Tennessee recaptured the series lead in the Kentucky-Tennessee Border Bowl on Saturday, thanks to standout performances from area football players.

Fulton High School defensive back/wide receiver Kentel Williams scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns as Tennessee topped Kentucky 29-14 at University of the Cumberlands’ James H. Taylor Stadium in Williamsburg, Ky.

Only seniors were eligible for the all-star game.

“Knoxville kids showed out,” West coach Jeff Harig, an assistant for Tennessee, said by phone after the game. “Farragut’s Cole Strange was unblockable and made plays all over the field. Kentel came up big. (Farragut kicker) Carter Phillipy made two field goals.”

The win snapped Tennessee’s three-game skid in the series, which it now leads 5-4. Williams’ first score gave Tennessee a 20-7 lead.

The Class 4A Mr. Football semifinalist fumbled at the Kentucky 16-yard line after a 29-yard reception, but then recovered the ball in the end zone. Williams later caught a short pass from Halls quarterback Andrew Davis, split a pair of Kentucky defenders and raced to the end zone for a 58-yard touchdown. He was named Tennessee’s offensive MVP for the game. Strange, who is committed to Chattanooga, was the defensive MVP.

Tennessee led 13-0 at halftime. Game stats were not made available.

“All week long, we couldn’t handle Cole in practice,” said Jefferson County coach Kenny Cobble, Tennessee’s defensive coordinator. “He came out in the game and established himself early. They had a hard time blocking him, and he was able to make some plays in the backfield and really disrupt their game plan. He was all over the place. It was impressive to watch.”

by Chris Thomas of the Knoxville News Sentinel

 

The 9th Annual Kentucky vs. Tennessee National Guard Border Bowl with feature two senior Admirals hoping to make one final impression on college recruiters.  Cole Strange and Tanner Thomas will play one more time as teammates in a game that features the best prep players from Tennessee against the best from Kentucky.  Cole and Tanner have already chosen their college destinations, UT-Chattanooga and Columbia University respectively, but will showcase their talents one more time in an Admiral uniform representing the state of Tennessee.  The game is set to kickoff at 2:00 pm on Saturday, January 16, at James H. Taylor Stadium on the campus of the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, KY.  For more information about the game go to the KY-TN Border Bowl website, and as always follow us on twitter @FarragutFB to see highlights from the game!  Good Luck Cole and Tanner!  Go Admirals!

The 2015 Admirals captured many individual post-season accolades and recognition from opposing Region 3 coaches in addition to the team’s success.  The Admirals won the Region 3-5A Championship, finishing with a 5-0 record, and 10-2 overall advancing to the Second Round of the Class 5A playoffs.  Additionally, the Admirals placed 16 players and two coaches to the All-Region Team, including Coach of the Year, Eddie Courtney.  Here is the complete list of Admirals on the All-Region 3-5A Team.

Coach Eddie Courtney – Coach of the Year

Coach Rusty Partin – Offensive Assistant of the Year

Tanner Thomas – Running Back of the Year

Justin Kirkendall – Defensive Back of the Year

Cole Strange – Defensive Linemen of the Year

Joe Doyle – Punter of the Year

Ben Hoffman – Special Teams Player of the Year

Ambrose Bechtel – Offensive Linemen (Scholar Athlete)

Drew Butler – Linebacker

Cameron Cobb – Linebacker

Hayden Huckaba – Defensive Back

Clay Jolley – Offensive Linemen

Tanner Mengel – Linebacker

Logan Mitchell – Defensive Back

Cole Morgan – Wide Receiver

Jacob Naumoff – Quarterback

Carter Phillipy – Placekicker

Michael Travis – Wide Receiver

In addition to All-Region 3-5A honors, these four players earned Class 5A All-State recognition from the Tennessee Sports Writers Association.

Justin Kirkendall – Defensive Back – Justin led Tennessee in all classifications with 10 interceptions in 2015.  Additionally, he recorded 32 total tackles, 2 forced fumbles and 9 pass breakups from his cornerback position in 2015.  He scored 3 touchdowns and caught 15 passes for 260 yards receiving on offense, and returned one punt for a score vs. Gibbs.

Carter Phillipy – Placekicker – Carter finished his outstanding FHS career converting 12 of 15 field goal attempts with a long of 50 and all 52 extra point attempts during his senior season.  Additionally, he placed 52 of 59 kickoffs in the end zone for touchbacks, fourth-most in Tennessee and second-most in Class 5A.

Cole Strange – Defensive Linemen – Cole recorded 104 tackles in 2015 and finished fourth in FHS history with 18 tackles for loss for the season.  He finished his career with 100+ tackles in each of the last two seasons, and 11th all-time with 226 tackles for his FHS career.

Tanner Thomas – Running Back – Tanner finished his senior campaign with 2,036 yards rushing and 29 touchdowns.  He led the state in Class 5A in both offensive categories.  His production in 2015 placed him fourth all-time for rushing yards in a season and tied for most touchdowns scored in FHS history.  For his career, Tanner finished second all-time with 5, 013 rushing yards and 64 touchdowns.

Fans be sure to tune into MyVLT  on Friday night at 8 p.m. EST to watch Cole Strange play one final time in an Admiral uniform! Look for #88 during the game, as Cole will be wearing that for the game. The 9th Annual Toyota East vs. West All-Star Game features some of the best senior players selected from the entire state of Tennessee to go head-to-head one more time.  Cole is the 11th former Admiral to be selected for the Toyota East vs. West game since 2007!  Friday’s game will be played at Tennessee Tech University’s Tucker Stadium in Cookeville.  For more information and a look at the game’s complete roster, you can click here for updates on the Toyota E/W Twitter feed.  Of course fans can follow along with @FarragutFB Friday during the game!  Good luck Cole!

Past Admirals selected for Toyota E/W All-Star Game:

2007- Andre Sterling

2008- Will Jackson

2009- DeAndre Purty, Lee Van Dyne

2010- Taino Fears-Perez

2011- Jacob Johnson

2012- Patrick Doucette, Jonathan King

2013- Billy Williams

2014- Nathan Gilliam