Most of the scoring was done in the first half, as Devonte Ross opened with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Stratton Tripp with 9:11 left in the first period on the opening drive. West Forsyth would answer on its second possession, which resulted in a 2-yard touchdown run from Daba Fofana to knot the game up at 7-7. Before the first quarter could end, Evan Slocum found Ross on a 41-yard touchdown pass to once again retake the lead 14-7 with only 19 seconds remaining in the period.

West Forsyth refused to go away quietly, as it scored on a 10-yard touchdown pass with just under 10 minutes left in the half, but Weinman Stadium began to fret just one drive later. West Forsyth lined up and nailed a 50-yard field through the uprights to grab a 17-14 lead with just over six minutes remaining in the half. Aided by some big moments and West Forsyth penalties, Cartersville’s Quante Jennings found the end zone on a 10-yard run. That score and the ensuing PAT gave Cartersville a 21-17 lead at the half.

But West Forsyth would get the football to open the third period. Momentum would be decided on that opening drive. Cartersville answered the bell and forced a punt. On Cartersville’s opening drive, Jennings took a screen pass from Slocum 24 yards into the end zone with just under nine minutes left in the quarter, but that would be enough.

Cartersville and West Forsyth traded defensive stands in the final 21 minutes of the game, but it was Cartersville that did enough scoring early to pull out the victory.

Cartersville moves to 2-0 on the season and will host Alexander next Friday night at 7:30 PM. You can hear all of the action on WBHF with pregame coverage starting at 6:00 PM.