Tigers grab road win; Colonels, Wildcats drop region games
The Adairsville Tigers picked up an important Region 6-AAA road win Friday night at Sonoraville, 32-0, and strengthened their case for a state playoff berth. Meanwhile, both Cass and Woodland lost to their Region 7-AAAAA opponents and saw their playoff chances dwindle.
ADAIRSVILLE 32, SONORAVILLE 0
The Adairsville offense had some struggles in the first half Friday night at Sonoraville, but managed to take an 11-0 lead into the locker room thanks to a special teams mistake by the Phoenix and some solid defensive work. The second half, however, saw the Tigers surge for three more touchdowns on their way to a convincing 32-0 Region 6-AAA road win.
To begin the third quarter, Adairsville quarterback Conner Crunkelton connected on a quick pass to Courtney Slocum who sprinted 80 yards for a score. The extra point kick by Emanuel Lopez gave the Tigers an 18-0 lead.
On Sonoraville’s next possession, Adairsville’s Chris Roper picked off Phoenix quarterback Brady Lackey and returned the interception to Sonoraville’s 24-yard line.
One play later, Crunkelton connected with Evan Sanders for a 24-yard touchdown and a 25-0 lead with 11:22 remaining in the third quarter.
From there, the Adairsville defense took over stopping the Phoenix on fourth down twice and forced a pair of three-and-out possessions.
Adairsville freshman quarterback Jonathan Gough added a 13-yard touchdown run for the Tigers with 1:28 remaining to compete the scoring in the Tigers’ 32-0 win.
In the first half, the Tigers took advantage of a Sonoraville fumble of a punt at the 13-yard line. Ja’Maury Johnson ran in for a 3-yard Adairsville touchdown two plays later. Following a penalty on the extra point, the Tigers opted for a two-point try and Crunkelton found the end zone for an 8-0 Adairsville lead.
Late in the second quarter, Lopez nailed a 35-yard field goal to cap an eight-play, 37-yard drive putting the Tigers ahead 11-0.
Crunkelton was 11-of-14 passing for 216 yards and two touchdowns. Johnson finished with 53 yards on 10 attempts. Gough ran for 22 yards and Slocum added 20 yards rushing. Slocum added 95 yards on three receptions and one touchdown. Sanders caught three passes for 42 yards and a touchdown. Roper contributed a 34-yard catch. Charlie Ray had two receptions for 29 yards, and Dylan Matthews finished with two catches for 16 yards.
The loss drops Sonoraville to 2-5 on the season and 0-5 in Region 6-AAA.
Adairsville (5-2, 4-1) will host 7th-ranked Rockmart next Friday.
HIRAM 38, CASS 14 The Cass Colonels struggled in the opening minutes of their loss Friday night at Hiram and never recovered in a 38-14 road loss to the Hornets.
Following a three-and-out on their opening possession, senior punter Isai Romero had his put blocked and it bounced out of bounds at the Colonels’ seven-yard line. Hiram running back Jirah Douglas scored on the ensuing play and it marked the third consecutive week Cass had given up a score on its first defensive snap of the game.
On the Colonels’ next possession, a bad punt snap was fielded by Romero and he got a shanked kick away under pressure. The bouncing kick was fielded on one hop at about the 25-yard line of Cass and returned again to the Cass 7-yard line.
Three plays later, Hiram quarterback Qamar Grant scored on a four-yard keeper to make the score 14-0 only minutes into the game.
With just under two minutes remaining in the first quarter, Douglas capped a 56-yard drive for Hiram with a 21-yard run to make the score 21-0.
Four minutes into the second quarter, Hornets’ kicker Dalton Moyse made a 42-yard field goal that bounced across the cross bar for a 24-0 advantage and on the first Cass play after the ensuing kickoff, Hiram’s Cory McGarity picked off a Devin Henderson pass and returned it 25 yards for a 31-0 Hornets’ lead.
Hiram (1-7, 1-2) went up 38-0 on another 7-yard Douglas run in the third quarter, but the Hornets’ running back would later leave the contest with an injury to his knee.
The Colonels got on the scoreboard late in the third quarter when Henderson teamed up with fellow freshman Sacovie White for a 15-yard touchdown. In the fourth quarter, Henderson connected with David Gbadie for a 13-yard touchdown pass to end the game’s scoring.
Cass (6-2, 1-2) will host Calhoun next Friday at Cochran Stadium.
CALHOUN 35, WOODLAND 0
Visiting Calhoun scored on touchdown passes of 67- and 49-yards in the first half Friday night at Woodland, then added an interception return for a touchdown to take a 21-0 lead at halftime. The Yellow Jackets added a 53-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter and a 16-yard touchdown pass for a 35-0 advantage. Calhoun added a 22-yard field goal during a running clock fourth quarter. Asa James led the Woodland rushing attack with 77 yards on 22 attempts.
Fifth-ranked Calhoun improved to 6-2 on the season and 2-1 in Region 7-AAAAA. The Yellow Jackets travel to Cass next Friday. Woodland (3-2, 0-2) will make the short trip to Cartersville to take on the 4th-ranked Hurricanes.
Comments