Friday night was Homecoming at Bill Clabo Field and the Admirals looked to open region play with a win. It also marked just the second game since 1981 that Coach Eddie Courtney was not on the Farragut sidelines as he recovered from prostate cancer surgery.
The Trojans won the opening toss and elected to defer the option to the 2nd half. After a 25-yard kickoff return, the Admiral drive began at their own 40-yard line.
A 7-play touchdown drive would ensue, as Dawson Moore found Matt White in the endzone on a 7-yard throw. The Ads lead 7-0 with 9:18 left in the 1st. The Admiral defense then took the field at the Mo-West 30. On the 8th play of the drive the Trojan QB mishandled the snap and Trey Nesbitt recovered the ball.
The Admiral offense setup shop at their own 28. The drive looked bleak on 3rd and 11, but Dawson Moore found Zach Keasling for a 17-yard completion to keep the drive alive. Four plays later Dawson Moore found Matt White on a 25-yard touchdown pass to put the Admirals up 14-0 with 2:09 left in the 1st.
The Trojan offense looked to answer the call on their next drive. Mo-West converted on 3rd down twice and once on 4th, en route to an 11 play, 64-yard touchdown drive that was capped off by an 8-yard touchdown run. The Ads still lead 14-7 with 9:57 left in the 2nd.
Farragut looked to answer the Mo-West offense, but 3rd and 11 put the drive in jeopardy, but Dawson Moore would find Zach Keasling yet again, this time for a 55-yard touchdown catch. This gave the Admirals a 21-7 lead with 8:18 left before halftime. Morristown-West would not back down though, as a 38-yard run on 4th and 1 was the catalyst for the 16-yard touchdown run 5 plays later, cutting the Admiral lead to 21-14 with 4:33 left before halftime. However, Farragut wasted no time answering, as Dawson Moore found Matt White on a swing pass that White took 68 yards to pay dirt. That play put the score at 28-14, advantage Farragut, with 4:09 left to play in the 1st half. The Admiral defense would hold strong on the ensuing Trojan drive, as a big 4th and 1 stop gave the ball back to the Admiral offense with just :40 left before half. The Ads were determined to get points and did just that.
Dawson Moore threw is 5th touchdown of the first half, this time 29 yards to Zach Taylor, extending the Farragut lead to 35-14 at halftime.
Morristown-West received the opening kickoff of the 2nd half looking to cut into the Admiral lead. The Farragut defense would answer the call though, forcing their first three-and-out of the night forcing the Trojans to punt. The ensuing Admiral drive would follow suit, as the Ads were forced to punt away after their first three-and-out of the night as well.
The next Trojan drive looked promising as they had a 1st and Goal from the 6, but a loss 6 yards on a run and a 13 yard Camden Kuhn sack proved to be too much as the Trojans were unable to convert on 4th and 25 as pressure from Trey Nesbitt forced a 12 yard sack on the QB. However, the Admiral offense would carbon copy their last drive, a three-and-out, as Brady Hodges punted away to Morristown-West.
The Trojan drive looked promising after a 45 yard completion set them up at the Admiral 23, but a Joe Maine interception and 35 yard INT return on a failed screen play, gave the Ads the ball at the Trojan 30.
A sack on 2nd down, followed by an incompletion on 3rd, setup a 41-yard Reese Keeney field goal attempt, which he nailed and extended the Ads lead to 38-14 with 11:49 left in the 4th. The Farragut defense would hold strong yet again, forcing another three-and-out. The Admirals took over, looking to score after a 15-yard Trojan punt that was downed at the Mo-West 27. However, a fumble on the second play of the drive ended it before it got started. Another big stop on 3rd down by the Admiral defense, forced the Trojans to punt.
The Admiral offense wasted no time, as Trace Corum turned a 7-yard hitch route thrown by Dawson Moore into a 54-yard touchdown. This touchdown pass gave Dawson Moore the Farragut High single game record for touchdown passes, with 6. This extended the Farragut lead to 45-14 with 7:02 left to play. Farragut’s defense had one more stop left in them, this time with backups getting some valuable Friday night reps, as pressure on 4th and 12 left the Trojans unable to convert. The Admirals looked to run out the clock on their next drive, and did just that, but first sophomore QB Barrett Smith was able complete his first varsity pass, as Max DeVault hauled in the 4-yard completion.
As the clock expired, the Admirals defeated Morristown-West 45-14 and improved to 3-1 on the season and 1-0 in Region 1-6A play. Farragut will travel to Blount County next week for the final non-region contest of the year against Maryville. Kickoff is set for 7:30pm at Maryville High School as tickets go on sale in the Main Office at Farragut High School starting Monday morning at 9:00am. We have a limited allotment for away games, so get your tickets early in the week! $8 each – while they last.
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.
