Jefferson defeats Loudon, stays perfect at 3-0
Jefferson Middle School kept its perfect record intact, but it didn’t come easily.
The Eagles improved to 3-0 with a 14-8 Tennessee Valley Athletic Conference victory over Loudon on Tuesday, Aug. 19, at Blankenship Field.
Jefferson opened fast as Adrian Gomez returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead. But that was the Eagles’ only score until the final minutes.
Loudon answered by returning the second-half kickoff for a touchdown and adding a two-point conversion to go ahead 8-7.
“It was a strange game,” Jefferson Coach Sean Jesse said. “Adrian returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and then they had the ball for the rest of the first quarter. Then they returned the opening kickoff of the second half and led most of the game.”
The Eagles, however, had the final word. Quarterback Easton Knipp engineered a late touchdown drive and capped it with a scoring run.
Knipp finished with 16 rushing yards on four carries, went 8-for-15 passing for 48 yards, and had six tackles with a forced fumble on defense.
Running back Nic Fletcher led Jefferson with 82 rushing yards on 10 carries, added 52 yards on punt returns, and forced a fumble. Brogan Helle had 21 receiving yards, while Gomez and Gabriel Mugnier added 12 each.
Defensively, Liam Brumfield and Aidan Laughridge recorded five tackles apiece. Brumfield recovered a fumble, while Laughridge added a quarterback pressure. Tyson Helle had three tackles, and Luke Jackson contributed a tackle and fumble recovery.
