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

As the 2024 high school football season approaches, the Farragut Admirals have completed an offseason filled with rigorous training, strategic adjustments, and cultivating veteran leaders and emerging talents. The most significant development of Farragut’s offseason was strategic adjustments within the coaching staff. 

After 28 seasons as head coach, Eddie Courtney decided to step down as head coach for the Admirals in March. After a comprehensive search, the Farragut High School administration named long-time assistant and offensive coordinator Geoff Courtney as the 15th head coach in Farragut Football history.

Geoff Courtney hit the ground running, quickly taking command of the Admirals’ ship and hiring several new coaches to the Farragut staff. Spring practice took up three weeks in late April and early May, culminating in the annual Blue vs. Gray game on May 14th.

After a couple of weeks off for finals, the summer off-season program commenced. Between early morning workouts and 7v7 sessions with several other schools, the Admiral football players made one last push to develop themselves before fall camp began. As fall camp began in late July, the Admirals showed off their offseason gains in the weight room.

The 2024 Fall Camp for the Admirals included three scrimmages and the annual KOC Kickoff Jamboree. The first week of camp ended with a home scrimmage against perennial playoff contender Sevier County. A second home scrimmage followed the next week against plateau powerhouse the Cookeville Cavaliers. The final week of fall camp was a busy one for the Admirals. They took on the Fulton Falcons for one quarter in the KOC Kickoff Classic and then ended with a weather-delayed, four-quarter game simulation at Walker Valley.

The Farragut Admirals are gearing up for the 2024 football season, and their schedule is packed with tough opponents and pivotal matchups that will test their resilience and depth. Here’s a preview of the key games and challenges the Admirals will face as they aim to make a deep playoff run.

2024 Schedule Preview

Week 1: August 23, 2024 – at Dobyns-Bennett

The Admirals kick off the season with a challenging away game against Dobyns-Bennett in Kingsport. Known for their strong football tradition, Dobyns-Bennett will provide a stern test right out of the gate. Farragut’s ability to execute on both sides of the ball will be critical in setting the tone for the season. Farragut won in thrilling fashion in 2023, connecting a TD pass with 13 seconds to play, winning 24-17. The two teams have split the last four meetings on the gridiron.

Week 2: August 30, 2024 – at Powell

Following their opener, the Admirals will travel to face Powell, a 2023 playoff quarterfinalist. The Panthers have played in the state championship game twice in the last three years, winning one. Powell has been a strong contender in recent years, making this a game where Farragut must be at its best to secure a win. Early-season road games like this one are crucial for building confidence and resilience. The 2023 matchup between the two schools saw Farragut win via a 32-yard TD pass with 14 seconds left that sealed the 28-21 victory.

Week 3: September 6, 2024 – vs. Knox West

The Admirals’ home opener is Week 3 against rival Knox West. The Admirals look for their first win against the Rebels since 2018. Knox West is looking to win its third straight state championship in 2024, setting up a key matchup for Farragut. Excitement will be high at Eddie Courtney Stadium as Farragut welcomes the back-to-back state champion Rebels in Week 3.

Week 4: September 13, 2024 – at Cleveland(Region)

In Week 4, Farragut travels to Cleveland for its first region matchup of the season. Cleveland’s balanced offense and home-field advantage will make this another tough road test for the Admirals. Farragut will look to open up region play with a win to help bolster its playoff standing.

Week 5: September 20, 2024 – Open Week

Farragut will take a well-deserved break in Week 5 with an open week. This will be a crucial time for rest, recovery, and preparation for the second half of the season, which includes several critical region games that will determine their playoff seeding.

Week 6: September 27, 2024 – vs. Bearden (Region)

After the open week, the Admirals face off against perennial Bearden in a highly anticipated region game. The rivalry between Farragut and Bearden is always intense, and with region standings on the line, this game is always expected to be one of the season’s highlights. The Admirals will look to avenge their 2023 loss to Bearden as the Bulldogs come off their best season, a quarterfinal appearance, since 2010.

Week 7: October 4, 2024 – at Bradley Central (Region)

Farragut hits the road again in Week 7 to take on Bradley Central, another key region opponent. Bradley Central is known for its physical style of play, and this game will be a crucial test of Farragut’s toughness and execution in the trenches. The Bears are coming off their best season since 1976, including 13 wins and a berth in the semifinals.

Week 8: October 11, 2024 – at Oak Ridge

The Admirals continue their road stretch with a game against Oak Ridge, a team that consistently fields tough and disciplined squads. Oak Ridge’s defense will challenge Farragut’s offensive schemes, making this a game where precision and adaptability will be key. The Wildcats will look to build off their best season since 2020.

Week 9: October 18, 2024 – at Jefferson County

In Week 9, Farragut faces Jefferson County on the road. The Patriots are known for their physical style of play, and this game will be a crucial test of Farragut’s toughness and execution in the trenches. The Patriots are coming off their first 10-win season in 20 years as they look to keep the momentum rolling in 2024. Jefferson City is always challenging for any team to play, especially for a region opponent.

Week 10: October 25, 2024 – vs. Hardin Valley (Region)

Returning home for the first time in nearly a month, the Admirals take on nearby rival Hardin Valley in another important region contest. The Hawks are also looking to improve, as they also had a coaching change at the top. The Admirals will look to extend their four-game win streak against the Hawks in 2024.

Week 11: October 31, 2024 – vs. Maryville (Region/Rivalry Thursday)

The regular season concludes with a marquee matchup against the 17-time state champion Maryville Rebels, one of Tennessee’s most storied programs. Played on Rivalry Thursday(TV), this game will be the ultimate test for Farragut as they prepare for the playoffs. The Admirals broke the streak last year and got their first win against the Rebels since 1991 on a last-second field goal to win 13-10.

Conclusion: A Season of High Stakes

The 2024 schedule is demanding, with a mix of strong region opponents, challenging road games, and key rivalry matchups. For Farragut, each game presents an opportunity to prove their mettle and build momentum heading into the playoffs. If the Admirals can navigate this schedule successfully, they will be well-prepared for the challenges of postseason play.

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