KnoxSportsOnline.com

OOLTEWAH – One big hurdle has been cleared for Knox Farragut’s football team.

Forced to go on the road to play a team that had been No. 1 in the state until losing last week, the Admirals proved up to the challenge on Friday by taking control of the game in the second half and rolling to a 24-7 victory that sets up another showdown with rival Knox Bearden next Friday in a second-round game.

“Our line did a heckuva job in the second half,’’ said Farragut coach Eddie Courtney, “and so did our defense. DeAndre Purty really ran the ball well for us.’’

Purty finished with 159 yards on 22 carries and Lee Van Dyne caught four passes for 107 yards and a 55-yard TD from Reese Browning as the Admirals snapped a 7-7 halftime tie to score 17 unanswered second-half points.

“It was two good teams feeling each other out in the first half,’’ said Courtney, “but we took control in the second half. Our kids did a real good job.’’

The Farragut defense limited Ooltewah to just 176 total yards.

Montre Hudson scored Farragut’s first-half TD on a six-yard run. Ooltewah answered with a 6-yard pass from Brady Reed to Zach Zarzour.

Christin Ponce put Farragut ahead for good with a 29-yard field goal in the third quarter. Taino Perez put the capper on with an 8-yard run.

Purty topped 1,000 yards for the season with his effort.

Farragut improves to 9-2 and hosts Knox Bearden, a 35-34 winner at Sevier County, in a second-round game next week. Maryville will host McMinn County in the other Quadrant 1 semifinal. Maryville blanked Kingsport Dobyns-Bennett, 41-0, while McMinn County got past Oak Ridge, 12-7.

Ooltewah finished 9-2 after winning its first nine games.

Here are statistics from the game:

Knox Farragut 24, Ooltewah, 7

........................................KF……OHS
First Downs......................14......11
Rushes/Yds gained.....41-205..33-68
Passing Yds.....................107......108
Total Offense..................312.......176
Passes A-C-I................4-14-2..14-24-2
Fumbles/Lost..................0-0........0-0
Punts/Average..............5-38.8...8-37.3
Penalties/Yards............5-40......3-20

Score by quarters:
Knox Farragut.............7....0....10....7 -- 24
Ooltewah………………0….7…..0…0 – 7

Scoring Plays:
KF – Montre Hudson, 6 run (Christian Ponce kick)
OHS – Zach Zarzour, 6 pass from Brady Reed (John Long kick)
KF – Ponce, 29 field goal
KF – Lee Van Dyne, 55 pass from Reese Browning (Ponce kick)
KF – Taino Perez, 8 run (Ponce kick)