The Ads came into Friday night’s game looking to rebound from a tough loss to Beech in Week 1. The opponent, however, didn’t get any easier as Knox-West traveled to Bill Clabo Field. The Rebels were coming off a 24-2 Week 1 victory over Bearden.
West won the toss and elected to defer the option to the second half, meaning the Ads would start the game on offense. The Farragut offense started off quick, but the opening drive stalled after a pre-snap penalty on 4th and 5 forced a 43 yard Reese Keeney field goal. Keeney’s attempt gave the Ads an early 3-0 lead with 6:49 left to play in the 1st. The Rebels took over at their own 20 following a touchback on the ensuing kickoff. A 65-yard completion by the Rebels was followed by a 28-yard touchdown run that put West up 7-3 with 5:34 left in the 1st. Farragut would come out again, firing on all cylinders. On the fifth play of the Admiral drive, Dawson Moore found Landis Davila on a 36-yard touchdown pass, the marked Davila’s first varsity touchdown. With 3:26 left in the 1st, the Ads lead 10-7. West, again starting from their own 20, started their drive off hot, gaining 60 yards on the first two plays of the drive. Three plays later the Rebels found the endzone on a 3-yard touchdown run, giving them a 14-10 lead as the 1st quarter ended.
On the first drive of the 2nd quarter, the Ads drove to the Rebel 38, but a fumble on 4th and 5 ended the Farragut drive. The Admiral defense would answer on the following drive, forcing the Rebels to go 3-and-out. After trading punts and a failed fourth and one conversion attempt by the Ads, the West offense found themselves with the ball at the Farragut 35. With a short field, the Rebels found the endzone three plays into their drive, giving them a 21-10 lead with 44 seconds left before half. Looking for a quick score, the Ads’ offense would do just that on the back of a Dawson Moore to Trace Corum 80 yard touchdown pass that cut the Rebel lead to 21-17 at the half.
West received the kickoff to open the second half, but a mistake on their first play saw the Ads recover a fumble. With the ball on the Rebel 17, the Ads looked to retake the lead early in the second half. Elijah Gibbs found paydirt from four yards out on the fourth play of the drive, giving Farragut a 24-21 lead with 10:45 left in the 3rd. Another Reese Keeney touchback gave the Rebels the ball back at their own 20-yard line. A nine-play drive was capped off by a 4 yard Rebel touchdown run. Following a blocked extra, the Rebels lead 27-24 with 7:07 left in the 3rd. The following drive, the Ads would embark on a long drive of their own. The 13-play drive, consisting of 8 runs and 5 passes, was capped off by a 10-yard Schumann Xie touchdown run and gave the Admirals a 31-27 lead as the fourth quarter began.
On their first drive of the 4th quarter, on the 12th play, the Rebels scored on a 2-yard touchdown run. With 8:48 left in the game, West lead 34-31. The Ads returned the ensuing kickoff to the 17 and were looking to retake the lead from West. On the fourth play of the drive, after a third-down conversion, another Dawson Moore to Trace Corum touchdown connection, this time for 73-yards, would put the Admirals ahead 38-34 with 7:23 left to play. West would come out hot again, scoring on a 57-yard touchdown run on the fourth play of the drive. This gave the lead back to the Rebels 5:48 left in the game. The Ads took over at their own 20 looking for points. On play 11 of the drive, facing 4th and 4, an incompletion would end the drive. The Rebels took over with 50 seconds left, but with three time outs, the Ads’ defense would hold strong and force a punt. With the ball at their own 39, one timeout, and 29 seconds to play, the Ads needed at least a field goal to force overtime. Farragut would pick up 7 yards on first down and 19 yards three plays later. This setup a 52-yard Reese Keeney field goal attempt with 3 seconds left to play, but the kick fell short.
The Ads fell to West 41-38 and to 0-2 on the season. Next week the Ads will host another team named the Rebels, but this time from Maryville. Maryville is coming off a 52-31 win over Powell in Week 2. The kickoff is set for 7:00 pm on Friday night.
A special thanks to Carlos Reveiz of CRFOTO for the action shots from the game. Be sure to check out 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.
