The Admirals did something Friday night that hadn’t been done since 1993, hold Oak Ridge scoreless. Farragut broke the 298-game streak that the Wildcats had compiled without a shutout.
The Wildcats returned the opening kickoff to their own forty yard line to begin their first series on offense.
A promising eight-play drive for the Wildcats ended as Drew Butler forced a fumble at the Admirals’ 15-yard line, and recovered by Alex Williams. The Admiral offense took the field, but were forced to punt after a sack on third down. Farragut’s defense would force a three-and-out on their next series, and a 23-yard punt return by Isaiah Gibbs gave the Admirals the ball at their own 37-yard line.
Isaiah would strike again, taking the first play for a 35-yard burst into Wildcat territory. Three plays later, Kyle Carter would sprint 19 yards for a TD run on third-and-1. Farragut led Oak Ridge 7-0 with 4:54 left in the 1st quarter.
The Admirals and Wildcats traded punts to begin the second quarter, before the Admiral offense would begin to impose their will. Starting from their own 20, the Admirals marched 67 yards in 14 plays but failed to convert on 4th-and-1 on the Wildcats’ 13-yard line. Farragut’s defense would stand tough again, forcing a Wildcat punt.
The Admirals’ offense took over from their own 19-yard line with 3 timeouts and 1:05 on the clock before halftime. Gavin Wilkinson passed 15 yards to Braden Collins, twice to Jaden Gibbs covering 14 yards, and then hit Collins again for 38 yards to get the Admirals in the red zone. Gibbs was called on again and drew a pass interference penalty to move the ball down to the Wildcats’ 7-yard line. Wilkinson would connect with Collins again, this time for a 7-yard TD in the corner of the end zone.
A Wyatt Lucas interception ended the half with the Admirals up 14-0 over the Wildcats at halftime.
Farragut opened the 2nd half receiving the Oak Ridge kickoff, and a 22-yard return by Kyle Carter set the Admirals up at their own 28-yard line. On third down, Wilkinson would connect with Collins again. This time for a 70-yard catch and run, down to the Wildcats’ 1-yard line. Isaiah Gibbs would punch it in on the next play, boosting the Admirals’ lead to 21-0 with 10:44 left in the third quarter.
The Wildcats would march into the red zone on their ensuing possession, but a fumble recovery by defensive end Caleb Kuhn would thwart the drive with 8:05 left in the quarter.
The Admirals’ offense then marched 85 yards on 17 plays, capped off by Kyle Carter’s 7-yard TD run. The Admirals would have many contributors on the scoring drive. A sequence of tough runs by both Carter and Gibbs along with two, 3rd-down receptions by Jaden Gibbs would fuel the drive. The big play in the series was a 19-yard reception by Andrew Williams after the offense had been backed up by a holding penalty. Carter would then carry for 17 yards up the middle on 3rd-and-2 to set up his own scoring run. The Admirals would take a 28-0 lead over the Wildcats going into the 4th quarter.
The Wildcats would again put together a good offensive drive that would threaten inside the Farragut 35, but this time Devin Yarborough would step in front of a pass and tack on a 71-yard interception return for a touchdown. Farragut led 35-0 with 8:45 left in the game.
On the next series, the Admiral defense remained stout, forcing another 3-and-out. The Admiral offense would start at their own 36-yard line with a running clock and less than 6 minutes to play. The 8-play drive would finish with a 17-yard TD pass from Jake Evans to Alec Keathley, his first touchdown reception of his career. As the final horn sounded, the Admirals had avenged their lone loss from 2016 in a big way, with a resounding 41-0 victory against Oak Ridge.
The Admirals will travel to Dandrige next Friday night to take on the Jefferson County Patriots. This will be the first meeting since a 1st round playoff matchup in 2007, and only the second meeting since 2000. The Admirals will look to improve to 2-0 in the region next Friday night against Jeff County.
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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