CARTERSVILLE, Ga. - There was a fitting theme to Cartersville's 41-7 win over Ridgeland in a GHSA Class AAAA second-round playoff game Friday night.
Days after the nation celebrated its military, the state's second-ranked Hurricanes (12-0) used a helicopter to help prepare the playing surface and rode a tank and an aircraft carrier to subdue the Panthers at venerable Weinman Stadium.
Heavy rains earlier in the week left the natural-grass field nearly unplayable, but a helicopter was used to help dry it earlier in the day. That made things easier for Marcus "Tank" Gary to run around and through Ridgeland for 173 yards and for the 6-foot-5 senior skyscraper tight end, Jackson Lowe, to haul in six catches for 81 yards and three touchdowns.
Lowe has committed to the University of Tennessee's football program.
"That is a good football team, but hats off to our guys, because they will never quit fighting," Cartersville coach Joey King said. "This was a complete effort on both sides of the ball. Marcus ran hard, and the line opened some nice holes for him, and we were able to hit Jackson over the middle a few times when they committed guys to trying to stop our outside game."
As good as the offense was - it managed 422 yards and 18 first downs - the Purple Hurricanes' defense was even better. A week after putting up 34 points on eighth-ranked Flowery Branch, Ridgeland (8-4) was limited to 217 yards and only 49 in the first half. Cartersville's front, led by Bobby Harris and La'kwayme Jupiter, controlled the line and helped produce a season-worst five Panthers turnovers.
"We wanted to bring some pressure from different places and keep them guessing," King said. "We were hoping we could create some confusion and they would turn the hall over, and it worked out well for us."
The turnover parade started early, as A'zavier Blackwell fumbled after a 12-yard completion on Ridgeland's first possession. Cartersville used the hard running of the 5-foot-8 Gary to march 49 yards, taking a 6-0 lead on his 1-yard run.
Two plays later, Ridgeland junior quarterback Nathan Carver, making just his second start, was intercepted by Marko Dudley at midfield. Cartersville quarterback Tee Webb made quick work of the Panthers, completing three of four passes, including a 30-yard touchdown strike to Dadrian Dennis for a 13-0 lead.
Webb followed that one up with another 30-yard scoring pass, this time to Lowe on a fourth-and-10 play early in the second quarter as the Hurricanes rolled to a 20-0 lead that could have been bigger if not for two drives that did not produce points after reaching the red zone.
Any comeback attempts were quieted in the third quarter, when Cartersville used two Ridgeland personal fouls (the Panthers had six total) to get inside the 25, where Webb found Lowe wide open over the middle for a 24-yard touchdown.
The Panthers avoided the shutout in the final quarter when Tanner Hill, the team's starting quarterback for 10 games, hit Jordan Hughley for a 23-yard touchdown pass.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.