Cavalier Football Shuts Out Upperman In Season Opener

The Cookeville Cavaliers rushed for 324 yards and opened the 2020 football season with 28-0 victory over Upperman Thursday night at Tennessee Tech’s Tucker Stadium.

Cookeville senior quarterback Stockton Owen drew first blood as he capped of a 97 yard three minute and 23 second drive with a 19 yard touchdown scamper through the heart of the Upperman defense.

Owen and running back Logan Sides helped end a two game losing streak to the Bees. The duo combined for 292 yards on the ground and three touchdowns.

The Cavaliers scored again after they recovered high snap that sailed over Uppermans punters head. Sides, a Cavalier baseball player that has not played football since the eighth grade, ripped off a 29-yard touchdown early on the first play from scrimmage, after the botched special teams play, to put the Cavaliers up 14-0.

Upperman failed to find any rhythm offensively, ending the contest with 151 total yards. All but 9 of those yards came in the second half. A penalty cost Uppermans Ty Dutchess a 60 plus yard touchdown on a screen pass, that would have cut the lead in half.

Owen iced the game with a 66-yard touchdown run with 8:03 to play in the third quarter. Owen looked to be trapped on the sideline near the Upperman 30 yard line but he split two defenders on his way to pay dirt to give Cookeville a 21-0 advantage.

The win marked the first defensive shut out for Cookeville since September 2018. Upperman Head Coach Adam Caine suffered his first loss to the Cavaliers since taking over the position two years ago.

The final score of the night came with 10:42 to play in the fourth quarter when Owen connected with Marcus Banks for a 19-yard touchdown pass.

Owen finished with 11 rushes for 133 yards and two scores. Owen added 39 yard in the air and a touchdown on 5-7 attempts. Sides finished the night with 15 carries and 159 yards and a score.

Upperman senior quarterback Thomas Ensor finished the nigh 11-23 for 93 yards. Sophomore running back Terrance Deadmond added 41 yards on eight carries. Ty Dutchess chipped in 24 yards on five carries.

Cookeville (1-0) will host Livingston Academy next week back at Tennessee Tech. Upperman (0-1) will travel to Smithville to take on the Tigers in DeKalb County.