By Michael Lindsay
The Upperman Bees put on a performance for the ages Friday evening as they defeated Stone Memorial 48-6 to lock up the regular season Region 4-4A championship.
“I’ve been waiting on this; I’ve seen some glimpses all season long and I’ve told the guys we’re not even close to reaching what we can do,” said Upperman head coach Adam Caine. “I think we can play better than that. I hope this will be a springboard.”
Upperman (9-0, 5-0) scored two touchdowns in the game’s first 34 seconds and led 27-0 after one quarter.
“It was cool to see; our kids weren’t holding anything back,” Caine said. “They wanted this ball game and went and got it. We wanted to be the aggressor and tonight we finally were for the whole game.”
Running back Ethan Palk led the Bees on the ground with 126 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on 12 carries. Quarterback Bronzden Chaffin recorded 113 rushing yards and a score on the ground while going 3-5 for 69 yards and a touchdown through the air.
Upperman’s Branson Turnbow was effective on both sides of the ball as he caught 2 passes for 69 yards and a touchdown along with an interception on defense.
The Bees found the end zone on the second play from scrimmage as Palk broke loose on a 58-yard touchdown run to make the score 6-0 Upperman less than 20 seconds in.
The Bees’ red-hot start wasn’t done there as Colton Johnson forced and recovered a Stone Memorial fumble on the ensuing kickoff, setting up a 2-yard Palk touchdown run on the next play to give Upperman a 12-0 lead 34 seconds into the game.
“Our O-line deserves some credit,” Caine said. “That’s a good defensive football team. They stymied us pretty well last year and it was good to see us execute. Ethan Palk’s a tough runner.”
Stone Memorial turned the ball over again on their next possession, setting Upperman up to drive the length of the field before Chaffin capped off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. Chaffin connected with Clayton Harris for a successful 2-point conversion to give Upperman a 20-0 lead with 3:00 left in the first quarter.
The first-quarter avalanche wasn’t over there as Turnbow returned a pick-six 30 yards on the ensuing possession to give Upperman a 27-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
“Our kids adjusted and made plays,” Caine said. “Their quarterback is a really good player and he had me worried. Our pass rush may have affected them a little, though.”
The Bees found the end zone early in the second period as Ja’Lyric Cullom rushed in a 29-yard touchdown with 10:53 left until halftime to put the Bees up 34-0.
Chaffin closed the first half with a 47-yard touchdown pass to Turnbow with 5 seconds left in the second quarter to give Upperman a 41-0 lead at the break.
Stone Memorial got on the scoreboard in the second half as quarterback Nick Osmun hit Chris Hannah for a 38-yard touchdown pass before Upperman’s Jaxson Rollins finished the game with a 1-yard touchdown run to wrap up the 48-6 victory.
Stone Memorial (6-3, 4-1) is still alive for a home playoff game as they travel to Macon County (8-1, 4-1) next week as the winner will finish as the region #2 seed.
Upperman will wrap up regular season play at home next week against Region 4-4A foe DeKalb County (5-4, 3-2). The Bees have already locked up the #1 seed while DeKalb County can finish either third or fourth.
“It feels like every week we climb another step and there’s something lurking on the other side,” Caine said. “DeKalb has played us as well and anybody has over the years. We’ve got to enjoy this, but we know DeKalb has a good club.”
