Whether they were penalties, turnovers, or simply missed assignments, mistakes marred the Baldwin Braves’ chances of advancing to a GHSA Class 4A state semifinal Friday night. 

The host Braves were bested by the Cartersville Purple Hurricanes 42-13 in a game whose second half had to seem very familiar to the Baldwin coaches, players and fanbase. BHS was outscored 35-0 in the final two quarters, and it felt a bit like a flashback to early in the 2018 campaign when the team started the season with a five-game losing streak. 

“We just kind of self-destructed,” Baldwin head coach Jesse Hicks told The Union-Recorder shortly after shaking hands with his opponents. “Every score they got we kind of gave it to them off of our own mistakes. You just can’t do that in the playoffs against a good football team. I think we made the statement that we could play ball with them, we just can’t make mistakes against a team like that in the playoffs and expect to win. That’s pretty much what happened, but hats off to them.”

The Braves were trying to join some very elite company on their home field Friday night, as they attempted to become only the second team to defeat Cartersville since the start of the 2015 season. They had a real shot at it, too because in large part the first half featured the Baldwin brand of football that helped the team win its last seven games entering Friday’s state quarterfinal. Running backs Smash (Zaahir Salahuddin) and Dash (Noah Hill) were doing their thing along with some timely help from their freshman quarterback Derrick Lewis and wide receiver Jaylin Battle on the outside. Salahuddin was very effective running from the fullback position while Hill did most of his first half damage via the short passing game. The one Hicks often refers to as Dash put the Braves on the board first as he was on the receiving end of a screen pass that he went on to take 20 yards into the end zone to help Baldwin carry a 6-0 lead into the second quarter. 

The BHS defense got the ball back to the offense quickly, and were rewarded handsomely with a time-chewing drive that spanned 93 yards. Salahuddin had runs of 29, 23 and 11 yards on the possession, and that shortest one was what put the host Braves up 13-0 with 9:28 to go before the half. 

A light to heavy mist fell through the entirety of Friday’s matchup, which made Baldwin’s already rough field conditions even worse. Runners looking to make a sudden cut or turn a corner often found themselves on the ground, and the precipitation didn’t make ball-handling any easier either. The first Baldwin mistake that paid off for Cartersville came more than halfway into the second quarter when the Brave punter mishandled a snap before falling on the ground to prevent anything worse from happening. The miscue set the Hurricanes up at Baldwin’s 30 and they capitalized not long after with their first rushing touchdown of the night to make the score 13-7 at the half. BHS had not done itself any favors by hitting double digits in the penalty category in the first half alone, but as it turned out there would be more mistakes on the horizon.

Cartersville took the momentum and kept it rolling in the third quarter after receiving the second half opening kickoff. ‘Canes quarterback Tee Webb hit Trendon Horton streaking down the right sideline for a 62-yard touchdown pass that gave the visitors their first lead of the night, and it was all downhill from there for the Braves. Cartersville would go on to score at the 5:50 mark and again at just more than minute to produce a 21-0 win in the third period. A pick-six on the first play of the fourth quarter and additional touchdown rush, this time by the Hurricane quarterback, brought the contest to its final tally.

Afterwards, Hicks chose not to dwell too much on his team’s performance that night, but instead looked back on the positive and also forward to the future.

“Our kids had a great season, and I think we’re building towards something special,” he said.

When asked what he was going to tell his players when he got into the locker room, Hicks replied, “I’m going to tell them to cherish the relationships and the love they have with their people, and to just continue to be great men.”

The Braves finish the 2018 season as Region 3-4A champions with a 7-6 overall record that includes a couple of wins in the postseason. Cartersville advances on to play Marist next week for a spot in the state championship game.