Seven Farragut Football players and Coach Courtney were honored at the All-PrepXtra and All-KIL awards banquet on Wednesday, January 18th. These players were chosen by the sportswriters from the Knoxville New Sentinel and from the sports department at WBIR, the Knoxville NBC affiliate. Adam Fulton and Jack DeVault were unable to attend the banquet due to practice for the 2017 TN vs. KY Border Bowl Game.

Coach Eddie Courtney won the 2016 Polston Coach of the Year Award, given to the area’s top coach for the 2016 football season. This marks the first time Coach Courtney has won the award since becoming head coach in 1996. Coach Courtney is 152-90 in his 21 years as the coach of the Admirals.

 

PrepXtra Offensive Player of the Year: QB Adam Fulton

All-PrepXtra:

Adam Fulton – QB

Braden Collins – WR

Jacob Warren – TE

Chance Bolen – OL

Cooper Hardin – LB

Joe Doyle – P

Jack DeVault – DB

All-KIL:

Adam Fulton – QB

Braden Collins – WR

Jacob Warren – TE

Chance Bolen – OL

Cooper Hardin – LB

Joe Doyle – P

 

Adam Fulton completed 184 of 333 pass attempts for 3,223 yards with 41 touchdowns and only 6 INT’s.  His performance in 2016 broke single season records for completions, pass attempts, passing yards and passing touchdowns.

Braden Collins finished 2016 with 68 receptions for 1,242 yards and 16 touchdowns.  He set single season records for receptions, yards, and touchdowns.  His 13 receptions and four TD’s versus Ooltewah are FHS records.

Jacob Warren finished 2016 with 29 receptions for 429 yards and 9 touchdowns. Jacob is also big asset in the running game as well, with his aggressive blocking ability. Jacob will return for his senior season looking to build upon a solid junior year performance and also build his offer list, which already includes Tennessee, South Carolina, Oklahoma State, and others.

Chance Bolen finished 2016 as a three year starter for the Admirals on the offensive line and as the leader of his unit as well as the offense. During the playoff run, Chance saw valuable minutes on the defensive front that allowed him to showcase his disruption skills along with his aggressive and explosive blocking skills.

Cooper Hardin finished 2016 with 124.5 total hits on defense.  He led the team with 10.5 sacks and 21 minus-yard stops.  Cooper also led the Admirals in rushing with 1,454 yards and 19 TD’s on 196 carries.  He was named the Blue Cross Bowl Offensive MVP versus Independence.

Jack DeVault led the Admirals’ secondary with five interceptions in 2016 from his cornerback spot.  He finished fourth on the team with 26 catches for 506 yards and 4 TD’s as a wide receiver.  Jack was named Blue Cross Bowl Defensive MVP for his two interceptions to spark the Admirals’ comeback versus Independence.

Joe Doyle finished his Admiral career averaging 41.1 yards per punt for 2016.  In his first year as a place-kicker, Joe converted 69 extra points and made 8 of 14 field goals with a long of 49 yards versus West.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 10th annual Toyota East vs. West Tennessee All-Star Classic will feature two senior Admirals, Chance Bolen (center) and Cooper Hardin (linebacker).  Both young men are trying to make some final impressions on college recruiters.  Chance and Cooper will play one final game as teammates featuring the top high school prospects from across the state of Tennessee.  The state is divided in half, so that the East All-Stars are pitted against the West All-Stars in a game that has quickly rose to prominence as the top All-Star game in the state.  Neither Chance nor Cooper have determined where they will play football next year, but this game will allow them one more chance to showcase their skills before making that decision.  While they may not be in their familiar Farragut numbers’, Chance will begin in #50 and Cooper in #34, you can look for the familiar ‘Dallas Blue’ helmets with the ‘Star’ to find them.  Chance and Cooper will return to a familiar destination as the game is set to kickoff at 8:00 pm EST on Friday, December  9, at Tucker Stadium on the campus of the Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, TN, the exact location and time as the state championship contest a week prior.

If you cannot make it to the game, there are several ways to watch it. The first, and easiest way, is to stream the game via ESPN3.  According to Bill Marbet, the executive director of the Tennessee Athletic Coaches Association, this offers players exposure to college coaches, and with the live streaming, they can now be seen all over the country.  “This is a culmination of their high school career that they’ve worked so hard to accomplish,” said Marbet, “Other than the state championship, on an individual basis, the all star game is the epitome of their career.”

In addition to ESPN3, here is where to watch the game on TV:

• Chattanooga WRCB 3.2
• Knoxville WBIR 10.2
• Tri-Cities WKPT 19
• Nashville WKUW 40.7
• Memphis KPMF 26.1

As always, follow us on twitter @FarragutFB to see highlights from the game!  Good Luck Chance and Cooper!  Go Admirals!

Before Friday, it had been over 30 years since the Admirals hosted a a quarterfinal matchup.  It had also been 21 years since the Admirals last reached the state semifinals, and at halftime it looked as if it would be another year added to that total.  Ooltewah got out to a fast start, leading the Admirals 21-0 with 10:28 left in the first half, after two early interceptions led directly to 14 points for the Owls. While the Admiral’s  Griffen Swicegood was able to intercept the Owls in the first quarter, Farragut was unable to score. That changed  when senior quarterback Adam Fulton found Braden Collins for a 15 yard TD pass that made the score 21-7 with 8:14 left in the second quarter.

The Owls scored 5 plays later via a 63-yard TD run by Owls’ sophomore RB Sincere Quinn, but Farragut answered as Adam Fulton showed great pocket presence and found Braden Collins again in the end zone, this time for 7 yards, which cut the Owls’ lead to 28-14 with 4:26 left in the first half.

After forcing an Ooltewah punt from the Farragut 43 yard line, a penalty kept the Owl drive alive and moved the ball to the Farragut 28 yard line, where the Owls would score five plays later, to push the Owls’ lead to 35-14.  The Admirals’ offense would drive down the field, but a last-second, 47-yard FG attempt by Joe Doyle was just short.

The Admirals received the ball to begin the second half, but were unable to convert on 4th-and-1, turning the ball over on downs. The Owls would take over at the Farragut 40-yard line and throw a TD pass to extend their lead 42-14 with 9:08 left in the third quarter. While a 28-point comeback with just a quarter and a half left was improbable, but not impossible, the Admirals dug in.

Adam Fulton found Braden Collins for a 35-yard TD pass for the third time of the night, which tied the school record for most TD receptions, a feat Collins had already accomplished against Campbell County earlier this season. The touchdown and Joe Doyle extra point made the score 42-21 with just under 8 minutes left in the third quarter. After a pair of Ooltewah punts and a Joe Doyle punt, the Admirals found themselves down 21 points with 1:31 left in third quarter. After a 54-yard Cooper Hardin run, Adam Fulton again found Braden Collins for a 20-yard Farragut TD for his fourth score of the night.

After an Ooltewah three-and-out, the Admirals found themselves with the ball their own 34-yard line with just over 10 minutes left in the game down 42-28. After a punishing 52-yard Cooper Hardin run, tailback Amon Johnson punched it in from five yards out to make it a 7-point game with 9:12 left.  After a long Ooltewah drive stalled out, the Owls would punt and down the ball at the 4 yard line, leaving the Admirals 96 yards away from the end zone.  Adam Fulton would march the Admirals’ offense down the field,  completing 7 of 8 passes for 80 yards on the drive, culminating in an 8-yard TD reception by TE Jacob Warren, Fulton’s fifth TD pass of the game.  Joe Doyle’s extra point would tie the game at 42-all with 1:08 left to play.  A 28-yard kickoff return by Ooltewah gave them the ball at the 47.  The Owls were able to drive the ball downfield and setup their kicker for a game-winning, 28-yard FG try with :02 left on the clock, but the kick was wide right as time expired. The game was headed for overtime.

The Admirals won the coin toss and elected to play on defense first. With the ball placed on the 10 yard line, the Owls would work their way down to the 2 yard line. This brought up 4th-and-2 where the Owls would punch it in and take a 49-42 lead.  The Admirals would also get the ball on the 10 yard line, where it would take Cooper Hardin just two carries to punch it in the end zone. With the score tied at 49, a second OT would be needed.

After a roughing the kicker penalty in the previous OT, the ball would be spotted at the 5-yard line and the Admirals would take over 1st-and-goal. This time Cooper Hardin would only need one carry to get into the end zone to give the Admirals their first lead of the game 56-49.  Ooltewah took over at the 10 yard line, but quickly found themselves 4th-and-2 from the 2, needing to get in the end zone to force another overtime period.  This time, the Owls chose to run up the middle, but Farragut’s Devin Yarborough met the Owl RB at the 1, stopped his momentum and then was joined by other Admirals to drive the RB backwards and deny the touchdown.  This completed the 28-point comeback the Admirals needed to advance to the state semi-finals for the first time since 1995.  Quarterback Adam Fulton ended the game 22-of-35 passing for 294 yards, 5 TDs and 2 INTs. Running back Cooper Hardin carried 23 times for 168 yards and 2 TDs, while Amon Johnson carried the ball twice and found the end zone once. WR Braden Collins had 13 catches for 191 yards and 4 TDs, and 2 rushes for 70 yards.

This game saw several school records broken or tied  for Farragut:

• Most XPs Made in a Season–60 Joe Doyle

• Most Receptions in a Game–13 Braden Collins

• Most TD Receptions in a Game–4 Braden Collins

• Most TD Receptions in a Season–13 Braden Collins

• Most Passing TDs in a Game– 5 Adam Fulton (tied)

• Most Passing Yards in a Season–2,733 Adam Fulton

The Admirals will host the state semi-final game on November 25th against South Doyle. A special thanks to Carlos Reveiz 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**

With his team up four points with just under seven minutes to play, Farragut coach Eddie Courtney elected to keep the field-goal unit on the sideline and go for a touchdown with the ball on Rhea County’s 2-yard line.

His aggressiveness paid off.

The touchdown by Cooper Hardin stretched the Admirals’ lead to 11 before the host Eagles knocked it down to a 33-30 final score. The win advanced Farragut to the quarterfinals of the Class 5A state playoffs and a visit from Ooltewah next week.

“We felt like we needed to be aggressive there because we didn’t want to kickoff to them with it being a seven-point game,” Courtney said.

“We felt comfortable with our line getting the push, because they were in my ear wanting to go for it.”

“That was the biggest play of the year and probably my career,” Hardin said about his 2-yard touchdown run. “Plays like that are all about execution, and we did it perfectly.”

Both teams’ play reflected their records and the playoff atmosphere in a first half that included four lead changes. The Eagles (9-3) had the grasp on the lead at the break, but the Admirals (11-1) struck first out of it.

Six quick plays netted Farragut a four-point lead after an Adam Fulton pass to Jack Devault. That lead held until the fourth quarter, when the teams took turns trading the advantage once again.

First, it was Rhea County and running back Mason Stephenson who took the lead early in the fourth on a 12-yard run to the outside.

Minutes later, Farragut quarterback Fulton found sophomore Jaden Gibbs downfield for a 46-yard reception that led to a scoring run by Hardin a play later.

After turning the Eagles over on downs for the third time, Farragut marched down to score on the 2-yard fourth-down play that essentially sealed the win.

“I told Coach (Mark) Pemberton that this truly should’ve been a game played in the semifinals,” Courtney said.

“I’m excited for our guys: We came down to a real tough and great place to play where everybody loves football and earned a big win.”

There was a penalty called on nearly every drive of the game, with most of them being on the Eagles — many stalling key drives.

“I guess this was a night where we made too many mistakes to win,” Pemberton said. “I’ll have to go and look at the film on whether some of the penalties were the right call, but that’s honestly not the reason we lost. We lost because we didn’t play well enough.

Continue Reading Article

John Mitchell, Chattanooga Times Free Press
Contact John Mitchell at sports@timesfreepress.com

A special thanks to Carlos Reveiz 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**