Football Preview: Whitwell Tigers vs. Copper Basin Cougars
Whitwell is 7-2 against Copper Basin since October of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Whitwell Tigers will challenge the Copper Basin Cougars at 7:30 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Whitwell has five straight victories, Copper Basin has seven straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Whitwell's defense heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They were the clear victor by a 24-0 margin over Sale Creek. The 24-point effort marked the Tigers' lowest-scoring contest of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Brandon Easterly was his usual excellent self, rushing for 186 yards and a touchdown while picking up 7.2 yards per carry, and also throwing for 158 yards and two touchdowns. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 111 rushing yards per game. Bennett Mcdougal was Easterly's top target, picking up 90 receiving yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 60 yards.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Whitwell was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 297 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 157 rushing yards in four consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Copper Basin fell victim to Chattanooga Prep and their airtight defense on Friday. They took a blow against the Sentinels, falling 66-0. While losing is never fun, the Cougars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee football rankings (they are ranked 319th, while the Sentinels are ranked 159th).
Whitwell pushed their record up to 5-0 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season. As for Copper Basin, their loss dropped their record down to 0-5.
Everything came up roses for Whitwell against Copper Basin in their previous matchup back in September of 2023 as the team secured a 54-18 victory. In that match, Whitwell amassed a halftime lead of 34-0, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
