The Cartersville Purple Hurricanes (4-0) defeated the Columbia Eagles 31-6 on Friday night.

While the Cartersville offense has gotten accustomed to hot starts, the opening drive ended in a Ryan Johnson field goal to give Cartersville an early lead. The Columbia offense went three-and-out, which gave Cartersville another opportunity, and this time it capitalized. The offensive attack marched the ball down the field and capped the drive with a short touchdown run from Luke McBride.

While the Columbia offense had its share of troubles moving the football, the Eagle defense made the most of the opportunities handed to it. Defensive lineman D’Angelo Archer caught a tipped pass from Nate Russell and took the ball 77 yards for a touchdown. The Eagles missed the PAT, but made the game 10-6.

Cartersville then began to put the game away. Russell connected with Jamauri Brice for a touchdown, while Khristian Lando scored in the second quarter to give the Cans a 24-6 lead at the half. Jordyn Woods had an interception for the Canes, while Martavius Cochran came away with a muffed punt in the fourth. The defense once again continued to show its dominance to begin the 2023 campaign. Reed Ezell had a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, to help cap off the impressive win for the Canes.

Cartersville plays Heritage next Friday night at 7:30 PM at Weinman Stadium. This will be Cartersville’s fifth, consecutive home game to begin the season. You can hear all of the action on WBHF with pregame coverage beginning at 6:00 PM live from Scott’s Walk-Up BBQ.