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Sports

Ads’ passing pops in 7-on-7

June 17, 2026 by Jake Nichols

Elijah Sadler sprinted toward Brenton Haag, and the two Admirals met in a high-flying chest bump.

It marked a sizzling start to summer for the Farragut football team, as FHS traveled to William Blount and hosted Lakeway Christian Academy in 7-on-7 action Wednesday and Thursday, June 10-11.

“It was a good day for those two,” head coach Geoff Courtney said. “Elijah has made a couple big plays for us, making some interceptions for us then some on offense, too. I thought we had a good day at William Blount then took a step in the right direction with Lakeway.”

Last week’s action preceded this week’s routine of weights, conditioning and practice.

With the TSSAA-mandated Dead Period ahead, Courtney noted he wanted his players to have a certain approach once they stepped onto the field against other teams.

The skeleton format provides a different look than game situations since only skill players are involved.

There are no running plays — only short, middle and long throws from a quarterback to his receivers.

Carter Collier and Max Hilton reaped the benefit of that Wednesday, hauling in touchdown catches during the Admirals’ trip to Blount County.

Sharp sliced a couple dimes to his teammates the next morning, too, zipping the ball into tight windows before airing it out later in the day.

Shot clock, RPI coming to HS hoops

June 17, 2026 by Jake Nichols

Last week, the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) marked a new era in high school basketball with a couple of notable decisions: approving a phased implementation of a 35-second shot clock and a move toward new seeding based on the Rating Percentage Index (RPI) for the Division I state tournament.

The shot clock usage will involve a multi-year rollout, as it will first be permitted for use in Hall of Champions games, holiday tournaments and summer competitions. Full implementation for the regular season and postseason is slated for the 2029-30 school year.

The move has drawn mixed reactions from coaches across the state, including local ones across the Farragut and west Knoxville area.

“I’m kind of indifferent on it,” Farragut boys coach J.P. Burris said. “I think there’s some positives, where you can’t just hold the ball, but I would be the first to admit we used the fact that there wasn’t a shot clock to keep us competitive in that Bearden region championship. We didn’t play stall ball, but we were adamant about running our offense to limit the possessions for a really great Bearden team.”

“I think it’s a good thing ultimately, but the full implementation has its challenges,” Farragut girls basketball coach Jason Mayfield said.

He and Burris noted it won’t change much for either team’s offense considering their current pacing, and Mayfield added the Lady Ads have played in out-of-state tournaments with shot clocks. So there are a few current players and coaches who would be accustomed to it if any adjustments are needed on defense especially.

Kids slide into Lady Admiral softball camp

June 17, 2026 by Jake Nichols

Harper Lockhart slid into a base, sending dust flying at Bellarmy Field.

She was one of several children in attendance at Farragut’s annual summer softball camp, where the Lady Admiral players and coaches instructed players ages 7 to 14 Monday through Thursday, June 1-4.

The camp has been running for quite some time, but Lady Ads coach Nick Green has been a part of it in some capacity since 2007.

“It was more of a full day camp then, and we’d break for lunch before the older ones would come back for more advanced topics,” Green said. “I reformatted the camp, changing some things and keeping others the same.

“We try to keep them pretty active, teaching skills we think they’ll be able to do,” he added. “Most are basic skills because if you can do those right and really well, you’ll be pretty darn good. But we do introduce advanced topics to some of them and try to get them in a position where they can play.”

The camp welcomed children from West Valley Middle, Concord Christian and Farragut Middle School, among other schools, all in the name of growing the sport and making kids better.

And while the younger players certainly learn plenty of skills, current Farragut players take just as much from each camp — if not more.

“It’s fun,” Green said. “I try to tell them that no matter how good or bad you think you are or how your day was, when these kids come out to watch you, they want to be you. They want to be you then they get older, so it’s a big deal.”

“I know a lot of them remember some details from their camp. maybe who their leader was or some of the events we did that were fun,” he added. “And a lot of them, the players, end up making friends with the kids. In the past, they end up babysitting them and things like that. So it’s nice.

“And now I’ve seen a lot of them when they were 7 years old to coming through high school, so I might know them for more than half their lives by the time they graduate.”

The camp ran from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. each weekday, as the campers did what Green called, “a little bit of everything.”

Day one included plenty on throwing and catching “because, in my opinion, those are the two most important skills you can learn,” Green said. “Then we have some kind of defensive section with a new skill, and this year, that was ground ball work for different age groups.”

HVA eyes next step

June 17, 2026 by Ken Lay, Correspondent

The 2026 high school football season is still more than two months away, but Hardin Valley Academy is already in preparations for the upcoming campaign.

Things kicked into high gear midway through last week on a sultry Wednesday morning, June 10, in North Knoxville as the Hawks tangled with host Knox Central and Austin-East at Dan Y. Boring Stadium in Fountain City in 7-on-7 competition, which

features quarterbacks, running backs, tight ends, wide receivers, linebackers, cornerbacks and safeties.

Hardin Valley had its first non-losing season since 2018 last year on the gridiron, making offseason preparations important as the Hawks attempt to build upon last season’s success.

HVA went 5-5 last season and won a pair of Region 2-6A games in 2025 and closed out the season with a 42-7 victory over Ooltewah.

The Hawks finished 2025 on a high note and will look to make their first postseason appearance since their last winning season in 2018 when they went 6-5. Hardin Valley opens the 2026 campaign on Friday, Aug. 21, at Karns in a geographical rivalry game.