Watch as Varsity All Access Mic’d up Coach Courtney during the pregame speech and recaps the Admiral’s 31-14 victory over Oak Ridge.

 

The season is still young, but Farragut High School already appears to be in the driver’s seat in Region 3-5A.

The Admirals, trailing 14-3 midway through the second quarter, scored 28 unanswered points to shock top-ranked Oak Ridge, 31-14, Friday night at Farragut.

“I’m proud of our kids,” said Farragut coach Eddie Courtney.

“They’ve worked hard, they’re very unselfish and they play as a team.”

Senior running back Tanner Thomas ran for 187 yards on 25 carries to spark the Admirals (3-0, 1-0 Region 3-5A) on offense.

“With Tanner, it’s all about getting yards after contact,” said Courtney.

Defensively, 6-foot-5, 252-pound end Cole Strange proved unblockable for Farragut, which has won eight of its last 10 games with Oak Ridge.

Junior wide receiver Tee Higgins got the Wildcats (2-1, 1-1) off to a fast start. Higgins hauled in touchdown passes of 37 and 15 yards from quarterback Jordan Dunbar as Oak Ridge led 14-3 with 8:16 to play in the first half.

Farragut struck back with a pair of devastating TDs in the final 2:53 as quarterback Jacob Naumoff found his groove.

Naumoff hit Cole Morgan and Alex Tindal on 4-yard touchdown tosses down the stretch.

Tindal’s grab came with 15.7 seconds to play in the first half, and gave Farragut a 17-14 edge — and the momentum.

“We had things rolling pretty well, but we just missed some opportunities to go up even further,” said Oak Ridge coach Joe Gaddis.

“They started having success on both sides of the ball, and things like this can happen.

The loss overshadowed another outstanding performance by Higgins, who committed to Tennessee last week.

The 6-foot-4 junior caught nine passes for 193 yards and had a 49-yard touchdown reception wiped off by a penalty.

Courtney said his team must build on the big victory over the Wildcats.
“The implication is it’s in our hands, but we’ve got to take care of it,” said Courtney.

 

 

Mike Blackerby is a freelance contributor for 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.

 

OFFICIAL GAME STATS

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

Teams Stats

Offensive StatsDefensive Stats

Kicking Stats

Kick/Punt Return Stats

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.

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.

“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.

 

OFFICIAL GAME STATS

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

Teams Stats

Offensive Stats

Defensive Stats

Kicking Stats

Kick/Punt Return Stats

Defensive Stats

Kicking Stats