Oak Ridge Today

Football: Wildcats win when Hardin Valley misses extra point in final minute

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Oak Ridge quarterback Johnny Stewart (2) runs against Hardin Valley during a 21-20 win on Blankenship Field on Friday, Aug. 18, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Oak Ridge quarterback Johnny Stewart (2) runs against Hardin Valley during a 21-20 win on Blankenship Field on Friday, Aug. 18, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge Wildcats won a close one-point game against Hardin Valley Academy on Friday night when the Hawks missed an extra point with 21.5 seconds left in the season opener.

The Hawks scored in the final minute after Oak Ridge junior linebacker Jeremy Mitchell dropped a Hardin Valley player in the backfield, and the football came loose. There was a scramble for the ball near the goal line, and it squirted into the end zone, where Hardin Valley recovered it for a touchdown. The Hawks then trailed by just one point, 21-20.

They had a chance to tie the game at 21 with an extra point, and they had a chance to take the lead with a two-point conversion.

A few extra point attempts by Hardin Valley were waived off due to penalties, including one on a try that was no good and bounced down to Blankenship Field off the crossbar on an Oak Ridge offsides.

The final attempt went wide left, and Oak Ridge kept its 21-20 lead with 21.5 seconds remaining.

Hardin Valley, a Class 6A team, used an onsides kick to try for one final score in the final seconds of the non-region game. But Oak Ridge, a Class 5A team, recovered and only had to take a knee to run out the clock. [Read more…]

Wildcats race to quick 35-0 start again, this time against Karns

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Oak Ridge senior wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) caught two passes for touchdowns for the Wildcats during a 56-6 win over Karns on Blankenship Field on Friday, Sept. 30, 2016. One was a 56-yard reception on the Wildcats’ first offensive play, and the second was a 33-yard catch. Higgins is defended here by Karns senior Jefferson Holt (19). (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Like they did a week earlier, the Oak Ridge Wildcats again raced to a quick 35-0 start on Friday. The undefeated Wildcats scored their first four touchdowns in their first nine plays during a 56-6 win over the winless Karns Beavers.

Last week, against Sevier County, the Wildcats rolled to a 35-0 lead in the first quarter.

This week, against Karns, they jumped out to a 35-0 lead by early in the second quarter, on Senior Night on Blankenship Field. Like last week, the scoring pace slowed after that.

Oak Ridge held Karns to 65 yards on offense.

The Wildcats again scored on their first offensive play, this time on a 56-yard pass from junior quarterback Johnny Stewart to senior wide receiver Tee Higgins, a Clemson commitment who was left undefended in the middle of the field.

Higgins scored again late in the first quarter on a 33-yard touchdown pass from Stewart. [Read more…]

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

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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…]

Johnson scores 25 as Wildcats advance to district championship Tuesday against Karns

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Oak Ridge senior forward Javien Johnson (11) scored a game-high 25 points during a 72-46 win over Powell in a District 3-AAA semifinal at Anderson County High School on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 7:45 p.m.

CLINTON—Oak Ridge senior forward Javien Johnson scored a game-high 25 points in a 72-46 district tournament semifinal win over Powell on Saturday. The Wildcats advance to play Karns in the District 3-AAA championship on Tuesday.

The Wildcats (30-2) held the Panthers to six points in the first quarter and three points in the third on Saturday. But they allowed 21 points in the second.

“We quit guarding them in the second,” Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said.

But the Wildcats responded well in the second half and played better defense, Green said.

The District 3-AAA semifinal at Anderson County High School on Saturday was the third meeting this year between Oak Ridge and Powell (20-10). The Wildcats have won all three games. [Read more…]

Karns makes 14 three-point shots in win over Clinton, advances to play Central

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Karns sophomore K.J. Hawkins (3) scored a game-high 21 points during a 70-58 win over Clinton in a District 3-AAA tournament game on Friday, Feb. 19, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

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

CLINTON—Karns made 14 three-point shots and sophomore K.J. Hawkins scored 21 points in a 70-58 win over Clinton in the District 3-AAA tournament on Friday. Hawkins made five of the three-pointers for the Beavers.

Karns (19-6) hit eight three-point shots in the first half alone, compared to two for Clinton. The Beavers added six more in the second half.

Karns moves on to play Central (20-9) in a District 3-AAA semifinal game at Anderson County High School at 6 p.m. Saturday. The Beavers also secured a spot in the Region 2 tournament with their win over Clinton on Friday.

Besides Hawkins, Karns had three other players in double digits. Senior Devin Harper and Cartez Campbell both scored 14, and junior guard Taylor Everett added 11. [Read more…]

Wildcats escape with 72-68 win at Karns

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Oak Ridge junior Tee Higgins (5) scored a game-high 18 points during a 72-68 win at Karns on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

KARNS—Karns threatened to tie the game in the final minute and possibly upset the fourth-ranked Wildcats, but Oak Ridge escaped with a 72-68 win over the Beavers on Tuesday.

Oak Ridge led by as many as 16 points with more than six minutes left in the fourth quarter, but Karns whittled the lead down to two points, 70-68, with 1:04 remaining. Quincey Sibley of Karns, who finished with 11 points total, scored 10 of them in that 20-6 run, which lasted five minutes.

After a timeout with 45.7 seconds left, Oak Ridge (18-1, 6-0 District 3-AAA) had the ball with the two-point lead. But the Wildcats turned it over with 35.9 remaining.

That gave the Beavers, who were most productive in their 23-point fourth quarter, a chance to tie the game and possibly even take the lead. [Read more…]