The Upperman Bees’ first step in defending their back-to-back Region 4/3A championships will begin Friday night when they take on the Smith County Owls in Carthage.
The Bees (1-1) are coming off a 27-21 win over Dekalb County, while the Owls (0-2) are looking to bounce back after a 28-0 loss over cross-county rival Gordonsville.
“They’ve got big kids who look like they’ve been in the weight room,” said UHS head coach Adam Caine on Smith County. “I think they’re a capable football team. They’ve struggled at times, but that’s to be expected of a young team. We’ve struggled at times. Our biggest concern needs to be ourselves, our preparation, and trying to improve on a weekly basis.”
Carthage is well known for being a tough place for opposing teams to play, earning the nickname “The Black Hole”.
“Smith County is renown for being a tough place to play,” said Caine. “They’ve got our full attention.”
The young Bees team found success against Dekalb County. Rushing for over 300 yards. Caine said while his team played better compared to their season opening loss against Cookeville, they have to continue to build consistency as they gear up for region play.
“I told them we played better, I don’t think we played great,” said Caine. “I do think our effort was good, which encourages me. I also know… when we’re bad, we’re bad. When we’re good, we can be pretty good. Our biggest battle is trying to play well every snap.”
The Bees held a quarterback competition during the offseason. Both Thomas Ensor and Ty Dutchess have seen extensive time at the position through two weeks.
Ensor has thrown for 139 yards through two weeks, while Dutchess has thrown for 30 while rushing for 135 yards and two touchdowns. Both will have an opportunity at the quarterback position against an Owl team that has surrendered 71 points in two weeks.
Caine said at this point that will be the UHS formula.
“I guess that’s the narrative everybody’s going to say, that (Dutchess) is our runner and Thomas is our thrower,” said Caine. “It’s not necessarily the case. Thomas scrambled and got us a huge play, and Ty is capable of throwing the ball too. I’m fine with it. It kind of makes us a lot more balanced. We’ve got two guys.”
The Bees will also be looking for more strong performances out of sophomore tailback Terrance Dedmon and junior wide receiver Daniel Metzgar. Dedmon rushed for 194 yards and a touchdown in week 2 while Metzgar caught three passes for 61 yards.
Before the season began, Caine said one of Upperman’s goals is to defend their back-to-back Region 4/3A championship.
“In my opinion, region games are way more important than non-region games,” said Caine. “Eventually what you want to do is get yourself in position to win a couple of playoff games, and then if you get hot, make a deep run. The guys know, it’s region week.”
Kickoff between the Bees and the Owls is set for 7 p.m. Friday in Carthage. A complete story from the game will be available on uppercumberlandreporter.com Saturday.