For the third time in four years, the Admirals hosted the Cleveland Blue Raiders in Round 1 of the TSSAA Playoffs on Friday night looking advance to Round 2 next week.
The Admirals received the opening kickoff and a 44 yard Wyatt Lucas return would setup the offense near midfield at the Cleveland 48. A 17 yard pickup on the first play via an Isaiah Gibbs catch gave the Admirals their first 1st down of the game, but a short run, a sack, and an incomplete pass forced a Farragut punt.
The Blue Raider punt returner mishandled the fair catch and Alec Keathley recovered the loose ball, which gave the Ads the ball at the Cleveland 7 yard line. Two plays later, Gavin Wilkinson found Isaiah Gibbs, from the slot, for a 5 yard touchdown pass, giving the Admirals a 7-0 lead with just over two and a half minutes gone in the first quarter.
The Admiral defense took the field for the first time of the evening and forced a three and out. With the ball inside Cleveland territory after a punt, the Admirals needed just four plays to find the end zone. This time Wilkinson found Jaden Gibbs on a 34 yard TD pass and pushed the Farragut lead to 14-0 with 6:57 left in the opening quarter.
A 10 yard sack by Benji Cheatham put the Blue Raiders in 3rd and long when Jake Evans came up with an interception that gave the ball back to the Ads at the Cleveland 13. It would take three plays as Kyle Carter carried the ball into the end zone from four yards out. Farragut extended its lead to 21-0 with 4:06 still to play in the 1st. The Blue Raiders would not go away easily however, as they embarked on a ten play, 80 yard touchdown drive that ended with a 32 yard TD pass. The Ads still lead 21-7 as the opening quarter came to a close.
Two consecutive penalties created a 1st and 21 for the Farragut offense, but gains of 12 on back-to-back plays, the Admirals found themselves with a new set of chains.
Gavin Wilkinson then found Tanner Corum for a 62 yard touchdown that made the score 28-7 less than a minute into the 2nd quarter. The following Blue Raider drive was killed by a 19 yard holding penalty that ended up forcing them to punt back to Farragut. After picking up a 1st down drive off an encroachment penalty, Jake Evans found Kyle Carter for a 16 yard TD catch. At this point, Farragut lead 35-7 with 5:23 left before halftime. A three-and-out, made possible in large part to an Eli Purcell tackle for loss, combined with a 14 yard punt gave Farragut the ball back at the Cleveland 30.
A nine play scoring drive was capped off by 1 yard Kyle Carter touchdown run to make the score 42-7 at halftime.
A running clock would be in order as the Admirals kicked off to Cleveland to begin the 2nd half. A three-and-out by the Blue Raider offense gave the Admirals the ball in Cleveland territory at the 39. A three yard run on first down, followed by a 12 yard Gavin Wilkinson scramble, setup a 25 yard Gabe Hensley touchdown run. The Ads took a 49-7 lead with 6:54 left in the 3rd. The Farragut defense would follow-up with one of their patented bend but don’t break stands, thwarting a 4th down attempt by the Cleveland offense and giving the Admirals the ball back as the 3rd quarter expired.
The 4th quarter opened with the Admirals attempting a swing pass out of the backfield, but the pass was ruled a lateral and the incompletion through the end zone awarded Cleveland two points and the ball. Farragut still lead Cleveland 49-9 with 10:24 to play.
The Blue Raider offense took over at their own 44 after the Farragut free kick. A 9 yard Alec Keathley tackle for a loss put Cleveland behind the sticks, but a 36 yard completion sparked the Blue Raiders offense. Two plays later the Blue Raiders found the end zone off of an 8 yard touchdown run, still trailing the Admirals 49-17.
The Admirals were able to get precious Friday night reps with the second string on the following offensive drive that ended in a punt. The Blue Raiders got the ball back and led a 12 play touchdown drive at ended with a 9 yard touchdown pass. As the final horn sounded, the Admirals were victorious following a 49-24 win over Cleveland.
Farragut moves on to take on the Ooltewah Owls in Round 2 next week at Bill Clabo Field with kickoff at 7:00pm.
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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