The Cookeville Cavaliers are gearing up to get the 2020 football season underway against rival Upperman.
After a unique offseason that featured no scrimmages and few contact practices, CHS head coach Jimmy Maynord said he is pleased with his team’s preparation but still has work to do.
“Our preparation’s been good,” said Maynord. “We’re a ways away from being where we need to be in regard to technique and I’m not sure about tackling. There hasn’t been a lot of live action where we’ve tackled. We haven’t been able to have any scrimmages or anything.”
The cross-county rivals will face off Thursday. Upperman owns two consecutive wins over the Cavaliers, but with an experienced team returning Cookeville is looking to change the narrative of the matchup.
READ: Rivalry- Upperman vs Cookeville
Under third-year head coach Adam Caine, the Bees have become known for being a physical football team. Maynord said his team will have to be physical to matchup with every team on their schedule.
“That’s something that we try to emphasize to our kids, that you’ve got to be a physical team if you want to compete,” said Maynord. “Everybody we play is pretty physical. Football’s a physical game and if you’re not physical you’re probably not going to win very many games. We’re going to have to match their physicality.”
READ: 2020 Cookeville Football Preview
While the Cavs are returning key starters from 2019, the Bees are replacing several players. Maynord said facing a new-looking team can present challenges, particularly without any preseason tape.
“For us it’s the unknown,” said Maynord. “We haven’t seen their kids, so we don’t know who’s going to be where. Nobody’s got any tape on anyone.”
Maynord went on to note both teams are in a similar situation.
“We normally have some scrimmages or jamboree tape or something to watch each other,” said Maynord. “Both teams are going in kind of blind as far as what the other team’s going to do, but that’s how it’s going to be for everybody.”
The game will be played in Tucker Stadium at Tennessee Tech University. Maynord said he expects a great atmosphere in a stadium that will allow fans to spread out.
“It should be good,” said Maynord. “It was a great atmosphere last year… This is the first game around anywhere and I anticipate people will want to get out and do some things. Knowing that it is at Tech and they can spread out, capacity should not be an issue. As long as the weather’s good it should be a great night for people to get out and enjoy some good football.”
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. The game will be livestreamed on the Upper Cumberland Reporter’s Facebook page.
For more about this game and every game in the Upper Cumberland, tune in to the Upper Cumberland Reporter Coaches Show with Noah McKay and Buddy Pearson. New episodes every Wednesday on Facebook!