National signing day ceremonies were held Wednesday, February 6 at Farragut High School.  And, what a great day it was.  Ten of our own Admirals signed letters of intent for NCAA Colleges and Universities.  Farragut Football would like to congratulate the following graduating seniors and wish them well in their upcoming careers in football and in life.

Johnathan King                 Tennessee Tech University

Taylor Hunt                         Carson Newman College

Nick Henningsen              Carson Newman College

Thomas Barnett                Tusculum College

Jake Bruce                          Berry College

Jackson Fain                       Wheaton College

Justin Mowery                  West Virginia University (Preferred Walk-On)

Patrick Doucette              Virginia Military Institute (Preferred Walk-On)

Brett Dockery                    University of Tennessee (Preferred Walk-On)

C.T. Leavell                         Carson Newman College

As we write the last chapter and close the book on the 2012 Admiral Football season, the highlights contain many positive reflections and encouragement for the future.

Before the season even began, everyone knew that the Admirals faced one of the toughest schedules in Tennessee. Now, after the fact, a recent analysis determined that in Division I, Class AAA, the “Toughest Schedule” in Tennessee based on Opponents’ Success was…in the #1 slot…Farragut High School. Still, the team did not back down from the strength of its competition. During the course of the regular season, the Ads earned quality wins over state-ranked teams from McMinn County and Catholic High Schools. The team engaged in extraordinary, fierce battles against state-ranked teams from Oak Ridge and Bearden. The 2012 Admirals were the first team in many, many years to score 41 points against defending state champion Maryville. And, in the final accounting, four of the team’s losses were decided by only 7 points or less.; and, those four losses were decided by a total of only 17 points.

As the regular season statistics are penciled in the history books, we can proudly see Farragut Admirals all over the District 4-AAA Leaderboard:

Passing: #1 Bryan Phillips
Receiving: #1 Thomas Barnett, #5 Christian Jetton, #8 Jake Bruce
Rushing: #2 Jackson Fain
Kicking: #2 Jonathan King
Defense: #3 Ryan Glintenkamp

To the 2012 Farragut Admirals we say “Anchors Away!” to an amazing group of seniors. Student-athletes who will not be defined by a Won/Loss record but who will be remembered as tenacious competitors who never said quit. These young men set sail toward very bright horizons.

And, to the 2013 Admirals, we say “Anchor Down!” The Ads will return a veteran group of football players, including: Phillips, Jetton, Glintenkamp, Farner, Rodriguez, Dunn, Gilliam, White, Partin, Williams, Suadi, Brabson, Farmer, Coffey, Al-Hussein, Saah, Hillencamp, Eggert and many more talented athletes that are certain to build on the legacy and tradition of Farragut Football.

Mark the date, come celebrate the team and its players at the Farragut Admiral Football Banquet, December 2nd, 2012 at X pm at XXXX location.

Go Ads!

“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.

Farragut fans — if you can’t make it to the game then be sure to join the Voice of the Admirals, Erik Gerhardt, on WFIV 105.3 FM.  Pre-game coverage typically starts at 7 pm. We caught up with Erik as he was preparing for the upcoming broadcast season:

What do you think about the line-up of opponents this season?

District 4 AAA is in my opinion, like Region 2 5A before it, one of the most competitive in the state. Throw in the likes of Dobyns-Bennett, Oak Ridge and McMinn Co. for your non-district opponents and Farragut’s schedule has to be considered among the most challenging in Tennessee. I love having the opportunity to broadcast such an exciting regular season schedule. Of course, many schools have gone the opposite direction with their non-district contests looking to capitalize on the obvious flaws in this system the TSSAA has imposed. Beyond my own broadcasting interests, though, I believe most times the team will be better served in the long run – the reward outweighing the risk – for having played a more competitive schedule.

What are the key games?

I could easily make the case that they’re all key games, especially considering the competitive nature of the schedule which makes a slip-up against a supposed inferior opponent all the more difficult to overcome. Most people probably wouldn’t have pointed to the Lenoir City game last year, but that outcome resulted in Farragut — ridiculously — having to travel half way across the state for the 1st round of the playoffs. Had the Admirals defeated the Panthers, they would have hosted Blackman in the opening round (the same ridiculous 1st round pairing — the 2 runners-up from the state’s 2 toughest districts — but at least more to Farragut’s favor). From a traditional standpoint, certainly Bearden and Oak Ridge jump out as key games. Owning the head-to-head over West the last 2 seasons has given Farragut the nod for 2nd place in District 4AAA (not that it’s been at all helpful where post season positioning has been concerned), and I expect West will again have a strong, athletic team that will be near the top of the heap. There’s also Catholic and William Blount, the district opener and the regular season finale. Those games are big because of where they fall on the schedule and, additionally, because I expect both to be much improved. Of course, any team aspiring to win District 4 is going to have to knock off Maryville, so that one’s always very important.

Reflections on the program and its history?

Farragut has had some very good teams over the years, many of those in recent years. I will always remember with special fondness the 1981 team because I was at such an impressionable age (6th grade) and Farragut had such an outstanding season. I hope today’s players appreciate the opportunity they have to make that type of impression on younger kids. It’s the kind of thing Coach Courtney consistently emphasizes. I also hope the Farragut community recognizes how extremely fortunate it is to have a coach that knows the program’s history — because he’s lived it (34th season at FHS coming up) — but is in no way given to nostalgia. Coach Courtney’s focus is solely on this team, its next opponent, and ultimately helping these players mature and achieve something special. From a broadcaster’s perspective, I couldn’t ask for a more accomodating coach with which to work. I’m stating the obvious here, but it speaks volumes that his name graces PrepXtra’s Courage Award. While the playing surface at Farragut appropriately bears Coach Bill Clabo’s name, given the stadium reconstruction in 2008 which he largely oversaw, it seems only fitting that Coach Eddie Courtney’s name, sooner rather than later, become the official stadium title.

I’m just looking forward to another entertaining season. I wish the Admirals the best of health and the best of luck in 2012.