Farragut Grounds the Eagles 38-14

Kirk and Burkey TackleGibbs — Justin Kirkendall and Cade Burkey make a tackle against Gibbs. Photo credit: Carlos Reveiz, CRFOTO

Farragut High School was better than Gibbs in several aspects Friday night in its 38-14 home victory.

But the non-region Class 5A contest can best be described as the Kirkendall game. With four key plays in the first half on offense, defense and special teams, senior Justin Kirkendall was the 24-minute man.

The 165-pound wide receiver/defensive back began by blocking Gibbs’ first extra-point attempt, and then intercepted a pass deep in Admirals’ territory.

And he was just getting started.

Photo credit, Carlos Reveiz, CRFOTO — A fleet of Admirals tackle a Gibbs running back. Photo credit: Carlos Reveiz, CRFOTO

With Farragut (2-0) up 14-6, Kirkendall scored on a 32-yard punt return with 2:57 left in the second quarter. He then closed out his big first half with a 43-yard touchdown reception from Jacob Naumoff.

“Our team allowed me to make these plays,” Kirkendall said after the game.

His coach, Eddie Courtney, gave him a little more of the credit.

“He has made some plays,” the coach said. “He really has during the first two weeks on both
sides of the ball.”

Tanner Thomas, who finished with 160 yards rushing, scored the Admirals’ first two touchdowns on short runs.

Gibbs (1-1) scored once in the first half on an exciting 81-yard touchdown pass from Zack Beeler to Tanner Rhodes in the first quarter.

In the second half, the Eagles trimmed the lead to 14 with a short touchdown run by Demarcus Hight and a two-point run by Logan Wolfenbarger early in the fourth.

However, Farragut put the game away with a 32-yard field goal by Carter Phillipy and a 9-yard run by Amon Johnson.

Max Travis deflects a pass against Gibbs. Photo credit: Carlos Reveiz, CRFOTO

“Our kids came out in the first half and made a lot of things happen,” Courtney said.

Gibbs coach Brad Conley praised Farragut, but saw plenty of room for improvement with his team.

We’ve got to do a better job of competing and responding to the challenges,” he said.

John Shearer is a freelance contributor to the Knoxville News Sentinel

A special thanks to Carlos Reveiz of CRFOTO for the action shots from the game. Every week be sure to checkout CRFOTO.com 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.