The Admirals traveled to West High School Friday night to take on the Rebels in the final non-region matchup of the season. Prior to this matchup, the West defense was allowing just over 12 points to opposing offenses, while the Admiral offense came into the game averaging almost 39 points per game. The Admirals knew points would be at a premium, just as they were in last year’s matchup when it took two interceptions returned for touchdowns by the Admiral defense to beat the Rebels 14-9.
Farragut received the opening kickoff, but the Rebel defense showed up ready for action, forcing a 3-and-out on the first drive. The Admiral defense settled in after several big plays and was able to force a 30-yard Rebel field goal, the Rebels led the Ads 3-0 with 6:18 left in the 1st. The next 4 and a half minutes looked identical, a three-and-out by the Admiral offense and a Rebel field goal, this time from 34 yards out. West extended their lead to 6-0 with 1:42 left in the first. Farragut’s offense took over at the 20 yard line and looked to shake off two straight three-and-outs. A 12-yard conversion on third down sparked the Admiral offense. Four plays later, Gavin Wilkinson found Matt White on a 38-yard touchdown pass to give the Admirals a 7-6 lead to close the first quarter.
The second quarter opened with the Admiral defense on the field. Four penalties by the offense and an Eli Purcell sack forced a Rebel punt. The Farragut offense found themselves backed up against their own goal at the 4-yard line, but the West defense again forced a three-and-out. A short punt and an 8-yard return gave the West offense life at the Farragut 31-yard line.
However, the Admiral defense was up to the task, an Eli Purcell sack/fumble and recovery by Joey Dietz ended the threatening Rebel drive. The Admiral offense took over with 3:10 left, looking for points before half. A promising drive ended after a 7-yard sack on third down forced another Admiral punt. With just 20 seconds left, a West kneel closed out the half with Farragut leading 7-6.
The West offense opened the second half with the ball, but the Admiral defense set a tone that would carry through out the rest of the game by forcing a three-and-out. After the Rebel punt, a promising Admiral drive was stopped when a missed exchange ended in a fumble at the West 3-yard line.
The Rebels threatened inside the red zone, but this time it would be Kyle Carter forcing the fumble as he sacked the quarterback and Benji Cheatham came up with the fumble recovery. The Farragut offense took over at its own 13-yard line with 5:00 left in the third. The Admirals would lean on quarterback Gavin Wilkinson, throwing the ball six out of seven plays and finally finding Isaiah Gibbs on a 6-yard touchdown pass. This extended the Farragut lead to 14-6 at the end of the third.
A Rebel punt gave the Admiral offense the ball to open the fourth quarter, but a sack and holding penalty forced another Brady Hodges punt. The Farragut defense continued to create turnovers, this time via a Gabe Hensley forced fumble and another Benji Cheatham recovery. The Admiral offense took over at the Rebel 14-yard line and wasted no time. Isaiah Gibbs carried the ball into the end zone from 14 yards outs on the first play of the drive to extend the Admiral lead to 21-6.
Another Eli Purcell sack and multiple unsportsmanlike penalties forced a Rebel punt on 4th and 68. The Admirals would punt away after a failed third down conversion, but the Admiral defense would stand strong to close out the game. One final kneel by Gavin Wilkinson ended the game and saw the Admirals improve to 6-0 after a hard fought 21-6 win over West.
Farragut returns to region action next week as they travel to Johnson City to take on the Science Hill Hilltoppers. Kickoff is set for 7:30 next Friday in Upper East Tennessee.
A special thanks to Carlos Reveiz and Ashley Wathen of CRFOTO for the action shots from the game. Be sure to checkout 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.
OFFICIAL GAME STATS
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