Football roundup: Tigers escape via two-point conversion, Canes out duel Lions
The Adairsville Tigers and Cartersville Hurricanes earned hard-fought region victories Friday night in local high school football action, while Cass and Woodland suffered one-sided losses to two of Class AAAAA's best teams.
TIGERS EDGE LFO WITH LATE 2-POINT PLAY
Adairsville Tigers’ head coach Eric Bishop rolled the dice Friday night with less than two minutes to play and came away with a thrilling 22-21 home victory over Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe in a key Region 6-AAA contest.
Trailing 21-14 late in the game, Adairsville quarterback Connor Crunkleton (photo) ran for a 31-yard touchdown to pull the Tigers to within one point of the visiting Warriors at 21-20. But instead of kicking the PAT for a tie, Bishop and the Tigers again called on Crunkleton with a keeper and he converted the two-point conversion with 1:44 remaining and it enabled Adairsville to escape with a one-point region win. Forced to try and throw late, LFO turned the ball over on downs following a Malachi Gardner tackle for loss and a sack by K.J. Weaver.
The Warriors led 7-0 early on a 52-yard touchdown run by Jevonnie Womble, but Adairsville answered with a touchdown pass from Crunkleton to Wade Conduff to tie the score 7-7.
Courtney Slocum recovered a faulty LFO option pitch in the endzone for a Tigers’ 14-7 lead in the second quarter and then Adairsville recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff. The Tigers drove inside the Warriors’ 10-yard line before the half, but coughed up a fumble to thwart that drive.
A long Womble run set up a short touchdown run for LFO to knot the score at 14-14 and a nine-minute drive in the fourth quarter set up the Warriors final score. LFO quarterback Malachi Powell found the end zone on a 3-yard keeper to give the Warriors a 21-14 lead with only 3:28 remaining in the game.
Crunkleton finished 5-for-10 passing for 75 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for 35 yards on 10 attempts with a touchdown and a two-point play. Jamaury Johnson carried 14 times for 51 yards and Wade Conduff added 40 yards on a pair of attempts. Eli Agnew contributed 33 yards on five carries.
Garrett Ellis and Gardner led the Tigers’ defense with 12 total tackles each. Dakota King and Tokyo Gordon added 10 stops apiece.
LFO falls to 2-4 overall and 2-2 in Region 6-AAA.
Adairsville (3-3, 2-2) plays at Calhoun next Friday night.
CARTERSVILLE OUTDUELS CENTRAL-CARROLL, 16-14
The Class 4A top-ranked Hurricanes had their hands full Friday night at Central-Carroll, but stayed unbeaten on the season with a 16-14 victory in Carrollton.
Cartersville led 3-0 at halftime on a 28-yard field goal by Oscar Hernandez. The successful kick came with 7:19 remaining in the first quarter and was set up by an interception by Devonte Ross.
Central started the second half with a drive the took over 10 minutes resulting in a Kashif Taylor 3-yard touchdown run. The Lions’ PAT put Central up 7-3 with less than two minutes to go in the third quarter. Canes’ quarterback Tee Webb, who completed nine passes for 182 yards and one touchdown on the night, connected with Ross on a 73-yard screen pass for a touchdown as the clock rolled to 0:00 in the third period. The play gave Cartersville a 10-7 lead following the Hernandez PAT.
Jalen Thomas capped the Canes final drive with a touchdown run with 7:32 left in the game. The PAT kick was blocked, but Cartersville held a 16-7 lead.
The Lions stayed close with their ensuing possession. Taylor connected with Shane Brooks for a 70-yard touchdown pass with 6:53 remaining in the game. The PAT kick pulled the Lions within two at 16-14, but that would be as close as it would get. Central’s final possession was haulted by an Amari Orr interception with just over two minutes left in the game.
The loss leaves Central 3-3 for the year and 1-1 in Region 5-AAAA.
Cartersville (6-0, 2-0) travels to LaGrange next Friday.
CARROLLTON 50, CASS 14
Carrollton sophomore quarterback Myles Morris tossed five touchdown passes and ran for one touchdown as the Class 5A, 2nd-ranked Trojans blasted Cass to win their Homecoming game at Grisham Stadium in Carrollton, 50-14.
After Carrollton kicker Damean Dominquez opened the scoring with a first quarter 32-yard field goal, Morris connected with Brandon Marenco for 35 yards, Grant Briscoe for 18 yards, and scored on a one-yard keeper as Carrollton took a 23-0 lead in the first quarter.
Morris added three more first half touchdown passes as the Trojans raced to a 44-0 lead at halftime. Morris connected with Terrell Carmichael on two scoring passes (25 yards and 80 yards) and a 2-yard pitch and catch to Melvin Edwards. The latter was set up by a long catch by Carmichael who finished with 162 receiving yards.
The final Carrollton score was a 67 yard scamper by Mecose Todd to start the third quarter that made the score 50-0.
Cass added third quarter touchdown passes from Logan Nelson to Tajh Dawson from 23 yards out and a 15-yard pass from Triston Mize to Santino Jones. Kaleb Speights added both PATs for a 50-14 final score.
Morris finished the night 9-for-14 for 259 yards and five touchdowns.
Tanayce Calhoun had 40 yards rushing for Cass on 13 attempts with a long run of 36 yards in the second half. Zay Jackson followed with 37 yards rushing on five carries. Nelson finished 4-for-10 passing for 63 yards.
Carrollton (6-0, 4-0) hosts Woodland next Friday.
Cass (3-3, 2-2) hosts Hiram.
ROME 41, WOODLAND 0
The 8th-ranked Wolves got three touchdowns by E.J. Burke and one each from Ahijah Blackwell and Caleb Ellard in a 41-0 Region 7-AAAAA victory. Burke had scoring runs of 19, 12, and four yards.
Rome kicker Alonzo Rodriguez added a 27-yard, second quarter field goal that made the score 31-0 at halftime and a 49-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.
Asa James finished with 52 yards rushing for Woodland on 19 attempts. He added one reception for 17 yards.
Rome improves to 4-2 overall and 3-1 in region play.
Woodland (1-5, 0-4) travels to Carrollton next week to challenge the 2nd-ranked Trojans.
