WHITWELL, Tenn. - Last week against Signal Mountain, the Whitwell defense fell victim to the big play time and time again in a loss to the Eagles.
It was déjà vu at Vernon Holtcamp Field on Friday night.
This time it was Copper Basin that hit the Tigers with big plays, defeating Whitwell in their Region 3-1A opener 46-27. It was Copper Basin's first win over Whitwell since 2012.
"We just settled down on defense and our offense found some stability," Cougars coach Chad Grabowski said. "We just took what they gave us, and they gave us the deep ball. They did a good job, so we had to find what worked best."
The Whitwell defense held the visitors on their first possession and seemed to have them stopped on their second. However, the Cougars (4-1, 2-0) pulled out a fake-punt pass that totaled 65 yards, and one play later they were in the end zone.
The fake punt woke up the Copper Basin offense, which had seven plays gain more than 30 yards in the first half. The Cougars also pulled out some trickery. After scoring to go up 24-14, they recovered an onside kick.
Bryson Grabowski was the star for the Cougars as he racked up 355 passing yards and two touchdowns. Tim Jabaley and Chase Mickens were his main targets, as they totaled 136 and 167 receiving yards, respectively. Mickens had an interception and a rushing touchdown as well.
For the second week in a row, the Whitwell offense marched down the field on its first drive of the game, scoring to take the lead. The Tigers (0-5, 0-1) used a wildcat offense on the drive to gash the Copper Basin defense. The Tigers kept it up on their second possession, needing just one play, a 77-yard run by Trenton Stockwell, to find the end zone.
However, the Tigers offense went silent after those two drives, failing to score until their first possession of the third quarter. Whitwell got close on multiple occasions again in the second half but couldn't score until the closing minute of the game.
Copper Basin is back in action next week against North Georgia. Whitwell has a bye week before taking on Sale Creek.
"We just need to stay consistent and practice the way we've been doing and not hurt ourselves," Grabowski said.
Contact Rob Harvey at sports@timesfreepress.com.