Cartersville, a preseason No. 1 for first time since 2017, off to strong start
The Cartersville football team began a season as a No. 1-ranked team for the first time in nine years Friday night at Hiram, and it looked every bit the part of a preseason favorite.
After enduring a lightning delay that pushed the kickoff back 40 minutes, the Purple Hurricanes came out hot, scoring on all seven of their first-half possessions, and dominated defensively for a 48-0 victory in a game played with a running clock in the second half.
It was Cartersville’s 15th consecutive opening-game victory and the ninth shutout during that stretch.
“We had to go on the road for the first game of the season, which hasn’t happened in a long time,” Cartersville coach Conor Foster said. “Then we had a lightning delay, and it was kinda dead when we got out here. There wasn’t a big environment, so I wanted to see how our kids were going to respond to some of those things. We’re a really young team, especially on offense, so to see us come out and play that fast and that physical and respond to some of those adverse situations, I was really pleased.”
The last time Cartersville was ranked No. 1 in the preseason, quarterback Trevor Lawrence was a senior fourth-year starter and the team was coming off back-to-back 15-0 championship seasons. That 2017 team won its first 11 games, extending its winning streak to a school-record 41, but lost in the second round of the playoffs to Blessed Trinity, which went on to win its first of three consecutive state titles.
The Hurricanes have been ranked in the top 10 every week since — even spending time at No. 1 in 2019, 2021 and 2022 — but they had not been the preseason favorites again until now. And the expectations have remained the same for a program that has won four state titles.
“Our expectations are always to be a championship program in every measure, whether it be on the field, in the classroom or in the community,” Foster said. “We’re constantly trying to get better in everything that we do. This is a great opportunity from Week 1 to Week 2 to be a championship program. We’ll go back to see what we did good to make it great and see where we’ve got some opportunities to grow.”
Madoxx Davis, one of Cartersville’s five preseason all-state selections, was the catalyst for the Hurricanes’ explosive first half. He set up the first two touchdowns with a 60-yard kickoff return and a 25-yard punt return, and later scored on a 28-yard pass from Harris Turner. Davis finished with four receptions for 94 yards.
Davis, who also plays defensive back but didn’t need to against Hiram, is a 4-star prospect who is the No. 5 junior wide receiver nationally and the No. 3 player in Georgia in his class, according to the 247Sports Composite.
“He’s just so dynamic, and he makes everybody better because his effort is just incredible,” Foster said. “He never gives up on a play. It’s the same in the weight room and it’s the same in the classroom. He’s just an outstanding young man.”
Cartersville’s other four preseason all-state picks play on defense, and all helped the Hurricanes hold Hiram to 25 total yards. The Hornets spent much of the night with minus yardage until a 44-yard pass from Jordan Thomas to Sean Shead midway through the third quarter got them into positive territory.
Cole Crawford, a 3-star linebacker and tight end committed to Georgia Tech, had an early tackle for loss and scored on an 11-yard pass. Grayson Villar, Kylen Pope and Georgia State commit Elijah Peeks had at least one sack or tackle for loss.
The Hornets didn’t get a first down until the 5:22 mark of the second quarter, at which point they trailed 41-0.
Cartersville used four quarterbacks as it tries to replace Nate Russell, a three-year starter who passed for 2,699 yards last season and 7,448 yards and 90 touchdowns in his career. Turner, a junior and the starter against Hiram, was 8-of-10 passing for 133 yards and three touchdowns. He passed for 235 yards and two touchdowns in nine games last season as Russell’s backup.
Brayden Doss was 4-for-4 passing for 67 yards and had two short touchdown runs, and Brody Jones and Brock Crawford split time in the short second half.
“I thought they all contributed,” Foster said. “They kept their offense in good situations, which is really what we’re looking for. I was really pleased. We’ll have to go back and look at the film. I’m sure there’s some things that we’d all like to have back, but I thought they all played smart.”
Cartersville finished with 325 total yards, 256 of which came in the first half.