Lady Ads ‘sizzling’ as postseason nears
At that point, negativity swirled for plenty of players — especially those who had been part of a lackluster campaign in the fall of 2024.
Fast forward to Monday, April 27, and things looked far different for the Lady Ads. Players danced and smiled with each other during Senior Night, only to wreak havoc on Hardin Valley in a 33-12 victory to cap a four-game win streak to end the regular season.
In that stretch, the Lady Ads have outscored their opponents 103-39, including a 27-14 win over previously unbeaten Clinton last Monday, April 21.
For Farragut coach G.W. Curtin, the last few outings have brought validation for the potential he has seen during practice.
But they have also reinforced the importance of trust and team chemistry, both of which have been developed through the last few weeks.
“Every coach talks about potential,” Curtin said. “Hopefully you have some in the preseason and see what you could be. But when you finally crack the egg and put it in the pan, it’s not just potential anymore. You can hear the sizzle, and we have a score and game we can stand behind and build off.”
If the Clinton matchup brought that egg to a sizzle, the Hardin Valley win featured a full-flavored Farragut omelet.
FHS jumped out to a 14-0 lead, taking early command Monday night. Quarterback Aydan Skelton hit Camille Faugot for a 6-0 lead on the Lady Ads’ first drive, then Catherine Langlois hauled in the 1-point conversion attempt for a 7-0 advantage. The teams traded three-and-outs, only for Bella Bruton to snag an interception. It was one of several she has made from her spot at “Chicken” — a Farragut moniker for a player who, in Curtin’s words, “runs around like a chicken with her head cut off.”
The early pick set up a zigzagging touchdown run from Brooklyn Morris, and the conversion catch by Moya Sakhleh left FHS at a comfortable 14-point advantage.
Still, Hardin Valley refused to go away that easily. HVA defensive back Deliah Jenkins picked off Skelton during the first half, then Eden Baker returned another interception for a touchdown to end the second quarter.
After an FHS staff flag football matchup during the break, the teams traded possessions through the third quarter. Finally, Morris broke free for her second score of the night to put the Lady Ads ahead 20-6 at the end of the third. Alaina Lineberry responded with a long touchdown for the Lady Hawks, but Farragut answered right back with a 10-play touchdown drive that ended with a score from Sakhleh.
The Farragut defense forced one more stop for good measure, and Sakhleh found the end zone for her second score to pair with a conversion from Faugot to mark the final margin.
All that remained was one more stop for the FHS seniors, each of whom jumped in on defense for the final play.
Then they walked off the field together to prepare for this Friday’s May 1 playoff matchup — Farragut’s first in program history.
During the postseason, FHS could very well be pitted against a Bearden team that has seen similar success en route to a 13-1 regular-season record.
But with the turnaround the Lady Ads have staged so far, FHS (9-6) has reason to feel as good as any other team at this point in the year.
“It’s really a mental shift,” Curtin said. “We’re the same team athletically — we can run just as fast, jump just as high. But now the team is really starting to trust each other more. It’s not about, ‘Oh, she messed up, can I go in?’ It’s, ‘Hey, you’ve got this’ and we’re helping out on the sideline when she comes off the field.
“A lot of levelheadedness; we’ve come from behind in some games. And the losses we’ve had, I told them that we were beating Carter and Fulton and Bearden. So we’ve seen too that we can play with those teams, even though we lost the games. so we know now we can play with anybody.”
