Lady Ads’ thriller highlights flag football
She found it in Brooklyn Morris, who had already scored both Lady Admiral touchdowns against Karns on Monday, March 23.
With the game tied 13-13 in double-overtime, Morris caught the pass from Skelton, evaded a defender and crossed the goal line to give FHS a 14-13 win.
The victory marked a 1-0 start in district play for Farragut in its first TSSAA-sanctioned season of girls flag football, as FHS forced OT after trailing 12-6 with 55 seconds left in regulation.
“I was just excited for our team,” said Morris, a first-year player. “We haven’t had the best season yet through the preseason, but I was excited that we all played well. We all worked really hard to get that one.”
Farragut took a 6-0 lead in the first quarter on a touchdown pass from Skelton to Morris, but Karns bounced back with two scores to take a 12-6 lead into the break.
Emma Pearl Riffer and the Lady Admiral defense kept the Beavers at bay, but FHS could not find any more offense until the final minute of the fourth quarter.
Morris hauled in the game-tying score, and when the conversion failed, FHS took the ball first in overtime on a 2-point-conversion style play. Camille Faugot caught the pass from Skelton for a 13-12 lead, but Karns matched before the Farragut defense came up with one more stop.
That set the table for one final catch from Morris, setting off a raucous celebration for the Lady Ads in their 2-0 start to region play.
In other results, Bearden’s flag football squad pushed its record to 5-0 last Friday, March 27, with a 48-0 win over West, then turned around and beat Halls 45-13 on Monday, March 30, for a 6-0 mark. In that win, Jayda Berrios snagged her second pick-six of the season while Emma Rainey racked up 110 receiving yards.
The Lady Bulldogs lead the region with an 85-point differential.
“It’s been really cool to see,” Bearden coach Zach Scott said. “We played two games before our basketball girls got to us and had some practices without them, then sprinkled them in in the Karns game. We’ve played a lot of girls, so it’s been cool to see everyone accept
different roles on the team. Our quarterback, Sophie Keener, has improved tremendously, and she’s a big reason why we’ve scored so many points.”
He added BHS has taken a staunch approach on defense, giving up just 39 points across six games with two shutouts.
Hardin Valley, meanwhile, is ninth in the region after
a 44-6 loss to Clinton in its first game on March 27 and a 13-0 loss to Powell on March 30.
Alaina Lineberry scored the lone touchdown of the season for HVA against Clinton while Katie Manrod and Savanna Winterbotham intercepted two passes apiece against
Powell.
“They’re enthusiastic and seem like they’re having fun,” Lady Hawks coach Kristofer Minton said. “That’s just the way games go sometimes but their attitudes and efforts have been good to see.”
For Farragut, the Lady Admirals (3-4, 2-1) continued their success with a 25-7 win over West on March 30. They sit fourth in the district, having channeled a “next player up” mentality with Bella Bruton out and Morris now injured as well.
Up next, the Lady Ads will take on Halls in a matchup on Thursday, April 2. Bearden
will face Gibbs the same day while HVA will take on Karns March 6.
