Admirals’ Comeback Falls Short, Rhea Co. Wins 40-34

November 20, 2015 Chase Scott

Farragut High School football coach Eddie Courtney doesn’t want a heartbreaking season-ending loss to define his 2015 team.

“I’m really proud of these kids,” Courtney said after the Admirals came up on the short end of a 40-34 decision against Rhea County Friday night in a second-round Class 5A Playoff game before a packed house on a chilly night at Bill Clabo Field. “These kids have worked hard and they won a region championship.

“This hurts right now but this game will not and does not define us.”

Farragut (10-2) struggled to contain the Golden Eagles’ multi-pronged running attack,

“That Wing-T is hard to defend and all the credit has to go to Rhea County,” Admirals senior running back Tanner Thomas said. “They’re a great team and they played a great game.” The Golden Eagles (9-3) scored first on quarterback Daniel Dotson’s 1-yard run. Kicker Bhodi Buffenbarger added the extra point to give the visitors a 7-0 lead with 7 minutes, 25 seconds remaining in the opening frame.

Rhea County’s defense stifled Farragut on its first possession but the Admirals got a huge break when Noel Patterson muffed a punt from Farragut’s Joe Doyle. Jack DeVault recovered the fumble and gave his squad the ball at the Rhea County 13-yard line.

A touchdown run from Thomas knotted the game on the next play.

Farragut never led in the game and fell behind 34-17 late in the third quarter before its sputtering offense and struggling defense came to life to tie the game in the fourth quarter.

“We gave them a lot of yards in the first half and in the third quarter before we were able to make some adjustments,” Courtney said.

During Rhea County’s early dominance, the Golden Eagles intercepted Farragut’s Jacob Naumoff and got a touchdown run

from Mason Stephenson that made the score 21-7. Patterson also caught a 22-yard scoring strike from Dotson to help the Golden Eagles retake the lead.

Thomas had a 54-yard touchdown run to make it 21-14 midway through the second quarter and that represented the last scoring before halftime.

The Admirals took the third-quarter kickoff and engineered a long drive that netted a 33-yard field goal from Carter Phillipy to make the score 21-17.

But Rhea County scored a pair of touchdowns to push its advantage to 34-17. Dotson appeared to put the game away when he scored from one yard out.

But the Admirals wouldn’t go away. Naumoff’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Tanner Mengel pulled Farragut to within 34-24 early in the final frame.

Thomas, who finished with 182 yards, made the score 34-31 and Phillipy went on to tie the game with a 34-yard field goal with 4:46 left to play.

“We didn’t quit,” DeVault said. “We never quit.”

Rhea County took a 40-34 lead with just under a minute to play but Buffenbarger missed the extra point, leaving Farragut one last chance to win and advance.

Farragut’s final drive came up empty when Tyler Pendleton intercepted a Naumoff pass at the Rhea County 24.

“I was really proud of our kids for coming back after they tied the game,” said Golden Eagles’ coach Mark Pemberton, who guided Knoxville Catholic to a Class 3A State Championship in 2008. “Farragut has a great football team over there and they’re well coached.

“They came in here 10-1 for a reason and we just made one more big play than they did.”

The loss was a bitter one for junior Admirals junior Cooper Hardin.

“We fought hard to get back in this thing and it hurts to have it taken away on a big play,” Hardin said. “We have a great senior class and I’m going to miss those guys.”

Ken Lay is a Correspondent for the Farragut Press

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.

Featured, highlights, News

Farragut rolls Cleveland, 50-20

November 7, 2015 Chase Scott

Farragut High School football coach Eddie Courtney had his worries Friday night against visiting Cleveland in the first round of the Class 5A state playoffs.

His worries were justified, but not for long.

1-861-1986 — PHOTO CREDIT: Carlos Reveiz, crfoto.com

The Admirals trailed by a touchdown in the first quarter before rolling to a 50-20 victory. Farragut (10-1) scored 43 unanswered points after the early deficit.

“I was concerned about that (Cleveland) bunch,” Courtney said. “I knew the athletes they have. I saw them on film and saw how much they improved since early in the year.”

After the game, Courtney embraced Cleveland coach Scott Cummings, who coached West to the Class 5A state championship last year.

1-861-2214 — PHOTO CREDIT: Carlos Reveiz, crfoto.com

“Scott and I have been friends,” Courtney said. “We have a lot of respect for each other. Last year I was pulling for him. I hated to see him leave Knoxville, but I know it’s a great opportunity for him in Cleveland.”

The Admirals play host to Rhea County (8-3) in next Friday’s second round.

1-861-2029 — PHOTO CREDIT: Carlos Reveiz, crfoto.com

Farragut senior Tanner Thomas rushed for 142 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries against Cleveland (5-6).

1-861-1814 — PHOTO CREDIT: Carlos Reveiz, crfoto.com

Jacob Naumoff completed 7 of 12 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns. Davis
Simmons had five catches for 113 yards and a touchdown.

Farragut led 27-14 at halftime, but had two touchdowns called back for penalties and settled for field goals by Carter Phillipy.

Keegan Jones’ 6-yard touchdown run capped Cleveland’s opening drive.

Thomas scored on a 7-yard run as the Admirals tied it 7-7.

Taddarius Brown intercepted a pass by Naumoff and returned it 45 yards for a 14-7 Cleveland lead, which lasted less than a minute.

On Farragut’s next play on offense, Naumoff threw a short pass to Simmons, who raced down the sideline for a 58-yard touchdown and 14-14 tie with 15 seconds left in the first quarter.

Thomas scored on a 26-yard run early in the second quarter, and Phillipy had field goals of 36 and 25 yards before halftime.

1-861-2172 — PHOTO CREDIT: Carlos Reveiz, crfoto.com

Farragut scored touchdowns on its first three possessions of the third quarter.

Cleveland played without its top receiver, junior Skyler Davis, and without freshman running back Micaleous Elder due to injuries.

“The reality of it is Farragut is a more seasoned team,” Cummings said. “They’ve been in the weight room a lot more than us and they’re playing a lot of juniors and seniors. We have two seniors total on offense.

Dave Link is a freelance contributor for the Knoxville New Sentinel.

OFFICIAL GAME STATS

** Due to formatting click the image file to see in larger resolution**

TEAM STATS

OFFENSIVE STATS
DEFENSIVE STATS

KICK STATS

RETURN STATS

Featured, Main Lead, News

Farragut Beats Clinton, 45-39

October 31, 2015 Chase Scott

Clinton High School’s football team managed to play visiting Farragut close through most of three quarters on Friday.

Then Justin Kirkendall interrupted what had been a turnover-free game.

The Farragut cornerback intercepted a Tyler Thackerson pass and returned it 79 yards for a touchdown. That interception also broke a school record for most in a single season with 9. That pushed the Admirals’ lead to 17 points, and they fended off a pair of late Clinton scores before escaping with a 45-39 Region 3-5A victory in both teams’ regular-season finale.

“We caught a team that’s on fire right now,” Farragut coach Eddie Courtney said. “Offensively, they can make some big plays, but I commend our kids for hanging in there.”

Late touchdown receptions by Ja’Quan Thomas from Thackerson — their third and fourth touchdown hookups of the game — gave

Clinton coach Josh Kerr encouragement going into the playoffs.

“We played hard. We never gave up, and we kept pushing,” he said.

As the No. 4 seed, Clinton will travel to play Ooltewah in the first round of the playoffs on Friday. Region 3-5A winner Farragut will play host to Cleveland.

In a tight first half, Farragut (9-1, 5-0) scored first on a 71-yard touchdown pass from Jacob Naumoff to Davis Simmons. Simmons would finish with 4 catches for 129 yards and 3 TDs.

Clinton cut the deficit to 7-6 on a 29-yard keeper by Thackerson on the next drive. A fake punt early in the second quarter helped Clinton (4-6, 2-3) keep a drive alive. The Dragons took a 14-7 lead moments later on a 19-yard TD pass from Thackerson to Thomas, and a two-point reception by S.J. Powers.

Before the half, Farragut tied the game via Naumoff’s 20-yard pass to Simmons, and then went ahead 17-14 late in the second quarter on a 38-yard field goal by Carter Phillipy. Jacob Naummof went on to finish the game 11-21 fro 234 yards and 3 TDs.

After Kirkendall’s interception, Thomas caught a 32-yard TD pass for Clinton and Simmons made a diving catch from the 25 for his third score late in the third quarter.

Other scores in the fourth included a 1-yard run by Thackerson and a 13-yard run by the Farragut running back Tanner Thomas. Tanner

Thomas finished will 292 yards on 25 carries, with 2 TDs.

John Shearer is a freelance contributor to the Knoxville News Sentinel.

BOX SCORE

Farragut 45, Clinton 39

Farragut 7 10 21 7 — 45

Clinton 6 8 6 19 — 39

Scoring: F — Davis Simmons 71 pass from Jacob Naumoff (Carter Phillipy kick); C — Tyler Thackerson 29 run (kick failed); J’Quan Thomas 19 pass from Thackerson (S.J. Powers pass from Thackerson); F — Simmons 19 pass from Naumoff (Phillipy kick); FG Phillipy 38; Tanner Thomas 1 run (Phillipy kick); Justin Kirkendall 79 interception return (Phillipy kick); C — Thomas 32 pass from Thackerson (kick failed); F — Simmons 25 pass from Naumoff (Phillipy kick); C — Thackerson 1 run (pass failed); F — Thomas 12 run (Phillipy kick); C — Thomas 43 pass from Thackerson (pass failed); Thomas 28 pass from Thackerson (Garrett Zody kick)

OFFICIAL GAME STATS

** Due to formatting click the image file to see in larger resolution**

TEAM STATS

OFFENSIVE STATS

DEFENSIVE STATS

KICK STATS

RETURN STATS

Featured, News

Farragut Blanks South Doyle, 52-0

October 25, 2015 Chase Scott

It was a case of two teams going into different directions. And whether it was passing or running, Farragut High School was going in the right direction.

The Admirals won a lopsided affair 52-0 at South-Doyle on Friday.

Farragut senior quarterback Jacob Naumoff started the game slow passing the football, but finished strong by completing 9 of his 17 passes for 156 yards and three touchdowns. Naumoff had success running the football as well, finishing with 37 yards and another touchdown.

“Jacob was very good us tonight,” Farragut coach Eddie Courtney said. “We were very balanced both passing and running the ball.”

Senior running back Tanner Thomas also took advantage of his running lanes to run for 189 yards and two touchdowns. The Admirals’ (8-1) longest play of the game was a 90-yard touchdown run by Thomas early in the first quarter to stretch the lead to 14-0 over the Cherokees (0-9).

“Well Tanner is running the ball very physically right now,” Courtney said. “The thing he really takes pride in is his yards after contact. He is just the ultimate team player.”

Despite missing Farragut’s defensive star Cole Strange for a third straight game, the South-Doyle offense was still stifled all game. Courtney said he expects Strange to be healthy by the time the playoffs begin.

South-Doyle senior quarterback Braden Anderson completed 11 of 17 attempts for 52 yards. Anderson also threw two interceptions.

“We are really young,” South-Doyle coach Clark Duncan said. “I love our kids they’re playing hard, we’re practicing hard. It’ll be just a matter of time for us.

“When you are playing 13 sophomores or freshmen against a senior-loaded team like that, these scores can happen.”

One of the goals this week for Farragut was to limit the number of penalties the Admirals committed. Farragut finished with four penalties for 35 yards.

“We just played smarter than we have the past two weeks,” Courtney said. “We had less penalties and executed better on both sides of the ball.”

Blake Morgan is a contributor for the Knoxville News Sentinel.

OFFICIAL GAME STATS

** Due to formatting click the image file to see in larger resolution**

TEAM STATS

OFFENSIVE STATS

DEFENSIVE STATS

KICK STATS

RETURN STATS

Featured, News

Farragut Torpedoes Lenoir City, 38-10

October 17, 2015 Chase Scott

Farragut High School was short on style points, but the Admirals did plenty on Friday night against Lenoir City to clinch the top spot in Region 3-5A.

Tanner Thomas ran for 192 yards on 22 carries and scored three touchdowns as the host Admirals downed the Panthers, 38-10, at Bill Clabo Field.

1-858-0312 — PHOTO CREDIT: Carlos Reveiz, CRFOTO.com

Farragut (7-1, 4-0 Region 3-5A) also got another strong effort by its defense as the Admirals came up with four sacks and held Lenoir City to just 72 yards in the first half.

“It (clinching the region title) feels incredible,” said Thomas, who scored on touchdown runs of 15, 20 and 12 yards.

“All of our seniors talked about it in our leadership council Sunday.”

Admirals coach Eddie Courtney said his team needs to finish strong against South-Doyle and Clinton before the playoffs.

“We still want to be 9-1 after the regular season,” said Courtney.

“I can’t say enough about how hard Tanner ran tonight, and how well the defense played as a unit.”

1-858-0496 — PHOTO CREDIT: Carlos Reveiz, CRFOTO.com

Farragut, which played without standout defensive end Cole Strange (concussion) for the second week in a row, surrendered only a 33-yard field goal and a 5-yard scoring run with less than a minute to play.

Carter Phillipy’s 26-yard field goal with 8:50 to play in the first quarter put Farragut on the board first.

Thomas scored twice in 13 seconds late in the first quarter as Farragut expanded its lead to 17-0.

The Columbia-bound senior darted in from 15 yards out with 1:33 to play in the quarter.

1-858-0147 — PHOTO CREDIT: Carlos Reveiz, CRFOTO.com

Farragut linebacker Tanner Mengel recovered a Lenoir City (2-5, 0-4) fumble on the first play of the ensuing series, and Thomas scored on a 20-yard run.

The Admirals took a 17-3 lead to the half after Sergio Cornejo’s field goal late in the second quarter.