Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge ranked third in AP high school football poll

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Oak Ridge Wildcats Football Helmet

The Oak Ridge Wildcats (8-1) are ranked third in Class 5A in this week’s Associated Press high school football poll.

Coming in at the top two spots are Independence (9-0) at number one and Hendersonville (8-1) at number 2.

Oak Ridge moved up from number seven last week.

Farragut (8-1), which beat Oak Ridge 31-14 on September 4, is number four, and Sevier County (8-2), which lost to the Wildcats 44-34 on September 24, is number six. Farragut moved up from number eight last week, and Sevier County moved up from number 10.

See the complete poll results for Class 1A to Class 6A on the Tennessean website here.

Three Wildcats named to All-State Football Team; Fox of AC also picked

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Oak Ridge Wildcats Brandon Bonds and Rhea County

Senior safety Brandon Bonds (81) and another Wildcat wrap up Rhea County running back Cody Bice on Blankenship Field on November 21, 2014. “The people that came before us never gave up, and we never give up,” Bonds said. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Three Oak Ridge Wildcats—Brandon Bonds, Tee Higgins, and Jemiah Hall—were named to the 2014 Tennessee Sports Writers Association All-State Football Team.

Bonds is a senior wide receiver, safety, and punt returner. Higgins is a sophomore wide receiver. Hall is a senior cornerback. [Read more…]

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…]

Goal-line stop saves Wildcats’ win, sends Oak Ridge to Class 5A quarterfinals

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Oak Ridge Wildcats Tommy Kaczocha and Cleveland Blue Raiders

Oak Ridge safety Tommy Kaczocha (4) tackles Cleveland wide receiver Isaiah Beaty (10) in a 10-6 second round Class 5A playoff win at Blankenship Field on Friday night. Kaczocha, a senior, had five tackles, two assists, an interception, and a blocked pass. Also pictured is junior linebacker Adam Manookian (35), who led the Wildcats with eight tackles and 10 assists. (Photos by Julio Culiat) 

 

Note: This story was last updated at 2 p.m.

The whole season boiled down to these last four plays. Down by only four points, Cleveland had the football on a first-and-10 at the Oak Ridge 11-yard line with 1:17 left to play.

The Wildcats were ahead 10-6, but the Blue Raiders only needed a touchdown to take the lead—and end Oak Ridge’s season in the second round of the Class 5A playoffs.

But a crucial goal-line stop at Blankenship Field on Friday night preserved the win for the undefeated Wildcats. They now move on to the quarterfinals, playing against Rhea County at home next Friday and setting up a showdown between two 12-0 teams. [Read more…]

TSSAA approves football regional realignments for 2015, 2016

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Information from WYSH Radio

On Thursday, the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association Board of Control finalized its realignment of the state’s high school football teams, and there are plenty of changes affecting local teams.

The state’s new Class 6A will be made up of the 31 largest schools in the state by enrollment, except for Maryville, which successfully petitioned the state to move from 5A to 6A. All 32 6A teams will qualify for the postseason, while the remaining Division I classifications will send the top four finishers in each region to the postseason.

The realignment will remain in effect for at least the next two academic years, beginning in 2015.

Locally, the Clinton Dragons are in the new Region 3-5A with Campbell County, Oak Ridge, Farragut, Karns and Lenoir City. Anderson County has moved to Class 4A and will play in Region 2 with Fulton, Carter, Catholic, Central, and Union County. The list of regions served by this radio station is below, with local teams in italics. [Read more…]

Wildcats to play Soddy-Daisy in first round of football playoffs

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Oak Ridge Wildcats Football Helmet

The Oak Ridge Wildcats (10-0) will play the Soddy-Daisy Trojans (4-6) in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs on Friday, November 7. The game starts at 7 p.m. at Blankenship Field in Oak Ridge.

Pairings for the football playoffs for the 2014 Division I BlueCross Bowl were posted on the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association website on Saturday.

Thirty-two teams will compete in 16 games in the Class 5A playoffs next Friday. Winners advance to the second round on November 14.

Other District 3-AAA teams in the playoffs are Anderson County (8-2), Campbell County (8-2), Clinton (7-3), Knoxville Central (5-5), and Gibbs (5-5). [Read more…]

AP prep football poll: Anderson County still No. 3, Oak Ridge moves into Top 10

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Note: This story has been updated to correct the date of the Oak Ridge-Anderson County football game.

Information from WYSH Radio

The Associated Press high school football polls for this week were unveiled Monday.

Here is a look at the teams from East Tennessee who are ranked this week.

In Class 6A, Maryville remains #1, with Science Hill at #6 and Dobyns-Bennett #9.

In Class 5A, Knoxville West (5-1) stays in first place, while the Anderson County Mavericks (7-0) remain at #3. South Doyle (6-0) is #7 in Class 5A, and Oak Ridge (6-0) made its debut in the poll this week at #10. [Read more…]

Anderson County rallies in second half without Fox to win 32-27

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Information from Jim Harris/WYSH Radio

CLINTON—Anderson County trailed 21-7 at halftime at home Friday night, but outscored South Doyle 25-6 in the second half, despite being without leading rusher Matt Fox (ankle).

Mavericks quarterback Tyler Hicks picked up the slack, scoring three rushing touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with just over two minutes to play. Hicks finished the second round Class 5A playoff game with 131 yards, including 114 in the second half.

Anderson County (11-1) will host Knox West (11-1) in the state 5A quarterfinal Friday night.

Wildcats fall in first round of playoffs to East Hamilton 25-10

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Oak Ridge Wildcats and East Hamilton Hurricanes

Hunter Parker, left, of East Hamilton knocks down a pass in front of Blake Goins, center, and Ted Mitchell of the Wildcats as the Hurricanes eliminate Oak Ridge from the Class 5A playoffs during a first-round game in Ooltewah on Friday. (Photos by Julio Culiat)

OOLTEWAH—The Oak Ridge Wildcats’ first season under returning Coach Joe Gaddis ended in a 25-10 loss to the East Hamilton Hurricanes on Friday.

The first-round playoff game on a cold night in Ooltewah was relatively close until the end of the third quarter, when the Hurricanes gained a 16-10 lead and started to pull away.

Oak Ridge struggled on offense throughout the game and had “no spark,” Gaddis said. The Wildcats finished the night with 183 total yards on offense, compared to 289 for the Hurricanes. [Read more…]

Wildcats to play East Hamilton in Chattanooga in first-round playoff game

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Oak Ridge Wildcats and Farragut Admirals

The Oak Ridge Wildcats, pictured above at Farragut earlier this year, will travel to Chattanooga to take on the East Hamilton Hurricanes in a first-round playoff game on Friday.

The Oak Ridge Wildcats (7-3) will take on the East Hamilton Hurricanes (8-2) in Chattanooga on Friday in the first round of the Class 5A football playoffs. The game starts at 7 p.m.

Meanwhile, the Anderson County Mavericks (9-1) will stay at home to battle the Cherokee Chiefs (5-5) from Rogersville.

The 2013 playoff brackets were announced Saturday morning by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association, or TSSAA. The Class 5A bracket is available here. [Read more…]