Shared QB glory works: Ads leap past McMinn

Kyle Carter, Farragut senior running back, extends himself to earn a touchdown against McMinn County Friday, Aug. 24, at FHS’s Bill Clabo Field.
Farragut High School football head coach Eddie Courtney has a luxury most high schools don’t. He has two quarterbacks who can start. He has confidence in both Gavin Wilkinson and Jake Evans.

What’s more, Wilkinson and Evans are willing to share the glory when the Ads (2-0) are victorious. “Gavin and I are best friends and we help each other,” Evans said after he was a perfect 6-for-6 in Farragut’s 47-7 victory over McMinn County Friday night, Aug. 24, at FHS’s Bill Clabo Field. “We work together in practice and we help each other with our reads.”

Evans, a senior, finished with 85 passing yards and two touchdowns against the Cherokees (1-1). He also had 30 rushing yards and a touchdown run.

Wilkinson, a junior, got the start and went 11-for-14, amassing 125 yards while throwing a 19-yard touchdown pass to Tanner Corum.

However, “We didn’t throw the ball well early, but as time went on, we were able to get into rhythm with our receivers,” Wilkinson said. “This is a big win for us going into our first region game and our first road game at Morristown West. We still have some penalties that are killing us and we’ll have to work on getting those things cleaned up. Jake did a great job for us when he came in.”

“Both of our quarterbacks played well,” Courtney said.

Junior tight end Alec Keathley had five receptions for 52 yards and caught two touchdown passes from Evans. Corum finished with four receptions for 54 yards and the score.

Kyle Carter led the Admirals’ ground attack. The senior ran for 127 yards on 11 carries and scored the game’s first touchdown.

“They were very good defensively,” Carter said about McMinn. “We struggled a little bit early but we were able to wear them down.”

Isaiah Gibbs, senior running back, had a 6-yard scoring scamper.

Daniel Bethel, a sophomore, kicked field goals of 27 and 41 yards.

“We had people making plays on both sides of the ball and on special teams,” Courtney said.