Cartersville wins at Cass, 35-13
A scoring flurry by Cartersville in the final minute of the second quarter and the early minutes of the third quarter lifted the Purple Hurricanes to a 35-13 win Friday night at Cass.
The Cartersville win — coupled with Hiram’s win Friday night over Calhoun — makes the race for the Region 7-5A championship wide open with three weeks remaining in the regular season.
The Colonels struck first Friday night scoring on their second possession.
Runs by Mac Nelson and passes from Brodie McWhorter to Sacovie White and Devin Henderson enabled Cass to reach the Cartersville 3-yard line. McWhorter then hit Devin Henderson for a 3-yard touchdown pass to give the Colonels a 7-0 lead following Saul Viella’s PAT kick.
Two passes from Paul Gamble to Collin Fletcher moved Cartersville quickly back down the field. Gamble later scored with a 26-yard scamper to tie the game 7-7 with 1:49 remaining in the first quarter. Jesus Gutierrez made the Cartersville PAT kick.
The teams exchanged turnovers in the second quarter before Cartersville took the lead.
Gamble and Malachi Jeffries had key runs to move the Canes into scoring position again. Jeffries finished off the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run and a 14-7 Cartersville advantage.
Cass answered with an 80-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 33-yard touchdown strike from McWhorter to Devin Henderson. A blocked extra point, however, kept Cartersville in the lead 14-13 with just 55 seconds remaining in the half.
A long kickoff return by Cartersville set up another score before the intermission. Gamble connected with Jeffries with no time remaining in the half to give the Canes a 21-13 halftime lead.
Cartersville opened the second half with yet another quick score.
On the second play of the third quarter, Gamble hit Fletcher for a 73-yard touchdown strike that gave the Canes a 28-13 lead.
Cass was stopped on their ensuing possession and it only took Cartersville one play to put more points on the board.
Jeffries raced 39-yards with his second touchdown run of the night giving the Hurricanes a 35-13 lead with 9:12 remaining in the third quarter.
Cass drove deep into Cartersville territory with their next drive but failed to convert the possession into points. The drive started late in the third quarter and ended in the first minute of the final period.
McWhorter had a nice completion to Sacovie White and multiple runs by the Colonels’ Ja’Caiden Leonard reached the Canes’ 13-yard line but the drive ended on downs with an incomplete pass in the end zone.
Cartersville took possession with 11:39 remaining and essentially ground out the game clock. The Canes methodically moved down the field with twelve consecutive running plays. Although they came up empty with a missed field goal attempt, the Hurricanes left only 3:44 on the game clock.
A sack ended the Colonels’ final possession and Cartersville was able to take a knee to end the game with a 22-point win.
The win by Cartersville means the Hurricanes (6-1 overall) and Colonels (3-4 overall) are both 1-1 in Region 7-5A with three games remaining.
With Hiram knocking off Calhoun 45-35 Friday night, the Hornets and Yellow Jackets are also now 1-1 in the region meaning the scramble for state playoff positions and seeding is wide open.
Dalton, who beat Woodland 28-7 Friday, improved to 2-0 in region games and is the only team in Region 7-5A without a league loss.
Cartersville travels to Hiram next Friday and Cass will host Dalton.
Cartersville at Hiram will be broadcast on WBHF (100.3FM / AM1450). Dalton at Cass will be broadcast on BartowSportsZone.com and the free Mixlr app. Pregame coverage begins on both formats at 6 p.m. with kickoff at 7:30 p.m.
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