Triple F Elite Sports Training is a Professional Athletic Development Facility located in Knoxville that’s helping youth and adults achieve their athletic potential. Click on the logo for more info or to schedule your visit today!
BY JESSE SMITHEY
Needing a stop on fourth-and-inches with roughly a minute to play Friday night in a Class 4A state semifinal against visiting Upperman, the Greeneville defense just couldn’t grab hold of 6-foot-4, 200-pound quarterback Bronzden Chaffin.
He not only picked up the necessary inches, but he also snagged roughly 30 yards, too.
Chaffin ran all the way down to the Greeneville 9-yard line. And that jaunt allowed him and Upperman to run out the remaining seconds on the subsequent play — clinching a 21-14 win in the Class 4A state semifinals in Greeneville.
Upperman (14-0) will make its first-ever TSSAA BlueCross Bowl appearance at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga. The Bees will take on heavy 4A favorite Pearl-Cohn (14-0).
Greeneville sought its first state championship game appearance since last winning it in 2018. The Greene Devils (11-1), though, ran for just 17 yards Friday night on 17 carries.
Corbin Cannon, the Greene Devils quarterback, threw for 205 yards on 13-for-18 passing, and his 38-yard touchdown to Zaydyn Anderson with 2:39 remaining trimmed Upperman’s lead to 21-14, just some 35 seconds after Upperman went ahead by 14 and all but zapped the hopes in Greeneville.
The Greene Devils could not reel in the onside kick but did eventually force Upperman into a third-and-long situation with just under 2 minutes to play. Upperman ran a sweep with Chaffin to the right and looked to have gotten the first down. The officials’ spot stopped them short.
On fourth-and-inches, Upperman tried to draw Greeneville offsides. The Green Devils didn’t flinch, and the Bees called timeout with 59 seconds to play.
Upperman elected not to punt and to get the first down. The Bees did that and then some with Chaffin’s run, finishing the game 2-for-3 on fourth-down conversion attempts.
The Bees ran for 307 yards on 55 attempts and threw just three passes. One of their passes was intercepted early in the first quarter, and Greeneville cashed in on that with a touchdown pass from Carson Quillen to Anderson (five catches, 88 yards).
But ultimately, Upperman’s run game proved too strong.
Chaffin finished with 20 carries for 124 yards and two scores. Ethan Palk had 25 carries for 156 yards and a touchdown for Upperman.
UPPERMAN 21, Greeneville 14
UHS 7-7-0-7—21
GHS 7-0-0-7—14
SCORING: Anderson 20 pass from Quillen (Brandon kick); UHS — Chaffin 1 run (Stanfill kick); Chaffin 2 run (Stanfill), Palk 1 run (Stanfill); GV — Anderson 38 paasss from Brandon (Brandon).
First Downs: U 14, G 12
Rushing: U 55-307, G 17-17
Pass Yds: U 3, G 238
Passing: U 1-3-1, G 16-22-2
Fumbles: U 0-0, G 1-0
Punts: U 2-37.0, G 2-33.0
Penalties: U 3-28, G 4-50
5STAR PHOTOS powered by KOC: Greeneville Greene Devils vs. Upperman Bees — 2023 Class 4A semifinals