“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was epoch of incredulity…” Sounds like Dickens was an Admirals fan.

Friday night at Bill Clabo Field saw a pristine football facilty, with a new gate, fresh paint, new banners and posters, new and returning sponsors, and throngs of fans including Seniors in toga attire. The atmosphere was electric, for five minutes and 42 seconds. That’s all the time it took for the Oak Ridge Wildcats to score two touchdowns and to post a 0-14 lead over the home team. By the end of the first quarter of play, the Admirals trailed 0-21.

Farragut bobbled the opening kickoff and although they recovered it, they were starting inside their 10-yard line. On their first series, Admiral QB Bryan Phillips threw an interception on a difficult cross-field throw. Shortly thereafter, Matt Moore (RB), one of the state’s top 100 meter sprinters, scored on a four-yard rush. FHS failed to progress downfield on the next series and Jonathan King punted away. With the ball on their own 21-yard line, Moore turned a short screen pass into a 79-yard touchdown – dancing around several Farragut defenders then racing down the sideline. Rian Hall, a versatile run/pass threat at QB, added a third touchdown on a 14-yard run-dive into the end zone.

Late in the first quarter, Farragut started to move the ball, behind the O-line: Mason Taylor, Brett Dockery, Nate Gilliam, Justin Mowery and Andrew Saah, with first downs from tailback Josh Gbendah and receiver Jake Bruce. With 9:45 remaining in the second period, the Ads stopped Oak Ridge with a goal-line interception by Taylor Hunt. Then, as half-time approached, the Ads got a fourth down stop when Javi Rodriguez knocked down a Hall pass over the middle. From their own 19-yard line, Phillips passed the Ads downfield, including a nice 42-yard gainer to tight end Billy Williams and an 18-yard toss to Thomas Barnett. On fourth down, long-snaper Mowery hiked the ball to holder Franklin Stooksbuy as kicker Jonathan King got the Ads on the board with a 24-yard field goal. Next, the defense, led by nitro C.T. Leavell, put the Wildcats into a third and 24 yards-to-go dilemma. Following an unsuccessful screen pass, Derrick Williams and Justin Brabson blocked the Oak Ridge punt giving the Admirals the ball at the 7-yard line. A palpable shift in momentum occurred when QB Bryan Phillips, following the lead block of Chris Farner, scampered into the end zone for a fourth-and-three touchdown with just 36 seconds to go in the half: FHS 10, OR 21.

The Farragut coaches and players regrouped during the half-time break and re-entered the stadium with new energy, focus and purpose. By the end of the third quarter, the Ads had reeled off 24 unanswered points. The defense, with pressure from its linebacker corp including Nick Henningsen, Ryan Glintenkamp, Javi Rodriguez and Mitch White, were spectacluar as they put relentless pressure on the OR offense, forcing Hall to hurry his pass attempts and corraling Moore in the backfield for lost yardage.

The Ads offense found its rhythm, as the O-line surged, Fain broke through on several 9-yard gains, Phillips found receiver Thomas Barnett for first down yardage, and Christian Jetton broke loose for a 29-yard pass play to the Wildcat 1-yard line. Phillips did not let Rian Hall hog the ground-game-glory as he scored on a one-yard QB keeper. FHS 17, OR 21. Then, with only 26-seconds remaining in the third quarter, Phillips boot-legged the football for a 36-yard touchdown. FHS 24, OR 21.

Farragut briefly enjoyed its lead in the fourth quarter as OR began to move the ball again behind QB Hall’s running. Then, on the Admiral 22-yard line with 7:40 to play, Hall threw a TD on a rope to wideout Ethan Wheeler. But with new confidence, the Ads quickly responded by moving the ensuing kick-off down the field with pass completions to Jetton and Barnett. Then, with the ball on the OR 30-yard line, Fain bounced outside and raced past the OR secondary for an apparent touchdown that would reclaim the lead. However, a yellow flag on the 20-yard line and a holding penalty negated the score. Moments later, a Phillips to Williams pass at the 12-yard line fell into the hands of an OR defender. The Admirals defense held the Wildcat’s last offensive series, and gave our offense one more chance to score including a 16-yard air strike to Jake Bruce, but with less than 21 seconds to play, Wildcats defensive end Ethan Grumski had his last of four sacks, bringing down Phillips on a fourth-and-10 from the Oak Ridge 46.

The Oak Ridge win ends a six-game losing streak to the Admirals, dating back to the 2005 playoffs.

Following last week’s lopsided season-opening loss at Dobyns-Bennett, Admiral skipper Eddie Courtney said, “Our kids played much better tonight,” adding, “Phillips made some plays and grew up some tonight.” We are proud of our Farragut Admirals for showing fierce determination and significant improvement in Game Two of the 2012 campaign. District play begins next Saturday, September 1st as the Ads travel to play on the new field turf at Catholic High School.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) — For the third straight year, Farragut will open up the season playing traditional powers Kingsport Dobyns-Bennett and Oak Ridge.

Those aren’t even district games. The Admirals will still have to play the likes of Maryville and Bearden.

Head coach Eddie Courtney has always enjoyed putting together a challenging schedule. It appears as if this year’s group of Admirals will have the right kind of chemistry to tackle it.

Read more and watch video at WVLT.

Parents, here are some important dates to remember for the remainder of the summer:

• Tuesday July 24th – 10:00 am – FHS @ Anderson County for 7on7
• Saturday July 28th – Picture Day at the stadium. Information about the pictures will be sent home with your son from Coach Courtney.
• Saturday July 28th – Field Clean-up Day.  We’ll need as many hands as possible. Each family is asked to bring one case of bottled water. This water is then stored and used throughout the season for our players.
• Sunday July 29th – Kickoff Picnic. The picnic will be held at McFee Park in the large pavillion. Bar-b-que is provided by Calhoun’s and each class will be assigned different items to bring to the picnic. The picnic is a great opportunity to meet all of the coaches and their families and get ready for the season. It is also an opportunity to sign-up to help throughout the season.
• Saturday, August 4th – Kick-Off Gala at Fox Den Country Club – This is a fund raising event to help support the football program. Tickets will be available for the event at Picture Day and the Kickoff Picnic. The Gala will include a silent auction this year. The Booster Club is currently seeking donations for the auction. If you would like to donate an item or a service for the auction please let us know. Please get ready for the season by showing your Admiral Pride and supporting the Gala.
• Thursday August 9th – 6:00 pm – FHS vs. Powell at KOC Jamboree in Neyland Stadium. Teams will play during second half of event.

Finally, Football Fees (Varsity/JV /Freshman) are due.  Pay by July 1 and received a $25 discount. You can pay your fees on-line.

Nick Guess, a 2007 graduate of Farragut has signed as free agent to play with the San Diego Chargers.  He has been Tennessee’s long snapper for the past two years.

Read full article at GoVolsXtra.com.

Each year, the East Tennessee Chapter of the National Football Foundation & Hall of Fame recognizes the high school scholar-athletes who achieved success in the sport of football and in the classroom. Award recipients not only posted outstanding GPAs, but were contributors and role models in their respective communities by their accomplishments off the field. This year’s list of recipients include three Farragut Admirals.

Garrett Bowdle, son of Keven and Karen Bowdle
Madison Brown, son of Stanton and Angela Brown
Robert Wrinkle, son of Robert and Jennifer Wrinkle

Gregg Harper, who passed away in January, 2012, posthumously received the Distinguished Service Award for his passionate support of Farragut Football which led to increased participation, sponsorship and support of Farragut athletics by the community.

Congratulations to Garrett, Madison and Robert on your awards and thank you Bowdles, Browns, Wrinkles and Harpers for your service to FHS, the Farragut community and for being a part of the Farragut Admiral Football family.