Oak Ridge Today

Wildcats outscore Cougars 33-13 in second quarter to take 75-42 win

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Wildcats-Campbell-County-Jan-12-2016

The Oak Ridge Wildcats outscored Campbell County 33-13 in the second quarter on their way to a 75-42 win at Wildcat Arena on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016. Junior Tajion Jones (3) tied junior E.J. Bush for the game-high 15 points. Also pictured above is Oak Ridge junior Tee Higgins (5). (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

It started as a low-scoring basketball game, but Oak Ridge outscored Campbell County 33-13 in the second quarter to take a 75-42 win at home on Tuesday.

The Wildcats were led by junior guards Tajion Jones and E.J. Bush, who each had 15 points. Senior forward Javien Johnson had a game-high seven rebounds. And junior guard DeAndre Gibson hit four more three-point shots.

The Wildcats (20-2, 8-0 District 3-AAA) are undefeated in the district, and they play another district game at Clinton on Friday, January 15. Oak Ridge beat Clinton (11-6, 3-4) by 85-51 in their first meeting on December 1.

Bush opened the scoring early in the first quarter on Tuesday, giving Oak Ridge a 2-0 lead at 7:40 in the first quarter. No one scored again until halfway through the quarter, when Johnson hit two free throws, giving the Wildcats a 4-0 lead at 4:21. [Read more…]

High school hoops round-up Jan. 8, 9

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Information from WYSH Radio

It was another busy weekend of local high school basketball.

On Friday at Clinton, the Anderson County Lady Mavericks pulled away from Clinton to win 45-29 in round one of the girls’ edition of the Crosstown Showdown.

Anderson County (5-12, 4-3 District 3-AAA) was led by Klarissa Roberts, who scored 11 points, and Brooklin McCoy, who tallied nine points and nine rebounds. [Read more…]

High school basketball scores from Tuesday

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Information from WYSH Radio

Tuesday night, regular season high school basketball play resumed after the Winter Break, and here is an update on how some area teams fared.

Powell girls 41, Clinton 28: After a sluggish start by both teams, Powell woke up first in the second quarter and built a large lead that they were able to protect down the stretch. Clinton fell to 2-16 and 1-5 in District 3-AAA despite 14 points and 14 rebounds from Kelley Wandell and five points and 10 boards from fellow senior Katie Starnes.

Powell boys 57, Clinton 54: The Dragons’ fourth-quarter rally came up short on the road, and they fell to 11-6 and 2-4 in District 3-AAA. Tyler Thackerson and J’Quan Thomas each tallied 13 points to lead Clinton, which was once again victimized by poor free-throw shooting. [Read more…]

Five Wildcats score 10 or more in 85-51 win over Clinton

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Oak Ridge junior Tajion Jones (3) led the Wildcats with 22 points in an 85-51 win over Clinton at Wildcat Arena on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Five Wildcats scored 10 points or more as Oak Ridge beat Clinton 85-51 in the first district game of the basketball season on Tuesday.

The Wildcats (8-0, 1-0 District 3-AAA) were led by junior Tajion Jones, who scored 22 points, including on four three-pointers. Jones also had three rebounds.

Junior Tee Higgins, who was named most valuable player in a basketball tournament in the Bahamas on Thanksgiving weekend and was named Mr. Football in Class 5A in Tennessee two days later, on Monday, finished with 16 points. Higgins knocked down three three-pointers in the third quarter, and he also had five rebounds and six assists.

Oak Ridge hit nine three-point shots, compared to one for Clinton. That’s a difference of 24 points. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge beats Soddy Daisy 45-33 on big plays, turnovers

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Oak Ridge Jordan Graham and Soddy Daisy on Nov. 5, 2015

Oak Ridge freshman running back Jordan Graham (30) had two touchdowns, including one on a kickoff return and another on a 50-yard run, during a 45-33 win over Soddy Daisy in the first round of the Class 5A football playoffs on Blankenship Field on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2015. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10:25 a.m.

Oak Ridge beat Soddy Daisy 45-33 on big plays and turnovers in the first round of the 2015 Class 5A football playoffs on Blankenship Field on Thursday.

The Wildcats (10-1) will travel to Ooltewah (9-2) on Friday, November 13, for a second round game. The Owls, who are ranked eighth, beat the Clinton Dragons (4-7) in another first-round game on Thursday to advance to play Oak Ridge.

The Wildcats, who are ranked third, had another big night on defense and special teams. Oak Ridge senior Davon Middleton intercepted one Trojans pass in the end zone to stop one Soddy Daisy drive deep in Wildcat territory, and he later deflected a third-down pass near the goal line to help end another.

Junior wide receiver Tee Higgins and freshman running back Jordan Graham also had big nights. They each had two touchdowns for Oak Ridge.

One of Graham’s touchdowns came on the opening kickoff of the second half. The small, speedy freshman broke tackles and curled from the left side of the field—after it looked like he had been stopped—to the right before racing 88 yards to score on a run that took 25 seconds to complete. Graham ended the night with the two touchdowns, including one on a 50-yard run, and 154 yards on eight carries. [Read more…]

Football: Wildcats-Soddy Daisy playoff game moved to Thursday

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The first-round playoff game between Oak Ridge and Soddy Daisy has been moved to Thursday because of thunderstorms forecast for Friday night, athletic officials said.

The football game will start at 7 p.m. Thursday, November 5, on Blankenship Field in Oak Ridge. Tickets are $8.

Other games, including the Clinton-Ooltewah game at Ooltewah, have also been moved to Thursday.

See more information about the football playoffs and a link to the Class 5A bracket here.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Copyright 2015 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

WYSH: Clinton-Ooltewah football playoff game moved to Thursday

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(From our news partner WYSH Radio in Clinton) The Clinton-Ooltewah playoff game has been moved to 7 p.m. Thursday due to the threat of severe weather in Ooltewah on Friday night.

Oak Ridge will play at home on Blankenship Field at 7 p.m. Friday against Soddy-Daisy. You can read more and find a link to the Class 5A football playoff bracket here.

Dragon rally runs out of time as CHS falls to Farragut 45-39

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Information from WYSH Radio

Clinton ran out of time to complete its comeback against Farragut on Friday, but the Dragons did serve notice that they will not be rolling over for anyone as the playoffs begin Friday, November 6.

Farragut outlasted the Orange and Black 45-39.

It was Senior Night at Clinton High School, and senior quarterback Tyler Thackerson turned in another “Thackersonian” performance, accounting for 616 total yards and six touchdowns. Thackerson completed 41 of his 60 pass attempts for 538 yards and four touchdowns, while adding 78 yards rushing on 22 carries and two more scores.

All four of Thackerson’s scoring passes went to J’Quan Thomas, who caught 18 passes for 271 yards. His 18 receptions tied him for third-most in a single game in Tennessee high school football history. [Read more…]

Coaches agree: Oak Ridge peaking at right time, headed into playoffs

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Oak Ridge Wildcats and Campbell County Cougars Oct. 30, 2015

The Oak Ridge Wildcats defense stifled the Campbell County Cougars’ running game on Friday, Oct. 30, 2015, allowing only 33 yards rushing on Blankenship Field. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:15 a.m.

The two football coaches agreed: Oak Ridge is peaking at the right time, late in the season and headed into the playoffs.

After a decisive 62-6 win over Webb last week, the Wildcats celebrated a 45-6 rout of Campbell County on Friday on Blankenship Field. That win ensured Oak Ridge (9-1, 4-1 Region 3-5A) will play at home next week against Soddy Daisy, a Region 4 team, in the first round of the playoffs. The game starts at 7 p.m. on Friday, November 6, on Blankenship Field.

The Wildcats, the No. 2 seed, shut out the Cougars (5-5, 3-2) at home in the first half on Friday, October 30. The score at halftime was 45-0. Campbell County, the No. 3 seed, scored after Oak Ridge put in reserves in the second half.

“There is no doubt this is the best team we’ve played,” Campbell County Coach Justin Price said. “They’ve improved tremendously as the season went on.”

Since losing to Farragut 31-14 on September 4, Oak Ridge has outscored its opponents 327-75 in seven games. That’s an average of about 47 points per game for the Wildcats. [Read more…]

Dura-Line investing more than $25 million, adding 70 jobs at new manufacturing facility, R&D center

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Dura-Line, a communication and energy infrastructure manufacturer, is opening a new manufacturing facility and research and development center in Clinton, investing more than $25 million and creating 70 new jobs, state officials said Tuesday. The jobs will include engineering, research and development, and manufacturing jobs.

The announcement was made Tuesday by Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Randy Boyd and Dura-Line officials.

The 86,800-square-foot Clinton facility will function as a research and development, or R&D, center for new techniques for making high-density polyethylene, or HDPE, conduit products used by the telecommunications industry to house fiber optic cable. Dura-Line will conduct research and development that will help the company grow its business worldwide and will also manufacture select high-technology products at the Clinton location. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge plays Halls in district volleyball semifinals, championship game follows

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2015 District 3-AAA Volleyball Tournament

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats will play Halls in the semifinals of the 2015 District 3-AAA Volleyball Tournament at Halls today.

The semifinal game starts at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, October 7. The championship game starts at 7 p.m.

Anderson County and Gibbs are playing in the other semifinal game at 5:30 p.m. today.

The Lady Wildcats beat Powell 3-0 in a quarterfinal game on Tuesday to advance to the semifinals.

Here is more information on the high school volleyball tournaments, courtesy of our news partner WYSH Radio in Clinton: [Read more…]

Clinch River Antique Festival in Clinton this weekend

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Clinch River Antiques Festival

The Clinch River Antiques Festival in 2012 is pictured above. (Photo by Carl Warner)

 

The annual Clinch River Antique Festival is on Friday and Saturday in Clinton.

The 15th annual festival includes a kick-off party and “Cruze-In” on Friday, October 9, and the Antique Street Festival on Saturday, October 10.

The kick-off party in Historic Downtown Clinton is from 6-9 p.m. Friday. Admission and parking are free, and there will be entertainment and three cash giveaways at 7, 8, and 9 p.m.

The Antique Street Festival is from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. The festival features antique and artisan dealers and antique apprasier Joe Rosson. You can shop, and there will be food and entertainment. There will also be a re-enactment of the Burr-Hamilton duel. [Read more…]