Oak Ridge Today

OR, AC players compete in Kentucky-Tennessee Border Bowl

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Brandon Bonds Forced Fumble

Oak Ridge Wildcat Brandon Bonds (81) forces a fumble in the first half of the Kentucky-Tennessee National Guard Border Bowl in Williamsburg, Kentucky, on Saturday, January 10, 2015. (Photos by Melissa Livesey)

 

Four players from Oak Ridge High School and Anderson County High School participated in the Kentucky-Tennessee National Guard Border Bowl in Williamsburg, Kentucky, on Saturday.

Oak Ridge senior Brandon Bonds—who played safety, wide receiver, and punt returner for the Wildcats—forced a fumble during the first half and recovered a Kentucky fumble in the second, said Melissa Livesey of ORHS Dance Cat Boosters.

Besides Bonds, other players who were picked to play were ORHS senior offensive lineman Isaac Chapman (Chapman also played on the defensive line for the Wildcats, especially toward the end of the season); and senior running back Matt Fox and defensive end Josh Edwards, both of Anderson County High School. [Read more…]

CHS offensive coordinator to take over Powell football program

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Information from WYSH Radio

Clinton High School football offensive coordinator Rodney Ellison has been named the new coach at Powell High School in Knoxville.

He previously was head coach at Wartburg for one season in 2011 before coming to Clinton, where he helped revitalize the Dragon program with an up-tempo, spread-style offense.

New Year, Same Results: Both Wildcat teams cut down rival Beavers

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Geevantay Gee of Oak Ridge Wildcats and Karns

Junior point guard Geevantay Gee (12) scored 11 points and was one of four Oak Ridge Wildcats in double digits against the Karns Beavers on Tuesday at Wildcat Arena. (Photos by Melissa Livesey)

 

In the first 2015 game at home for Oak Ridge, both teams had a familiar foe awaiting them: the Karns Beavers and Lady Beavers. Both sets of Beavers gave it their all, but neither could withstand the firepower of the Wildcats or Lady Wildcats.

Girls’ Team

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats had a tough time with their opponent for the first quarter of the game, but they soon woke up and clobbered the Lady Beavers of Karns by a score of 57-39. Early foul trouble by the Lady Beavers proved to doom them late in the game.

Karns came out of the gate and scored the first two points of the game. For the first six minutes, there would be seven lead changes and three ties. Both teams were back and forth, with neither one gaining the upper hand. [Read more…]

Lady Wildcats play William Blount Monday after defeating Loudon Saturday

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Courtney Ellison of Lady Wildcats

Lady Wildcat Courtney Ellison (10) was one of four players who scored in double digits against Loudon on Saturday. Ellison led all scorers with 12 points, and she made seven key free throws down the stretch. (Photos courtesy David Scott/Tom Scott)

 

By Coach David Scott

The Lady Wildcats defeated Loudon 55-50 on Saturday.

The Lady Wildcats (10-5, 5-1 in District 3-AAA) had four players in double figures. They were led by Courtney Ellison’s 12. Ellison made seven key free throws down the stretch. [Read more…]

Wildcats: Boys 0-2 in trip to Georgia, girls win in Lenoir City

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The Oak Ridge Wildcats picked up their first two losses of the season on Friday and Saturday at the Chick-Fil-A Invitational in Tucker, Georgia.

The boys’ basketball team lost 65-49 to the Tucker Tigers of Georgia on Friday and fell 57-49 to the Stephenson Jaguars of Georgia on Saturday. [Read more…]

Wildcats’ historic 14-0 season start ends in loss to Tucker, Ga.

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This season’s historic 14-0 start for the Oak Ridge Wildcats boys’ basketball team ended in a 65-49 loss to the Tucker Tigers of Georgia at the Chick-Fil-A Invitational near Atlanta on Friday.

The Wildcats, who are now 14-1 overall and 6-0 in District 3-AAA, advanced after the Friday night game to play Stephenson, Georgia, at 1 p.m. today (Saturday, December 27).

Closer to home, the Lady Wildcats will play the Loudon Redskins at 3:30 p.m. today in the Lenoir City Christmas Tournament. The Lady Wildcats are 4-9 overall and 1-2 in District 3-AAA.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Letter: Encourage residents, businesses to help support basketball broadcasts

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Letter to supporters of the Oak Ridge community and Oak Ridge High School basketball:

We are writing this letter to encourage any Oak Ridge basketball supporters and supporters of the community in general to consider a contribution to help get the games on the radio.

The Oak Ridge boys’ team—state runner-up in March and coached by Aaron Green—is off to a school record 14-0 start and is an exciting and fun TEAM to watch play. [Read more…]

Scout.com: Higgins a top playmaker in Class of 2017 in Tennessee

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Oak Ridge Wildcats Tee Higgins and Rhea County

A touchdown catch by sophomore wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) at 7:57 in the fourth quarter narrowed the Rhea County lead to 28-21 in the Class 5A quarterfinal playoff game on Nov. 21. Higgins led all receivers with 147 yards on six catches, but the Wildcats were eliminated from the playoffs in a 35-21 defeat. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Sports website Scout.com calls Oak Ridge Wildcats wide receiver Tee Higgins a top playmaker in the Volunteer State’s 2017 class.

“Tee Higgins can make a profound case of being the best wide receiver prospect in the Volunteer State and the top offensive playmaker in the state’s 2017 recruiting class,” the website said in a Monday article by recruiting analyst Danny Parker.

Several schools have taken early notice, Parker said, and Clemson, Georgia, LSU, North Carolina, and Tennessee have each offered Higgins a scholarship.

Read the Scout.com article for more on Higgins, a 6-foot-3 sophomore who also plays basketball: http://tennessee.scout.com/story/1494917-vols-in-early-on-tee-higgins.

Wildcats get first 14-0 start in OT win over Indians

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Geevantay Gee of Oak Ridge Willdcats and Dobyns-Bennett Indians

Oak Ridge Wildcats junior point guard Geevantay Gee (12) is surrounded by four defenders as he drives to the basket during a 68-67 overtime win over the Dobyns-Bennett Indians in Kingsport on Saturday. Gee scored 20 points before fouling out early in overtime. (Photo by Allen Greene Photography)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 21.

The Oak Ridge Wildcats boys’ basketball team started the season 14-0 for the first time after a one-point overtime win over the Dobyns-Bennett Indians in Kingsport on Saturday afternoon.

Sophomore guard E.J. Bush had a game-winning layup with about three seconds left in the four-minute overtime period, giving the Wildcats a 68-67 win. Bush, who ended the night with 13 points, scored all seven of the Wildcats’ points in overtime, after starters Geevantay Gee and Tee Higgins and junior center Darel Middleton had fouled out.

Oak Ridge was led by Gee, a junior point guard who scored 20 points, and Higgins, a sophomore shooting guard and small forward who had 14. [Read more…]

Dowdell scores 27 as Lady Wildcats beat Halls 82-41

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Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats Mykia Dowdell

Freshman post Mykia Dowdell (34) had 27 points for the Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats in a 82-41 win over the Halls Red Devils on Friday night. (Photos by Luther Simmons)

 

Freshman post Mykia Dowdell scored 27 points for Oak Ridge as the Lady Wildcats opened up a large lead in the second half of a 82-41 win over the Halls Lady Red Devils on Friday night.

The game was closer at halftime, when the Lady Wildcats were up 30-24. Dowdell led all scorers then with 11 points.

But Oak Ridge’s rebounding and defense improved in the second half, and the teamwork was better, Oak Ridge coach David Scott said. The Lady Wildcats scored 52 points in the second half alone.

Other leading scorers on Friday were Caelyn Thompson with 14 points, Princess Bates with 12, Courtney Ellison with 10, Jas Hembry with nine, and Destiny Kassner with seven. [Read more…]

Wildcats get game-saving block to stop Halls’ Moore, who had 34 points

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Oak Ridge Ted Mitchell and Halls Braxton Moore

Oak Ridge senior guard Ted Mitchell (4) had a game-saving block against Halls senior guard Braxton Moore (0) as time expired in a 58-56 win for the Wildcats on Friday. (Photos by Melissa Livesey)

 

Senior guard Braxton Moore of Halls scored 34 points and hit six three-point shots against Oak Ridge on Friday, but a game-saving block by Ted Mitchell in the final seconds preserved a 58-56 win for the undefeated Wildcats.

The Red Devils scored almost half of their points on three-point shots, knocking down nine of them for 27 points.

But Oak Ridge’s depth and the number of players it used—along with the critical stop with less than six seconds remaining—allowed the Wildcats to prevail and improve to 9-0 overall and 3-0 in District 3-AAA. [Read more…]

Football players add depth as Wildcats basketball improves to 8-0

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Darel Middleton

Darel Middleton

On Monday, Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said the football players who have started playing basketball showed a “little bit of rust” in a 75-36 drubbing of Clinton. By Tuesday, it appeared that those players had shaken off some of that rust in a more competitive 77-65 win over Powell.

The biggest improvement, at least in terms of scoring, came from 6-foot-6 junior center Darel Middleton, who was playing against his former team on Tuesday. On Monday at Clinton, Middleton had six points total, or less than one basket per quarter. On Tuesday at home against the Panthers, he had 18 points, a team high.

Middleton, who missed the opening games this season because of the football playoffs, also picked up six rebounds on Tuesday. Green said Middleton, who plays defensive end and wide receiver in football, is very athletic, can score inside, and is a great passer.

“His presence in there is a factor,” Green said. [Read more…]