Ethan Farhat sidestepped at midfield and broke into the open.
For just a moment, the gap had closed between Farhart and the two Hardin Valley players who were still giving chase around the 10-yard line. But Farhat’s long stride kept them out of reach as he waltzed into the end zone at Eddie Courtney Stadium on Friday.
The 99-yard kickoff return by the speedy Farragut wide receiver early in the fourth quarter was the answer to the Hawks’ latest pesky attempt to make something out of a Region 2-6A game that the Admirals never trailed in.
It proved to be the dagger in Farragut’s 45-28 triumph — the Admirals’ second-straight win after starting the season 0-5.
“My blocker gave me a great lead,” Farhat said. “I just hit the hole fast. Once I got by the kicker, I felt like I was gone.”
“He’s a dangerous return man,” Farragut head coach Geoff Courtney added. “He’s a great playmaker. He had a great night all night tonight.”
Farhat returned two kickoffs for touchdowns a year ago. This one was his first this season, continuing a trend of firsts for the Admirals (2-5, 2-2 Region 2-6A) over the last couple of weeks.
Farragut ended a seven-game losing skid that dated back to a one-score loss to Maryville on Halloween night 2024 with a 25-21 win at Bearden last week.
The momentum seemingly carried over on the Admirals’ first play from scrimmage against Hardin Valley (3-4, 1-3) when Corbin Hobson hit Farhat on a screen pass that went for 73 yards to the Hawks’ 7.
Two plays later, Noah Haag scored on a 3-yard run to open up a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the first quarter. Farragut never trailed.
“We played a tough (non-region) schedule, but we were able to keep our guys poised for a second half push. They came back to work every week. … I think that’s what carried over.”
Offensively, the Admirals racked up 380 yards, including 265 yards passing from Hobson. He hit Max Garfield from four yards out to go up 21-7 in the second quarter and then linked up with Farhat for a 4-yard score with six minutes, four seconds to go in the fourth on the score that put the Hawks away for good.
Charlie Noble rushed for 47 yards on nine carries, but scored two touchdowns for 6 and 1 yards in the first quarter and then again to payoff Farragut’s first drive of the third quarter to stretch the lead to 31-14.
The Admirals’ defense was the headliner, though.
Maysn Apalategui was the tone-setter, snagging a Samuel Mann throw on the double pass at the 44 to snuff out Hardin Valley’s opening drive. It led to Farragut’s second touchdown.
Hardin Valley pushed back after falling behind two scores, putting together an 11-play, 80-yard drive that Samuel Mann capped with a 12-yard touchdown run to trim its deficit to 14-7 at the end of the first.
The Hawks answered again when Brody Lamb broke off a 10-yard run to again pull them within a score in the second.
As the clock ticked towards halftime, Hardin Valley got the ball back and drove across midfield, reaching the Farragut 46 on a Riley Matz pass over the middle of the field to Logan Holbrook with inside of two minutes left.
The Hawks stalled out there. Three-straight passes down the sideline to Nick Rivers fell incomplete and they were forced to punt. The Admirals’ defense held, and Ryan McCue drilled a 51-yard field as time expired to send them into the break, up 24-14.
“It was big to get points there,” Courtney said. “We thought about taking a shot or making the field goal a little bit shorter. But we’ve got a tremendous amount of faith in Ryan. He absolutely crushed it.”
The outcome was all but decided on Hardin Valley’s opening drive of the second half when the Hawks took a gamble and kept their offense on the field on fourth-and-1 at their own 29.
Matz drove forward on a keeper, but didn’t get anywhere as Owen Petoskey led a silver and black-clad wall to drive him back.
Farragut’s offense scored in 11 plays on Noble’s second rushing touchdown. Hardin Valley tested the Admirals again on its ensuing drive, this time on fourth-and-2 at the 40.
Matz was dropped by Haag for a 3-yard loss.
“We didn’t execute all that well at times,” Courtney said. “But I think our guys were able to show some resilience. They were able to bounce back after some adversity.”
The Hawks, who still managed nearly 300 yards of offense with 203 through the air, couldn’t catch up after Farhat darted from the goal line to the other end of the field untouched.
The wire-to-wire run didn’t just dash Hardin Valley’s hopes, it provided a spark for Farragut as it enters the back-half of its schedule with a bye week next week, a non-region tilt at Cookeville after that and then region bouts with Oak Ridge and Cleveland in the last two weeks of the regular season.
“I think everybody is focused,” Farhat said. “Everybody is locked in. We know we’ve got big region games coming up and we just won two in a row. It’s just going to come down to execution.”
Article written by Noah Taylor/5Star Preps To read more on area high school sports or to see photo galleries, videos, stat leaders, etc… visit 5StarPreps.com — and use promo code New2025 for 30% off your first year or month subscription.
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