The Oak Ridge boys’ and girls’ basketball teams both won their second games of the regular season on Friday.
The boys (2-0) beat Bearden (2-1) 66-63 at the Stone Memorial Thanksgiving Showcase at Stone Memorial in Crossville.
The Wildcats play McCallie at the showcase at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Crossville. [Read more…]
Pictured above from left are Oak Ridge senior basketball players Tee Higgins, Tajion Jones, Anthony Gibson, Tyshawn Young, and E.J. Bush. (Photo by Oak Ridge High School boys basketball)
Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins will play basketball this year, his senior year.
Higgins, a Class AAA Mr. Basketball finalist last season, confirmed his decision on Friday.
“The band is officially back together for one last tour,” the Oak Ridge Wildcats basketball team posted on Twitter, sharing a picture of Higgins with seniors Tajion Jones, Anthony Gibson, Tyshawn Young, and E.J. Bush.
Higgins had earlier planned to not play basketball in order focus on football. He’s a wide receiver who has committed to Clemson. He’s a Mr. Football finalist again this year.
The 6-foot-5, 190-pound senior has been one of the most dynamic players for the Wildcats on the basketball court and, for fans, one of the funnest players to watch. Higgins played as a freshman on the 2014 runner-up team in the state championship game, and since then, he’s been a key part of the team and a regular starter and a top scorer. He had picked up basketball scholarship offers from Tennessee, Louisville, Auburn, and others. Earlier this year, he said he was no longer considering playing basketball in college, although he had considered playing both sports. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge basketball teams open the 2016-2017 regular season at Christian Academy of Knoxville, or CAK, today.
The Lady Wildcats’ game is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. today, Thursday, November 17. The Wildcats’ game begins at 7:30 p.m.
CAK, a Class AA school, is at 529 Academy Way in Knoxville. (Oak Ridge is Class AAA.)
Information from WYSH Radio
Clinton High School football coach Josh Kerr has resigned after six years on the Dragons’ sideline.
Kerr took over in 2011 and led the Dragons to back-to-back playoff appearances in 2014 and 2015, but he saw the team finish 1-9 this past season. Kerr’s record as Clinton’s coach was 18-44. Kerr informed his players of his departure Friday afternoon.
On Monday, Kerr talked a little about his decision to step down, citing the fact that he has two young daughters and a son on the way in the spring. He said he wants to take a step back and spend a little more time being a father. He plans to continue coaching but indicated he is not interested in being a head coach at this time. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge senior Jake Etheridge led the Wildcats, finishing 11th in the Class AAA boys’ cross country meet at Percy Warner Park in Nashville on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Led by senior Jake Etheridge, the Oak Ridge Wildcats finished third in the state boys’ cross country meet on Saturday. Etheridge, a senior, was the 11th-place runner.
Here are pictures from the meet, which was at Percy Warner Park in Nashville. [Read more…]
Led by senior Jake Etheridge, third from right, the 11th-place individual runner, the Oak Ridge Wildcats finished third in the state boys’ cross country meet in Nashville on Saturday. Pictured from left are Christian Borden, Reid Dukes, Jose Villegas, Will Jeter, Etheridge, Daeton Byars, and Dalton Morgan. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
NASHVILLE—Led by senior Jake Etheridge, the Oak Ridge Wildcats finished third in the state boys’ cross country meet on Saturday.
Etheridge finished 11th among the 181 top male runners from across Tennessee in the large Class AAA high schools. His time was 16:18.72.
The other top four runners among the seven Wildcats who competed were:
The scores of the top five runners on each team are included in the team score. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge senior wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) catches a 17-yard pass from junior quarterback Johnny Stewart before falling backward into the end zone for a touchdown near the left pylon, putting the Wildcats ahead of the Clinton Dragons 42-7 with 2:57 left in the first half at Clinton on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016. Higgins is defended here on his second TD catch by Clinton senior J’Quan Thomas (5). (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 12:30 p.m.
He won the Mr. Football award last year, and Oak Ridge High School senior Tee Higgins is a semifinalist again this year.
The semifinalists were announced by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association, or TSSAA, on Friday.
Higgins is one of four semifinalists for Division I Class 5A Back of the Year. The other three semifinalists are Caden Harbin of Halls High School in Knoxville, Jordan Mason of Gallatin High School, and Jacob Murprhee of Dickson County High School.
Higgins, a 6-foot-5 wide receiver who has committed to Clemson, had 59 catches for 901 yards and 17 touchdowns during the regular season. A wide receiver who also plays cornerback and punt returner, he’s also returned at least one interception—he had a 90-yard return against Webb—and at least two punts for touchdowns this season.
Higgins had two interceptions that led to Oak Ridge touchdowns in the season-opener against Clinton, and he became the all-time leader in career receiving yards for the Wildcats during that game.
The first-round playoff game between Oak Ridge and Walker Valley will start at 7 p.m. Friday, November 4, on Blankenship Field. Oak Ridge Coach Joe Gaddis talks to the Wildcats after a 28-0 region championship win at Campbell County on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The first-round playoff game between Oak Ridge and Walker Valley will start at 7 p.m. Friday, November 4, on Blankenship Field.
The gates open at 5:30 p.m. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
All tickets are $8. No passes will be honored. There is no charge for pre-schoolers.
No pass lists will be honored, according to information from Oak Ridge High School. Everyone must pay.
Tickets are on sale in the Main Office at ORHS until 2 p.m. Friday and at The Ferrell Shop in Jackson Square. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins won’t play basketball for the Wildcats this season in order to focus on football. Higgins (5), who was then a junior, scored 25 points for the Wildcats in a double-overtime 87-85 quarterfinal loss to David Crockett in the Arby’s Classic basketball tournament in Bristol on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015. (Photo by Allen Greene/TriCitiesSports.com)
Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins, a standout in football and basketball, confirmed on Sunday that he won’t play basketball for the Wildcats this season in order to focus on football.
Higgins is a wide receiver who has committed to Clemson. He had posted on Twitter on Friday that it was his decision to not play basketball this year.
For the record everyone, it was my decision not to play basketball this year.👌🏾
— Tee Higgins (@teehiggins5) October 28, 2016
Higgins, who was listed as 6’5″ and 190 pounds earlier this football season, has been one of the most dynamic players for the Wildcats on the basketball court. He has had the ability to fire up crowds with powerful dunks. (One dunk at Gibbs in December got the attention of ESPN.) Higgins played as a freshman on the 2014 runner-up team in the state championship game, and since then, he’s been a key part of the team and a regular starter, with some memorable clutch free throws and three-point shots in big basketball games.
Higgins was regularly one of the top scorers for the Wildcats, and he was one of three Class AAA Mr. Basketball finalists earlier this year. (You can see the list of finalists and winners here.) He had picked up basketball scholarship offers from Tennessee, Louisville, Auburn, and others, according to PrepXtra at the Knoxville News Sentinel. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge sophomore Tre Jackson (6) ran for 99 yards and two touchdowns during a 28-0 region championship win at Campbell County on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
JACKSBORO—Oak Ridge won the regional championship and secured home-field advantage to start the playoffs with a 28-0 win at Campbell County on Thursday.
The Thursday night shutout win followed two disappointing losses this month, one at McMinn County and the other at Webb. Both games were decided by four points or less.
After giving up 393 yards at Webb a week earlier, the Wildcats (8-2, 5-0 Region 3-5A) held the Cougars to 183 yards of total offense in the regular-season finale on Thursday.
The defense played great, Oak Ridge Coach Joe Gaddis said.
“Nobody has really shut them down like we did tonight, and no one has come close to shutting them out,” Gaddis said. “Tonight, we were ready to play.” [Read more…]
Genevieve Schwartz of Oak Ridge, right, finished 10th in the Region 2-AAA girls’ cross country race at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016. Behind Schwartz is Jenna Wall of Hardin Valley Academy, who finished eighth. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
KNOXVILLE—The Oak Ridge girls’ cross country team ran its best race of the year but finished fourth in the region on Thursday, just missing the cutoff to advance to the state meet next Saturday.
Only the top three teams in the Region 2-AAA meet at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville on Thursday advanced to the state meet in Nashville next Saturday.
However, Oak Ridge junior Genevieve Schwartz finished 10th in the 5,000-meter, or 5k, race. Anyone who finishes in the top 10 and is not on a qualifying team advances to state.
The top three girls’ teams in the Region 2 meet were West, Farragut, and Hardin Valley. West, a Knoxville school, had the top two runners, Lindsey Stallworth and Madeline Shook.
Anderson County and Hardin Valley each had two runners in the top 10, and like Oak Ridge, Farragut had one.
It will be the first trip to state for Schwartz, who finished with a time of 20:36.90. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge senior Jake Etheridge finished first in the boys’ race in the Region 2-AAA cross country meet at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
KNOXVILLE—Oak Ridge senior Jake Etheridge and the boys’ cross country team finished first in the Region 2-AAA meet in Knoxville on Thursday, and they will race in the state meet next Saturday.
It’s the third regional championship in a row for the boys’ team. It’s the second year in a row for Oak Ridge to have the top male racer. Gashaw Duhamel, who ran for Oak Ridge as a senior last year, was the top runner last year.
The boys’ cross country team finished as state runner-up in 2015. Brentwood, a Nashville area school, was state champion with two of the three top runners (one a sophomore and one a junior), and that team is considered a favorite again this year. Other top teams this year include Daniel Boone of upper East Tennessee, which has been a strong team, and Wilson Central of Nashville.
Etheridge led the entire 5,000-meter, or 5k, run during the Region 2-AAA meet at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville on Thursday.
“I got out hard, and I kept going,” said Etheridge, who finished with a time of 16:27.87. That was about 13 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher, Seth Bowden of Maryville High School. [Read more…]
