Beavers Archives - Oak Ridge Today

Wildcats win district championship, then beat West in regional game

Posted at 3:34 pm February 26, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Wildcats won the District 3-AAA basketball championship with a 75-65 win over Karns on Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 3:20 p.m. Feb. 28.

Oak Ridge won the District 3-AAA basketball championship with a 75-65 win over Karns on Wednesday, and the Wildcats won a Region 2 quarterfinal game with a 78-63 victory over West at home on Sunday.

The Wildcats (25-5) will play Knoxville Catholic (25-6), the District 4 runner-up, in a regional semifinal at Wildcat Arena this evening (Tuesday, February 26).

Oak Ridge senior Marcus Smith scored 41 points during the championship win over Karns on Wednesday, with 26 points in just the fourth quarter. Eleven of those points were from free throws. Smith was named most valuable player of the district tournament.

On Sunday, Wildcats senior JaVonte Thomas scored 30 points in the Region 2 quarterfinal win over West at Wildcat Arena. Smith and Thomas have been the Wildcats’ top two scorers. Like Smith, Thomas was named to the District 3 All-Tournament Team last week.

The other semifinal game at Wildcat Arena this evening will feature Bearden (26-5), the District 4 champion, and Maryville (28-3), the number three seed from District 4. Oak Ridge is the only District 3 team in the regional tournament. [Read more…]

Basketball: Smith scores career-high 34 as Wildcats sweep Karns

Posted at 1:52 pm December 5, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge senior Marcus Smith (2) scored a career-high 34 points during an 82-65 win over Karns at Wildcat Arena on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Oak Ridge senior guard Marcus Smith (2) scored a career-high 34 points during an 82-65 win over Karns at Wildcat Arena on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Oak Ridge senior guard Marcus Smith scored a career-high 34 points as the Wildcats and Lady Wildcats swept Karns at home on Tuesday.

Smith also had eight rebounds and five assists during the 82-65 win over the Beavers at Wildcat Arena.

“I was really proud of Marcus,” Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said.

Eleven of his points were from the free throw line, where Smith was 11-of-15.

Oak Ridge senior guard JaVonte Thomas scored 18 points for the Wildcats (6-1, 3-0 District 3-AAA) and pulled down 10 rebounds. Senior guard Joe Kesterson added 10 points, with nine of those on three-point shots. Junior guard Isaiah Johnson scored eight, and sophomore forward Jeremy Miller had six points and 10 rebounds. [Read more…]

Football: Oak Ridge Wildcats 6-1 so far this season

Posted at 9:48 pm October 1, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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 football team is 6-1 so far this season.

The Wildcats have had three wins and no losses in Region 3-5A. They have defeated Campbell County at home and West and Karns on the road.

Their other three wins were in non-regional games, with victories at Hardin Valley, at home against Dobyns-Bennett, and at Sevier County.

Their one loss, a non-regional game, was to Farragut on Blankenship Field.

All three games remaining in the regular season are regional games: Clinton (1-5, 0-2); Powell (6-1, 3-1); and Fulton (5-1, 2-0).

Oak Ridge is off this week. They play at Clinton on Friday, October 12. Their final two games, against Powell and Fulton, will be at home on October 19 and 25.

Here is a summary of the first seven games. [Read more…]

Nine Wildcats score in 49-3 homecoming win over Karns

Posted at 6:55 pm September 30, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge junior wide receiver Kai’Reese Pendergrass (12) is tackled by Karns sophomore Trey Hawkins (7) during a 49-3 homecoming win for the Wildcats on Blankenship Field on Friday, Sept. 29, 2017. Also pictured are Oak Ridge seniors Jaycen McGhee (6) and Johnny Stewart (2). (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Nine Oak Ridge Wildcats scored in a 49-3 rout of Karns in the homecoming football game on Blankenship Field on Friday.

Seven different Wildcats scored touchdowns, and two kickers added extra points.

It was the third region win for Oak Ridge (5-2, 3-0 Region 3-5A) and the third straight win for the Wildcats.

The three remaining regular-season games are all region games:

Clinton (2-4, 0-2) at home on Friday, October 13;
at Powell (5-2, 2-2) on Friday, October 20; and
at Fulton (5-1, 2-0) on Friday, October 27.

The Wildcats do not play this coming week.

Oak Ridge finished with a season-high 324 yards rushing on 33 carries and five touchdowns on Friday. The previous high was 112 yards rushing against Farragut on September 8. That was the only other time this season that the Wildcats have had more than 100 yards rushing in a game. [Read more…]

Basketball: Wildcats, Lady Wildcats to play for district championships today

Posted at 11:26 am February 21, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

oak-ridge-huddle-coach-green-bradley-central-dec-31-2016-web

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats will play for the District 3-AAA basketball championship against Powell at 6 p.m. Tuesday, February 21, at Clinton High School. The Lady Wildcats are pictured above with Coach Paige Green in the championship game of the Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies Classic in Greeneville on Saturday, Dec. 31, 2016. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

CLINTON—The Oak Ridge Wildcats and Lady Wildcats will both play Powell for District 3-AAA championships today. The girls’ game starts at 6 p.m. Tuesday, February 21, at Clinton High School, and the boys’ game begins at 7:30 p.m.

The Lady Wildcats (25-3) advanced to the championship game by beating Anderson County 61-45 in a District 3-AAA semifinal game at Clinton on Saturday.

It’s the second year in a row that Oak Ridge is playing for the district championship. Last year, the Lady Wildcats won the title by beating Campbell County 52-34 at Anderson County High School. That was their first district championship since 2010.

Oak Ridge went on to play in the state tournament and finished as runner-up in Class AAA. [Read more…]

Young has another big night as Wildcats give Karns its first district loss

Posted at 9:00 pm January 4, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

oak-ridge-young-karns-basketball-jan-3-2017

Oak Ridge senior Tyshawn Young (4) had another big night for the Wildcats, scoring 27 points and pulling down 16 rebounds in a 97-68 win over Karns at Wildcat Arena on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017. Behind Young is Cole Cooper (34) of Karns. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

Oak Ridge senior Tyshawn Young had another big night on Tuesday as the Wildcats gave Karns its first district loss of the season.

Last week, Young scored 29 points, a personal best, during a 64-56 win over Science Hill in the Arby’s Classic in Bristol on December 27.

On Tuesday, he almost matched that, scoring a game-high 27 points during a 97-68 win over Karns. He also had 16 rebounds.

“He’s playing really, really well,” Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said.

Young said he was surprised by his 29 points against Science Hill.

“We’ve always had the ability to play well,” Young said. “It’s not unexpected. I’ve just got to step up and play harder.” [Read more…]

Football: Dragons rally on road, upend Beavers; AC falls to Fulton

Posted at 12:39 pm September 6, 2016
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Information from WYSH Radio

Clinton 29, Karns 26: The Dragons entered the fourth quarter of Friday night’s game at Karns down by a score of 26-14. Instead of packing it in, however, Clinton took over in the fourth quarter and rallied for a 29-26 win over the Beavers.

The young Dragons grew up a lot on Friday night, especially first-year starting quarterback, sophomore Luke Harrison, who led the Dragons’ comeback with two fourth-quarter touchdown tosses, one to Demarea Whitt and the game-winner to J’Quan Thomas with 5:08 to play.

From there, the defense held, and the Dragons won their first game of the season to improve to 1-2, 1-1 in Region 3-5A. [Read more…]

Wilson ties season record for pitching wins

Posted at 1:07 pm April 30, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Wildcats-Wilson-Campbell-County-April-27-2016

Oak Ridge senior Spencer Wilson (11) tied the season record for most pitching wins, 8, during a 12-2 rout of Campbell County at home on Wednesday, April 27, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Oak Ridge senior Spencer Wilson tied the season record for most wins by a pitcher on Wednesday.

Wilson picked up his eighth win in a 12-2 rout of Campbell County at Bobby Hopkins Park in Oak Ridge.

Wilson has a chance to break the 23-year-old record in the post-season, possibly as early as Friday. The record that he tied dates back to 1993, and it was set by Joe Fellers.

“That record means a lot to me,” Wilson said Saturday.

The Wildcats had a list of records posted during the pre-season, when they were training and weight lifting, and Wilson said he could tell the record for pitching wins was an old one.

“I’m going to target that one,” he decided. [Read more…]

Undefeated in district, Wildcats beat HVA, Karns; Senior Night is Friday

Posted at 11:15 pm April 28, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge senior forward Jose Rodriguez (11) challenges two Karns defenders during a 6-0 win for the Wildcats at home on Thursday, April 21, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge Wildcats, who remain undefeated in the district, had two good wins last week against Hardin Valley and Karns. They have one district game remaining; that’s against Clinton at home on Friday, which is Senior Night.

As the regular season comes to an end, the Wildcats (10-5, 7-0 District 3-AAA) also still face Maryville and Farragut. Both games are expected to be challenging.

The Oak Ridge-Hardin Valley game on Tuesday, April 19, was very tough, Coach Jeff Trombly said. Senior goalkeeper Joel Turner went out with a concussion in the first half after being kicked in the head, and he can’t play for at least two weeks, Trombly said.

Sophomore Austyn Lincoln, the backup goalkeeper, finished that 2-0 win for the Wildcats. [Read more…]

Baseball photos: Oak Ridge beats Karns, top district team; Senior Night tonight

Posted at 8:24 am April 27, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Wildcats beat the Karns Beavers, the number one team in the district, at home 4-3 in 11 innings on Tuesday, April 19, 2016. Pictured above is pitcher Spencer Wilson, who pitched the last nine innings. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 11:30 a.m.

The Oak Ridge Wildcats took down Karns, the top team in District 3-AAA, at home in 11 innings on Tuesday, April 19. Here are pictures from the game.

The Wildcats (14-14, 5-9 District 3-AAA) play at home tonight against Campbell County (2-24, 0-13). It’s Senior Night and the last district game of the season. Events start at 5 p.m.

“Pack the stands and rock the house to send off 2016’s Senior Wildcats as district play comes to an end,” the team said.

We’ll add more information to this story as we can. In the meantime, you can see baseball game highlights on the ORHS Baseball Twitter feed here.

Oak-Ridge-Garrison-and-Players-Karns-April-19-2016

Oak Ridge Coach Mark Garrison is pictured at right above with Spencer Wilson and Ian Campbell of the Wildcats during a 4-3 win over Karns at home in 11 innings on Tuesday, April 19, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

[Read more…]

Led by Gee, Wildcats win Region 2 championship; Bush named MVP

Posted at 10:44 pm March 3, 2016
By John Huotari 1 Comment

Wildcats-Gee-Shoots-3-Karns-March-3-2016

Oak Ridge senior point guard Geevantay Gee (12) led the Wildcats with a game-high 15 points, including three three-point shots, during a 70-40 win over Karns in the Region 2-AAA championship on Thursday, March 3, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 5:15 p.m.

Continuing a string of successes on the basketball court, the Oak Ridge Wildcats won the Region 2 championship in a 70-40 victory over Karns on Thursday. The boys’ regional win at home came one day after the girls won a Region 2 championship at Bearden.

This year, the two teams both won the District 3-AAA championships and the Region 2-AAA championships. It’s the first time that’s happened since 2008.

The Wildcats (34-2), the Region 2 champion, now move on to play David Crockett, the Region 1 runner-up, in a Class AAA sectional game on Monday. The winner advances to the state tournament. David Crockett (29-5) is one of only two teams that beat Oak Ridge this year.

“They are one of the better teams we’ve played all year,” Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said. “It’s going to be a tough game. It should be a tremendous basketball game. There’s a lot on the line.”

The Pioneers eked out a two-point 89-87 win over the Wildcats on two free throws in double overtime in the Arby’s Classic on December 29. [Read more…]

Powell gets more rebounds, but Wildcats get the win, going to Region 2 championship

Posted at 11:29 am March 2, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Powell had nine more rebounds than Oak Ridge and Coach Aaron Green wasn’t pleased with the defense, but the Wildcats battled to beat the Panthers for the fourth time this season, this time during a Region 2-AAA semifinal game at Wildcat Arena on Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Pictured above are Oak Ridge junior Tajion Jones (3) and Powell senior Conley Hamilton (34). (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Powell had more rebounds and Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green wasn’t pleased with the defense, but the Wildcats prevailed over the Panthers in a Region 2-AAA semifinal game with help from the 32 points of juniors E.J. Bush and Tee Higgins.

The 53-48 win in a playoff elimination game at Wildcat Arena on Tuesday sends Oak Ridge (33-2) to the Region 2-AAA championship game on Thursday. Oak Ridge will face Karns (22-7) for the fourth time this season. The Wildcats have won the previous three contests.

Tuesday’s game was the fourth time that Oak Ridge battled Powell (22-11) this season. The Wildcats won all four matches, a difficult feat, Green said. Two of the wins were in the regular season, one was in the District 3-AAA tournament, and the last was in the Region 2-AAA tournament on Tuesday.

It’s hard to beat a team four straight times, Green said. The Tuesday night game was the closest of the four this year.

“I told the guys the last two days this is going to be a dog fight,” Green said. “This is the toughest game of the year.” [Read more…]