Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge shuts out Rhea County in first round of playoffs

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Oak Ridge shut out Rhea County 42-0 in a first-round Class 5A playoff game on Blankenship Field on Friday, Nov. 2, 2018. Above, coach Joe Gaddis talks to the Wildcats after the game. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Oak Ridge shut out Rhea County 42-0 in a first-round Class 5A playoff game on Blankenship Field on Friday, Nov. 2, 2018. Above, coach Joe Gaddis talks to the Wildcats after the game. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10 a.m. Nov. 3.

Oak Ridge shut out Rhea County 42-0 in the first round of the Class 5A football playoffs on Blankenship Field on Friday.

“That was a complete game,” Oak Ridge Coach Joe Gaddis said. “It couldn’t have been more timely. No one has beaten them (Rhea County) like this.”

The Wildcats (9-2), a Region 3 team, advance to play at Soddy-Daisy (6-4), a Region 4 team, in the second round at 7 p.m. next Friday (November 9). Soddy-Daisy eliminated Clinton (a 4-7 Region 3 team) in another first-round game this Friday.

Winners of the second-round games advance to the state quarterfinals. The winner of the Oak Ridge-Soddy-Daisy game will play the winner of Catholic-Fulton in a quarterfinal game on Friday, November 16. [Read more…]

Football: Oak Ridge hosts Rhea County in first-round playoff game

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The Oak Ridge Wildcats walk down the stairs at Jack Armstrong Stadium before a 41-12 win over Dobyns-Bennett on Blankenship Field on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018. (Photo by Barry Houchin)

The Oak Ridge Wildcats walk down the stairs at Jack Armstrong Stadium before a 41-12 win over Dobyns-Bennett on Blankenship Field on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018. (Photo by Barry Houchin)

 

The Oak Ridge Wildcats will host Rhea County in a first-round Class 5A football playoff game today. The game will start at 7 p.m. Friday, November 2, on Blankenship Field in Oak Ridge.

The two teams last met in the playoffs four years ago, in November 2014, when Oak Ridge had a thrilling fourth-quarter comeback, narrowing a three-touchdown deficit to one. But the Wildcats were unable to make up for missed opportunities and turnovers and fell to the Golden Eagles 35-21 in a state quarterfinal playoff game. At 12-0, both teams were undefeated before the game, which made it a historic showdown on Blankenship Field.

This year’s Rhea County team has a losing record at 4-5 in Region 4, while the Wildcats are 8-2 and finished second in Region 3. [Read more…]

Cook teaches guitar, love of music at Oak Ridge Senior Center

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Wendall Cook teaches free group guitar lessons every Friday at 9 a.m. from January through the first week of October at the Oak Ridge Senior Center. (Photo by Savanna Schubert)

 

Wendall Cook has been playing guitar for more than 60 years. It began when he was growing up, listening to Elvis, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis. Cook started playing and singing with the help from his father, and it began with three chords on the guitar.

Now Cook has a class of his own. He has been giving group guitar lessons every Friday at 9 a.m. for more than 11 years. His group has grown from a small jam session of three people to four classes of more than 60 students ranging from beginner to advanced.

“We started from three people and they kept inviting people in—by the end of the year we had seven or eight,” Cook said. “I never have been a professional teacher, but I like to share.”

Cook’s passion for teaching can be seen just by sitting in on one class. His love for the music and the students are unparalleled. We spoke with a couple of Cook’s students about why they got started and how the group lessons have grown. [Read more…]

Honors: Former Wildcat receives national football honors, academic recognition

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James Normand and TTU Academic All Star Team

Former Oak Ridge Wildcat James Normand received national honors when he was named to a football academic all-star team earlier this year, and he was also among the scholar-athletes who helped the football team at Tennessee Tech record its second-highest GPA last semester.

Normand is a graduate offensive lineman for the Golden Eagles in Cookeville. In January, he and junior running back Stephen Bush were selected to the 16th annual Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association (FCS ADA) Academic All-Star Team.

The two Golden Eagle standouts were included on the 43-player team that was chosen by a panel from among 90 nominees, Rob Schabert, TTU Golden Eagles assistant athletic director for sports information, said in early January. The announcement was made at the site of the FCS Championship game. [Read more…]