Farragut and Bearden met for the 63rd time Friday night in the Battle of West Knoxville. The biggest rivalry game for both schools. The Bulldogs came into the contest on a two-game win streak after notching their first two wins of the season against Hardin Valley and Jefferson County. The Admirals were looking to rebound after their first region loss of the year to Dobyns-Bennett the week prior.
Bearden won the toss and elected to defer to the second half, giving way for the Admirals to start the game with the ball at their own 25. A completion on first down was followed by eight runs plays. Then a 3-yard run on 3rd and goal from the 6 left the Ads with a decision on 4th down. Simeon Sharp was called on and converted on a 20-yard field goal attempt that gave the Ads a 3-0 lead with 6:37 left in the 1st. A 28-yard kickoff return set the Bulldogs up with the ball at their own 40-yard line.
Their drive started with a 17-yard completion followed by a 27-yard run that found Bearden inside the Admiral 10 yard line. The Farragut defense held strong for 3 downs, forcing a Bearden FG that tied the game at 3-3 with 2:38 left in the 1st.
The Admirals’ offense took over, and after a conversion on 3rd-and-1, 27 yards on two completions, and a personal foul by Bearden, Dion Williams’ touchdown run covered 4 yards to put the Admirals ahead once again. A missed XP try meant the Admirals lead 9-3 with 10:57 left in the 2nd. The Farragut defense came out strong the next drive forcing a 3-and-out. The Admiral offense took over at their own 43-yard line, but an incompletion on 3rd-and-5 forced a punt. The Bulldogs wasted no time, three plays into their drive, a 55-yard rush took them to the end zone, and gave them a 10-9 lead with 6:18 left in the 2nd.
Farragut took over and made quick work of the Bulldogs on the drive as Dawson Moore found Matt White on the second play of the drive for a 66-yard touchdown pass. Eli Purcell would get the call on the 2pt try and was successful, give the Admirals a 17-10 lead. Another successful series by the Admirals’ defense gave the ball back to the offense before halftime. But an apparent TD pass was dropped and subsequent turnover on downs would leave the halftime score 17-10 in favor of Farragut.
Bearden returned the opening kickoff of the second half to their own 20 where their offense would take over. A 29-yard run was the catalyst for the Bulldog drive that covered 80 yards. The drive was capped off by a 2-yard touchdown run on the 12th play that tied the game at 17-17 with 8:21 left in the 3rd. Farragut took over in Bearden territory after a penalty on the return spotted the ball at the Bearden 46.
Five straight runs covering 27 yards was followed by 19-yard Jake Wallace touchdown reception. The touchdown gave the Admirals a 24-17 lead with 6:08 left in the 3rd. The Bearden offense took over at their own 26, but an incompletion on 3rd-and-6 forced a Bulldog punt. The Admirals started their next drive at their own 41. A holding penalty on 1st down put the Admirals behind the sticks, but a 24-yard Matt White run got Farragut back to a normal down and distance.
Four plays later, Schumann Xie found the end zone on a 16-yard run, capping off a drive filled with no pass attempts. The Admirals led 31-17 with 1:41 left in the 3rd. A mishap on the kickoff return meant the Bulldogs got the ball on their own 6-yard line. A minus yard tackle on first down was followed by a Grant Rice interception that gave the ball back to the Admirals at the Bulldog 14. Three plays later, Dawson Moore found Mason Collins for an 11-yard touchdown that gave Farragut a 38-17 lead at the end of the third quarter.
The ensuing Bearden drive looked promising after a 25-yard run on the first play, but the Admiral defense held strong on 4th-and-4 to turn the ball back over to the Farragut offense. The Admirals started this drive at their own 17 and loss of 4 yards on 2nd down proved too much to overcome, as Brady Hodges punted the ball away.
The Bulldogs took over at their own 38. After picking up one first down, an Eli Purcell sack on 1st down, then a Micah Johnson and Eli Purcell sack on 3rd down led to a Mason Collins interception. Following a penalty on the return, which had been returned for a touchdown, the Admirals took over at their own 31. The 5-play drive was capped off by an Alex Taylor touchdown catch that extended the Farragut led to 45-17 with 3:33 left to play.
The Bulldog offense began the next drive at their own 32. The Bearden drive ended before it ever got started, as Mason Collins notched his second interception of the night on the first play. The Admiral reserves were able to run the clock out to preserve the win. Behind 322 yards rushing and over 500 total yards of offense, the Admirals improved to 3-1 in Region 1-6A play and 5-3 overall after the 45-17 win over Bearden.
Farragut will host Hardin Valley next week in the final home game of the year before traveling to Jefferson County the following week to end the regular season. The Admirals are looking for revenge against Hardin Valley after being beaten by the Hawks 33-6 in a monsoon at their stadium last season. Kickoff is set for 7:30p on October 23rd and tickets can be purchased at: https://knoxschools.schoolcashonline.com/Fee/Details/7594/231/False/True
A special thanks to Carlos Reveiz and Ashley Wathen 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.