Oak Ridge Today

Butch Jones, UT football coach, to be special guest at Blankenship Field fundraiser

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Martin McDonald and Butch Jones at Blankenship Field on Sept. 18, 2015

University of Tennessee Volunteers Coach Butch Jones, right, is pictured above with Oak Ridge High School Principal Martin McDonald at Blankenship Field on Friday, Sept. 18, 2015. (File photo courtesy Martin McDonald)

 

University of Tennessee football coach Butch Jones will be the special guest at a July 11 fundraiser for Blankenship Field.

Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally will also be there. So will board members of the Blankenship Field Revitalization Foundation.

The fundraiser will start at 11:30 a.m. July 11 in the banquet room of the DoubleTree Hotel on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge. Tickets are $100 per person for this buffet lunch, and they include an opportunity to hear from Jones, an event notice said. [Read more…]

Higgins, who had committed to UT, re-opens recruitment in football, basketball

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Wildcats Tee Higgins Catch at Ooltewah Nov. 13, 2015

Oak Ridge junior wide receiver Tee Higgins announced on Twitter on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016, that he is re-opening his recruitment for basketball and football. Above, Higgins (5) makes a catch during a 26-17 loss at Ooltewah in a second-round Class 5A playoff game on Friday, Nov. 13, 2015. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:06 p.m.

Oak Ridge junior wide receiver Tee Higgins announced on Twitter on Thursday that he is re-opening his recruitment for basketball and football.

Higgins, who received a Mr. Football award in November, had announced in August that he had officially committed to play football at the University of Tennessee.

In his Twitter post on Thursday, Higgins said he has spent a lot of time thinking and talking to his mother and coaches about the decision.

“I’ve been thinking for a long time about this, and I’ve finally decided that I will be re-opening my recruitment for basketball and football,” the 6-foot-5 junior said. “Tennessee is not out of the conclusion, and I consider them a priority. But for me to make the best decision and eliminate questions later, I have to look at other opportunities.” [Read more…]

Photos: Butch Jones, Zach Azzanni watch basketball at Wildcat Arena

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Joe-Gaddis-Zach-Azzanni-Holly-Ric-Cross-Jan-29-2016

Oak Ridge Wildcats Football Coach Joe Gaddis, left, sits with Zach Azzanni, University of Tennessee Volunteers wide receivers coach, during an Oak Ridge-Gibbs basketball game at Wildcat Arena on Friday, Jan. 29, 2016. Basketball player Tee Higgins, a 6-foot-5 junior and wide receiver, has committed to play football at UT. Also pictured in front above are Holly Cross and Ric Cross. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

University of Tennessee Volunteers football coach Butch Jones was at the Friday night Oak Ridge-Gibbs basketball game. So was UT wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni.

Oak Ridge junior Tee Higgins, who plays basketball and football, has committed to play football for the UT Volunteers. Although the two football coaches couldn’t say why they were at Wildcat Arena, the Friday night game gave them an opportunity to see Higgins play.

Here are pictures by John Huotari of Oak Ridge Today. [Read more…]

Wildcats sweep Gibbs, but Butch Jones steals the show

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Butch-Jones-Wildcat-Arena-Jan-29-2016

University of Tennessee Coach Butch Jones, left, watches the Oak Ridge Wildcats play basketball at home on Friday, Jan. 29, 2015. Tee Higgins, a junior guard, has committed to play football at UT. Higgins is a wide receiver. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:25 a.m.

The Oak Ridge Wildcats swept Gibbs at home on Friday, but University of Tennessee football coach Butch Jones stole the show.

Although they couldn’t discuss why they were there, Jones and Zach Azzanni, UT wide receivers coach, were at Wildcat Arena on Friday to watch 6-foot-5 junior Tee Higgins. Besides playing basketball well, Higgins is also a wide receiver, defensive back, and kick returner who has committed to play football for the UT Volunteers. He was named Tennessee Titans Mr. Football in November, recognized as Back of the Year in Class 5A.

Jones and Azzanni also attended a Wildcats football game in the fall, when Oak Ridge beat Lenoir City 55-15 on September 18.

When Jones arrived at the basketball game on Friday, the excited student section—many of them dressed in Volunteer orange—began singing “It’s great to be a Tennessee Vol, I said, it’s great to be a Tennessee Vol!” [Read more…]

Four inducted into Oak Ridge Sports Hall of Fame

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Butch Jones, Dave Moore, and Regina Kirk at Blankenship on Sept. 18, 2015

University of Tennessee Volunteers football coach Butch Jones, left, is pictured with former Oak Ridge High School athletes Dave Moore and Regina Kirk on Homecoming Night on Blankenship Field on Friday, Sept. 18, 2015. Moore and Kirk were inducted into the Oak Ridge Sports Hall of Fame. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Four former Wildcat athletes were inducted into the Oak Ridge Sports Hall of Fame at halftime on Homecoming Night on Friday, September 18, at Blankenship Field.

The four were picked by the board of the Oak Ridge Sports Hall of Fame. They are:

  • Lowell Wilson—1953, track, football;
  • Dennis Strickler—1968, tennis;
  • Dave Moore—1972, football; and
  • Regina Kirk—1984, basketball.

The 2015 class covers four different sports in four different decades.

A reception with refreshments was held at the Soup Kitchen following the game.

Here are photos of the inductees on Homecoming Night, when the Wildcats played Lenoir City, as well as a brief summary of their athletic careers. [Read more…]

Photos: Oak Ridge and Lenoir City football

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Wildcats Jordan Graham Touchdown and Panther

With UT Coach Butch Jones watching from the sidelines, Oak Ridge freshman running back Jordan Graham (30) runs for his third touchdown, a 60-yard sprint, in a 55-15 win over Lenoir City on Homecoming Night at Blankenship Field. Blocking at right are senior Darel Middleton (9) and junior Tee Higgins (5). Middleton and Higgins both had TD catches on Friday, Sept. 18, 2015. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Led by the three touchdowns of freshman Jordan Graham, the Oak Ridge Wildcats beat the Lenoir City Panthers 55-15 on Homecoming Night at Blankenship Field on Friday. Here are photos from the Friday night game, with all but one by Julio Culiat. [Read more…]

Wildcats freshman scores three TDs in 55-15 win over Lenoir City

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Wildcats Jordan Graham Touchdown and Panther

With UT Coach Butch Jones watching from the sidelines, Oak Ridge freshman running back Jordan Graham (30) runs for his third touchdown, a 60-yard sprint, in a 55-15 win over Lenoir City on Homecoming Night at Blankenship Field. Blocking at right are senior Darel Middleton (9) and junior Tee Higgins (5). Middleton and Higgins both had TD catches on Friday, Sept. 18, 2015. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:15 p.m. Sept. 19.

Wildcats freshman running back Jordan Graham scored three touchdowns, including one on the opening kickoff return and another in front of University of Tennessee Coach Butch Jones, during a 55-15 win over Lenoir City on Homecoming Night at Blankenship Field on Friday.

“It was a great experience,” Graham said. He gave credit to his teammates and their blocking for setting up his first three Wildcats touchdowns.

Graham, who ended with more than 100 yards rushing, started the scoring on a 91-yard kickoff return on the first play of the game. He initially fumbled the ball, but he recovered his own fumble and raced to the Panther end zone, first making defenders miss and then outrunning them.

Graham, a small, fast 14-year-old, scored again at 5:51 in the second quarter, sweeping around the right side of the offensive line after a toss from senior quarterback Jordan Dunbar, weaving through defenders in the center of the field, and running 59 yards to score inside the left pylon, making it 21-8. [Read more…]

UT football coach helps ORNL kick off United Way campaign

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Butch Jones at ORNL United Way Kickoff

Fans of University of Tennessee football and supporters of the United Way had a chance to see UT coach Butch Jones, right, on Monday at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s United Way campaign kickoff. (ORNL photo by Jason Richards)

University of Tennessee football coach Butch Jones helped Oak Ridge National Laboratory kick off this year’s United Way campaign on Monday morning.

“United Way means everything,” Jones said after discussing leadership—and football—with several hundred workers at ORNL. “It’s a great way to give back to your community.”

He said United Way agencies help about 100,000 people in the Knoxville area. [Read more…]