Football Preview: Cartersville Hurricanes vs. Hiram Hornets
Cartersville is on a five-game streak of home wins, while Hiram is on a five-game streak of away wins (dating back to last season): one of those streaks is about to end. The Cartersville Hurricanes will square off against the Hiram Hornets at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Cartersville is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 34.7 points per game this season.
Last Friday, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Cartersville beat Cedartown 19-14. The 19-point effort marked the Hurricanes' lowest-scoring match of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Cartersville got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Brady Marchese out in front who picked up 132 receiving yards and a touchdown. Marchese was no stranger to the big play, cutting upfield on a catch that went for 51 yards. Nate Russell was another key passer, throwing for 142 yards and a touchdown.
Cartersville wouldn't let Cedartown keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force three fumbles. It was truly a group effort as Jordyn Woods, Brayden Logan, and Elijah Peeks picked up one apiece. With that strong performance, Logan is now averaging an impressive 5.5 total tackles per game.
Cartersville was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 204 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in August.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Hiram). They simply couldn't be stopped on Friday as they easily beat Allatoona 52-7 at home. The Hornets might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three contests by 21 points or more this season.
Dashaun Williams continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 162 yards and two touchdowns on only nine carries. Hiram is 4-2 when Williams posts two or more rushing touchdowns, but 1-2 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Kaden Hamilton, who gained 118 total yards and a touchdown.
Another reason for the win was Hiram's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for three sacks. Malachi Pharr was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up twohimself.
Cartersville's victory bumped their record up to 9-0. As for Hiram, their win ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 5-4.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Cartersville has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 171.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Hiram struggles in that department as they've been averaging 283.1. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Cartersville barely slipped by Hiram in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, winning 35-34. Will Cartersville repeat their success, or does Hiram have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
