In a year when it has been tested, Fulton passed its final exam Friday night.
Waco Upshaw rushed for 212 yards, Jamil Smith accounted for four touchdowns and Fulton overcame a furious third-quarter rally to defeat host South-Doyle 31-14 in a winner-take-all showdown for Region 2-4A’s final playoff berth.
The Falcons (5-5, 4-3) won five of their final seven games after an 0-3 start, completing a turnaround that has earned them a first-round game next week at Greeneville. Fulton has missed the playoffs only twice since 1993 — 2008 and last season.
“There’s been a lot of adversity this year,” Fulton coach Justin Long said. “On and off the field, there’s been a ton of adversity, and our kids have just weathered the storm, and I’m excited for them. I saw a lot of smiles on their faces tonight. You know, this is what it’s all about. We were able to respond the right way.”
Fulton needed that resilience against the Cherokees (6-4, 3-4), who erased most of a 17-point deficit with two touchdowns in two minutes during the third quarter. But the Falcons answered with two touchdown drives, including an 88-yard fourth-quarter march that extinguished South-Doyle’s comeback hopes.
“Once we went 0-3, it’s like something sparked inside of us,” Smith said. “We just started practicing way better, coaches got onto us, and everybody just came together. We just started together and being a real team.”
That togetherness was tested Friday.
Fulton appeared headed for a comfortable victory after dominating the first half. Smith connected with Will Dixson for a 41-yard touchdown pass less than two minutes into the game, then scored on a 19-yard quarterback draw early in the second quarter. The second touchdown capped a 98-yard drive that followed a goal-line stand by Fulton’s defense.
Emanuel Mosquera added a 35-yard field goal with 7:57 remaining in the third quarter, extending Fulton’s lead to 17-0.
Then everything changed.
Benson Brang connected with Reed Reynolds for a 69-yard touchdown pass, and South-Doyle recovered the ensuing onside kick. Brang subsequently found Jeremiah Smith for a 23-yard touchdown, with Smith spinning away from a defender on his way into the end zone.
In exactly two minutes, South-Doyle had transformed a seemingly hopeless 17-0 deficit into a 17-14 game.
“It was adversity and we had to overcome it,” Jamil Smith said. “We just got locked in, the line doing what they had to do.”
The Falcons’ response was anything but routine.
Upshaw broke a 49-yard run to put Fulton deep in South-Doyle territory. The Falcons appeared to score twice, only to have both touchdowns erased by penalties. Another personal foul pushed them backward.
More adversity? No problem: Smith found Keirus Cox for a 19-yard touchdown pass with 1:16 remaining in the third quarter, restoring a 24-14 advantage.
“That old cliche — ‘on to the next play’ — we’ve been preaching that all night, and our guys really embodied that tonight,” Long said. “South-Doyle: credit to them, and they came back hard on us. It was hairy, but we just knew we had to just keep going and play that next play.”
South-Doyle threatened again early in the fourth quarter, driving to Fulton’s 12 before consecutive incompletions ended the possession.
The Falcons then delivered their most emphatic statement.
Starting at their own 12, they marched 88 yards, repeatedly feeding Upshaw while Smith exploited openings created by South-Doyle’s attention to the running back. Smith finished the drive with an 8-yard touchdown run, extending the lead to 31-14 with 3:03 remaining.
Upshaw’s 212 rushing yards highlighted a Fulton ground attack that produced more than 300 yards. Smith added 90 yards rushing, giving South-Doyle two dangerous threats to defend.
“They know he’s fast, and they know he can get outside — that just leaves a wide-open hole for me,” Upshaw said.
That combination has helped carry the Falcons’ turnaround.
“Those guys are good players,” Long said. “They give us a shot because they know how to find space in the run game, and they’ve really learned to play off each other, a really good 1-2 punch.”
South-Doyle coach Zack Gibson praised his team’s effort. The Cherokees’ six wins are the most since 2021.
“I’m really proud of the effort the kids showed tonight,” said Gibson, who completed his first year with the program. “We had momentum against us, especially at halftime going to the fieldhouse, but when we came back down, we made a lot of really big plays on offense, defense and special teams. We settled in and fought to the very end.”
For Fulton, however, the ending was a celebration.
“We had mistakes, but we came back,” Upshaw said. “Our line was good, and we ran the ball a lot. Our receivers were catching, and our quarterback was making the right reads. We just came here, and did what we had to do.”
Article written by Dean Fox/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 HAMMERS for 30% off your first year or month subscription.
Follow KnoxTNToday on Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn and TikTok.
Get all KnoxTNToday articles in one place with our free newsletter. Comments may be sent to news@knoxtntoday.com.
