It wasn’t another shutout by the Admiral defense, but a strong  defensive showing along with explosive play by the offense lifted the Admirals to 2-0 on the season, with a 47-7 victory over the Cherokees of McMinn County.

The Ads started off the game by forcing a Cherokee three-and-out, then quickly marched down the field and saw a Daniel Bethel connect on a 27 yard field goal try that gave the Ads a 3-0 lead with 7:26 to play in the first. The next drive saw the Farragut defense again stand strong after a 40 yard McMinn pass and forced anther Cherokee punt.

When Farragut got the ball back they would lead a 14-play, 71 yard drive that was capped off by a 15 yard Kyle Carter touchdown run. This extended the Admiral lead to 10-0 with 11:30 to play in the 2nd.

The Cherokees would however answer three plays later, on a 76 yard touchdown pass of their own to cut the Farragut lead to 10-7 with 10:34 to play in the 2nd.

A 53 yard kick return on the ensuing kickoff by Wyatt Lucas gave the Admirals the ball at the McMinn 43 yard line. Farragut would need just 4 plays this time to punch it in, as Isaiah Gibbs did so on a 6 yard touchdown run that extended the Farragut lead to 17-7 with 9:24 to play in the 2nd. Another three-and-out by the Ad defense and a 35 yard Wyatt Lucas punt return, setup another Daniel Bethel field goal opportunity, this time from 41 yards. Bethel drilled the kick and gave the Ads the a 20-7 lead with 6:03 to play before halftime.

The fourth three-and-out by the Cherokee offense in their first five drives, thanks in large part to an 8 yard Eli Purcell sack on the first play, gave the ball back to Farragut’s powerful offense.  A 7 yard Jake Evans to Alec Keathley touchdown pass capped off  a nine play, 69 yard Admiral TD drive that made the score 27-7 at halftime.

After receiving the opening kickoff, the second half began just as the first ended, with fireworks from the Admiral offense. This time however, Jake Evans found Tanner Corum for a 19 yard Farragut touchdown just four plays into the half. The touchdown gave the Ads a 34-7 lead with 10:26 left in the 3rd quarter.

In even more familiar fashion, the Farragut defense stopped the Cherokees on a fourth down conversion attempt by forcing a fumble that gave the ball back to the Admiral offense. After an 18 yard Kyle Carter run and a 20 yard Hunter Shopovick completion, Gavin Wilkinson found Alec Keathley for his second touchdown reception of the night and extended the Farragut lead to 40-7 with 6:10 to play in the 3rd.

The Admirals would get the ball back with 2:53 left in the 3rd after another stellar defensive series. A 60 yard Jake Evans to Matt White pass would setup a 1 yard keep by quarterback Jake Evans pushed the score at 47-7 with 1:39 left in the 3rd and put the game on a running clock.

The fourth quarter saw wholesale changes for the Admirals as many of the starters were pulled and the younger Ads were given  valuable Friday night snaps. The opening defensive series saw sacks by Caleb Kuhn and Gabe Hensley end yet another McMinn County offensive series. The fourth quarter would fly by as the clock continuously ticked. The Admirals would however bring on the punt team for the first time all night, which resulted in a 47 yard punt by Daniel Bethel.

As the Admiral defense took the field, there was time for one last play by the Cherokees before the clock ran out.

After an incomplete pass and time expired, the Admirals improved to 2-0 after an explosive 47-7 win over McMinn County. Farragut will be on the road for the first time this season next we as they travel to Burke-Toney Stadium to face Morristown West at 7:30pm.

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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A Tanner Corum interception on the opening drive of the game would set the tone Friday night for the Admirals. Eight total turnovers by Bradley Central would be the story of the game. Corum would come up with two more interceptions on the night to tie the school record of three INTs in one game, set by Earl Chisholm in 1987 (Bearden) and tied by Spencer Boyer in 1998 (Rhea Co.), Zach Allen in 2007 (Dobyns-Bennett), and Justin Kirkendall in  2015 (Powell).

The Admirals however started the game in similar fashion when a fumble ended their first drive of the game,

but a Bradley fumble on the very next play gave the ball back to the Admirals.  An unsuccessful 4th down try turned the ball over to Bradley, but yet another fumble would end the Bear drive and give the Admirals the ball on the Bradley 16-yard line.  Two plays later, Kyle Carter scampered into the end zone from 13 yards out.  A missed extra point try gave Farragut a 6-0 lead with 7:11 left in the 1st.

On the next Bradley offensive drive, Corum’s second interception came as the Bears had driven the ball down to the Farragut 26-yard line.  A 41-yard Kyle Carter run setup a 30-yard, Gavin Wilkinson to Matt White touchdown pass.

Another Corum interception and fumble by Bradley would leave the Bears with 6 first half turnovers.  A 9-yard Caleb Kuhn sack would help derail a Bears late 2nd quarter drive, and ensured a 13-0 halftime lead for the Admirals.

In the second half, the Admirals’ rushing attack continued to pickup steam as Kyle Carter rushed for 17 and 25 yards, to set himself up for a 2-yard touchdown run that made it a 20-0 with 7:32 left in the 3rd.

A fumble on the ensuing kickoff resulted in the 7th turnover for Bradley on the night, however the Ads were unable to capitalize and turned the ball over on downs.

Farragut held on to a 20-0 lead as the 4th quarter began.

However, a fourth down Bradley pass attempt found Admiral Matt White, resulting in an 80-yard interception return for a touchdown, extending the Admiral lead and accounting for the eighth Bear turnover.  The eight turnovers forced by the defense tied a FHS record from 1998 versus Rhea County.  The Admirals led 27-0 with 10:42 left to play in the contest.  A 9-yard sack on the next drive would force a Bear punt and give the ball back to the Admirals near midfield.

A 7-play, 54-yard Farragut scoring drive was capped off by Gabe Hensley who carried the ball in from 2 yards out. The Farragut defense would shine again as the reserves denied the Bears three times from inside the 9-yard line in the final stages of the 4th quarter.

As the final horned sounded, the Admirals improved to 1-0 after a 34-0 victory of Bradley Central. Farragut will host the Cherokees from McMinn County next week at 7:30

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

**Click to Enlarge**

After three weeks filled with practices, scrimmages, and a jamboree, fall camp is over and game week is officially here.

Fall camp officially began on July 23rd with the first day of practice, also the first two-a-day practice of the year. After six practices, the Admirals  traveled 85 miles south to take on the Owls from Ooltewah in the first scrimmage of fall camp.

The Admirals and the Owls are familiar foes, both former members of the old Region 2-AAAAA TVAC, having met 13 times on the gridiron. After an hour and a half scrimmage, both teams got great work and came out injury-free.

The second week of fall camp was preempted by the annual Kickoff picnic and began with the final two-a-day practice of camp.  After that, practice returned to a more familiar, after school, time slot.  Thursday of that week saw the Admirals again return to the road, but this time they headed west to Cookeville.

Although they have never met on the gridiron, the two teams have become familiar with each other through annual preseason scrimmages since 2014. Much like the Ooltewah scrimmage, both teams were evenly matched and were able to get quality reps against a different color jersey.

The final week of fall camp was jammed packed with action, one scrimmage, three practices, school starting back, and a jamboree to cap it off.

Monday and Tuesday were work days for the Ads on the practice field to tune up and build on the previous week’s action.  Wednesday was the final scrimmage of 2018 Fall Camp, as the Admirals headed north to face the Greene Devils from Greeneville. Weather forced the scrimmage indoors to the Tusculum University Indoor Practice Facility.  The hour and a half scrimmage that ensued,  proved to be the most physical of camp.  A day of on-field practice was planned for Thursday, but the weather had other plans and turned it into a day of film and meetings.

Fall camp was capped off with the annual KOC Kickoff Jamboree, a one quarter exhibition of all Knox County teams plus three others. This year marked the first time since 2013 that the jamboree was held at Neyland Stadium.

Farragut played in the sixth of eight quarters planned for the evening against the Gibbs Eagles. A 12-yard TD run by Gabe Hensley, a 37 yard Daniel Bethel field goal, and three stout defensive series gave the Admirals a 10-0 victory over Gibbs.

Now that fall camp is over, the Admirals turn their attention to the Bradley Central Bears.

A team that used to be a region opponent when both were in Region 2-AAAAA. Farragut boasts a 11-1 record vs Bradley Central all-time. The teams played each other every year from 2001-2008 as region opponents, and again during the 1993 and 1994 seasons. Last season’s game was a thriller that was decided in overtime after the Admirals intercepted a pass that stopped what would have been the Bears winning TD drive with under a minute to play. The Admirals scored in OT to win the game 27-21. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30pm at Bill Clabo Field, for more outlook on the opening game, you can CLICK HERE.