Oak Ridge Today

Basketball: Wildcats beat West in rematch

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

After a close district loss at West earlier this month, the Oak Ridge Wildcats beat the Rebels by 17 points, 55-38, in a rematch at home on Friday.

The loss at West earlier this month, on January 10, was the only district loss of the season for the Oak Ridge boys.

The Wildcats were led in the win over the Rebels on Friday by Grayson Strader, Ray’Quan Watson, and Kaden Brightharp, who each had 11 points, according to Prepradio.com broadcaster David Clary.

Oak Ridge is tied with Karns for best record in District 3-4A, where both teams are 7-1. However, the Wildcats have a win over the Beavers, a narrow 67-64 victory at Karns on January 13.

The two teams will meet again next week, this time at Wildcat Arena. That game will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

[Read more…]

Basketball: Lady Wildcats undefeated in district

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats are undefeated at 8-0 in their district, District 3-4A, and the girls have only two district games remaining in the regular season.

Oak Ridge defeated West at home on Friday, 59-12. The Lady Rebels are 0-8 in the district.

The Lady Wildcats were led Friday by Ze’Yana Stewart with 16 points and Lindsay Cleveland with 10, according to Prepradio.com broadcaster David Clary.

The Lady Wildcats’ next game is at home on Tuesday against Karns, which is second in the district with a 6-1 record. The game will start at 6 p.m. at Wildcat Arena.

[Read more…]

Oak Ridge, others cheering for Higgins in Super Bowl

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak-Ridge-Higgins-TD-Catch-Clinton-Thomas-Aug-18-2016-Web-Cropped
Oak Ridge wide receiver Tee Higgins (5), who was then a senior, catches a 17-yard pass from junior quarterback Johnny Stewart before falling backward into the end zone for a touchdown near the left pylon, putting the Wildcats ahead of the Clinton Dragons 42-7 with 2:57 left in the first half at Clinton on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016. Higgins is defended here on his second TD catch by Clinton senior J’Quan Thomas (5). (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

People in East Tennessee and others across the country will be cheering for former Oak Ridge Wildcat Tee Higgins in the Super Bowl this evening (Sunday, February 13), and another former Wildcat, Zach Witherspoon, will be on the sidelines.

Higgins is a standout wide receiver who played for Oak Ridge and Clemson University, and he is playing in his second season for the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals (10-7-0) play the Los Angeles Rams (12-5-0) at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. The game will be broadcast on NBC at 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Coverage of Super Bowl 2022 will air live on NBC and Peacock starting at 12 p.m. Eastern.

The Bengals advanced to the Super Bowl by defeating the Kansas City Chiefs 27-24 in overtime on January 30, with a game-winning 31-yard field goal by rookie kicker Evan McPherson. You can watch highlights of that game here and here, and read a scoring summary here.

[Read more…]

Wildcats lose to undefeated Greeneville

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Note: This story was updated at 12:30 a.m.

Oak Ridge lost 35-9 to the undefeated Greeneville football team on Friday.

The Wildcats (2-5, 2-1 Region 3-5A) made some improvements. But it wasn’t enough against the Greene Devils, who remained undefeated overall (8-0) and in Region 1-4A (4-0).

Greeneville, about 90 minutes east of Oak Ridge, scored four of their five touchdowns in the first half. Junior quarterback Brady Quillen run for three touchdowns and threw for two, according to The Greeneville Sun.

The Wildcats scored their only touchdown about halfway through the third quarter.

Oak Ridge was visiting Greeneville for the first time since 1947, according to Wildcats broadcaster David Clary, who operates Prepradio.com.

Both teams have played in recent state championship football games. Oak Ridge finished as state runner-up in Class 5A in 2020, while Greeneville won the state championship in Class 4A in 2018.

[Read more…]

Baseball: Oak Ridge plays Campbell County in elimination game

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Karns defeated Oak Ridge 13-3 in the first round of the District 3-AAA baseball tournament on Thursday.

David Clary, sports broadcaster for Oak Ridge at Prepradio.com, said Wildcats senior Matthew Swigert scored one run against Karns and knocked in two more.

[Read more…]

Basketball: Wildcats play in sectional game Monday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge won the District 3-AAA championship game 76-61 against Clinton at Wildcat Arena on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. (Photo by Zack James/used with permission)

They won the District 3-AAA championship game against Clinton. They advanced to the Region 2 championship game by defeating West and Maryville in quarterfinal and semifinal games.

On Thursday, in the championship game, they finished second in the region, losing 55-52 to Bearden after narrowing a 15-point Bulldogs lead late in the third quarter to one point late in the fourth.

Tonight, Monday, March 8, the Oak Ridge Wildcats (26-5) will play for a chance to compete in the state basketball tournament. They will travel to Dobyns-Bennett (25-4) in Kingsport in upper East Tennessee for one of eight Class AAA sectional games across the state. The winners of the sectional games advance to the state tournament in Murfreesboro, and the season is over for the losers.

[Read more…]

Basketball: Lady Wildcats win district championship, defeat Farragut

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats won the District 3-AAA championship with a 52-43 win over the Powell Lady Panthers at Wildcat Arena on Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. (Photo by Luther Simmons/used with permission)

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats won the District 3-AAA championship with a 52-43 win over Powell on Monday. They advanced to a Region 2-AAA semifinal game with a 67-58 quarterfinal win over Farragut on Friday.

It was the sixth consecutive district championship win for the Lady Wildcats.

Oak Ridge (21-4), which is coached by Paige Taylor, will host Maryville (23-5) in the semifinal game at Wildcat Arena on Monday.

With their district championship win on Monday, the Lady Wildcats finished first in the District 3-AAA tournament. That meant they played the fourth-place team in District 4, Farragut, in the Region 2 quarterfinal on Friday.

[Read more…]

Lady Wildcats win fourth straight district championship

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats won their fourth straight district basketball championship with a 47-40 win over Campbell County at Karns on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats won their fourth straight district basketball championship with a 47-40 win over Campbell County at Karns on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

KARNS—The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats won their fourth straight district basketball championship with a 47-40 win over Campbell County at Karns on Tuesday.

The girls rallied from a nine-point 24-15 deficit in the second quarter to take a lead that they didn’t give up at the end of the third quarter. The Lady Wildcats outscored the Lady Cougars 10-5 in the final quarter to expand their margin.

Oak Ridge senior Jada Guinn was named most valuable player of the District 3-AAA tournament, which was played at Karns High School. Guinn has been named district tournament MVP three of the past four years: 2016, 2018, and 2019.

“It feels good,” Guinn said after the Tuesday night win. She said the competitive Campbell County game helped prepare Oak Ridge for the next level, which includes the Region 2-AAA tournament that starts today (Friday, February 22). [Read more…]

Guinn a finalist for Miss Basketball

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge senior Jada Guinn (24) has passed 2,000 points total scored for the Lady Wildcats, and she set a single-game scoring record of 45 points at Karns on Monday, Jan. 28, 2019. Guinn is pictured above shooting a free throw during a 81-24 win at Clinton on Friday, Jan. 24, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Oak Ridge senior Jada Guinn (24) has passed 2,000 points total scored for the Lady Wildcats, and she set a single-game scoring record of 45 points at Karns on Monday, Jan. 28, 2019. Guinn is pictured above shooting a free throw during a 81-24 win at Clinton on Friday, Jan. 24, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge senior Jada Guinn is a finalist for Miss Basketball in Class AAA in Tennessee.

The three finalists were announced Thursday. Besides Guinn, the finalists for Miss Basketball in Class AAA are Madison Hayes of East Hamilton High School and Jayla Hemingway of Houston High School.

Guinn was, as of several games ago, averaging 23 points per game this year, seven rebounds per game, four assists per game, and three steals per game, according to Miss Basketball nomination information posted by broadcaster David Clary. She scored 24 points or more in the first half of two recent games: 27 at the half at Karns on Monday, January 28, and 24 at the half at Clinton on Friday, January 25. She’s had several recent games where she has scored more than 30 points, with 32 at Clinton that Friday and 34 against Halls at Wildcat Arena on January 8.

Guinn scored 32 points against Campbell County on Friday, February 1, when Oak Ridge defeated the Lady Cougars 74-44 after losing to them 49-48 in November. Guinn scored 32 in that earlier game also. [Read more…]

Basketball: Guinn passes 2,000 points, sets single-game record of 45

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge senior Jada Guinn (24) has passed 2,000 points total scored for the Lady Wildcats, and she set a single-game scoring record of 45 points at Karns on Monday, Jan. 28, 2019. Guinn is pictured above shooting a free throw during a 81-24 win at Clinton on Friday, Jan. 24, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Oak Ridge senior Jada Guinn (24) has passed 2,000 points total scored for the Lady Wildcats, and she set a single-game scoring record of 45 points at Karns on Monday, Jan. 28, 2019. Guinn is pictured above shooting a free throw during a 81-24 win at Clinton on Friday, Jan. 24, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge senior Jada Guinn has passed 2,000 points total scored for the Lady Wildcats, and she set a single-game scoring record of 45 points at Karns on Monday.

Guinn moved into third place on the all-time scoring list during that same game, when she scored her 2,064th point in the first half of a 94-19 win, according to Prepradio.com broadcaster David Clary, who tracks Wildcats’ statistics. She went on to add to that scoring total later in that same game.

Guinn has played basketball all four years at Oak Ridge, and she has signed to play basketball at Tennessee Tech.

Guinn was, as of a few games ago, averaging 23 points per game this year, seven rebounds per game, four assists per game, and three steals per game, according to nomination information posted by Clary for Class AAA Miss Basketball in Tennessee. She scored 24 points or more in the first half of two recent games: 27 at the half at Karns on Monday and 24 at the half at Clinton last Friday. She’s had several recent games where she has scored more than 30 points, with 32 at Clinton on Friday and 34 against Halls at Wildcat Arena on January 8. [Read more…]

After two wins at the buzzer, Lady Wildcats play for championship today

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge senior guard Jada Guinn (24) was named most valuable player at the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix on Saturday, Dec. 22, 2018. She had a winning shot at the buzzer against Daniel Boone in a first-round game at the Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies Classic in Greenville on Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2018. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats Basketball/Paige Redman)

Oak Ridge senior guard Jada Guinn (24) was named most valuable player at the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix on Saturday, Dec. 22, 2018. She had a winning shot at the buzzer against Daniel Boone in a first-round game at the Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies Classic basketball tournament in Greenville on Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2018. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats Basketball/Paige Redman)

 

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

After two wins at the buzzer this week, the Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats will play for the championship in the Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies Classic basketball tournament in Greenville today (Saturday, December 29).

It’s the second championship game in a week for the girls. Oak Ridge (14-2, 3-1 District 3-AAA) won their divisional championship in the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix last Saturday.

Oak Ridge senior guard Jada Guinn was named the most valuable player of the Nike Tournament on Saturday, December 22.

She had one of the buzzer-beating shots, a layup, in the Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies Classic this week. That was in the final five seconds of a 50-48 win over Daniel Boone, an upper East Tennessee team, in a first-round game on Wednesday.

The Lady Trailblazers ended the Lady Wildcats’ last season with a 62-51 Class AAA sectional win in March, and Guinn told 5StarPreps, a high school sports website, that she didn’t want to lose to Daniel Boone this week. [Read more…]

Basketball: Wildcats open season with wins at Meigs County

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Wildcats and Lady Wildcats opened the 2018-2019 season with wins in non-district games at Meigs County on Tuesday.

The boys won 72-27, and the girls won 56-38.

It was the first time the Oak Ridge and Meigs County boys teams have played against each other, according to broadcaster David Clary of Prepradio.com. The girls last met in 1994. [Read more…]