East Tennessee Prep Review: Week 9

by | Oct 19, 2020 | East TN | 0 comments

We have almost reached the end of the regular season here in 2020 for prep football. There were some upsets in heartbreakers in week 9 all across the Knoxville area. Let’s take a look at what happened in some of the most notable games.

CLASS 6A

  • Maryville 56 (8-0, 4-0 Region 2-6A), Ooltewah 12 (3-5, 1-2): Maryville scored 28 points in the first quarter to set the tone for a crushing defeat of region foe Ootlewah on Friday. QB Carson Jones was extremely efficient as he carved up the Owls to the tune of 18-of-19 passing for 211 yards and two TDs. One of the biggest tests for the Rebels’ regular season awaits next week in a road game at undefeated McMinn County for the Region 2 title.
  • Farragut 45 (5-3, 3-1 Region 2-6A), Bearden 17 (2-6, 1-2): In a fierce West Knoxville rivalry game, it looked to be on its way to classic territory after Bearden tied the game at 17 in the third quarter. However, after that, the Farragut Admirals put up 28 unanswered points on the way to cruising towards a 45-17 win over the Bulldogs. Farragut QB Dawson Moore passed for 185 yards and four TDs on 11-of-16 passing and the Admirals ground game racked up 399 yards.

CLASS 5A

  • Halls 20 (5-3, 2-2 Region 2-5A), Knoxville Central (6-2, 3-1): On Thursday, in a big rivalry game (The Battle of Black Oak Ridge), a Halls Red Devils team that had been affected by COVID-related issues this season came up with their biggest win of the year so far. Led by a fantastic performance by Nolan Faust, Halls took down the two-time defending 5A Champion Bobcats. After finding themselves down 10-0, the Red Devils used the Ty Humphrey to Faust connection on TD scores of 81 and 73 yards. With 36 seconds left and Central driving for the win, QB Ryan Bolton attempted to find Liam Fortner in the end zone, but it was picked off by Ty Hurst to seal the big win.
  • Fulton 33 (4-4, 2-1 Region 3-5A), Campbell Co. 26 (3-5, 0-4): After an 0-3 start, Fulton not only rallied in its season, they rallied from a deficit against Campbell County to clinch a spot in the Class 5A playoffs. Up by one and backed up against their own goal line, Falcons Rb Mac McCovery ran 97 yards to the end zone and clinched the game. Fulton has now made the playoffs for 12 consecutive seasons.
  • Oak Ridge 27 (5-3), Mt. Juliet 21 (5-2): For consecutive seasons, Oak Ridge knocked off Mt. Juliet. The Wildcats have now won three straight after a 2-3 start. Kendall Jackson rushed for 160 yards and two touchdowns while QB Mitchell Gibbons passed for 206 yards and a score.

CLASS 4A

  • Anderson Co. 53 (6-2, 4-0 Region 2-4A), Chattanooga Central 0 (1-7, 1-4): The Mavericks have won five of their last six and to once again take control of Region 2. AC outgained the Pounders 433-21 in total offense. The two-QB system has also been working great for the Mavs, as Stone Hatmaker and Walker Martinez each accounted for a score.
  • Elizabethton 44 (8-0, 4-0 Region 1-4A), Greeneville 10 (5-3, 3-1): The Greene Devils rolled into this game winners of four straight and only trailed 16-10 at halftime. Then, the Fighting Cyclones tore through the Greeneville defense in the second half. The Greene Devils were held to only 187 yards of offense as they lost to Elizabethton for the third straight game.

CLASS 3A

  • Alcoa 41 (7-1, 5-0 Region 2-3A), Kingston 0 (5-2, 3-1): The Tornadoes defense recorded their fourth shutout of the season in the romp over a decent Yellow Jackets squad. QB Cam Burdern and RB Ahmaudd Sankey ruled the day on offense. Alcoa will go on the road this Friday to face Gatlinburg-Pittman for the Region 2 crown.
  • Loudon 28 (8-0, 4-0 Region 3-3A), Sweetwater 7 (4-4, 1-3): Sweetwater jumped out to a 7-0 lead but that would be it for the Wildcats. McKenzie Lunsford accounted for three of the Redskins’ four touchdowns as Loudon is well on its way to completing perfect seasons in Region 3 for consecutive seasons.

DIVISION II

  • Baylor School 20 (4-2, 2-2 DII-AAA East & Middle), Knoxville Catholic 17 (2-4, 0-3): In front of a TV audience on Thursday, Catholic suffered a heartbreaker as Baylor kicker Anthony Weekly just barely got the game-winning kick through the uprights with seven seconds left for the win. The Irish were down 17-3 in the fourth quarter and rallied to tie but had their hearts ripped out. Catholic is now 2-6 in eight region games since joining DII-AAA last season. They now need to get wins over Father Ryan and Ensworth and luck in other games to get a chance at making the postseason.
  • DCA 49 (8-0, 6-0 DII-A East), TKA 17 (7-2, 4-2): The King’s Academy lost to Donelson Christian on the road, ending hopes for a DII-A East title, but TKA can still be a team to watch for to make a run. QB Zak Acuff has had a fantastic year and this team should be able to learn from mistakes made. TKA will need a victory over Chattanooga Grace Baptist at to earn a postseason bye to the quarterfinals for only the third time in program history.