With a playoff opportunity hanging in the balance, Farragut hosted Jefferson County on Friday night for the final game of the 2019 regular season. Best case, the Admirals would host a first round playoff game, worst case Farragut would be turning in their pads on Monday, but the focus was on one thing, winning.

Jeff County won the coin toss and decided to defer giving the Admirals the ball to begin the game. A fumble, however, on the opening kickoff would give the Patriots the ball on the Admiral 28 yard line. The Admiral defense would answer as a Micah Johnson interception on the first play would give the Admirals the ball right back. Farragut’s offense went to work at their own 27 yard line looking to strike first. Two quick completions for 25 yards moved the ball passed midfield, then 4 straight rushes moved the ball further down field to the Patriot 38. However, three straight incompletions followed for the Admirals and they were forced to punt the ball away. Jefferson County would take over at their own 20 and look to establish their running offense quickly. The Patriots were able to march down to the Farragut 35, but the Admiral defense was able to hold strong on 4th and 3 to turn the Patriots over on downs.

Farragut took over at their own 34, again looking to strike first. After picking up 25 yards on the first four plays of the drive, a 41-yard Eli Purcell touchdown run put the Admirals on the board first, giving the Admirals a 6-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

After a Jefferson County punt, the Admirals took over at the Patriot 49 yard line. A conversion on 4th-and-4 setup a 36-yard Gavin Wilkinson to Matt White touchdown pass that extended the Admiral lead to 13-0 with 10:53 left in the 2nd. The Jefferson County offense looked to answer, and a 45-yard run put them in prime position to do so, scoring 4 plays later from 6 yards out.

After a successful 2 point try, Farragut still lead 13-8 with 7:28 left before half. The Admirals took over at their own 31 hoping to extend the lead again. An 8-yard rush on 3rd and 6 was followed by a 52-yard Gavin Wilkinson to Alec Keathley pass that would put the ball at the 5 yard line with the Admirals looking to score. That score would come 2 plays later when Alec Keathley found the end zone from 3 yards out and extended the Admiral lead to 20-8 with 4:47 left before half. Jefferson County took over trying to score before half and cut the lead knowing they would get the ball to begin the 2nd half. Running on 7 of their first 8 plays gave way for another run, but this time it was for 39 yards and a Patriot touchdown. The Admirals still lead 20-16 at halftime.

Jefferson County carried their run heavy offense into the 3rd quarter, embarking on a 15-play, 65-yard drive that was extended by a roughing the punter penalty that gave the Patriots new life. The drive took up nearly half of the 3rd quarter and was capped off by a 1-yard touchdown run, followed by a failed 2 point try. The Patriots took the lead for the first time in the game, 22-20 with 6:38 left in the 3rd.

The Admirals would not trail for long, as Gavin Wilkinson found Mason Collins for a 65-yard touchdown reception, the first of Collins’ career, and gave the Admirals a 27-22 lead with 6:26 left in the 3rd. Like a boxing match that saw two fighters exchanging haymakers, the Patriots would waste no time answering. A 75-yard touchdown would put Jefferson County back on top 28-27 with 3:25 left in the 3rd. A 32-yard Jackson Fontenot kickoff return set the Farragut offense with the ball at the Patriot 40 yard line. It would take 8 plays for the Admirals to punch it in, as a 13-yard Gavin Wilkinson to Alec Keathley pass again lit the scoreboard up for the Admirals. Farragut again found themselves on top 33-28 as the 4th quarter began.

Jefferson County took over at the Farragut 21 yard line looking for a drive similar to the one that began the 2nd half for them, one that would chew up the clock and result in a touchdown. A 16-play drive would follow, seeing the Patriots rush 13 times and score on an 8-yard run. The Patriots regained the lead 34-33 with 5:03 left to play. The Admirals knew what hung in the balance as several scenarios had played out at other games throughout the region.

The season came down to the final five minutes and three seconds of this game. Scoring and stopping the Patriots would mean hosting a first round playoff game, while failing to do so meant the season would end and playoff hopes dashed. A determined Admiral offense took over at their own 29 yard line with the season lying in their hands.

A healthy mix of run and pass on the drive, along with strategic clock management, saw an Alec Keathley 10-yard touchdown run with :42 left to play give the lead back to the Admirals, 39-34. The had :42 left to play to secure a spot in the playoffs. The Patriots started possession from their own 18-yard line after great kickoff coverage by Eli Purcell. Jefferson County completed consecutive passes for 13 and 14 yards, respectively, to move the ball close to midfield. Two plays later, a Logan Foody interception sealed the Admirals fate and gave them a 39-34 win over Jefferson County.

The Admirals finished the regular season at 5-5 overall and 4-2 in region 1-6Aplay. With the win, the Admirals earned right to host Bradley County in Round 1 of the 2019 TSSAA Playoffs. Farragut and Bradley met in week 1 of the regular season this year, where the Admirals outlasted the Bears 37-30.

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.

The Admirals did something Friday night that hadn’t been done since 1993, hold Oak Ridge scoreless.  Farragut broke the 298-game streak that the Wildcats had compiled without a shutout.

The Wildcats returned the opening kickoff to their own forty yard line to begin their first series on offense.

A promising eight-play drive for the Wildcats ended as Drew Butler forced a fumble at the Admirals’ 15-yard line, and recovered by Alex Williams.  The Admiral offense took the field, but were forced to punt after a sack on third down.  Farragut’s defense would force a three-and-out on their next series, and a 23-yard punt return by Isaiah Gibbs gave the Admirals the ball at their own 37-yard line.

Isaiah would strike again, taking the first play for a 35-yard burst into Wildcat territory.  Three plays later, Kyle Carter would sprint 19 yards for a TD run on third-and-1.  Farragut led Oak Ridge 7-0 with 4:54 left in the 1st quarter.

The Admirals and Wildcats traded punts to begin the second quarter, before the Admiral offense would begin to impose their will.  Starting from their own 20, the Admirals marched 67 yards in 14 plays but failed to convert on 4th-and-1 on the Wildcats’ 13-yard line.  Farragut’s defense would stand tough again, forcing a Wildcat punt.

The Admirals’ offense took over from their own 19-yard line with 3 timeouts and 1:05 on the clock before halftime.  Gavin Wilkinson passed 15 yards to Braden Collins, twice to Jaden Gibbs covering 14 yards, and then hit Collins again for 38 yards to get the Admirals in the red zone.  Gibbs was called on again and drew a pass interference penalty to move the ball down to the Wildcats’ 7-yard line.  Wilkinson would connect with Collins again, this time for a 7-yard TD in the corner of the end zone.

A Wyatt Lucas interception ended the half with the Admirals up 14-0 over the Wildcats at halftime.

Farragut opened the 2nd half receiving the Oak Ridge kickoff, and a 22-yard return by Kyle Carter set the Admirals up at their own 28-yard line.  On third down, Wilkinson would connect with Collins again.  This time for a 70-yard catch and run, down to the Wildcats’ 1-yard line.  Isaiah Gibbs would punch it in on the next play, boosting the Admirals’ lead to 21-0 with 10:44 left in the third quarter.

The Wildcats would march into the red zone on their ensuing possession, but a fumble recovery by defensive end Caleb Kuhn would thwart the drive with 8:05 left in the quarter.

The Admirals’ offense then marched 85 yards on 17 plays, capped off by Kyle Carter’s 7-yard TD run.  The Admirals would have many contributors on the scoring drive.  A sequence of tough runs by both Carter and Gibbs along with two, 3rd-down receptions by Jaden Gibbs would fuel the drive.  The big play in the series was a 19-yard reception by Andrew Williams after the offense had been backed up by a holding penalty.  Carter would then carry for 17 yards up the middle on 3rd-and-2 to set up his own scoring run.  The Admirals would take a 28-0 lead over the Wildcats going into the 4th quarter.

The Wildcats would again put together a good offensive drive that would threaten inside the Farragut 35, but this time Devin Yarborough would step in front of a pass and tack on a 71-yard interception return for a touchdown.  Farragut led 35-0 with 8:45 left in the game.

On the next series, the Admiral defense remained stout, forcing another 3-and-out.  The Admiral offense would start at their own 36-yard line with a running clock and less than 6 minutes to play. The 8-play drive would finish with a 17-yard TD pass from Jake Evans to Alec Keathley, his first touchdown reception of his career.  As the final horn sounded, the Admirals had avenged their lone loss from 2016 in a big way, with a resounding 41-0 victory against Oak Ridge.

 

The Admirals will travel to Dandrige next Friday night to take on the Jefferson County Patriots.  This will be the first meeting since a 1st round playoff matchup in 2007, and only the second meeting since 2000.  The Admirals will look to improve to 2-0 in the region next Friday night against Jeff County.

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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