Four turnovers did not help the LaFayette Ramblers’ cause Friday night, as they were defeated by the Cartersville Purple Hurricanes, 34-7, at Cartersville’s Weinman Stadium.

“We’re young and inexperienced,” said Ramblers head coach Perry Swindall. “We got behind early and it didn’t help us at all.”

The Canes came out and scored on their first drive.

Running back Morgan Alexander had two big gains of 26 and 19 yards, respectively. His two runs setup quarterback Elijer Martinez to drive the ball into the end zone for a one-yard score less than four minutes into the game.

The night was rough for Ramblers quarterback Josh Morgan.

On the following drive for LaFayette, Morgan threw the first of his three interceptions on the night to Cartersville’s Tyler Blackwell, who ran the ball back to the LaFayette 12. The first play from scrimmage resulted in a 12-yard touchdown run by Alexander.

The Ramblers’ defense remained tough, however, shutting out the Canes in the second quarter as they trailed 14-0 at halftime.

But 20 unanswered points for the Canes' would be the difference in a third quarter that saw the Ramblers run just four offensive plays.

Cartersville (4-1) opened up the second half scoring when Jamie Jackson broke through the middle and down the Canes’ sideline for a 50-yard touchdown.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Ramblers lost a fumble and Cartersville capitalized with a 21-yard Alexander touchdown.

Donovan Tate picked off Morgan a short time later to set up Cartersville's final score following a seven-play, 70-yard drive.

The lone offensive highlight for the Ramblers came in the fourth quarter. A 15-yard facemask penalty gave LaFayette position in the middle of the field, setting up a Morgan-to-Dimitri Miles 45-yard touchdown pass. Tony Garcia booted the extra point.

“We’re better than what we showed tonight,” said Swindall. “We just came in wide-eyed and got caught.”

Morgan went 10-of-21 for 123 yards through the air. Justin Gilbreath ran for 82 yards on 10 carries while Dustin Quinn carried the ball nine times for 56 yards. Miles led the receivers with 92 yards on just five catches.

LaFayette (3-2, 1-0) will jump back into Region 6-AAA North play this Friday against winless Heritage.

Chris Lundy of the Cartersville Daily Tribune contributed to this story.