WCHS Warriors fall to Upperman Bees, 42-0

After a week off, the 7-1 White County Warriors traveled to Baxter to take on the 6-2 Upperman Bees. The Warriors brought a seven-game win streak with them, not having lost since they fell to Soddy Daisy by a single point. Since that time, White County had only failed to win by a two-score margin once – a 14-13 win over Livingston Academy a month ago. The Warrior defense had not given up more than 14 points in any single game and only 75 all season.

However, the Upperman Bees had numbers that could match that of White County. While the Bees had an extra tally in the loss column, they came into Friday night’s game as the top-ranked team in the district. Upperman had only failed to score at least 40 points three times all season – once in a 29-7 win over Webb.

When the two teams took the field Friday night, a battle was expected, but that wasn’t the case. The Bees put 28 points on the board before halftime and another 14 after. White County failed to score even once for the first time all season.

A fumble by White County quarterback Tucker Pinion let the Bees start their first possession near midfield. A few minutes later, the Upperman quarterback, Bronzdon Chaffin, carried the ball over the goal line for the score with five minutes left in the first quarter.

After the Warriors couldn’t do much positive on their next possession and punted the ball away, Upperman was moving the ball again as the first quarter expired. On the first play of the second quarter, Chaffin hit a receiver 35 yards down field to set up a first and goal from the five-yard line. Three tries later and Chaffin powered his way into the end zone again to make the score 14-0.

Three plays later and it was another punt for White County’s JoJo Dowell who kicked the ball away. Thanks to Dowell’s high punt, and Bryson Hogg’s great coverage, the Bees had to start their next drive at their own 24-yard line. However, it didn’t make a difference as Upperman followed a couple of solid plays with a 60-yard touchdown pass from Chaffin to Elijah Fitts for the Bees third score of the half.

Yet another three-and-out for the Warriors set the Bees up with a chance to move 75 yards to add another seven to the scoreboard before halftime. It was another big pass from Chaffin to Fitts, this time one that covered 40 yards through the air, that added another seven points to Upperman’s side of the board.

Down 28 points at the start of the third quarter, the Warriors watched as the Bees took the second half kickoff and moved methodically down field. Despite being forced to a fourth down, Upperman kept the ball for close to half of the third quarter before pushing their lead to 35.

After getting the ball back, the Warriors found themselves faced with a third-and-long at midfield. This time it was Cole Sims who coughed up the ball. Gunner Block recovered for the Bees, but the White County defense dug in and forced the first Upperman punt of the night with just three minutes left in the third quarter.

Starting at their own 10-yard line, the Warriors were staring down the full field. On the first play, however, the ball slipped out of Tucker Pinion’s hands, and the Bees recovered at the six-yard line. Two plays later, and it was Chaffin’s turn to drop the ball. Bryson Hogg recovered for White County as the clock ticked into the fourth quarter.

Unfortunately, the Warriors were unable to do anything on offense, and another Dowell punt, with eight-and-a-half minutes left, set the Bees up near their own 40-yard line. The game’s final score came on a third-and-goal run by Carmine Phillips, and Upperman would walk away with a 42-0 win.

It was a tough night for the White County football team, but they won’t have much time to dwell on it. The Warriors will travel to Crossville next week to face Stone Memorial, who, after a 28-7 win over DeKalb County, on Friday night, has an identical record as White County. Both teams will meet, sporting 7-2 records, while standing at 3-1 in district play. Next Friday night’s game will determine who gets the division’s runner-up title and the two-seed bye.