A year later, a whole different ballgame

The last time White County and Upperman met on the football field, the Warriors couldn't get much of anything going. The Bees handed them a 42-0 loss, held Cole Sims to just 37 rushing yards, and made sure the White County offense never found its footing. 

A year later, the Warriors have a chance to write a very different ending. 

White County enters Friday night's matchup with a perfect 8-0 record, while Upperman comes to Sparta at 6-2. More importantly, both teams are 3-0 in Region 4-4A play, putting plenty on the line when they meet under the Friday night lights at Dee Harris Field. 

And with both teams coming off a bye week, they've each had an extra week to prepare for a game that could go a long way toward deciding the region championship. 

Last year's meeting was about as lopsided as the final score suggests. White County managed just 70 rushing yards, with Sims accounting for 37 of those. Quarterback Tucker Pinion attempted only one pass, which fell incomplete, and the Warriors put the ball on the ground four times, losing three fumbles. 

Upperman, meanwhile, piled up 395 yards of offense, including 263 through the air. The Bees' defense added six tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. 

Bryson Hogg was one of the few bright spots for White County, finishing with 10 tackles and a fumble recovery, but there wasn't much else for the Warriors to celebrate that night. 

This year's numbers tell a different story. 

Sims is averaging 137 rushing yards per game and has already found the end zone 15 times on the ground, with another two touchdowns as a receiver. Pinion has added 11 touchdown passes, giving White County an offense that can do considerably more than hand the ball off and hope Sims finds some room. 

The Warriors are averaging 352.4 yards and 36.9 points per game, and they've scored at least 27 points in every game this season. 

Upperman, however, has plenty of offensive weapons of its own. 

The Bees are averaging 268.6 rushing yards per game, actually outpacing White County's 237.6. Sophomore Gavin Frazier leads the team at 84.3 yards per game, but senior Jude Fitzpatrick isn't far behind, averaging approximately 83 yards a night. Fitzpatrick has also scored nine touchdowns this season. 

That gives the Warriors two running backs to account for, and Fitzpatrick can cause problems on the other side of the ball as well, having recorded four sacks this season. 

And while Upperman doesn't throw nearly as often as White County, quarterback Ellijah Barow has been efficient when called upon. The senior has completed 64.2 percent of his passes, with six touchdowns and a passer rating of 115.1. 

Pinion, by comparison, has completed 56.2 percent of his passes with a 102.3 rating. The White County quarterback has thrown nearly twice as many touchdowns, though, and the Warriors are averaging more than twice as many passing yards per game, proving they have become a multi-dimensional team this season. 

It's an interesting contrast between two teams that have found different ways to move the football. 

Upperman also has another weapon in senior Colton Johnson, who has been productive on both sides of the ball. The tight end averages 30.1 receiving yards per game, but it's his work at linebacker that really stands out. Johnson is averaging 10.8 tackles per contest, making him someone the Warriors will need to account for regardless of which team has possession. 

The defenses have also played a major role in getting both teams to this point. White County has allowed just 99 points through eight games, an average of 12.4 per contest. Upperman has surrendered 153, although 90 of those points came in losses to Greeneville and Beech. 

Both teams have taken care of business in region play, with wins over Livingston Academy, DeKalb County, and York Institute. White County has outscored those three opponents by a combined 74 points, while Upperman's margin is 68. With just six points separating their margins of victory against the same competition, there's little in those results to suggest either team has a significant edge heading into Friday night. 

Even the MaxPreps rankings suggest this could be a good matchup. White County enters the week ranked seventh in Tennessee's Class 4A, while Upperman sits at No. 14. 

For White County, the challenge will be keeping Upperman's running game under control while avoiding the turnovers that made last year's meeting so difficult. The Warriors have already shown they can move the ball against a variety of opponents, but the Bees will present another test of just how far this offense has come. 

And while an undefeated season remains very much in play for White County, there's a more immediate goal on the line. Both teams are fighting for position at the top of Region 4-4A. The winner takes the top seed with just one game left to play when the lights go out this week.  

But there's something else White County will be trying to accomplish Friday night, and it's something very few teams have managed to do in recent years. 

Since the start of the 2018 season, Upperman has compiled a remarkable 44-1 record in region play, claiming at least a share of the region championship every year along the way. The Bees have made a habit of owning their region, regardless of who lines up across from them. 

The Warriors have a chance to put a dent in that dominance Friday night, and with both teams entering the matchup unbeaten in region play, the stakes couldn't be much higher. 

Last October, the Bees left little doubt about which team was better. This Friday, the Warriors get their chance to change that conversation.