Farragut won its’ 17th consecutive game on Friday night, breaking the school record for longest win streak set by coach Ken Sparks’ Admirals from 1977-1978. Farragut tied that mark last week, riding a streak that spans into last season.
The Admirals came out with guns blazing, as Gavin Wilkinson connected with Jacob Warren for 46 yards and a touchdown on the third play from scrimmage.
The Admirals found themselves leading 6-0 with less than 40 seconds off the clock in the opening quarter. When the Admiral defense took the field, senior linebacker Drew Butler made a little history of his own. On the third play of the series, Butler recorded his first tackle of the game, his 344th career tackle, and surpassed former Admiral Nick Reveiz as the all-time leader for career tackles in Farragut history.
The defense would go on to force a punt three plays later, and give the ball back to the Farragut offense. Three big drops would plague the offense and the Admirals were forced to punt after picking up one first down. The Admiral defense remained stout, forcing a three and out on the Patriots’ ensuing possession. The Patriots and Admirals then traded punts for almost the remainder of the first half.
The Admirals found a spark on offense late in the 2nd quarter, when a 57-yard run by Isaiah Gibbs got the Admirals inside the red zone. Gibbs would score three plays later on a 3-yard carry, which extended the Admiral lead to 12-0 with at halftime.
Jefferson County began the second half receiving the second half kickoff, and the Admiral defense came up big again. After a couple of first downs by the Patriots’ run game, the interior of the defensive line would force a turnover on downs after a stop on 4th-and-1 near midfield.
The Admirals would not capitalize initially, as a Wilkinson pass would be intercepted on the first play of the series. Neyland Harmon and Anthony Lawson would combine for a 10-yard sack on first down that would lead to another Jefferson County 3-and-out.
The Admirals’ offense embarked on a 10-play, 53-yard drive, that was capped off by a 7-yard Wilkinson to Braden Collins touchdown pass. Isaiah Gibbs’ conversion run would bump the Admirals’ lead to 20-0 with 3:03 left in the 3rd quarter.
After another 3-and-out by the Admiral defense, Farragut setup shop at their own 27-yard line.
The Admirals’ would drive into Patriots’ territory with strong runs from Gibbs and Josh Moses, along with timely passing. On the first play of the 4th quarter, Gibbs would cap off the drive scoring from 8 yards out. With 7 seconds off the clock in the 4th, the Admirals lead the Patriots, 26-0.
After another 4th down stop, the Admirals took over at their own 36-yard line. QB Jake Evans would keep the ball on first down and sprint 64 yards for the Admiral touchdown. Dalton Halliburton’s try was good and Farragut had extended the lead to 33-0 with 9:27 left in the game. The Admirals were looking for their second shutout in as many weeks, but a blocked punt would give the Patriots the ball at the Admirals’ 5-yard line. The Patriots went on to score three plays later on a 5-yard run to close out the scoring. When the final horn sounded, the Admirals had beaten the Patriots 33-6 and improved their record to 5-0 overall, 2-0 in Region 1-6A.
With the 17th straight win, the Admirals broke a 40-year old school record for the longest win streak, set during the 1977-78 seasons when Ken Sparks roamed the Farragut sideline.
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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