November 3, 2022 by Bill Howard, FarragutPress

It was a game worthy of its storied rivalry, and of the playoff implications it carried.

Thursday night, Oct. 27, at BHS’s Bill Young Field, Farragut High School’s football team started slow and fell behind 7-0, roared back to lead 28-7, then held off a furious Bulldogs rally.

The 28-21 Region 2-6A win — the Admirals’ seventh straight — to end the regular season put FHS at 8-2 overall while finishing 4-1 in the region. Bearden fell to 6-4, 3-2. 

Farragut, region co-champs but the No. 2 seed due to a tiebreaker, will host Jefferson County (No. 3 seed from Region 1-6A) beginning at 7 p.m., Friday night, Nov. 4, in the first round of Class 6A state playoffs. Admirals skipper Eddie Courtney will be seeking his 200th head coaching victory while facing the Patriots (7-3).

Bearden, No. 3 seed, will travel to Kingsport to play No. 2 1-6A seed Dobyns-Bennett (8-2).

“I think we started off like we have been, played well the first half,” Courtney said. “We lost a little bit of intensity in the second half.“

“We were very inconsistent,” Bulldogs head coach Josh Jones said. “We did some good things and did some things we didn’t need to do. Having pre-snap penalties is totally unacceptable. Gotta do a better job of fixing that.”

It wasn’t a clean game either way. Bearden had 13 penalties for 91 yards and Farragut had four turnovers. In the previous nine games, FHS had six. 

The Bulldogs led 7-0 with 4:21 left in the first when quarterback Drew Parrott hit Ethan Ford for a 13-yard score. The Admirals’ offense in the first quarter was virtually nil.

But then came the second.

The Admirals tied it at 7 with 8:55 left in the half when quarterback Luke Johnson scored on a 1-yard keeper.  

After Ashton Auker returned a Bearden punt to the Bulldogs 25, Farragut needed but five plays to make it 14-7 when running back Elijah Gibbs took it in from the 2.

Late in the half, Jordan Sheppard intercepted Parrott and returned it to the Dawgs 2. On second down, Gibbs scored his second touchdown from the 3, and FHS led 21-7. 

“They weren’t long runs, but they were hard runs,” Gibbs said. “I felt like during this game we really needed a couple of those.”

Johnson (12-of-24 passing for 164 yards, one TD and one interception) hit Auker for an 86-yard bomb with 7:29 left in the third, making it 28-7. 

Bearden, however, rallied.

A fumbled punt by Farragut gave the Bulldogs the ball on the Admirals 42 with 6:46 left in the third. Nine plays later, Kai Ironside’s 1-yard run made it 28-14 with 3:09 left. “… That gave them a score and some momentum,” Courtney said.

Another fumble by Farragut put Bearden back in business late in the third. With 9:58 left in the fourth, Parrott went in from the 1, and it was 28-21.

“We kept competing, we were resilient,” Jones said. 

“That’s a good Bearden team,” Courtney said. “They took advantage of a couple things. …”

Bearden had one last chance, taking over with 3:43 left in the game on its own 17. A three-and-out gave the ball back to FHS, which ran out the clock. An 18-yard run by Gibbs, who was held to 48 yards on 22 carries, sustained the drive.

Auker had five catches for 129 yards and a score. “Luke was throwing me great balls and the O-line was doing a great job blocking for him,” Auker said. 

Junior linebacker Jack Alley had 13 tackles for the Ads.

“We just made too many mistakes to beat a quality team like Farragut,” Jones said.

A special thanks to Carlos Reveiz 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.

By Bill Howard, Knox Focus

What early on looked like a game that might come down to who had the ball last turned out to be anything but.

On Senior Night at Bill Clabo Stadium, Farragut High School continued its offensive onslaught and rolled to a 63-24 win over Fulton High School in a non-region game.

The Admirals’ sixth straight win improved their record to 7-2, and set up a huge road clash against archrival Bearden Thursday night to finish the regular season.

“I’m just proud of what these guys are doing,” said Farragut coach Eddie Courtney. “Our receivers are doing real well. It all starts with the offensive line. Those guys have gotten better every game. Now we’re running the ball and we’ve got good pass protection.”

Farragut needed all of 16 seconds to take a 7-0 lead when wide receiver Ashton Auker fielded the opening kickoff on the 10 and galloped 90 yards for the touchdown.

But the Falcons answered right back on their first possession when, on third and 10 from their own 40, quarterback Marcellus Jackson found receiver Daveon Shenault wide open for a 60-yard score.

The blocked PAT left the score 7-6 Farragut.

Farragut made it 14-6 on its next possession when quarterback Luke Johnson hit Hank Devault for a 34-yard touchdown. The drive covered 97 yards in eight plays.

For the game, Johnson was eight of 12 for 110 yards and three touchdowns, all in the first half.

“Hoping for a good night offensively and that’s what we had,” Johnson said. “Line’s doing their job, receivers catching balls, (running back) Elijah (Gibbs) is running hard. It’s a good offense.”

Fulton again responded and made it 14-12 with 2:39 left in the first when Jackson finished a six-play, 80-yard drive with a 19-yard scramble for a score.

It was easy to think at that point the back-and-forth scoring might continue to the end. It wouldn’t.

Farragut continued to score – six touchdowns on six first-half possessions – but Fulton didn’t. The half ended 42-12 and the game was long over. The second-half clock was continuous.

Up 14-12 with 2:39 left in the first, the rest of the Admirals’ first half scores came from: Gibbs’s five-yard run late in the first; Gibbs’s 57-yard tackle-eluding run with 9:52 left in the half; Johnson’s one-yard pass to Landis Davila less than two minutes later; and a two-yard Johnson-Davila hookup with 3.9 seconds left in the half.

The senior Gibbs carried seven times for 109 yards and a pair of scores in the first half. His performance put him over the 1000-yard mark for the season. He now has 1046 yards on 144 carries, and 14 touchdowns.

“Shout out to my linemen,” said Gibbs. “It feels real good. I’ve been trying to do this (get 1000 yards) my entire life. We’ve been focusing on our tempo, get our plays right, communicating with our offensive line and receivers and everything.”

Davila had five receptions for 34 yards and two scores.

Jackson, who ran for 181 yards and two scores on 15 carries, was nothing short of dazzling. His 81-yard touchdown run with 4:05 left in the third seemed to evade every single Admiral defender.

“That quarterback, he’s one of the quickest I’ve ever seen. He’s special,” Courtney said of the senior Jackson.

Barrett Smith took over for Johnson in the second half and threw two touchdowns on four of five completions. Jack Alley had eight tackles for the Admirals, six solo.

Attention now turns to regular season finales and the playoffs which start Nov. 4. The Farragut-Bearden winner will finish no worse than second in Region 2-6A, and will win it if Maryville loses to Bradley Central.

Fulton travels to Carter where a win will ensure second place in Region 2-4A. Seeding implications are big in both games.

“We gotta have a good game plan next week,” said Courtney. “These guys have to go out and execute.”

A special thanks to Carlos Reveiz 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.

October 19, 2022 by Bill Howard, Correspondent, Farragut Press

CLEVELAND — It was an up-and-down performance for Farragut High School’s football team Friday night, Oct. 14, on the road at Bradley Central High School.

But a standout running back and a formidable defense ensured the Admirals would roll to their fifth straight win.

Senior running back Elijah Gibbs ran for 220 yards on 22 carries and scored three touchdowns as FHS defeated the Bears 31-10 at Bear Stadium. Farragut improved to 6-2 overall, 3-1 in Region 2-6A.

“The running game went really well,” FHS head coach Eddie Courtney said. “Elijah Gibbs ran the ball real hard tonight. Our offensive line has gotten so much better in run blocking and pass blocking.”

“I think it went pretty good today,” Gibbs said. “We had a full week to correct some mistakes and watch their film. I think our O-line really did it for us today, honestly. I’ve got to take care of the O-line.”

Farragut’s stout defense had two linebackers with double-digit tackles: Jack Alley with 12 (10 solo) and Jay Smiley with 11 (five solo). Defensive lineman Brice Fontenot had a pair of sacks to go along with his six tackles (three solo).

John Duncan and Jackson Fisher each had seven tackles. Cornerback Griffin Mashburn had an interception

“The (defensive) line was unbelievable, so many sacks,” Alley said. “I thought the corners and the safeties played great, (having) coverage sacks. That was awesome.”

“Our defense stepped up and made a couple of turnovers,” Courtney added. “We had to have that. Our secondary made some plays back there. We got pressure up front.”

It was a dominant first quarter for the Admirals, as they built a 17-0 lead after one period. The first score came when Gibbs broke through the line and ran 29 yards for the touchdown. The score came with 9:14 left in the quarter.

On its next possession — which started on the BC 19 when Bradley’s fourth-down pass failed — the Admirals had a first and goal on Bears 5, but could manage only a 22-yard field goal by Reese Keeney with 4:39 left in the first.

When Ashton Auker returned a Bradley punt to the Bears 31, Farragut was right back in business. On second and goal from the BCHS 5, quarterback Luke Johnson hit Landon Collins who plowed his way into the end-zone.

With 14 seconds left in the quarter, it was 17-0 Admirals.

For most of the next two quarters, however, Farragut struggled offensively. Two second-quarter possessions resulted in three-and-outs. The first two drives in the third period ended with a punt and an interception.

With 3:38 left in the third, Farragut took over on BC’s 39 and needed but three plays to score. On third and two from the 31, Gibbs went up the middle, then cut right and outran the defenders to the endzone.

The touchdown made it 24-3 with 2:02 left in the third, and put the game out of reach.

Gibbs’s third score, a 9-yard run with 9:03 left in the game, completed the Admirals’ scoring.

“We started off pretty good and we were able to seal it at the end,” Courtney said. “… a big, important region win tonight.”

During its five-game winning streak, Farragut has outscored its opponents 190-37. The Admirals return home Friday, Oct. 21, to play Fulton in a non-region game.

A special thanks to Carlos Reveiz 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.

October 5, 2022 by Bill Howard, Correspondent, Farragut Press

HARDIN VALLEY — Before last Friday night’s game against Hardin Valley Academy at Bill Clabo Field, Farragut High School’s football team had been on a roll, easily winning its last three games. After Friday, make it four.

On five first-half possessions, the Ads scored five touchdowns en route to a halftime — and final — score of 35-0. The Region 2-6A win improved FHS’s regional record to 2-1, 5-2 overall.

“We started off fast, that’s how we challenged our kids,” Admirals’ head coach Eddie Courtney said. “In the last two weeks we saw how much improvement Hardin Valley made. They’ve been getting better, so we knew we had to start strong.”

In the first half, Farragut started — and stayed — very strong. A six-play, 56-yard game-opening drive resulted in a 7-0 lead when running back Elijah Gibbs took it in from the Hawks 9.

A quick three-and-out by HVA put FHS back in business on its own 47. On the second play of the drive — second-and-1 from Hawks’ 44 — quarterback Luke Johnson hit receiver Landis Davila in the end zone for the touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

It would be 21-0 before the end of the first quarter when Johnson again connected with Davila, this time from the 10. For the game, Johnson was a perfect 13 for 13 for 180 yards and three scores. He didn’t play in the second half. Gibbs gained 116 yards and a TD (16 carries).

“My goal right now is just focus on the wins and not on the stats,” Johnson said.

Davila caught four balls for 67 yards and the two scores. Ashton Auker had five catches (63 yards) and a 13-yard touchdown grab in the second quarter.

Farragut’s defense was impenetrable. The Hawks’ total offense for the first half was a mere 14 yards.

Admirals’ linebacker Jay Smiley had 10 tackles, nine of them solo. Courtney substituted widely in the second half.

“Our chemistry’s great,” free safety Hudson Kraemer said. “Whenever anyone gets a big hit we cheer them on.”

“I’m proud of our kids,” first-year HVA head coach Jeff Miner said about his Hawks (0-6, 0-3). “They never quit; they keep fighting. Farragut’s got a great football team. …”

In the second quarter, the Admirals also got an 8-yard touchdown run by backup running back Wyatt Drummy.

A special thanks to Carlos Reveiz 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.

September 28, 2022 by Bill Howard, Correspondent, Farragut Press

When Farragut High School’s football team started 1-2 this year, it could have been argued the Admirals’ ship was adrift. Then again, the two losses were to state powers Knox West and Maryville. 

Three games — and three wins — later, including a 58-14 thrashing of South-Doyle at Bill Clabo Field on Homecoming Night at FHS Friday, Sept. 23, the Blue and Gray is by any standard trending in the right direction. 

The cumulative score of the last three games: Admirals 124, Opposition 27.  

“We had to do it in all three phases,” FHS head coach Eddie Courtney said. “We challenged our offense to score and the defense to get turnovers … to get sacks and be aggressive. We gotta get a block and we did … we got a blocked kick.”

The blocked punt came with 1:31 left in the first period when linebacker Jay Smiley broke through and not only blocked the punt, but recovered it in the end zone. The score made it 21-0, and the Admirals would have all the points they’d need.

The first two scores came from a pair of first-quarter touchdown passes from quarterback Luke Johnson to receiver Ashton Auker. The first was for 16 yards with 4:43 left; the second for 35 yards with 2:33 remaining. 

Johnson was eight of 11 passing for 148 yards and the two scores in limited action. 

“They’re really good, well coached,” said Paul Shelton, S-D’s first-year head coach. “They did a good job up front. They’re just really good schematically … offensively, defensively.”

Farragut made it 28-0 early in the second when running back Elijah Gibbs went around right end for a 3-yard score. A pass-interference penalty on S-D gave the Admirals a first and goal on the Cherokees 2.

Gibbs scored three times while rushing for 124 yards on 15 carries, playing, like Johnson, less than a full game. 

“Our offensive line did really good today,” Gibbs said. “The last couple of games we’ve been having a little bit of trouble. But I feel like it really showed up today.”

A 49-14 halftime lead led to a continuous clock run for the entire second half. 

Backup running back Wyatt Drummy rushed 12 times for 87 yards and a score. Back-up quarterback Barrett Smith threw a touchdown pass, completing four-of-five passes.

Jack Alley had seven tackles, six solo, for FHS. Daniel Williams had three solo tackles and five total. The speedy, shifty Gary carried 26 times for 157 yards.

“You gotta want to win it,” Williams said. “We want to win; we want to stop them.”

The Admirals host rival Hardin Valley Academy (0-5) in a Region 2-6A match-up starting at 7 p.m., Friday, Sept. 30.

A special thanks to Carlos Reveiz 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.