BY BRIAN HAMILTON
JEFFERSON CITY – Sevier County wasted no time letting everyone know that 2024 wasn’t a fluke. On a rainy Saturday night in Burke-Tarr Stadium at Carson-Newman, the Smoky Bears dismantled a 6A Farragut team for a 27-7 win.
“Farragut’s a good football program, we know their coach, we know their players and we knew nothing would be easy on either side of the ball, ” Sevier County head coach Todd Loveday said. “I felt like we played well. We played really mature, until we took what they gave us and capitalized a few times when we had the opportunity, but nothing was easy, which makes it even more impressive.”
Jaxson Perry (8) goes up for the ball, as Farragut’s Noah Haag (16) defends. Photo by Brian Hamilton
Farragut stymied Sevier County on its first offensive possession and forced a punt. Unfortunately, for the Admirals, that punt was muffed and the Smoky Bears took over at the 11-yard line. Nathan Patterson took it from there, finding the end zone from 11-yards out for a 7-0 Sevier County lead.
Sevier County would march down the field and score on its next drive, as Cooper Newman found Bryson Headrick for a short touchdown pass on fourth down with 3:05 to go in the first quarter.
Newman found Jaxson Perry for a 25-yard touchdown before the half to give the Smoky Bears a 20-0 lead with 4:19 left in the first half.
Sevier County went to the half with a 20-0 advantage.
As the rain began to fall at Burke-Tarr Stadium, neither team could find its footing to score during the third quarter. Farragut found itself in field goal range during the period and attempted a kick, but it was blocked by the Smoky Bear special teams unit.
“Any special team can be a weapon,” Loveday said. “We have guys on there going full speed and when the other team makes a mistake, you’ve got to be able to pounce on it and we did that.”
Sevier County would tack on another score in the fourth quarter when Headrick scored again to give the Smoky Bears a 27-0 lead with 11:51 left.
The Admirals would finally get on the board with 4:16 to play, as Corbin Hobson found Max Garfield for a 19-yard score to elude the shut out.
Sevier County’s Jaxson Perry (8) and Wyatt Maples (13) celebrate after Perry’s second quarter score. Photo by Brian Hamilton
Sevier County was on the move again late in the fourth quarter when Newman took a knee and ran out the clock on a rainy second half and a 27-7 win. The win was the 16th straight for the Smoky Bears, as they begin their title defense.
“Complacency is the enemy of consistency and the only time we ever mention anything about last year is just evidence of how stinking hard it is,” Loveday said after the game. “You don’t really have to twist an arm to let them know how hard it’s going to be each step of the way. Nothing’s easy and you have to go through the same steps you went through to get anywhere. You can’t skip any steps and tonight was a great example of that against a good football team.”
Cooper Newman was named the BankFirst Game MVP, throwing for 168 yards and two touchdowns on 21-of-30 passing.
“He’s so consistent,” Loveday said of his junior quarterback. “He’ll be the first to tell you that he’s got some guys that he trusts and they trust him. The game tonight was just a product of how those guys work all the time.”
Sophomore running back Nathan Patterson led all rushers with 97 yards on 20 carried and a score.
Sevier County (1-0) will host Jefferson County (1-0) in a rivalry match next Friday, while Farragut (0-1) will host Powell, whose season-opening game with Anderson County was ruled a ‘no contest’ due to severe weather.
“We schedule Jefferson County for several reasons,” Loveday said. “We’re close (in proximity), but I think Coach (Spencer) Riley will tell you the same thing, we like playing them early because it kind of shows you where your team is physically. They’re always solid up front, big and strong, and nothing is going to be easy next week either.”