The Cookeville Cavaliers and Upperman Bees are each gearing up to face off to open the football season for the seventh consecutive year.
The Cavs are 4-2 in the previous six matchups and are coming off a 28-0 win in 2020, but know they face a stiff challenge in the form of the 2021 Bees in the High School Football Game of the Week on Thursday night.
“Our preparation’s been okay,” said CHS head coach Jimmy Maynord. “We’re still in the learning stages right now… and that’s to be expected. I think the thing I’m going to have to do is be patient. We’ve got a lot of kids who haven’t played, and I’m not a real patient guy. I realize those guys have got to play.”
The Bees are preparing to take on their cross-county 6A rivals.
“They’re a 6A team with a lot of players,” said UHS head coach Adam Caine. “I’m always startled with how big they are. They look really strong, and I know from competing against Cookeville they’ve always got really good team speed. We’re going to have to play really well to be competitive in the game and hopefully get it into the second half, execute down the stretch and be on the happy side of it.”
The Cavs will feature some new faces getting their first game action at the varsity level. Maynord said while there may not be much tape on his players, the lack of experience could play a factor on Thursday.
“I don’t know if there’s ever an advantage going into the first game of the season in a big rivalry game with kids who are inexperienced,” said Maynord. “I’d much rather go in there with an experienced team like we did last year, but the only way they’re going to gain experience is by playing. We’ve got to put them out there and let them play, and hopefully we’ll be competitive enough that we can have a chance late in the game to win the football game.”
Coming off an 8-4 season and second-round playoff exit in 2020, Caine said he is very interested in how his team will respond when they face adversity.
“Without a doubt,” said Caine on if he was looking for his team to show adversity. “Looking at our schedule, everybody’s tough. Our only hope to survive a 10-game season is to push our chips into the middle of the table every Friday night and go at it as hard as we can. We can’t dwell on any negatives and get too high on any positives. If you don’t show up and attack and compete, it’s going to be over pretty quick like it was last year.”
Maynord echoed Caine’s sentiment about his own team.
“It’s easy to respond if things are going well,” said Maynord. “As a coach you don’t know how they’re going to respond when things aren’t going well, and that’s what I need to see.”
Leading the Bees at quarterback will be senior Ty Dutchess. Maynord said a dual-threat quarterback is nothing new when facing the Bees, but his defense will have to be ready to handle a capable runner and thrower.
“We know (Upperman’s) always had someone that can throw it and run it,” said Maynord. “He’s a player, and we’ve faced several of those before. He’s not the only playmaker… they have a lot of kids that have played a lot of football. We know we’ve got our work cut out for us.”
Meanwhile the game will be the first start for junior CHS quarterback Mace Thomsen. Thomsen will have a supporting-cast featuring some returning players like Evan and Waylon Whited and Dontay Dillard.
One point of emphasis for Cookeville is containing the Upperman defensive front. Jyron McCellan, Evan Briggs and Clayton Harris make up one of the more formidable front-threes in the state. With an offensive line featuring several new starters, Maynord said the focus is on the fundamentals.
“You’ve got to block,” said Maynord. “It really boils down to who executes and who blocks. Their defensive front is good. We’ll just have to see how they respond. That’s the unknown.”
Kickoff between the cross-county rivals is set for 7 p.m. Thursday at Tucker Stadium at Tennessee Tech.
“It’s an exciting time for both communities,” said Maynord. “Both student bodies are going to show up and I think we’re going to get people from some of the other communities because it is a Thursday night game. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.”
The game will be livestreamed on the Upper Cumberland Reporter’s Facebook page with Noah McKay and Justin Matheney on the call. Pregame coverage will start at 6:50 p.m.