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The Farragut season
came to a disappointing end Friday night as the Admirals lost to Ooltewah
in the quarterfinal round of the state playoffs.
Although the Admirals battled hard, the absence of key players was
too much to overcome against a powerful
Ooltewah
team.
Senior
quarterback Michael
Lawrence, Junior linebacker Will
Pearman and Sophomore linebacker Alex
Encarnacion, all key starters, were unable to play due to
season ending injuries suffered in the previous week's playoff game.
Although
Farragut was able to hang tough for three quarters, the Owls blew
the game wide open in the fourth quarter in route to a 42-14
victory.
Ooltewah
set the tone on the opening kickoff when they returned it to the
Farragut 11-yard line. Shortly thereafter, they punched it in from
the 1-yard line and took the early 7-0 lead with 10:02 remaining
in the first quarter.
After
the kickoff, Farragut took over on their own 30-yard line, but was
only able to make one first down before being forced to
punt. Following a good kick by
Micah
Devan, the Owls started from their 9-yard line, but put
together a diligent scoring drive and took a 14-0 lead with 2:39
left in the quarter. It
appeared it may be a long night for the Admirals, but Farragut
rebounded on the next drive.
The
Admirals took over after the kickoff and drove into Ooltewah
territory, but the drive stalled at the Owl 38-yard line.
Ooltewah was called for roughing the kicker on the punt, and the
drive stayed alive. Farragut worked it down inside the
10-yard line and on fourth down and goal Andrew
Martland found Zack
Allen in the end zone for the touchdown. The extra point
was blocked making the score 14-6 with 7:20 to go in the first
half.
Ooltewah
took over at their 25-yard line following the kickoff and moved
into Admiral territory, but the defense held from there and the
Owls were forced to punt for the first time in the game. A
high snap, which the Owl punter was unable to handle, gave
Farragut the ball at the Ooltewah 28-yard line, and it seemed like
the break the Admirals needed. A few plays into the drive Andrew
Martland connected with Chris
Eggert all the way down to the 2-yard line, but an
interception by the Owls turned the drive into a critical missed
opportunity near the end of the half. Ooltewah took over on the
3-yard line and Farragut held the Owls in check, but time ran out
in the half before Farragut could do anything on offense following
the punt. The teams went to their locker rooms with Ooltewah
leading 14-6 at the half.
Farragut
opened the second half with Jacob
Whatley returning the Ooltewah kickoff 52 yards into Owl
territory. The Admirals worked the ball down inside the
10-yard line, where Andre'
Sterling leaped over the Owl defender and scored from eight
yards out. Farragut was successful on the two-point
conversion to tie the game at 14-14 and it seemed like the
momentum was swinging the Admiral's way.
The
momentum shift didn't last long as
the kickoff was returned by Ooltewah for a touchdown giving the
Owls a 21-14 lead with 8:33 left in the third quarter. From
that point on it was all Ooltewah as the Admirals were unable to
recover.
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