8th,7th MAC Ads sweep Bearden
BEARDEN — Both of Farragut youth football’s oldest teams, MAC eighth-graders and seventh-graders, held off late Bearden charges to sweep the Mini Bulldogs at BHS’s Bill Young Field Saturday evening and night, Aug. 12, in the league’s season openers for both teams.
Eighth-grade MAC Ads 26 Bearden 18
Matthew Rogers’ 55-yard touchdown run with less than a minute to play, moments after the Farragut Eighth-Grade defensive line and linebackers collectively blocked Bearden’s attempt at a tying conversation kick with 55 seconds left, iced a 26-18 Mini Ads victory.
Farragut quarterback Kyle Clark helped start the scoring, connecting with Xavier Bowman on a 40-yard touchdown strike with 1:02 left in the first quarter. The conversion kick was never attempted due to a high snap.
In what proved to be an especially exciting final 30 seconds of the first half, Bearden tied the game when quarterback Deklan Misner found Haynes Hawkins on a 9-yard TD toss. The Mini Bulldogs also had a failed conversion kick attempt thanks to a high snap.
Farragut cashed in on good field position thanks to a late hit out of bounds, starting at the Bearden 48 but having just 14 seconds to score. They did. A 27-yard pass from Kyle to Braylen Gibbs put the Mini Ads at the Bearden 21 with only nine seconds showing.
Matthew’s 21-yard scoring run around the left side, breaking two tackles along the way, gave the visitors a 12-6 halftime lead (conversion kick blocked).
Using the rushing skills of running back Dawson Head to gain key yardage, the Mini Bulldogs tied the contest after Deklan’s 39-yard scoring pass to a wide open Kaeo Travis. The conversion failed, keeping the score 12-12.
In addition to his kicking and defensive skills, running back/receiver Logan White put on a show with his 57-yard scoring play after taking a dump off pass to the left from Kyle. Logan broke three tackles, weaved pass a number of other defenders in a diagonal path to eventually end up down the right sideline for six points.
Perhaps appropriately, Logan’s conversion kick (worth 2 points at the MAC level), put Farragut up 20-12 on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Bearden then marched inside the Mini Admirals 10-yard-line late, and despite a tough Farragut defense holding the Maroon-and-Black out of the end zone three times inside the 3, the Mini Bulldogs made it 20-18 with 55 second left in the game after Deklan’s 2-yard quarterback sneak on fourth-and-goal at the 2.
Seventh-Grade MAC Ads 16 Bearden 12
Farragut’s Seventh-Grade MAC Ads used a four-minute, 55-yard drive — featuring the running of Brayden Wilder and Nicholas Stewart — ending with Nicholas scoring on a 7-yard run to break a scoreless tie with 1:47 left in the first half. Gavin McClurkin’s 2-point converstion kick, with Ben Stiles snapping and Oliver Jett holding, made it 8-0 visitors. That would be the halftime score.
These Mini Admirals went up 16-0 thanks to a 61-yard touchdown drive. Having broken off runs of 21 and 17 yards on the drive, Nicholas scored from 1 yard out with 1:23 left in the third period. An 18-yard scamper from Braylen helped the cause. Gavin and his holding and snapping buddies came through again. It was 16-0.
Bearden struck quickly for its first points when Mini Bulldogs quarterback Ethan Cline found receiver J Daddy open for a 26--yard scoring pass on the final play of the third quarter. The conversion kicked failed.
The Ethan-to-J Daddy combo struck again late on a 47-yard TD pass with just 1:34 to play. The Mini Bulldogs’ second conversion failed, as did Bearden’s onside kick attempt. Farragut then ran out the clock.
