The Cartersville Purple Hurricanes advanced to the Class 4-A Championship game for the third time in the past four years with a thrilling 17-14 win over Marist on Friday night at Weinman Stadium.
Cartersville scored first with a 26-yard field goal by Oscar Hernandez in the first quarter. Quarterback Tee Webb would give Cartersville a two-score lead with a 33-yard touchdown pass to Devonte Ross with 6:50 left in the first half, but Marist would not go quietly.
On the ensuing possession, Marist quarterback Connor Cigelske threw a long pass to Kyle Hamilton, which would set it up first and goal at the 2-yard line. Lincoln Parker would punch the ball into the end zone, to put Marist on the board trailing 10-7. But that was short lived. On Cartersville’s next possession, Webb was stripped and sacked by Jalen Clark, who returned the ball into the end zone to give Marist a 14-10 lead with 35 seconds left in the first half.
The second half would see Cartersville commit two turnovers, but also see Marist with its fair share of miscues. After a defensive tug-of-war, Cartersville would take a 17-14 lead when Webb Found Ross for a 37-yard touchdown with 7:51 left in the game.
Marist would get one last shot with just under two minutes left. Marist would get the ball to the Cartersville 39-yard line but fell just short on a fourth down to turn the ball over on downs and seal the win for Cartersville.
The Canes will next play Blessed Trinity in the championship game on Wednesday, December 12th at 4:30 PM at Mercedes Benz Stadium. You can hear all of the action on WBHF.