Story by Noah McKay, Photos by Madeline Lindsay
*Editor’s note: Our thoughts and prayers are with the Upperman fan who suffered a medical emergency after the game. Out of respect to him and his family, we will not release nor speculate on any details, and the following story will only focus on the game. Coach Caine also commented on the situation sending thoughts and prayers.*
GREENEVILLE – For the first time in school history, the Upperman Bees will compete for a football state championship.
The Bees secured a spot in the TSSAA Class 4A state title game in a 21-14 road victory over previously undefeated Greeneville on Friday night.
“Amazing,” said UHS head coach Adam Caine. “This is as good as I always imagined. It feels incredible to finally send the Bees to the championship game.”
Upperman dominated the contest in the trenches, rushing for 312 yards while holding the Greene Devils to 16 yards on 17 carries.
“I was worried coming in about their defense,” said Caine. “They’re big enough, strong enough and play with really good technique. This team is different.”
The Bees’ quest for a 14-0 record nearly derailed early in the game as Landon Aldridge intercepted a tipped pass to give the Greene Devils a short field. They cashed in two plays later as superstar tailback Carson Quillen found a receiver in the end zone on a halfback pass to give GHS a 7-0 lead minutes into the game.
From there, the patented Upperman rushing attack took over. Junior tailback Ethan Palk broke loose on a 52-yard run to push the Bees into the red zone. Three plays later, sophomore quarterback Bronzden Chaffin pushed in a one-yard touchdown rush. Sebastian Stanfill’s PAT tied the game at 7.
“There was some chatter on the headsets, I sensed a little bit of panic and frustration (among the coaches),” said Caine after the slow start. “Understandably, but this group of players is different. Their body language is different. They believe in each other. They believe in what we try to do. When Palk started busting those runs it justified our thoughts that we belong here.”
Fortune appeared to be on the Greene Devils’ side as on the ensuing possession a fumble bounced into the arms of a member of the offense who took it to the UHS 10-yard-line. The UHS run defense then allowed just four total yards on three straight Quillen runs. The 23-yard field goal attempt missed wide right to keep the game knotted at 7.
The Bees then drove 80 yards on 15 plays, draining 9:17 off the clock as Chaffin went over the pile for his second touchdown of the half to stretch the lead to 14-7.
Carmine Phillips intercepted a pass at the end of the half as the Bees took the seven-point lead into the break.
Both elite defenses settled in after halftime. Jaxson Rollins intercepted a pass in the end zone to open the third quarter, then the teams traded punts as the Bees maintained the 14-7 lead into the final frame.
Upperman appeared to ice the game in the fourth, driving 67 yards on 10 plays as Palk scored his first touchdown of the game from one yard out. Stanflil’s PAT made it 21-7 Upperman late in the fourth. The Greene Devils responded with a 38-yard touchdown pass with 2:25 remaining, but Upperman was aided by a game-clinching 30-yard rush on fourth down to secure the Bees a trip to Chattanooga.
“This team has proved that they play complementary, team football,” said Caine. “You’ve got to be able to do that to win big ballgames like that.”
Palk rushed 25 times for 155 yards and a touchdown. Chaffin rushed 21 times for 123 yards and two scores. Rollins carried the ball nine times for 34 yards. Chaffin completed one of three pass attempts.
Defensively, the Bees held the explosive Quillen to -7 yards rushing on eight carries. Caden Baugh had six carries for 23 yards. Corbin Cannon went 13-18 for 205 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
“The reason I didn’t panic when we went down 7-0 is we really blew up their run game,” said Caine. “They lean on the run game. (Quillen) had nowhere to run. I knew then we had a chance.”
Clayton Harris had another big game on defense, tallying a sack and several tackles for loss.
Caine said the Bees have the utmost respect for Greeneville, but felt disrespected entering the game. That disrespect provided an extra boost of motivation to the history-making squad.
“We heard a bunch of noise driving to Greeneville,” said Caine. “What they were saying (in the media)… all that stuff is really interesting to me. We had, and I still have, nothing but respect for this program, but we’ve got good players. I think once they figured out we meant business, they were a little shocked. That was a good feeling because we did feel a little disrespected coming in here. We read all the stuff; we always read the stuff.”
Upperman (14-0) will now turn their attention towards their toughest challenge yet as they take on the Pearl Cohn Firebirds (14-0) on Saturday, December 2 at the University of Tennesee at Chattanooga’s Finley Stadium. The Firebirds fell in the 2022 Class 4A state championship game to Anderson County, and have rattled off 12 straight wins of 21 points or more. PCHS defeated Haywood 48-20 in their semifinal contest.
Kickoff between the Bees and Firebirds is set for 11 a.m. est. The game will be audio streamed on the UCR Facebook page and YouTube channel.
