Offense clicks, No. 3 FHS at ‘19’
The winning streak reached 19 games for Farragut High School football Friday night. The Ads, ranked No. 3 statewide in Class 6A, celebrated Senior Night with a 35-27 Region 1-6A victory over No. 8-ranked Science Hill at Eddie Courtney Stadium/Bill Clabo Field.
“We did this together,” said longtime Farragut head coach Eddie Courtney, who has seen his team bitten by the injury bug of late. “Our linebackers and our secondary did a great job like they always do and our defensive line did well.
“We had to shuffle those guys around because we’ve had some injuries.”
One change that the Admirals [7-0 overall, 3-0 in the region] made was putting Jacob Warren, senior tight end and University of Tennessee commitment, on defense. Warren responded by making several tackles and big hits.
Junior quarterback Jake Evans started and he wasted little time impacting the game. He scored the game’s first touchdown on an 8-yard run with 10:53 remaining in the first quarter. It was set up when Science Hill [5-2, 2-1] fumbled the opening kickoff at its 9-yard line.
Evans would start because sophomore Gavin Wilkinson was nursing an injury. But Wilkinson would eventually play.
“Gavin and I have a great bond and we really work hard to push each other and get better,” Evans said.
“I was really proud of our offensive line,” Courtney said. “We had some new guys in there because we’ve had some injuries.”
The Admirals would extend their edge to 14-0 a short time later on a 5-yard scoring plunge by running back Kyle Carter, set up by a botched a snap on a punt.
Carter scored three times and had the game-clinching touchdown inside the game’s final minute. He ended with 169 yards on 26 carries
He got some assistance from Isaiah Gibbs, who scored on a 4-yard run and had another stellar performance with 147 yards.
Trailing 21-7, the Hilltoppers would tie the game 21-21 led by star quarterback Jaylan Adams.
Carter broke the tie early in the final frame on a 4-yard scoring run.
Science Hill answered on an 11-yard TD run with 7:44 left to pull within 28-27. The extra point failed.
