Canes win sixth consecutive region title; Lawrence sets new career passing mark

On a night when Cartersville quarterback Trevor Lawrence broke Deshaun Watson’s Georgia high school career record for touchdown passes, the Hurricanes also captured their sixth consecutive region championship with a 52-13 victory at Troup County.

It was the 40th straight win for Cartersville who went undefeated and won state titles each of the last two seasons.

Cartersville took a 31-6 lead in the first half on three Rico Frye touchdown runs, a Johnathan Cruz field goal, and a record-tying touchdown pass by Lawrence to Jackson Lowe.

After the Canes had taken a 17-0 lead, Montez Crowe connected on a 20-yard touchdown pass for Troup, but the Tigers’ two-point conversion attempt failed.

Troup scored first in the third quarter on a 39-yard pass by Crowe to trim the Canes’ lead to 31-13 with 8:22 remaining, but Cartersville added another touchdown run by Frye and the record-breaking touchdown pass by Lawrence.

Lawrence connected with J’Kobe Orr on a 20-yard scoring strike to give the Clemson commit 156 career touchdown throws and the state record.

The Canes’ defense picked off four passes on the night. Evan Williams, Grant Harris, Dadrian Dennis, and Bradley Kirk each had interceptions. Kirk returned his for a touchdown. Jake Richards recovered a fumble.

Frye finished with 187 yards on 20 carries and four touchdowns. Lawrence passed for 200 yards and a pair of scores.

Cartersville (10-0) will host the opening round of the Class AAAA state playoffs next Friday against the 4th-seed from Region 6-AAAA. The game will be carried live on WBHF (100.3FM / AM1450).