Cookeville Cruises To 30-13 Victory Over Farragut Behind 230 Rushing Yards, 3 TDs From Blake Barrett

By Michael Lindsay

The Cookeville Cavaliers (2-6, 1-2) found their stride coming off their bye week Friday as they ran away with a 30-13 victory over Farragut.

“I was proud of the way we attacked the ball,” said Cookeville head coach Taylor Hennigan. “The effort, consistency and culture of our team have been phenomenal, and I’m happy for them to get the reward of the work that they’ve put in.”

Cookeville senior Blake Barrett led the way with 230 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns on 19 carries in the win. Jackson Jones also found the end zone with a pick-six in the second quarter.

“Blake has been our player of the week half of our games probably,” said Hennigan. “I’m happy for him. Last year, he sat behind two Division 1 football players in Blake Owen and Thomas Johnson and he never complained. A lot of his yardage came in the second half from wearing (Farragut) down.

“I do want to shout out Evan Banks also,” said Hennigan. “He’s a running back, but we asked him to play fullback and I’m proud of his ability to say ‘I want Blake to get the carries and I’ll pave the way for him.'”

Farragut opened the contest with a pair of field goals, including a 50-yarder by Ryan McCue, to lead 6-0 with 10:20 remaining in the second quarter.

“6-0 is a lot different than 14-0,” said Hennigan. “I was proud of the way we fought to get off the field.”

Cookeville answered on their first drive of the second period as a 30-yard completion from Easton Davidson to Caden Sisco set up an 18-yard Barrett touchdown run later in the drive, giving Cookeville a 7-6 lead with 4:48 remaining until halftime.

The Cavalier defense needed only one play to extend their lead as Jones intercepted a Farragut pass on the first play of the ensuing drive and returned it 24 yards for a pick-six to give Cookeville a 13-6 lead with 4:35 left in the second period. Neither team scored in the final 4:35 of the frame as Cookeville took a 13-6 lead into halftime.

After a scoreless third quarter, Cookeville opened the fourth with a 60-yard touchdown run by Barrett to go up 20-6 with 11:47 remaining. The teams traded empty possessions until the 5:29 remaining mark as Farragut connected on a 45-yard touchdown strike to cut their deficit to one possession at 20-13.

Cookeville’s offense needed only two plays to extend their lead back to two possessions as Barrett broke loose on another 60-yard touchdown run with 4:34 remaining to go up 27-13. Gavin Lintz tacked on a late 28-yard field goal to make the final score 30-13 in favor of Cookeville.

The Cavaliers return to Region 4-6A play next week as they travel to Mt. Juliet (2-6, 1-2).

“Hopefully the run game and being physical carry over,” said Hennigan. “Defensively, we’ve got to find ways to get off the field.”