The Upperman Bees are familiar with the pressures of the second round of the playoffs but are preparing for a challenge against the Loudon Redskins on Friday night in Baxter.
The Bees are in the second round of the playoffs for the third straight year. Their opponent enters with a 9-1 record and went to the semifinal round of the postseason in 2019.
“It seems like every year we play them they’ve got some big strong linemen,” said UHS head coach Adam Caine on Loudon. “They’ve got good backs. Quality receivers, and quality defensive backs. I think from an athletic standpoint they’re a very good team.”
“They’re well coached. The quarterback is the coaches’ son, and he’s kind-of an extension of him on the field. I’m very impressed with their personnel and their scheme.”
Caine said his team has come to practice ready to work.
“I think the big key this time of year is how bad your guys want to come back for another week of work,” said Caine. “It seems like these guys do.”
Upperman is coming off a 43-41 overtime win over Signal Mountain in the first round of the playoffs, but know the Redskins present a whole new set of challenges.
LHS Quarterback Keaton Harig has been effective in 2020. Throwing for 1627 yards with 70.5% completion while also rushing for 524 yards. His top target, McKenzie Lunsford has rushed for 664 yards and also caught 16 passes for 417 yards. Together they power a Loudon offense that scores 36.5 points per game.
The Bees were forced to defend a triple-option heavy Signal Mountain offense in the first round, they will now face a more traditional, but yet explosive offense.
“We will, hopefully, be able to get back into our base (defense) a little bit,” said Caine. “The big thing is the quarterback on at least 50% of the pass attempts is scrambling. As we’ve learned, when you’ve got a guy extending plays it puts some big stress on your defense.”
One key in the matchup will be turnovers. The Bees have struggled with turnovers at times in 2020 including two against Signal Mountain as well as giving up a kickoff return for a touchdown.
“Everything is a little bit more magnified in the playoffs,” said Caine. “You’ve got to limit those. We’ve got to protect the ball a little bit better. We also gave up a kickoff return. That’s about as big as a turnover. In a playoff game… kids start playing better when good things happen. You’ve got to have a great bit of toughness and resolve when everything’s going against you.”
In addition to limiting turnovers, Upperman will also be trying to avoid a slow start. The Bees trailed 14-0 against Signal Mountain and have suffered slow starts in several games in 2020.
“We need to make up our mind if we’re going to play the right way from the beginning, and not get into desperation mode,” said Caine. “It seems to have been, somewhat, of an ongoing theme. From here on out, if we don’t (play the right way), it’ll be the last time we play.”
The Bees will take on the Redskins for the right to advance to the quarterfinal round of the postseason Friday night. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
It is the High School Football Game of the Week and will be broadcast live on the UCR Facebook page with pregame coverage starting at 6:45. For information on sponsoring the broadcast, email Noah McKay at noah.ucreporter@gmail.com.