Football: Wildcats improve to 4-2 with win over Sevier County

 

The Oak Ridge Wildcats improved to 4-2 for the season with a 30-14 win over Sevier County at home on Blankenship Field on Friday.

The Wildcats are now 2-0 in Region 3-5A. Their remaining four games are all region games.

After their season-opening win at home against Hardin Valley, the Wildcats:

• lost 28-25 in a non-region game at Dobyns-Bennett in Kingsport on August 25,
• won 17-15 in their first region game at Campbell County on September 1,
• were shut out 41-0 at Farraugt, a non-region opponent, on September 8, and
• won their second region game, 23-13, over West at home on September 15.

The win over Sevier County this past Friday night was the second straight win for the Wildcats.

Here are the four games remaining, all Region 3-5A games:

• at home against Karns (2-4, 0-3) on Friday, September 29;
• at home against Clinton (2-3, 0-1) on Friday, October 13;
• at Powell (5-1, 2-1) on Friday, October 20; and
• at Fulton (4-1, 2-0) on Friday, October 27.

All games start at 7:30 p.m.

Here are highlights of the season so far:

Defense, special teams score 16 against Sevier County

Defense and special teams scored 16 points for Oak Ridge against Sevier County, all in the first quarter. That turned out to be the margin of victory.

Scoring first for the Wildcats, Oak Ridge senior defensive back Jaycen McGhee returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown on the fourth play of Sevier County’s opening drive. After the extra point by senior Carson McGhee, the Wildcats led 7-0 at 10:55 in the first quarter.

The Smoky Bears (3-3, 2-0 Region 2-5A) responded by driving 74 yards in 17 plays to score on their second drive. Helped by Oak Ridge encroachment and pass interference penalties inside the Wildcats’ 15, Sevier County scored on a one-yard touchdown run by senior Jeffrey Bersch. The game was tied 7-7 at 5:03 in the first quarter.

The Wildcats scored a safety about four minutes later, with roughly a minute left in the first quarter, when a high Sevier County punt snap went over senior Charlie Martinez and into the end zone, where Martinez was tackled by Oak Ridge senior linebacker Adarius Simpson.

Sixteen seconds later, Oak Ridge junior Kai’Reese Pendergrass returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown. After the extra point, the Wildcats led 16-7 at 1:02 in the first quarter.

Oak Ridge scored again about halfway through the third quarter on a 57-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Johnny Stewart to junior wide receiver Jeremy Mitchell at the left sideline.

Sevier County answered about two minutes later on a 23-yard pass from freshman quarterback Cam Burden to junior wide receiver Colin Russell, who got behind the Wildcats defense in the left corner of the end zone. After the extra point, the score was 23-14 with 4:32 left in the third quarter.

Stewart scored the final time for Oak Ridge on a seven-yard quarterback keeper at 9:35 in the fourth quarter. The final score was 30-14.

It was the third year in a row Oak Ridge has beat Sevier County, which finished as state runner-up in Class 5A in 2015.

The Wildcats finished with 344 total yards (85 rushing, 259 passing), compared to 243 for the Smoky Bears (100 rushing, 143 passing).

Stewart completed 12 of 20 passes (60 percent) for 259 yards, with three interceptions and one touchdown.

Burden was 13 of 34 (38.2 percent) for 143 yards, with two interceptions and one touchdown for the Smoky Bears.

Mitchell had two catches for 73 yards and one touchdown for Oak Ridge, and senior Caleb Martin had four catches for 51 yards.

Junior running back Jordan Graham was out with an injury, and Stewart led the Wildcats in rushing with 18 carries for 42 yards and one touchdown.

On defense, Mitchell had five tackles and four assists. Sophomore linebacker Jacob Adams had four tackles, four assists, and a sack; sophomore defensive back Jack Replogle had three tackles, four assists, a sack, and a blocked pass; and senior linebacker Cobe Angel had one tackle, four assists, and two sacks, according to preliminary statistics by Mark and Shawna Haste.

In other defensive highlights, McGhee had the early interception for the touchdown, Simpson had a sack and a blocked pass, and junior Herbert Booker had an interception.

See preliminary game statistics by Mark and Shawna Haste here.

See preliminary rushing stats here.

See preliminary passing stats here.

See preliminary receiving stats here.

See preliminary tackle stats here.

 

 

Wildcats bounce back with win over West

After being shut out at Farragut a week earlier, the Wildcats bounced back with a win at home over West on Friday, September 15. It was the second region win of the season for Oak Ridge.

This game was scoreless for most of the first half, with West dominating time of possession in the first two quarters, when both teams had field goal attempts go wide left.

Oak Ridge scored late in the second quarter, on an eight-play, 70-yard drive that ended with a six-yard touchdown pass from Stewart to Pendergrass in the right side of the end zone with 23 seconds remaining.

The Wildcats scored again on the opening drive of the second half, with help from a 29-yard pass hauled in by senior wide receiver Caleb Martin at the right sideline and, five plays later, a 49-yard touchdown reception by Jaycen McGhee, who got behind a West defender at the left sideline. The extra point was blocked, and the score was 13-0 at 8:59 in the third quarter.

The Wildcats scored again five minutes later on a field goal by Carson McGhee after Oak Ridge recovered a punt return bobbled by West at the Rebels’ six-yard line.

Oak Ridge opened up a 23-0 lead on its next drive, which covered 56 yards in 12 plays, when Stewart scored on a three-yard run up the middle at 9:23 in the fourth quarter.

But West answered with its first touchdown less than two minutes later on a five-play drive that ended with a screen play starting near midfield to senior Trariq Hardin.

The Rebels scored again with 1:56 remaining on a two-yard run by senior running back Preston Wardell. But West was unable to convert on a two-point conversion play, and the final score was 23-13.

Oak Ridge Coach Joe Gaddis said the Wildcats had won the two most important games of the season, the two region games against Campbell County and West. The Wildcats made catches in the second quarter that they hadn’t made in the first quarter, Gaddis said, and they started throwing and catching better as the game progressed.

It was a great win after the shutout at Farragut, Gaddis said, and the Oak Ridge defense, which has “been big all year,” played great for most of the game.

The Wildcats had 264 total yards (64 rushing, 200 passing), compared to 269 for West (37 rushing, 232 passing).

West is new to Oak Ridge’s region this year. The Rebels are now 3-3 and 1-1 in Region 3-5A.

See preliminary game statistics by Mark and Shawna Haste here.

See preliminary rushing stats here.

See preliminary passing stats here.

See preliminary receiving stats here.

See preliminary tackle stats here.

 

 

Oak Ridge shut out for first time since 1993

Before Farragut, Oak Ridge had played in 298 games without being shut out, dating back to a 1993 game played against Riverdale, according to Wildcats broadcaster David Clary.

Oak Ridge gave the Admirals their only loss last season before Farragut went on to win the Class 5A state championship, beating Independence 45-35 on December 2.

This year, Farragut scored in the first quarter against Oak Ridge on a 19-yard run by junior Kyle Carter, who finished with 83 rushing yards. The Admirals added seven more in the second quarter after a seven-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Gavin Wilkinson to senior wide receiver Braden Collins just before halftime. Wilkinson threw for 268 yards, and Collins had nine catches for 166 yards.

The Admirals scored again at the start of the third quarter at the end of a four-play drive that covered 72 yards in just over a minute and ended with a one-yard run by junior Isaiah Gibbs.

They recovered an Oak Ridge fumble at the Farragut 15 and converted that into an Admirals touchdown six minutes later, opening up a 28-0 lead at 2:11 in the third quarter. Carter swept right, then straight ahead, cartwheeling into the end zone for the touchdown.

A few possessions later, Oak Ridge was driving again at the Farragut 28, but the Admirals intercepted the Wildcats and ran it in for a touchdown, widening their lead to 35-0 in the fourth quarter.

 

Farragut added a final score after reserves had come in for both teams, striking on a 21-yard touchdown pass from junior Jake Evans to sophomore Alec Keathley with about one minute remaining, making the final score 41-0.

After the game, Gaddis cited the two turnovers inside the Farragut 15 as well as a dropped touchdown pass.

“We’ve got to learn from this,” Gaddis said. “We made a ton of mistakes. We’re better than this.”

The offense didn’t execute as well as it needed to in order to beat Farragut, Gaddis said. The defense played well, except for missed tackles in the first quarter, he said.

“We just didn’t execute, and some of it was just unforced errors,” Gaddis said. (Oak Ridge had also fumbled on its opening drive, on a first-and-10 from the Farragut 22.)

The Admirals had about twice as many yards as Oak Ridge, 540 to 236. Farragut had 300 yards through the air and 240 on the ground, compared to 124 passing yards and 112 rushing yards for Oak Ridge.

Farragut was in Oak Ridge’s region the past two years, but the Admirals are in Class 6A this year. Farragut is now 6-0 and 2-0 in Region 1-Class 6A.

See preliminary game statistics by Mark and Shawna Haste here.

See preliminary rushing stats here.

See preliminary passing stats here.

See preliminary receiving stats here.

See preliminary tackle stats here.

 

Wildcats earn first region win at Campbell County

The Wildcats won their first region game at Campbell County on September 1.

Among the highlights: Stewart threw for 211 yards and two touchdowns; Mitchell had four catches for 76 yards; and Martin had six catches for 60 yards and two touchdowns.

The Cougars scored first on a 10-play, 61-yard drive that ended with a five-yard pass play at the right pylon with about one minute remaining in the first quarter. Campbell County was not able to score on the point after.

The Cougars added three more points on a field goal from the Oak Ridge 6 early in the second quarter, and after a missed Wildcats field goal with 16.3 seconds remaining, the Cougars led 9-0 at halftime.

But Oak Ridge narrowed the Campbell County lead to 9-7 on its second drive of the second half, scoring on a 19-yard pass from Stewart to Martin in the right side of the end zone about midway through the third quarter.

The Wildcats scored on another pass from Stewart to Martin on their next possession, again in the right side of the end zone, this time with 3:12 left in the third quarter.

Oak Ridge increased its lead to 17-9 on a field goal of about 36 yards by Carson McGhee at the end of the third quarter. That score followed a Campbell County turnover on a pass tipped by Oak Ridge junior defensive lineman T.J. Johnson and intercepted by sophomore linebacker Jacob Adams.

Campbell County possessed the ball most of the fourth quarter and drove 89 yards to score on a quarterback keeper by Zach Rutherford. But Pendergrass broke up the two-point conversion, and the final score was 17-15 in favor of Oak Ridge.

The Wildcats played well on defense, and after struggling in the first half, Oak Ridge was a different team in the second half, Gaddis said.

“Johnny (Stewart) took control,” Gaddis said. “He finds people under duress…and delivers the ball. Johnny’s our leader.”

Martin said it was probably the best game he’s had.

Despite being down in the first half, “we just came out and executed the plays our coaches drew up for us,” Martin said. “We kept a level head.”

As a leader with a lot of young players, Stewart said, “I feel like I’ve got to lead them, get them up.” Stewart could be heard rallying his teammates on the field in the first half.

In the second half against Campbell County, Oak Ridge found two to three plays that worked, Stewart said.

The Wildcats had 283 yards total offense (72 rushing, 211 passing), compared to 250 for Campbell County (53 rushing, 197 passing).

The Cougars are now 4-1 and 0-1 in Region 3-5A. Campbell County last beat Oak Ridge in 2013.

See preliminary game statistics by Mark and Shawna Haste here.

See preliminary rushing stats here.

See preliminary passing stats here.

See preliminary receiving stats here.

See preliminary tackle stats here.

 

 

More information will be added as it becomes available.

See more photos from the Oak Ridge-Dobyns-Bennett game here.

See more photos from the Oak Ridge-Farragut game here.

See more photos from the Oak Ridge-West game here.

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