The Cartersville Purple Hurricanes reached the Final Four of the Class 5A GHSA high school football playoffs on Friday night, securing a 35-0 victory over the Jenkins Warriors.
Cartersville initiated the scoring on its opening possession, marching 65 yards into the end zone, with Khristian Lando concluding the drive with a touchdown run. Despite the Warriors’ attempts to impede the Cartersville offense and prevent them from reaching the end zone, the defensive strategy had some success. However, the Warriors couldn’t find a way to breach the Cartersville defense.
In the early moments of the second quarter, Lando concluded another Cartersville drive with a touchdown. Additionally, late in the second quarter, Andrew Purdy contributed a 43-yard touchdown run, establishing a 21-0 lead for Cartersville at halftime. The defense performed admirably, forcing Coffee to punt on every first-half drive. In contrast, the Cartersville offense, historically slow to start, effectively ran the football from the beginning.
Cartersville continued their scoring momentum in the third quarter, with Richard Houston scoring a rushing touchdown, and Nate Russell connecting with Kendrick Price for a 30-yard touchdown, extending the lead to 35-0. This proved more than sufficient to keep the Warriors at bay.
With a running clock in the fourth quarter, Cartersville comfortably advanced to the round of four, setting the stage for a highly anticipated matchup against the talented Coffee Trojans next Friday night at Weinman Stadium at 7:30. WBHF pregame coverage will commence at 6:00 PM live from Scott’s Walk Up BBQ.