An 0-2 start to the season is right where Rockmart was this time last year, and well… look how things turned out.

This season the Jackets will get a chance to repeat that opportunity, but not without having been bloodied in back-t0-back weeks to open the season, and then to take their first road trip.

But the difference this past week is the foe they faced in the Cartersville Purple Hurricanes had to deal with Rockmart’s sting and came away with a much smaller win for the program than they expected.

It wasn’t a moral victory, since the Jackets still fell 35-6 after four tough quarters in Bartow County. It was a vision of things that might come in the future.

Rockmart’s defense, for instance, forced an opening drive to fall short for Cartersville after the missed on a 40-yard field goal attempt. Tristan Anderson showed off a lot of his talents – especially with Rockmart’s lone touchdown on the night in the second quarter on a pass from Luke Parker into the back of the end zone while covered. A moment that got a lot of attention on GPB and elsewhere:

Find me a WR in Georgia with better ball skills than Rockmart's @Tristan_TA6. The high-pointing savant consistently makes elite catches over defenders. He talks about senior season, recruitment & where he has improved the most. #RecruitGeorgia ARTICLE: https://t.co/jIuNCosjry pic.twitter.com/cGOV7gU9OO

— Recruit Georgia (@RecruitGeorgia) August 29, 2024

Cartersville unfortunately, is Cartersville. Their offense finally got rolling against the Jackets with a Jacaiden Leonard 63-yard touchdown run after he found a hole in the defense and turned on the jets for the score. The Canes dominated the scoring from then on, adding another touchdown in the first, two more in the second and a night capper in the fourth quarter.

The Jackets offense under Parker struggled in passing. He was able to net 61 yards on a 7-19 night, adding the touchdown to his stat sheet but giving up two interceptions to Cartersville.

The Canes also took a turnover on a big hit against Nate Davis on the sidelines in the first quarter that killed the momentum gained during the stop on the opening Cartersville drive.

Davis had the most yards on the ground for the night for the Jackets, going 41 yards on 10 carries.

The good news is that Rockmart gets this week off to rest, and will be getting right to work on the new Region 7-AA schedule on September 6.

Rockmart heads to play at Ringgold to open the region.

Editor’s Note: This game was the Georgia Public Broadcasting’s Game of the Week, meaning that sidelines filming for this one wasn’t remotely possible at this moment in time. -KtE