Ads back to basics after first region loss
But before the visitors arrive from Blount County, FHS will be working plenty of fundamentals in practice this week.
The need to address those arose last Friday, Sept. 11, as the Ads endured a litany of issues in a 42-0 loss against Bradley Central in their Region 2-6A opener.
“We’ve got to get back to our fundamentals, blocking and tackling, working on our pad level,” head coach Geoff Courtney said. “It was a tough night. Didn’t play good enough offensively, defensively and certainly not on special teams.
“Kickoff coverage was good, tackled them inside the 20, but punt coverage and punting team weren’t up to the standard. Our guys will be happy to be back at home, but we’ve got to get back to teaching the fundamentals: running, catching, throwing, blocking.”
Courtney noted his team’s positive approach to its pregame routine, which brought an hour’s travel down I-75 to Cleveland.
“Our kids are believing and doing the things we ask them to do and are being resilient, and those things are positive,” Courtney said. “Felt like we had good travel, good pregame, good approach, but it went to the wayside there early. When you’re dealing with a young team and things don’t go well early, they tend to unravel pretty quickly.”
FHS trailed 7-0 less than two minutes into the game, as its first punt was returned for a touchdown. Another special teams gaffe came before halftime, at which point Bradley Central held a 28-0 advantage.
Wyatt Walker came up with an interception to halt a Bears drive in the first quarter, returning it for 14 yards to give the Admirals some life. By the end of the night, Farragut found some success on the ground with 125 rushing yards between Brenton Haag, Cruz Williams and Dayton Parks.
Haag took the ball 11 times for 67 yards, good for more than 6 yards per carry, while Johnny Jacobs hauled in three catches for 16 yards. Hayes Sharp added a 5-for-9 completion clip for 31 yards against Bradley Central.
Dylan Parks led FHS with nine tackles on defense, followed by Thatcher Cherry (eight), Walker and Kaden Renfro with six and Mason Swor with five.
Through four games, Walker and Cherry lead the Ads with 34 tackles (23 solo) and 32 tackles (18 solo), respectively. Swor has forced two fumbles on the year, and Haag leads the Admiral rushing attack with 149 yards to this point.
Courtney noted that Carter Collier has been dealing with a nagging knee issue, as he was “not at 100%” last week.
