Friday night marked the final regular season contest of the 2020 campaign for the Admirals as they traveled to Jefferson County. The Patriots, winless on the season, were looking to spoil a potential 1st round home game for the Admirals, as a Farragut loss would result in a 3rd seed in the 2020 playoff bracket. The Admirals had one thing in mind, win.
The Patriots won the coin toss and elected to defer to the 2nd half as Farragut received the opening kickoff. The Farragut offense took over at their own 18 yard line hoping to feed off last week’s 42-point performance against Hardin Valley. An 18-yard Schumann Xie run on 1st down set the tone for the drive.
Five plays later, the Admirals would find the end zone via a 12-yard Matt White keep that made the score 7-0 with 10:32 left in the 1st. The Admiral defense took the field for the first time at the Jeff County 22 yard line. A 37-yard completion on 3rd down for the Patriots wasn’t enough to propel the Patriots to points though, as Farragut held strong later in the drive to force a Patriot punt.
With the ball at their own 20, the Farragut offense wasted no time on its’ next drive. Three runs totaling eighty yards, the final being a 64-yard Schumann Xie touchdown, would complete the Admiral touchdown drive, and extended the Farragut lead to 14-0 with 7:04 left in the 1st. Following a 35-yard return by Jeff County set the Patriots up with the ball at their own 45 yard-line.
The Farragut defense would hold strong again this time, coming up with an incompletion on 3rd-and-8 to force a 3-and-out. The Admirals took over at their own 49 looking to build off their two previous scoring drives. A holding penalty on first down put the Admirals behind the sticks. Completions of 17 and 41 yards, both to Matt White, set the Admirals up at the Patriot 4 yard line.
Following an incompletion, Dion Williams would carry the ball into the endzone from 4 yards out to put the Admiral lead at 21-0 with 5:15 left in the 1st.
The following Patriot drive looked promising after starting at their own 35 yard line and marching down to the Farragut 19, but a Mason Collins interception ended the drive. The Admirals would follow suit though, as the Patriots intercepted Dawson Moore and got the ball back at the Farragut 39. Jefferson County took over searching for their first points of the game, but Mason Collins had other ideas. Collins ended the Patriots’ drive yet again, as he came up with his second straight interception.
Farragut took over with the ball and a 21-0 lead with 8:20 left in the 2nd. A minus yard run on 1st down followed by a sack on 2nd down, led to an incompletion on 3rd to force Brady Hodges’ first punt of the night. The ensuing Patriot drive again looked promising, as they drove down inside the Admiral 15. The Farragut defense would again come up strong, this time it was a Dawson Brown fumble recovery that ended their drive. Armed with 3 timeouts and 1:51 left before halftime, the Admirals were seeking points to close the half with more momentum.
A 19-yard completion followed by a 15-yard personal foul on the Patriots set the Admirals up with the ball at the Patriot 21 yard line, a comfortable distance for Reese Keeney to attempt a field goal. Unfortunately, a miscommunication by the officials allowed time to run out and Keeney wasn’t given the opportunity, putting the Admirals’ halftime lead at 21-0.
The Patriots received the opening kickoff of the second half, hoping to get on the board and back in the game. A Griffin Mashburn minus 9-yard tackle on 2nd down set up a 3rd-and-11 where an incompletion would force another three-and-out for the Patriots.
The next Admiral drive would see a fumbled snap on 3rd-and-6 force another Brady Hodges punt to give the ball back to Jeff County. On the ensuing Patriot drive, the Admiral defense again held strong, forcing another 3-and out. Farragut took over at their own 43, but three run plays only netted two yards and Brady Hodges was called on to punt on 4th-and-8 yet again. The following Jefferson County drive would end again with a Farragut interception, this time it was Logan Foody returning it 43 yards for a Farragut touchdown.
The pick-six extended the Admiral lead to 28-0 with 2:48 left in the 3rd. The Admirals defense went right back to work and forced another 3-and-out from the Patriots.
The Farragut offense took over at their own 45 looking for their first points since the 1st quarter.
The ten-play, 55-yard drive would be capped off with a 9-yard Dawson Moore to Jake Wallace touchdown pass that made it 35-0 with 9:09 left in the 4th. This allowed the Admirals to give their reserves some much deserved Friday night reps. The Patriot offense took over and four plays later scored via a 46-yard touchdown pass to make the Farragut lead 35-7 with 6:30 to play.
The ensuing kickoff would see Mason Collins continue his big night, this time returning the ball 90 yards for the Admirals’ first kickoff return for a touchdown in 7 years. The Collins’ touchdown return extended the Admiral lead to 42-7 with 6:16 left in the 4th. Jefferson County took over following a short return and threw completions of 26 and 38 yards to set up a 3-yard touchdown run three plays later and put the final score at 42-14.
With the win against Jefferson County and a Science Hill loss, the Admirals claimed 2nd place in Region 1-6A. The Admirals earn the right to host the first-round contest against Bradley Central, who the Admirals played in the opening game of 2020 and defeated 25-21. Playoff tickets will only be available online through TSSAA’s GoFan portal. The ticket links below will be activated Tuesday, Nov. 3rd, at 1 pm Eastern. CLICK HERE FOR TICKET INFORMATION
A special thanks to Carlos Reveiz and Ashley Wathen of CRFOTO for the action shots from the game. Be sure to check out CRFOTO.com every week for a full photo gallery from Friday’s game. See a photo you like? They are also available for purchase directly from his website. Click here for this week’s photos.