Rivals clash in Cedartown
Bulldogs come out on top of Rockmart in first
For the first time in a good while, Cedartown’s boys thumped Rockmart.
The Bulldogs blew out the Jackets 74-52 on Saturday night in Cedartown. The win improves Cedartown to 4-1 overall.
Though the end result was a lopsided victory for CHS, Rockmart started out up big. Much like in the Lady Jackets-Lady Bulldogs game, Cedartown went on a scoring run that was matched by a Rockmart scoring run. Thanks to key three-pointers from Juke Boozer, Tyler Rowland, and Ty Floyd, the Jackets held a 2115 lead through one period.
Coach Benjie Frazier made defensive adjustments on the perimeter after the opening period. After Rockmart nailed five three-point shots in the first, the Bulldog defense held them to only three more the rest of the way. Furthermore, Cedartown’s offense chipped in too in the second quarter.
Evenly distributed scoring helped the Bulldogs outscored the Jackets 19-10 in the second to take a 34-31 halftime lead.
The third quarter started out with even scoring on both sides until MJ Holiday woke up for Cedartown. The sophomore guard quickly hit two treys in the early moments of the second half to increase the Bulldog lead.
Midway through the third, Rockmart senior Juke Boozer received his second technical foul and was
ejected. His first came in the first half when locked up with Cedartown’s DJ Frazier; the second tech was given after harshly blocking an attempted dunk by Jayden Johnson that sent the Cedartown junior spiraling to the floor.
By the time Boozer was thrown out, Cedartown was already beginning to pull away. However, losing his experience and leadership spelled doom for Rockmart’s chances to win.
Cedartown took advantage of his absence by testing the Rockmart defense underneath and outside, where Boozer is usually found. This led to mismatched that allowed the Bulldogs to pour it on. Through three periods, Cedartown led 54-44.
It would not get any better for the Jackets in the fourth. The Bulldog defense smothered their offense, only allowing 8 points in the entire period. On the flip side, Cedartown’s starters made shot-after-shot to pull away.
As Rockmart’s fans piled out of the arena with two minutes left in the game, Coach Benjie Frazier put in reserves. Much like their starting counterparts, they drained shot-after-shot to run up the score.
One reserve, senior Ethan Summerville, scored 5 points in a matter of seconds to drop more points on the Jacket defense.
At the end of the day, Cedartown won 74-52 against cross-county rival Rockmart.
Tyler Rowland and Juke Boozer led Rockmart in scoring with 14 points each. Jakari Clark added 12 off the bench, and Ty Floyd scored 9 points all off three-pointers. Freshman Keyshaun McCullough finished with three points, all coming in the fourth period.
As for Cedartown, their leading scorer was once again MJ Holiday. The sophomore guard tallied 18 points and three rebounds in the Bulldog win. Jeremiah Johnson finished with 16 points and 8 rebounds, while DJ Frazier recorded 10 points and 6 rebounds. Jayden Johnson scored 9 points and grabbed 7 boards, whereas Elijah Diamond added 8 points and three rebounds.
With the loss, Rockmart’s boys are now 5-3 (3-0.) They will head back to the east side of Polk County this Tuesday for a region game against Chattooga. That game will start up at 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on WZOT Radio (101.9 FM, AM 1220, and WZOTRadio.com) as well as on the Mountain Coast Network (MountainCoastNetwork.com.)
The Cedartown Bulldogs, who are now 4-1 after that blowout win, will be back in action in the Rockmart Christmas Tournament. They will face very tough competition in said tourney, as their first round opponent is 7A Cherokee (9-1, 2-0). That game will begin at 5:30 p.m. at Rockmart High School, and the game will be broadcast on WGAA Radio (106.1 FM, AM 1340, and WGAARadio.com).