Delayed by wind and rain from Hurricane Helene, the Admirals took on annual rival Bearden on September 28, 2024. The game was extra significant because it marked the dedication of Farragut’s football stadium in honor of long-time coach Eddie Courtney.

The Admirals displayed resilience and determination but were ultimately outmatched, falling 38-14 to a strong Bearden team. Despite the final score, the game highlighted moments of promise and areas for growth as the Admirals progress through their season.

In front of a packed home crowd, Farragut managed to put points on the board, with senior leaders Luke Finnegan and Robbie Jacobs each scoring. Finnegan found the end zone on a short-yardage run, while Jacobs showcased his speed and hands with a 30-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Corbin Hobson. Farragut’s offense showed glimpses of potential but struggled to break through Bearden’s defensive line consistently. The Admirals were often stymied by the Bulldogs’ defense, which put heavy pressure on the offensive line and limited rushing opportunities throughout the game.

Reflecting on the game, Head Coach Geoff Courtney acknowledged the effectiveness of Bearden’s balanced attack. “They ran the ball well, threw it well, and gave us trouble most of the night,” he remarked. Courtney also emphasized the importance of the experience gained in these tough matchups, noting that each game provides a valuable learning opportunity for his players. “We’re still trying to grow and develop, but we’re playing hard,” he added. Courtney’s focus remains on developing the young talent on his squad and fostering the team’s resilience as they face challenging competition this season.

Defensively, the Admirals put up a fight, with crucial tackles from senior linebacker Kent Carbaugh and strong coverage by defensive back Landon Collins. The Admirals’ defense was tested frequently, with Bearden’s offense showing versatility through both passing and rushing plays. Bearden quarterback Drew Parrott connected on multiple key passes and ran for two touchdowns, highlighting the Bulldogs’ ability to keep Farragut’s defense on its heels.

The Admirals now look ahead to their next game, an away match against Bradley Central. As the season progresses, the team is focused on building on their experiences and putting together a complete game on both sides of the ball. “We’ve got to continue to grow and get better,” said Coach Courtney. Farragut fans can look forward to seeing a team that, despite setbacks, remains dedicated to improvement and eager to showcase its talents.

As the Admirals regroup and prepare for the next contest, the season still holds ample opportunity for growth.

A special thanks to Carlos Reveiz of CRFOTO for the action shots from the game. Check out CRFOTO.com weekly 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.

Chattanooga Times Free Press by Gene Henley

CLEVELAND, Tenn. — The Cleveland High School football team is still unbeaten a month into the TSSAA regular season.

The Blue Raiders’ fourth win, which was also their first in Region 2-6A, was an overwhelming performance.

Cleveland, No. 5 in the latest Tennessee Sports Writers Association Class 6A poll, scored the first 32 points of Friday night’s game against Farragut and cruised to a 32-7 victory over the Admirals at Benny Monroe Stadium.

The Blue Raiders dominated the game statistically. On offense, they averaged nearly 6 yards per rush on 18 attempts, including a 46-yard touchdown run by junior Brayden Carroll to start the scoring. Carroll also hauled in a 26-yard pass from Chase Stephens, who combined with sophomore Kason McGowan to throw for 222 yards. Stephens finished with 141 yards through the air, taking the majority of the snaps.

The Cleveland defense did its part, too, forcing five turnovers (three interceptions, two fumbles) and getting 10 tackles for loss. Two of the picks came from David Yancey, who was also credited with a sack, while Gabe Moore picked up a fumble and sprinted 63 yards for a score.

The Admirals (0-4, 0-1) held the ball for more than six minutes on their first possession, running a fake punt and using a pass interference penalty to move deep into Cleveland territory. But on third-and-2 from the 9, Farragut starting quarterback Noah Haag, who would go out of the game in the second quarter with an injury, lost a fumble that was recovered by Cleveland’s Sam Sartin.

Cleveland couldn’t move the ball on its first possession, and a short punt was returned to its 12-yard line. But a tackle for loss and two sacks later, the Blue Raiders had forced fourth-and-26 and would take back over at their own 26-yard line. Five plays after that, Carroll broke free.

Jay’un Smith and A.J. Westfield added scoring runs, and the Stephens-Carroll hookup followed to build a 25-0 lead at the break.

Farragut avoided the shutout on a 1-yard run by backup quarterback Corbin Hobson with 7:11 to play.

Carroll led Cleveland with 135 yards of total offense (50 rushing, 85 receiving), Isaiah Davis added 48 yards on the ground, Smith had 60 yards on a pair of catches and Reggie Hubbard had 47 on five.

Cleveland was called for 13 penalties for 89 yards.

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.

A special thanks to Carlos Reveiz of CRFOTO for the action shots from the game. Check out CRFOTO.com weekly 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 4, 2024 by Alan Sloan  – Farragut Press

POWELL — With its size advantage along the defensive line and at quarterback, plus Powell’s skill position speed along the boundaries resulting in huge gains at opportune times, Farragut had a super tough task Friday night, Aug. 30, on the road.  

The scoreboard reflected that challenge, as the Panthers (1-1) rolled to a 35-7 win to leave the Admirals still winless at 0-2.

 Among the bright spots for Farragut was back-up quarterback Noah Haag, who led the team’s only scoring drive, 72 yards in six plays, which ended with his on-target 52-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Robbie Jacobs with 3:04 left in the third quarter. Another Haag to Jacobs connection just three plays before covered 29 yards and helped the Ads overcome a near disasterous minus 9-yard fumble to start the drive.  

“Noah has earned the right to get in there and contribute and play; he’s right there in the mix of what we’re trying to get done at quarterback,” FHS head coach Geoff Courtney said. “We continue to look for consistency.”  

Along with sophomore quarterback Corbin Hobson, “either guy has got the ability,” the coach added. “They’ve both got the ability to lead this team. Noah ended up being productive tonight, so we rode with him there in the second half, and he made the most of his opportunity.  

“Last couple of turnovers there aren’t really on (Haag). First one’s on me, making a bad play call. Next one, he’s just trying to make a play, trying to do something for his team, so you can’t fault him for that.”  

Improvement a must.

Down 21-0 at the half, “we can’t come out in the first half against a good football team, against any football team, without the type of intensity, focus and style of play that we need to try to play,” Courtney said.  

Overall, “We got to improve in all areas,” the Ads skipper added. “We got to improve as coaches. … We got a lot of areas we can get better at, and I think we will this week.”

August 28, 2024 by Alan Sloan

KINGSPORT — Owning a quarter-and-a-half of its season-opening game at Kingsport Dobyns-Bennett allowed Farragut to overcome early adversity. 

But the home team’s early and late success, which started by recovering an FHS fumble on the game’s second play and needing only 36 yards to score a TD, sent the Ads home unhappy, 27-20, in its season opening game Friday night, Aug. 23. 

Finally stopping KDB on its third scoring drive attempt, after the Indians reached the Farragut 39 midway into the second quarter with the home team already up 14-0, FHS got a spark that created a momentum flame extending almost through the entire third quarter.

Sophomore quarterback Corbin Hobson’s first varsity touchdown pass hit senior receiver Robbie Jacobs in stride deep down the middle, 75 yards in all. The lead was 14-7. 

A second Hobson-to-Jacobs TD lob pass of 19 yards on the next FHS possession, connecting in the back corner of the end zone, tied the game 14-14 with just 1:24 left in the first half.

With Farragut’s defense buckling down (allowing KDB just 273 total yards for the game) and junior kicker Ryan McCue adding field goals of 41 and 40 yards in addition to his pair of extra points, the Ads took a 20-14 lead into the fourth quarter.

But that’s when the Indians began using short, quick pass plays effectively — starting with a critical 18-yard screen pass on third down in the final seconds of the third quarter — to grab back momentum.

“We were going to have to open up the game a little bit and throw it a little bit more,” KDB head coach Joey Christian said. “We were able to do that for the rest of the game.”

Tying the game 20-20 with 9:43 left in regulation — FHS blocked the extra point — KDB made a critical fourth-and-1 defensive stop at the Farragut 40 midway into the final period.

About not punting in that situation, Courtney said, “We just thought we’d get a yard and then continue that drive and then go down and take the lead back. We’d been running it pretty effectively there in the second half. … We felt like we had a good push and good answers in the second half.”

The home team scored six plays later, taking a 27-20 lead with 3:53 to play.

However, Hobson fired completions covering 15 yards to tight end Aaron Heatherly and 11 yards to Landon Collins. The final toss to Jacobs landed the Ads at the Indians 20 with less than two minutes to play.

A second down pass to the goal line looked to be a touchdown — but simply was dropped. The next pass was intercepted, and KDB escaped with a narrow victory. 

Had the catch been made to cut the KDB lead to 27-26, “Hindsight being 20-20, we might have gone for 2 here on the road, but we didn’t get to that,” Courtney said. 

All totaled, Jacobs caught six passes for 142 yards. 

“We are a team that’s always going to fight to the fourth quarter, and that’s exactly what we did,” Jacobs said. “We’re never going to give up.”

Hobson finished 14-of-25 passing for 228 yards and the two scoring strikes plus the one interception. 

After Hobson had a rough first three series, “He settled in quite nicely,” Courtney said.

Another big weapon was sophomore Ethan Farhat, who returned eight kickoffs or punts for 149 yards, an 18-yard average. 

Along with McCue’s kicking and punting and Farragut coverage units, “Outside of one return where we had two guys miss a tackle, I thought our special teams was really, really good tonight,” Courtney said. “Our punt return game was what allowed us to flip the field back in our position in the second and third quarters. Our exchanges on punts, I think we had an advantage there outside of that one return. 

“Then Ryan’s field goal kicking, he was nailing them,” he added. 

As a team, Farragut only gained 44 net yards on the ground. Team statistics had running back Charlie Noble rushing 12 times for 42 yards.

Defensively for Farragut, senior strong safety Henry Dee led FHS in both solo tackles (five) and total stops (nine), including two for minus yardage. Senior defensive end Harrison Kilpatrick had 7.5 total tackles.

Senior linebacker Bryce Thompson added six stops, including one for minus yardage. Of senior defensive back Kent Carbaugh’s six total tackles, four were solo. 

Four of Jacobs’ five total stops at defensive back were solo. Hits by sophomore defensive backs Johnny Jacobs (four total) and sophomore Masyn Apaletegui forced fumbles (neither was recovered by Farragut).

A special thanks to Carlos Reveiz of CRFOTO for the action shots from the game. Check out CRFOTO.com weekly 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.

Game Stats