No-quit Ads competitive vs. Maryville
Trip to OR, 2-1, next for Farragut
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Elijah Gibbs, Farragut senior running back, finds room to roam against Maryville at MHS Friday evening, Sept. 2. - Photos courtesy of Carlos Reveiz/crfoto.com
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Luke Johnson, Ads senior quarterback, prepares to fire downfield against the Red Rebels. - Photos courtesy of Carlos Reveiz/crfoto.com
MARYVILLE — By not quitting when hopes of a victory were lost, Farragut had a respectable outcome against powerful Maryville at MHS last Friday.
“The second half we played pretty good football,” FHS head coach Eddie Courtney said about a 41-28 loss Sept. 2, dropping the Ads to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in Region 26A. “We are getting better.”
Offensively, “In the second half we executed better,” the Admirals skipper added. “In the first half (down 28-7 at halftime) we just shot ourselves in the foot too many times. ... Didn’t knock them off the ball enough.”
Luke Johnson, FHS senior quarterback, completed 22-of-31 passes for 333 yards and TD passes of 61 yards to Hank DeVault and 22 yards to Jordan Sheppard. He threw no interceptions, as both teams were turnover free, while rushing for two touchdowns: an 8-yard scramble and a 1-yard sneak.
“Elijah (Gibbs), he did a great job running the ball tonight,” Courtney said about his senior running back, who gained 51 yards on 13 carries while catching nine passes for 73 yards.
“We had a pretty good tempo coming into the second half,” Gibbs said. “... We didn’t give up; we still put points on the board.”
Overall, “We kept fighting to the end, that’s a positive right there,” Courtney said.
“I felt like holding them to seven points in the first half was a win for us,” said Maryville head coach Derek Hunt, whose team improved to 3-0, 1-0.
Noah Vaughn, Red Rebels All-state running back and University of Virginia commit, rushed for scores of 11, 3 and 1 yards while hauling in a 69-yard touchdown pass. “He’s really special; we kinda go as he goes,” Hunt said of Vaughn. “Obviously, he can touch it in a lot of different ways.”
Other top Admirals
In terms of special teams, senior punter Reese Keeney booted a 68-yard punt while recording three touchdbacks on kickoffs and converting all four of his extra-point tries.
In addition, Keeney’s onside kick was recovered by the Admirals late in the game.
Defensively, senior linebacker Jay Smiley led in solo tackles with eight, including one sack.
Sheppard also had a 46-yard kickoff return, while Jacob Farhat added a 28-yard kickoff return.
