air.
Nate Russell had three touchdown throws — two to Adarrian Taylor-Wilson and one to Jamauri Brice. Andrew Purdy added a touchdown toss to Davis Waddell, and Ramsey Rowell made a third-quarter field goal to round out the Canes’ scoring.
Cartersville only punted once in the game, and their only other non-scoring possession was for victory formation.
The Starrs Mill offense, led by senior quarterback Logan Inagawa, was almost as effective. The Panthers posted points on six of ten possessions but were forced to punt twice and had one costly interception. Still, they only trailed by two points at halftime and led 32-31 late in the third quarter before the Hurricanes could pull away.
Logan Shrewsbury and Mason James had sacks for the Cartersville defense on Starrs Mill’s opening possession to force a three-and-out punt. The Canes’ offense went immediately to work.
A pair of Russell to Brice quick throws were mixed in with runs by Baylon Long and Jacaiden Leonard as Cartersville marched 70 yards in eight plays. Long punched in a six-yard touchdown run, and Ramsey Rowell made the first of his six PAT kicks to give Cartersville a 7-0 lead with 7:27 remaining in the first quarter.
The Panthers answered with their next possession and consumed most of the remainder of the first-quarter clock with a 78-yard drive that took 13 plays. The drive included runs by Jeremiah Potter and Inagawa, plus four pass completions. Lincoln Delaere caught three passes in the drive, including a 29-yard touchdown to finish off the drive with 0:20 remaining in the quarter.
The Starrs Mill extra point kick missed wide left, but the Panthers had narrowed the Canes’ lead to 7-6.
Cartersville picked up one first down on the next possession with a 19-yard pass play from Russell to Cayden Aleman, but the drive stalled near midfield, and the Canes punted for the only time of the night.
Starrs Mill responded with an 80-yard drive in six plays to take a 13-7 lead. Delaere hauled in a 48-yard touchdown pass from Inagawa for the score with 7:43 left in the second quarter.
The Hurricanes regained the lead quickly.
Long had three straight runs to open the next Cartersville drive and Russell added short pass completions to Waddell and Brice to march the Canes down the field. A 9-yard reception by Brice culminated the 56-yard, 10-play drive, putting Cartersville up 14-13 with 4:20 left in the half.
The Cane's defense forced a three-and-out on the ensuing possession, and a short, 15-yard punt by the Panthers gave Cartersville possession in plus territory.
Three plays later, Taylor-Wilson got behind the Starrs Mill defense for a 34-yard touchdown toss from Russell, and the Canes had a 21-13 advantage with 1:52 left before the break.
Inagawa and the Panthers reacted with an impressive 72-yard scoring drive to end the first half. The quarterback was five-for-six passing on the drive, and a penalty aided the march. Thomas Cochran hauled in a nine-yard throw to finish the drive as time expired in the first half.
A two-point conversion pass attempt failed, so Cartersville carried a 21-19 lead to the locker room.
The two teams traded scores on the next seven possessions to begin the second half.
The Canes needed only four plays to get the scoring spree started. Beginning at their own 40, Russell connected with Brice on three consecutive throws to cover 52 yards. Long then punched in an 8-yard touchdown run to give Cartersville a 28-19 lead with 11:02 left in the third quarter.
Starrs Mill answered with a 65-yard drive that took nine plays. Jeremiah Potter had six runs during the drive to cover 24 yards, and Inagawa connected with Delaere for a 25-yard pass play in the middle of the drive. The quarterback also had two rushes, including an 11-yard touchdown keeper with 7:19 left in the third quarter. Aaron Blair’s PAT kick cut the Cartersville lead to 28-26.
The Cartersville drive that followed resulted in a 26-yard field goal by Rowell and a 31-26 lead with 5:11 remaining in the third period. Leonard had two runs that covered 22 yards, and Russell connected with Brady Marchese for a 12-yard play during the possession.
Starrs Mill took its second and final lead of the night with the ensuing drive.
The Panthers needed only three plays to drive 65 yards and scored on a 49-yard touchdown strike from Inagawa to Delaere. A two-point conversion pass attempt was missed, but Starrs Mill held a 32-31 lead with 3:55 to play in the third quarter.
The Hurricanes stormed back down the field. Russell completed three of four passes to put Cartersville back ahead. Marchese and Brice caught passes to move the Canes to the Panther 45-yard line, where Taylor-Wilson hauled in another long touchdown pass from Russell with 2:47 remaining in the period. Russell then found tight end Cole Crawford for a two-point conversion pass and a 39-32 lead.
The Panthers responded with a ten-play drive to continue the back-and-forth scoring. Blair finished a 66-yard drive with a 26-yard field goal that narrowed the Canes’ margin to 39-35 with 9:16 left in the game.
Taylor-Wilson returned the next kickoff to the 45-yard line to set up the Canes’ sixth consecutive scoring drive, although it appeared stalled near midfield. On a third-and-eight, Brice made an acrobatic grab of a Russell pass for 30 yards to keep the drive alive. Four plays later, Purdy was inserted at quarterback, completed a 15-yard touchdown toss to Waddell with 6:12 remaining, and capped a seven-play drive. Rowell’s PAT gave Cartersville a 46-35 lead.
On the first play of the next Starrs Mill possession, Crawford intercepted an Inagawa pass and returned it 30 yards to the Panthers’ 20-yard line. Long ran for 14 yards on first down and punched in a 6-yard touchdown run on the next play for a 53-35 advantage with 5:09 left in the game.
Starrs Mill drove to the Canes’ 27-yard line on the ensuing possession but turned the ball over on downs.
A first down run by Long and a pair of victory formation kneel-downs secured the Cartersville victory and advanced the Hurricanes to the quarterfinals for the tenth time in the past thirteen seasons.
Long finished with 74 yards on 13 carries and three touchdowns. Leonard rushed five times for 66 yards.
Russell was 20-of-26 passing for 276 yards and three touchdowns. Purdy had a 15-yard touchdown pass on his only attempt.
Brice caught 13 passes for 146 yards and one touchdown. Taylor-Wilson had two receptions for 79 yards and two scores. Marchese caught three passes for 24 yards. Waddell caught two passes for 23 yards and one touchdown, and Aleman had one reception for 19 yards.
Inagawa of the Panthers completed 15 of 22 passes for 258 yards and four touchdowns. He threw one interception. The senior signal-caller also rushed for 56 yards and one touchdown on 16 attempts.
Delaere had five catches for 140 yards and three touchdowns.
Starrs Mill had its season end with a 10-2 record.
Cartersville (12-0) visits 3rd-ranked North Oconee (12-0) on Friday in Bogart.
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