Oak Ridge Today

Football: Oak Ridge remains at No. 2 in Class 5A; Farragut moves up to No. 5

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Information from WYSH Radio

The Associated Press high school football polls for this week were released on Monday, and once again, East Tennessee is well-represented across the board.

In Class 6A, Maryville remains number one with Bradley Central representing East Tennessee as well at number four.

The Class 5A polls is dominated either by teams from our coverage area or those teams they could face in the postseason. Oak Ridge remains at number two, while Farragut moved up to number five after their win at Campbell County last week. Rhea County slipped to number six, McMinn County—which hosts Oak Ridge Friday—is number seven, with Campbell County falling three spots to number eight and Knox West hanging in the top 10 at number 10.

See the rest of the story on WYSH Radio for more information.

WYSH Radio in Clinton is an Oak Ridge Today news partner.

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…]

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…]

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…]

Wildcats show promise in third, fall to Rebels in fourth

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Oak Ridge had a strong third quarter, scoring twice against Maryville and tying a Friday night second-round playoff game at 25.

But it wasn’t enough. The top-ranked Rebels answered with two touchdowns of their own in the fourth quarter and beat the Wildcats 39-25.

The Wildcats were down 25-10 at halftime, but the football team mounted a comeback in the third quarter with a 16-play drive and an interception by quarterback Rian Hall.

But the momentum shifted back to Maryville and its running game in the fourth quarter, and Hall was injured and had to leave the game with a little more than eight minutes to play.

It was the second match-up between the Wildcats (10-2) and Rebels (12-0) this year. Oak Ridge lost both, one during the regular season and the second during Friday night’s Class 6A playoff game in Maryville.

The Rebels will play the Dobyns-Bennett Indians (12-0) in Maryville next week.

Oak Ridge beat Science Hill 35-28 in a first-round playoff game last week.

The Wildcats finished the regular season 9-1, the best since 2005, and the football team was undefeated in the district and also district champions.

Hall touchdown propels Wildcats to 35-28 playoff victory

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Oak Ridge Wildcats Play Science Hill

Oak Ridge Wildcats quarterback Rian Hall, pictured at center above trying to outrun Science Hill defenders, rushed for a game-winning touchdown with 29.8 seconds to play in a first-round playoff game on Friday.

A six-yard touchdown run by Oak Ridge quarterback Rian Hall with 29.8 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter broke a tie Friday night and propelled the Wildcats to an exciting 35-28 first-round playoff victory over Science Hill.

Hall’s game-winning run followed a crucial 12-yard catch by Wildcats receiver Robert Valdez on a fourth-and-4 play with 1:02 left to play at Blankenship Field.

Oak Ridge (10-1) had a few two-touchdown leads during the game—ahead 21-7 in the second quarter and 28-14 in the third—but the Hilltoppers (9-2) rallied back behind Science Hill quarterback Reed Hayes to tie the game at 28 with 3:38 remaining.

“Tonight, we had to fight for everything, every first down, every yard,” Oak Ridge coach Scott Blade said, calling it an incredible game between two good teams.

The Wildcats travel to Maryville next week to play the top-ranked Rebels in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs. Maryville, which gave Oak Ridge its only loss during the regular season, eliminated Hardin Valley 42-10 on Friday.