Fulton downs Pioneers in 4A

By Jesse Smithey

smitheyj@knoxnews.com

KNOXVILLE — Micah Pitchford finally discovered the elation of a November victory.

Only a freshman logging mop-up minutes during Fulton High School’s 2007 run to a state runner-up finish, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Pitchford is playing a major role now.

He had five catches for two touchdowns and 80 yards against visiting East Ridge on Friday night, and teammate Dametrius Thomas added 121 yards rushing in the Falcons’ 30-14 first-round win the Class 4A playoffs.

“It feels good to win my first playoff game,” Pitchford said.

Fulton (8-3) missed the postseason last year for the first time since 1992. Next week the Falcons will travel to Red Bank (11-0), which beat Gibbs 48-8 on Friday. Fulton coach Buck Coatney had no reservations about playing away from Knoxville.

“You don’t have the distractions of sitting around. You get on the bus and travel,” Coatney said. “So, we welcome it.”

East Ridge (7-4) never mustered a passing game to balance its rushing success — finishing 0-for-9 with two interceptions. BreVante King was a bright spot, rushing for 125 yards and two scores. He was nearly unstoppable out of the wildcat package.

“We’ve been working on that the last couple of weeks,” East Ridge coach Mike Martin said. “We were saving it for the right time.”

Brad McKeehan kicked a 25-yard field goal on Fulton’s opening drive of the second half for a 24-7 lead. But King, who gave East Ridge its first-half touchdown on a 4-yard run, added a 3-yard touchdown with 4:54 left in the third. He carried four times in the seven-play drive for 52 yards.

East Ridge’s Donnie Garner intercepted Fulton quarterback Ben Winters, who played almost perfectly in the first half, with 11 seconds left in the quarter. The East Ridge possession lasted until the 6:02 mark in the fourth.

It ended in disaster. King had a touchdown run wiped off by penalty. Josh Francisco’s 32-yard field goal was hooked left.

Thomas sealed the win for Fulton with 30-yard touchdown run, but Fulton’s pass game got it done early. Fulton staked a 21-7 halftime lead behind Winters’ 85 yards and three touchdowns on 8-for-9 passing.

Four plays after Fulton recovered East Ridge’s fumble on the opening kick, Winters hit Pitchford on a 6-yard touchdown pass.

The Pioneers shanked a punt on their ensuing possession, and Winters made them pay with a 35-yard scoring strike to Pitchford with 6:18 left in the first quarter.

Winters, also a linebacker, intercepted a East Ridge pass with 5:25 before the break and returned it 20 yards to the Pioneers’ 10. He found Javonte Cotner for a 8-yard touchdown pass on third-and-goal.