Bearden fends off feisty Farragut
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Farragut’s Emma Pearl Riffer (46) wrestles a pass away from Bearden’s Jayda Berrios (21) for a first-down grab on Monday, April 13, at Bearden High School. - Jake Nichols
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Bearden’s Emma Rainey (20) tries to evade Farragut’s Bella Bruton (29) during the BHS-FHS girls flag football matchup on Monday, April 13, 2026. - Jake Nichols
Farragut’s girls flag football team lost to Bearden 27-0 on Friday, April 10.
Seventy-two hours later, with three starters back and a renewed vigor on the sideline, the Lady Admirals looked like a different team.
They pushed undefeated Bearden to the brink on Monday, April 13, coming within 12 yards of a game-tying score with less than a minute left. But five Bulldog interceptions proved the difference, as BHS defensive back Amileigh Crippen raced in for a pick-six before Lily Watson made a game-clinching interception to preserve a 13-7 Bearden win.
“We’ve been doing that all year,” Bearden coach Zach Scott said of his team’s turnovers. “We get great pressure from Alaya Johnson — she’s third in the state in sacks — and she’s relentless and plays with a great motor. So quarterbacks will throw off their back foot.
“Then Amileigh, I just kind of had a feeling, kind of like a closer in baseball. She was one of three players to play that spot during the game. Her job there is to rob the middle of the field, and we thought they’d go to it again and they did.”
Even with the loss, Farragut coach GW Curtin noted his pride in a Lady Admiral team that took the field on Friday without starting quarterback Aydan Skelton, starting running back Brooklyn Morris and starting defender Bella Bruton.
Still, in Friday’s matchup — which went down as a region loss — FHS trailed just 7-0 at halftime before Bearden broke the game open.
“Being down 7-0 at home and starting with the ball in the second half, it was like, ‘This is where we want to be,’” Curtin said. “Just like (Monday). If we scored and got a conversion, we win. this team has been beating people 60-14, and to be right there, two plays to go with 12 yards to score, that’s all we can ask for.”
Contrary to their previous loss to the Lady Bulldogs, the Lady Ads jumped on the board first Monday
After a scoreless first half, Emma Pearl Riffer took a pass from Skelton and raced 70 yards to the end zone for a 6-0 lead after a failed conversion.
It was a fitting nod to the senior’s effort, as she had already gotten two straight sacks on two different possessions in the first half.
“She was everywhere we asked her to be,” Curtin said. “Even in pregame, we switched her positions, then switched her back and, boom, touchdown.
“On defense we had her in coverage and rushing, and she’s causing all sorts of chaos. Great engine, good head on her shoulders. The full package.”
But Bearden has been undefeated for a reason, and it showed Monday night.
The Lady Bulldogs answered Farragut’s score with one of their own from Johnson, then Emma Rainey punched in the conversion to take a 7-6 lead with 5:22 left in the third quarter.
It remained there until FHS moved into scoring territory early in the fourth quarter, but a Johnson sack forced a turnover on downs.
Bearden gave the ball back to Farragut soon enough, as the Lady Ads stymied a young BHS quarterback in freshman Nicole Smith-Harris.
Once the Lady Ads regained possession, Bearden snatched it away again on Farragut’s final two drives.
Going forward, Curtin said he wants to see “a bit more sharpness when it matters.
“If you give us 10 chances, I think we score on seven of them,” he said. “But if we only have one, I think the nerves are still getting to us. That’s something that, as a coach, I’ve got to work on in practice.”
Still, given the difference between Friday and Monday, he left pleased with the effort.
“Finally, I think they believe me now,” he said. “Now we just have to put it on the scoreboard and show everyone else.”
