Calhoun overwhelmed in big loss to Cartersville
Calhoun is used to being the team that pushes people around at Phil Reeve Stadium. On Friday night, they were in the complete opposite role.
The Jackets struggled mightily against an explosive offense and suffocating defense from the defending Class AAAA state champion Cartersville as they fell 56-0. It was the first loss at home for Calhoun (1-2) since 2008, breaking a 66-game home win streak, and it was also the first time they’ve lost back-to-back games since 1999.
Cartersville (2-0) dominated the game on both sides of the ball, racking up 490 total yards offensively while holding Calhoun to just 75 and only six in the second half.
“It is what it is… I think (Cartersville) is a very good team, but I’m disappointed in our team,” said Calhoun coach Hal Lamb. “I was disappointed in our fight. We didn’t fight like I thought we would. But Cartersville has all the tools and athletes everywhere.
“We haven’t been beaten like that in a long, long time… probably since I’ve been here. We’ve got to find some answers. I’ve done a poor job as a coach getting this team where it needs to be. Our goal is to get it fixed.”
Cartersville was led by highly-touted prospect and junior quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who threw for an impressive 350 yards on 21-of-33 passing with three touchdowns and an interception. Trey Creamer had a solid night on the ground as well as he found the end zone four times as he ran for 58 yards on seven carries.
The Calhoun offense didn’t find any answers all night as they only advanced the ball over the 50 one time in the game. Running back Olico Dennis was the leading ballcarrier, but he had just 25 yards on nine carries as the swarming Cartersville defense allowed little to no running room. To make the night even worse for the Jackets, Dennis left the game late in the second quarter with a bruised quad and didn’t return.
Calhoun quarterback Baylon Spector threw for only 55 yards on 6-of21 passing.
With a 35-0 lead at the half, Cartersville didn’t take the foot off the gas pedal scoring three more touchdowns in the third quarter as Lawrence hit Traze Fessia for a 37-yard TD connection, Creamer ran one in from four yards away for his fourth rushing TD of the night and Fessia capped off the scoring with a 20- yard interception return for a touchdown late in the third.
The fourth quarter featured a running clock as the backups for both sides took most of the reps.
The Purple Hurricanes established control from the beginning, stopping Calhoun on their first three drives and in turn, the Purple Hurricanes scored three straight times in the first quarter to build a 21-0 lead. They got a 44yard touchdown connec- tion from Lawrence to Avery Showell for the first score less than two minutes into the game, and then followed that up with TD runs of 14 and 13 respectively by Creamer.
The Hurricanes continued to add to their lead in the second quarter with Lawrence once again connecting with Showell on a six-yard touchdown pass, and then Creamer added his third rushing score of the night on a two-yard plunge a little over midway through the quarter. Showell finished with five catches for 71 yards and the two touchdowns, and Antoine Jefferson was the leading receiver on the night with six catches for 78 yards.
The Cartersville defense was just as impressive as their offense, not allowing Calhoun to get anything going consistently. The Jackets managed just 69 yards in the first half, many of those coming on one drive. Brannon Spector had a 39-yard reception, and Malik Lawrence intercepted a Cartersville pass at the Calhoun 14 for two of the few bright spots for the Jackets in the first half. Rashad Dyer accounted for Cartersville’s only forced turnover on the night with a fumble recovery in the third quarter.
Cartersville’s Lawrence had 249 yards on 14-of-21 passing with two touchdowns in the first half alone.