Poor start for Colonels in loss to 6th-ranked Calhoun

Cass running back Josh Varner heads into his route as quarterback Devin Henderson rolls out.

After winning the toss Friday night and deferring their option to the second half, 6th-ranked Calhoun kicked off to Cass and recovered each of the game’s first three kickoffs to burst to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter. The short, high kicks bounced off Cass players each time and were recovered by the Yellow Jackets. A fourth attempt of the same style kick was fair caught to end the string. Calhoun’s Carlos Orozko kicked a 36-yard field goal following the first kickoff recovery. Quarterback Christian Lewis connected on a 53-yard touchdown pass to Cole Speer after the second kickoff recovery, and Lewis capped a four-play, 31-yard drive following the third kickoff recovery with a 10-yard touchdown run. The Yellow Jackets added to their lead early in the second quarter with a seven-play, 72-yard drive. The scoring strike was a 12-yard pass from Lewis to Speer — their second scoring connection of the night. Jerrian Hames added touchdown runs of 80-yards and 47-yards in the second quarter for a 37-0 Calhoun lead and Chris Lewis returned an interception 18 yards with 1:32 left in the first half as the Yellow Jackets took a 44-0 advantage to the intermission and forced a continuously running clock in the second half. Cass recovered a third quarter fumble deep in Calhoun territory and scored on a 17-yard pass from quarterback Devin Henderson to Jaiden Avalos. In the fourth quarter, Cass drove 61 yards for the game’s final scoring play. Josh Varner capped the five-play drive with a 27-yard scoring scamper. Kaleb Speights made both extra points for a 44-14 final score. Calhoun (7-3, 3-1) will host Cartersville next Friday in a battle for the region’s second seed position. Cass (6-3, 1-3) travels to Blessed Trinity to wrap up the regular season against the 2nd-ranked Titans.