Football roundup: Tigers take early control in 6AAA, Colonels rout Lions
The Adairsville Tigers and the Cass Colonels produced one-sided wins Friday night while the Woodland Wildcats came up short on the road.
Adairsville won an important Region 6-AAA game at home over expected region contender Ringgold 49-10. The victory keeps the Tigers unbeaten through two region games.
Cass traveled to Decatur and posted 63 unanswered points in a blowout win at M.L. King, while Woodland fell behind early and never recovered in a 38-14 loss at Osborne.
ADAIRSVILLE 49, RINGGOLD 10
The Adairsville Tigers made another statement Friday night with a solid 49-10 win over visiting Region 6-AAA foe Ringgold.
Chris Roper scored on touchdown runs of 20 and 16 yards and tossed a three-yard jump pass for a touchdown to Connor Ray to pace the Tigers’ offense.
Ethan Blome sprinted to a 94-yard touchdown run in the second quarter; quarterback Jonathan Gough scored on a one-yard keeper and tossed a three-yard touchdown passes to Grayson Belcher in the second half; Authur Leffler converted a 33-yard field goal in the second quarter and kicker Cooper Souders converted four PAT kicks.
Adairsville rushed for 330 yards while limiting Ringgold to just 161 total yards.
Ethan Blome had 114 yards rushing on eight carries. Caden Copeland finished with 84 yards on five carries, and Roper totaled 66 rushing yards on 10 attempts.
Gough completed 13 of 15 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns. Belcher had nine receptions for 143 yards and two touchdowns. Tre Winters made three catches for 23 yards and Roper added one reception for 44 yards.
Adairsville (4-1, 2-0 Region 6-AAA) travels to LaFayette next Friday for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
CASS 63, M.L. KING 7
Freshman quarterback Brodie McWhorter threw five touchdown passes while Devin Henderson passed for a touchdown and caught two McWhorter scoring passes as the Cass Colonels cruised to a 63-7 non-region win over M.L. King at Buck Godfrey Stadium in Decatur.
McWhorter had touchdown tosses of 34-yards to Devin Henderson, 27-yards to Sacovie White, 3-yards to Chase Tatum, 63-yards to White, and 30-yards to Devin Henderson in the first three quarters.
Devin Henderson threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Henderson with 5:06 remaining in the first quarter to put the Colonels’ first points on the board. Saul Viella kicked two Cass extra points in the first half although two PAT attempts failed.
The Colonels still led 28-0 at halftime. The Cass defense cashed in with a safety midway through the second quarter after Viella pinned to Lions down at their own 1-yard line with an excellent punt and team coverage.
The Cass defense added to the scoring barrage in the third quarter.
Ja’Kai Baldwin picked off an M.L. King pass and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown with 9:34 remaining in the period. He later scooped up a Lions’ fumble at the 15-yard line and raced it into the end zone for another Cass score.
In the final minute of the third quarter, Devin Henderson picked off another Lions’ pass and returned it to the M.L. King 14-yard line. Four plays later, Freddi Gbadie scored on a three-yard run to give Cass a 63-0 lead.
In a continuously running clock fourth quarter, M.L. King scored a touchdown with 9:55 remaining. Ramique Thomas broke free for the Lions’ 53-yard touchdown run.
On the ensuing possession, the Cass offense drove to the M.L. King red zone and ended the game with a fourth down play at the Lions’ 10-yard line.
The loss drops M.L. King to 1-4 on the season.
Cass (2-3) begins play in Region 7-AAAAA next Friday at Woodland.
The game will be broadcast live on BartowSportsZone.com. Pregame coverage will begin at 6 p.m. with kickoff at 7:30 p.m.
OSBORNE 38, WOODLAND 14
Too many turnovers and an inability to finish scoring drives left the Woodland Wildcats on the short end of a 38-14 decision Friday night at Osborne.
The host Cardinals (5-0) benefited from three first half Khalif Walters touchdown runs on their way to a 31-3 halftime lead. Walters scored on 1-yard and 4-yard runs in the first quarter and ripped off a 48-yard scamper early in the second quarter. Edward Burr added a 14-yard touchdown run midway through the second period and the Cardinals booted a 38-yard field goal in the final minute of the opening half.
The 31-point surge for Osborne came after Woodland started the game with a productive drive. The Wildcats methodically drove to the Cards’ 10-yard line on their opening possession before the drive stalled. Woodland’s Spencer Fleming made a 27-yard field goal that had the Wildcats up 3-0 midway through the first quarter.
Two minutes into the third quarter, Burr connected with Joshua Horton for a 45-yard Osborne touchdown pass that gave the Cardinals a 38-3 lead.
Later in the third period, Fleming made a short field goal narrowing the Osborne lead to 38-6.
Then in the final minute of the third quarter, Woodland quarterback Brelace Williams found Fleming for a 15-yard touchdown pass. The Wildcats added a two-point conversion pass from Williams to Jamarion Walker making the score, 38-14.
The loss leaves Woodland at 1-4 on the season. The Wildcats will host Bartow-rival Cass next Friday in a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
The Woodland-Cass matchup will be broadcast live on BartowSportsZone.com with pregame coverage starting at 6 p.m.
