by Rusty Ellis
The Upperman Bees are rolling into the second round of the TSSAA Class 4A State Playoffs after dominating East Ridge 56-14 on Friday night.
Following a stop on East Ridge’s possession, Bronzden Chaffin cashed in on a big punt-return from Branson Turnbow, as the sophomore quarterback hit Ja’Lyric Cullom for a 23-yard touchdown. After the missed extra point, Upperman held an early 6-0 lead.
Ethan Palk added to the lead with his 12-yard touchdown run, and Jaxson Rollins scored on a nine-yard run of his own as time expired in the first to give Upperman a 21-0 lead at the end of the quarter.
From there, the Bees continued to dominate up-front and scored three more touchdowns in the second to double their lead at the break. Chaffin threw his second touchdown of the game to Braxton Speck, and Chaffin and Rollins each added a rushing touchdown in the frame to give UHS a 42-0 lead at the break.
East Ridge recovered an onside kick and got on the board with their first touchdown in the third, but a quick 21-yard touchdown run by Carmine Phillips got those points right back for the Bees. Jude Fitzpatrick recorded the final UHS score of the evening with his two-yard touchdown run in the fourth to cap off an explosive performance for Upperman, as the Bees advanced with their 56-14 win over the Pioneers.
Seven different Bees found the endzone on Friday night, as Rollins led the way on the ground with 10 carries for 98 yards and two touchdowns, while Chaffin threw for 63 yards and two touchdowns of his own.
“It feels good, I was a little concerned coming in, the way I looked at it, they had won four of their last five,” said UHS head coach Adam Caine. “It was good to get that good start, to get that deep shot early and once we got the run game cranked up, we played well in that first half…I’m proud of my guys. Playoff win, we’re 11-0 right now, and we’re going to enjoy this one tonight.”
One position group that stuck out was the offensive line, as it has for much of the season in Baxter. They consistently won their matchups up-front and gave open lanes to run through all game long.
“Those guys have played really well all year,” Caine said. “They had some doubters coming into the season…they really take a great deal of pride and they’re very unselfish kids, and that’s what it takes to have a good run-game. Through 11 games, that’s how they’ve played. The story now is you’ve just got to keep wanting to come back Monday afternoon and get after it again.”
The Bees will take on Stone Memorial next Friday in a rematch of a game Upperman won 48-6 in week 10 of the regular season, but Caine sees no reason to expect another blowout.
“As we move forward, the momentum swings will be drastic, and it’ll normally turn out to be who wants it more,” Caine said. “I know they’ll come back in here wanting to get back at us, and they’ve got quality players…I don’t think we can expect them to have three turnovers in the first quarter this time. We’ve got a good team, and we’ve got to make sure we’re clicking.”
