By Michael Lindsay
Fans got their money’s worth in Baxter Friday evening as the Upperman Bees defeated DeKalb County in overtime, 17-16.
The AP No. 7 Bees (6-2, 3-1) stopped a 2-point conversion attempt by No. 10 DeKalb County (6-2, 2-2) in overtime for the walk-off victory.
“I was surprised,” said Upperman football coach Adam Caine. “They’ve got a good kicker. They tried to do what Stone did and steal the win there with a 2-point conversion. It looked like the guy was wide open. I hope I look at the film and see somebody pressuring the quarterback.”
Upperman’s victory came short-handed as Jaxson Rollins left the game on the opening kickoff due to injury.
“It changes things a ton; he’s a two-way guy,” Caine said. “When a guy like that goes down, it’s like losing two guys. We were scrambling. He’s a tough kid, so when he comes over hobbled, you know something is going on. We had some guys step in there; we had a freshman go in at safety, Bronzden Chaffin.”
It took nearly a quarter for either team to find the end zone as both defenses put on strong performances.
The Bees took advantage of a DeKalb County fumble at their own 19-yard line with 4:25 left in the opening quarter to set up the game’s first score.
Upperman’s Terrance Dedmon broke the stalemate with 2:51 remaining in the first period as he rushed in a 16-yard touchdown. Sebastian Stanfill tacked on the extra point to give Upperman a 7-0 lead.
DeKalb County flipped the script in the second quarter, scoring off an Upperman fumble at their own 15-yard line with 8:28 left until halftime.
Tiger quarterback Jordan Parker hit Josh May at the goal line, where he extended for a DCHS touchdown. DeKalb’s Juan Ortega added the extra point to tie the game at 7.
“It was a little sloppy,” Caine said. “It was weird; two pretty disciplined and well-coached teams usually don’t turn the ball over. I think everybody felt the pressure.”
The 7-7 tie stood until halftime.
Upperman retook the lead with 7 minutes left in the third period on a Stanfill field goal to go up 10-7.
DeKalb County again copied the Bees as Ortega hit a game-tying field goal on the ensuing possession to knot the game at 10.
The Tigers threatened DeKalb as they reached the Bee 16-yard line with 5:44 remaining, but Upperman’s defense turned DeKalb away to hold the tie at 10.
Neither team would crack the scoreboard throughout the fourth quarter, sending the 10-10 game into overtime.
“We couldn’t sustain anything on offense, and I give them credit,” Caine said. “That’s a tough matchup for us.”
Upperman possessed first in overtime and scored first via a 2-yard Dedmon rush. Stanfill’s extra point put the Bees up 17-10.
DeKalb County answered on the first play of overtime via a touchdown pass to Malachi Trapp, bringing the Tigers within one at 17-16.
DeKalb elected to go for the win, calling a 2-point conversion play to the left side where their pass fell short, giving Upperman the overtime victory.
The Bees travel to Walker Valley for non-region play next Friday while DeKalb County hits the road to Goodpasture.
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