The county’s oldest rivalry lived up to the hype on Friday night as the Cass Colonels (2-0) defeated the Adairsville Tigers (1-1) 27-17.
Kaleb Speights kick two field goals of 23 and 28 yards to give Cass early points, but Emanuel Lopez kicked a 28-yard field goal of his own to keep the game close with just over three minutes left in the first half. With time winding down, freshman quarterback Devin Henderson connected with Zay Jackson for a 20-yard touchdown pass with under a minute left in the half to give the Colonels a 13-3 halftime lead.
Adairsville came out aggressive and effective in the second half. On its opening drive, Eli Agnew had a massive 48-yard touchdown run, which would lead to a touchdown pass from Conner Crunkelton as he connected with Charlie Ray. Not to be outdone, Cass would answer the Adairsville score with an 80-yard touchdown pass from Henderson to Connor Ray to once again extend the Cass lead to 10. The Tigers were relentless as Crunkelton threw his second touchdown pass of the quarter; finding Courtney Slocum on a 66-yard score. The Tigers once again found themselves within three points at the end of the third period.
Cass would score just 23 seconds into the fourth quarter on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Henderson to CJ Pipken to extend its lead to 27-17. Adairsville threw an interception at the Cass 13-yard line that was caught by Jackson. On its final drive, Adairsville moved the ball into Cass territory, but a long field goal attempt by Emanuel Lopez fell short with just 1:55 left in the game. Cass ran out the clock to preserve the victory.
Cass will travel to Sequoyah next week, while Adairsville will have a bye. You can hear Cass and Sequoyah on Bartow Sports Zone by visiting www.bartowsportszone.com