The Upperman Bees opened Region 4/3A play with a 42-14 win over Smith County on Friday night in Carthage.
The Bees pulled away late with 21 fourth quarter points as they rolled over the Owls.
“Overall, I’m happy,” said UHS head coach Adam Caine. “We dominated the first quarter and came out fast like you want your team to do. What I saw is a very improved Smith County team that pretty much controlled the momentum in the second and third quarters.”
“They moved the ball, controlled the clock and were stopping us when we were on offense. It really had us looking for answers at halftime. What I was mainly most proud of, when we had our chance there in the fourth we really capitalized and took back control of the football game. Overall, we learned some valuable lessons.”
The Upperman rushing attack continued where it left off after last week’s win over Dekalb County early in the game as junior Ty Dutchess scored a 57-yard touchdown rush 1:08 into the ball game. Josh Manis’ extra-point gave UHS a 7-0 lead.
The Bees struck again three minutes later when sophomore tailback Terrance Dedmon scored 49-yard touchdown rush to make it 14-0.
The Owls, who entered the game at 0-2, showed fight late in the first quarter when they scored on a 22-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 14-7.
Dutchess struck again with 10:25 remaining in the first half with a 54-yard touchdown rush to make it 21-7, but the much-improved Owls would not go away as they scored another passing touchdown late in the quarter to make it 21-14 at halftime.
The two region foes continued to battle through a scoreless third quarter before the Bees pulled away in the fourth.
Dedmon added two rushing touchdowns, and Dutchess tallied one more as the Bees rattled off 21 unanswered points in just over four minutes to roll to the 38-point win.
Caine said his young football team pulling away in the fourth was important.
“I was very proud of them,” said Caine. “We’ve got some good ball players. A couple of them rose to the forefront, and we were able to put it away.”
The Bees outrushed the Owls 367 yards to 80 in the game, while averaging 11.5 yards per carry.
Dutchess rushed for 249 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a more dominant rushing performance in a big game,” said Caine. “Against a team that I think is going to shock some people, because I think they’re pretty good. The big plays that he made were huge for us.”
Dedmon added 133 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries.
Caine said starting out the region schedule with a win was important.
“It’s huge,” said Caine. “You always want to start out on the top side of things. Who knows how things are going to play out, especially in this crazy year, but I would not be shocked at all to see Smith County around the top of this region. So, it’s good to have the (win) on them there”
Upperman (2-1, 1-0) will now turn its attention towards a non-region rivalry matchup against Livingston Academy. Kickoff between the Bees and Wildcats is set for 7 p.m. Friday in Livingston.