Colonels rally late to outlast Bucs, secure home state playoff game

October 25, 2025

Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com

Cass tight end Chase Tatum powers across the goal line for a Colonels' two-point conversion. RANDY PARKER / DTN

Kalil Charles rumbled for 279 yards and two touchdowns, including a 40-yard dagger with 3:40 remaining, as the Cass Colonels rallied past the Allatoona Buccaneers 22-19 on Friday night at Doug Cochran Stadium to solidify the No. 2 seed in Region 7-AAAA.

Allatoona needed a win to keep state playoff hopes alive, while Cass eyed a first-round home game. The showdown featured two of Class AAAA’s top rushers in Charles and Allatoona’s Ethan Corpus.

Cass struck first after an early exchange of punts and a missed 51-yard field goal by the Bucs. The Colonels marched 80 yards in five plays, with Charles breaking runs of 45 and 20 yards before punching in from 3 yards at the 0:31 mark of the first quarter. The PAT sailed wide, leaving it 6-0.

Allatoona answered with Wilson Perry’s 40-yard field goal at 10:37 of the second, capping a 46-yard drive and trimming the deficit to 6-3.

Sophomore RB Kalil Charles entered the game against Allatoona as the leading rusher in Class 4A and added 279 yards and two touchdowns to his season totals. RANDY PARKER / DTN

Cass responded with an 80-yard, nine-play answer. 

Brodie McWhorter hit Elijah Slocum for 16 yards, Charles burst for 24, and McWhorter found Jah Abdullah-Kortay for 15. On fourth down, McWhorter scrambled and hit tight end Chase Tatum for a 24-yard touchdown in the front-right corner. Tatum took a direct snap and muscled in for a two-point conversion, pushing Cass ahead 14-3 with 8:14 left in the half.

Myles Davis answered instantly, returning the kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown. Perry’s PAT made it 14-10 with 8:01 remaining.

Cass went three-and-out, and Allatoona drove 42 yards in nine plays to set up Perry’s 30-yard field goal at 2:22, narrowing the gap to 14-13 at halftime after Cass managed one interception but no points on its final two possessions.

The third quarter produced four fruitless possessions, and McWhorter was picked off early in the fourth at the 1-yard line.

Two plays later, Corpus exploded up the sideline for a 98-yard touchdown. The two-point try failed, but Allatoona led 19-14 with 9:44 to play.

Cass drove the next possession to the Allatoona 24 before turning it over on downs, but the Bucs punted back five plays later.

Cass QB and Mississippi State commit, Brodie McWhorter, scrambles as he looks for an open reciever downfield. RANDY PARKER / DTN

Taking over with under five minutes left, Cass covered 74 yards in five plays. 

McWhorter swung a 25-yard pass to Slocum, then handed to Charles, who raced 40 yards for the go-ahead score at 3:40. Jeremy Barrett’s two-point run made it 22-19.

Allatoona drove from its 37 to the Cass 44 before turning it over on downs, and Cass knelt twice to seal the victory.

Corpus finished with 125 yards on 26 carries and the 98-yard score. Frank Young went 7-for-24 for 80 yards with one interception. Xavier Rucker added 54 yards on five carries for the Bucs.

Charles finished the night with 279 yards rushing on 28 attempts with two touchdowns.

McWhorter completed 13 of 27 passes for 155 yards, one touchdown, and one pick. Slocum hauled in eight catches for 83 yards and ran twice for 14. Abdullah-Kortay had four grabs for 50 yards, and Tatum added the 24-yard score.

Cass earns two weeks off before hosting the Region 4-AAAA No. 3 seed—likely Mays—on November 14. Allatoona closes the season 3-7.