Class 3A Upper State Final Preview

The teams set to meet for the 3A Upper State championship couldn’t be much more different in style of play. But Daniel and Chester have one huge thing in common - talented quarterbacks who make everything go. The Lions are the defending state champions, and are led by the reigning Gatorade state player of the year in [player_tooltip player_id="153264" first="Trent" last="Pearman"]. He’s paced the Lions to an absolutely blistering offensive season, with a 47.5 points per game average. Pearman has thrown for more than 3,100 yards, rushed for almost 300 more, and has 46 total touchdowns. He’s got weapons all over the field, particularly in the receiving game. Junior [player_tooltip player_id="91140" first="Eli" last="Merck"] leads the Lions with 63 catches for 916 yards and 15 touchdowns. [player_tooltip player_id="204866" first="Jaylen" last="Brown-Wallace"] has almost 800 receiving yards, with <strong>Misun Kelly</strong> and <strong>Clay Swinney</strong> both notching more than 380. That trio has added 22 receiving scores.<strong> Chris Edge</strong> has shouldered the load in the rushing game, but an injury has seen <strong>Tory Shaw</strong> and <strong>Jarius Cleveland</strong> step up. Defensively, <strong>Carson Chasteen</strong> has 106 tackles and 14 tackles for loss, while [player_tooltip player_id="89302" first="Jahiem" last="Lawson"] has an eye-popping 24 tackles for loss and nine sacks. While the Lions throw it around, Chester relies more heavily on the run game. Senior QB [player_tooltip player_id="59469" first="Zan" last="Dunham"] (pictured) had a minor injury late in the season, and it might have been a blessing in disguise for the Cyclones. Over the last two weeks, a fresh Dunham has taken over for Chester. He had 330 offensive yards against Chapman in a dramatic second round win, and rushed 37 times for 186 yards and two scores while throwing for two more in knocking off previously undefeated Powdersville in the third round. Dunham and <strong>Shydem McCullough</strong> have done most of the damage on the ground in the playoffs, with <strong>Darius Head</strong> providing some crucial yards. <strong>Andre Evans</strong> and <strong>Reggie Heath</strong> have been the go-to receivers, and Heath has had an incredible run in the defensive backfield, with four playoff interceptions. Dunham stands out on that side of the ball, too, as a big, physical linebacker. &nbsp;