The Upperman Bees own two consecutive wins over rival Cookeville, but they face several unanswered questions as they attempt to capture their third.
UHS head coach Adam Caine said his team has made progress in recent weeks, and he is pleased with their attitude, but they have work to do before kicking off against the Cavs on Thursday night in Tucker Stadium at Tennessee Tech University.
“I feel like we’ve made a ton of progress in this short time we’ve had,” said UHS head coach Adam Caine. “There’s just so much to get done. It feels like something new comes up every day. I feel good about the attitude of this team. I just hope we’re read to answer the bell against a really good 6A team on Thursday.”
The 6A Cavaliers return a host of players on both sides of the football, while the 3A Bees are replacing players at several spots, including starting quarterback.
READ: Upperman-Cookeville Rivalry
Upperman has held a quarterback competition between senior Thomas Ensor and junior Ty Dutchess. Caine said both will see time at quarterback Thursday.
“We’re going to play them both,” said Caine. “I’ll probably lean towards letting Thomas take the first snap because he’s a senior, but they’re both going to play. No one really separated themselves. They’ve done a good job with it. It hasn’t been something that’s fractured us in any way. I feel good about where we are. I told them both yesterday the big key is they’re both offensive starters.”
If the Bees want to slow down the Cavs, they will have to slow down senior CHS quarterback Stockton Owen. Caine said his team knows they face a challenge in the dual-threat quarterback.
“Their guy is an absolute stud,” said Caine. “He’s a big, strong kid. Everything that I’ve heard about him is that he’s a football junkie. He’s exactly who you want leading your team into the fray on Friday nights.”
In the 2019 meeting, in which Upperman won 21-20, Owen rushed for 165 yards, threw for 205 and accounted for two touchdowns.
“We had trouble handling him last year,” said Caine. “We were pretty good on defense and he ran wild on us. Unfortunately, it seemed like the guy making most of the tackles on him was Donoven (McCallister). I talked to our defense about that. He’s not with us anymore, so we’re going to have to do a better by-committee job of having eyes on him and try to leverage him a little better than we did last year.”
READ: 2020 Upperman Football Preview
Kickoff between the Bees and the Cavs is set for 7 p.m. Thursday. The game will be livestreamed on the Upper Cumberland Reporter’s Facebook page, with pregame coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m.
For more about this game and every game in the Upper Cumberland, do not miss the Upper Cumberland Reporter Coaches Show with Noah McKay and Buddy Pearson. The premier episode of the 2020 season will be released Wednesday!