Champions

A happy bunch of Farragut Admirals football players soak up all the statewide attention, with Navy blue and gray-clad fans going crazy all around them, after the program’s first state championship was in the bag. Rallying from a 35-7 deficit late in the first half, the Admirals captured the Class 5A state crown with a stunning 45-35 victory against previous unbeaten Independence, defending state champion, Friday night, Dec. 2, at Tennessee Tech’s Tucker Stadium in Cookeville. This was Farragut’s second comeback from a 28-point deficit during the playoffs, having beaten Ooltewah 56-49 in double overtime during a quarterfinal thriller at FHS’s Bill Clabo Field Nov. 18.

For more photos, game details and program records plus quotes from Admirals head coach Eddie Courtney and his players, see farragutpress special section, “Road to Glory,” inside the print edition of this issue.