Friday night was senior night at Bill Clabo Field, even though there is one home game left on the schedule. With a win over Science Hill, the Admirals took a big leg up on the race for the Region 1-6A championship. The Admirals also looked to answers some questions offensively, after managing just 89 yards and no points last week against West.
The Admirals won the toss and elected to defer the option to the second half.
Farragut would start fast, forcing a fumble on the opening kickoff, and recovered by the Admirals’ Hunter Shopovick at the Hilltopper 9-yard line.
Three plays later, QB Jake Evans would keep and run it in from 8 yards out to give the Admirals a 7-0 lead just over a minute into the 1st quarter.
The Admiral defense came out strong against a Science Hill offense that was averaging 42.4 points per game coming into the contest. After a Neyland Harmon and Keenan TerHark sack on 3rd and 5, special teams again would go the way of the Admirals. A snap over the Science Hill punter’s head would allow the Admirals to take charge at the Hilltopper 37-yard line.
The Admiral ground game again came up big, marching 37 yards to the end zone, ending with a 5-yard Kyle Carter TD run that put the Admirals ahead 14-0 with 4:47 left to play in the 1st quarter.
The Admiral defense would take the field on their next series and forced a chance at a 4th-down stop from midfield. Toppers’ QB Jaylan Adams would take the snap from under center, with the Admirals’ defense stopping the initial surge, Adams backed up and found a crease on the outside and carried for a 51-yard Topper touchdown and cut the Admirals’ lead in half, 14-7.
On the Admirals’ next series, the offense would again march into the Toppers’ red zone covering 76 yards in eight plays. An apparent Isaiah Gibbs TD run was nullified by a penalty and the Admirals were forced into a 4th and goal from the 24-yard line. Jake Evans’ pass would fall incomplete in the back of the end zone.
Science Hill moved the ball across midfield but were forced to punt the ball away. The QB Adams would take the snap on 4th-and-7 and attempt a quick kick that sailed off the side of his foot. The play resulted in a 5-yard net punt and gave the Admirals the ball at their own 34-yard line.
Farragut would again march down the field thanks to their ground game with Gibbs and Carter ripping off yardage in big chunks. Isaiah would find the end zone again, and this time the score would remain on the board. The Admirals were up 21-7 with just over 2 minutes remaining before halftime.
Science Hill would capitalize on a big kickoff return into Farragut territory on their next possession. The Toppers’ offense marched 38 yards in 7 plays to cut the lead again after a short TD run. The extra point attempt was no good, and the Admirals found themselves with a 21-13 lead at halftime.
Farragut received the opening kickoff, but failed to convert on 3rd-down and punted away to the Hilltoppers. Science Hill found success on their opening drive of the second half. Adams’ found a receiver deep in Admirals’ territory on 3rd-down and long. Admiral defenders Wyatt Lucas and Andrew Williams had good position on the play yet the talented Hilltopper was able to come down with the catch. Science Hill would finish the drive and add a 2-point conversion to tie the game at 21-all with 6:41 to play in the 3rd quarter.
Farragut again punted the ball away on their next possession after picking up one first down. Science Hill would march into field goal range before being stopped on third down. The 42-yard attempt would sail wide right leaving the score tied at 21-21 nearing the close of the third quarter.
The Admirals would begin the possession the ball on their own 20-yard line. Carter and Gibbs again would take command of the offense behind the strong play of the offensive line.
The offense rushed for 76 yards on the drive, punctuated by Kyle Carter’s touchdown from 4 yards out to put Farragut ahead 28-21 with 9:27 left to play.
Science Hill retuned the ensuing kickoff to the Farragut 45-yard line where their offense took over with just over 9 minutes to play in the game.
The Hilltoppers found the end zone again after a 7-play drive. A penalty on the scoring play would back the Toppers’ up on the extra point attempt, and the 35-yard try would again sail wide right leaving the score at 28-27 in favor of Farragut with 7:44 to play in the game.
Again, the powerful Farragut offense took over at their own 20-yard line, looking to put the game away with a long touchdown drive. The Admiral offense did just that, embarking on a 13-play 80-yard touchdown drive that took 7:34 off the clock.
The drive was capped off by Kyle Carter, who found the end zone for the third time on a 1-yard run that saw LB Drew Butler and RB Isaiah Gibbs clear the way for Carter’s score. The Admirals would hold on to the to beat the Hilltoppers 35-27, in an important region 1-6A contest. The Farragut offense answered the call from last week’s disappointing performance, gaining 354 yards and 23 first downs, with 272 yards gained on the ground.
The Admirals travel to Kingsport next Friday to take on Dobyns-Bennett in another important region game.
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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