Cedartown has won seven straight games at home (dating back to last season), while Cartersville has won seven straight on the road also dating back to last season, but those streaks won't matter much on Friday. The Cedartown Bulldogs will welcome the Cartersville Hurricanes at 7:30 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Last Friday, Cedartown humbled Dalton with a 44-13 victory. Given the Bulldogs' advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia football rankings (they are ranked 33rd, while the Catamounts are ranked 312th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Cedartown was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 284 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 196 rushing yards in eight consecutive contests.
On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Cedartown's defense and their eight sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Quinlan Cothron and Michael Gibbons Jr, who racked up five sacks between them.
Meanwhile, while Cartersville put up some points on Friday, the same can't be said for Allatoona. Cartersville blew past Allatoona, posting a 31-0 win on the road. That's two games straight that the Hurricanes have won by exactly 31 points.
Cartersville's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Nate Russell led the charge by throwing for 208 yards and two touchdowns while completing 75% of his passes. Another receiver making a difference was Brady Marchese, who picked up 104 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Cedartown's victory bumped their record up to 8-0. As for Cartersville, their win bumped their record up to an identical 8-0.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Cedartown has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 250.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Cartersville struggles in that department as they've been averaging 167.1. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Cedartown barely slipped by Cartersville in their previous meeting back in September of 2019, winning 45-44. Does Cedartown have another victory up their sleeve, or will Cartersville turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
