The Cartersville Purple Hurricanes (11-0) defeated the Jackson Jaguars 53-0 in the opening round of the 4A GHSA Football Playoffs Friday night.
Cartersville received the opening kick. On the first play from scrimmage, Braylon Hill explodes through the line, weaving 68 yards untouched for the score. Cartersville converted the 2-point try to take an 8-0 lead with 11:44 left in the first quarter. After a Jackson punt, Cartersville marched down the field where Nate Russell took over, threading a 23-yard strike to Brady Marchese to extend the lead. Jackson was desperate to get some momentum and elected to attempt a fourth down conversion, however fell short. Russell fired again, this time hitting Jackson Montgomery for a 22-yard touchdown. Hill capped the next drive with a 10-yard plunge to give the Canes a 29-0 lead just before the quarter could draw to a close.
In the second quarter, Russell connected with Marchese on back to back drives for touchdowns. The first was a 20-yard score, while the second – Marchese’s third of the evening – was a 43-yard touchdown pass. Just before the half ended, Harris Turner tossed a 34-yard dart to Holden Hoopengarner to give Cartersville a 50-0 lead going into halftime.
With a running clock in the second half, the third quarter did not see any scoring. Midway through the fourth, Jaden Navarrez split the uprights to extend the lead to 53-0.
Cartersville will be in action next Friday night at 7:30 at Weinman Stadium. Pregame coverage begins at 6:00 and you can hear all of the action by tuning into WBHF.