Oak Ridge Today

Led by Gee, Wildcats win Region 2 championship; Bush named MVP

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Oak Ridge senior point guard Geevantay Gee (12) led the Wildcats with a game-high 15 points, including three three-point shots, during a 70-40 win over Karns in the Region 2-AAA championship on Thursday, March 3, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 5:15 p.m.

Continuing a string of successes on the basketball court, the Oak Ridge Wildcats won the Region 2 championship in a 70-40 victory over Karns on Thursday. The boys’ regional win at home came one day after the girls won a Region 2 championship at Bearden.

This year, the two teams both won the District 3-AAA championships and the Region 2-AAA championships. It’s the first time that’s happened since 2008.

The Wildcats (34-2), the Region 2 champion, now move on to play David Crockett, the Region 1 runner-up, in a Class AAA sectional game on Monday. The winner advances to the state tournament. David Crockett (29-5) is one of only two teams that beat Oak Ridge this year.

“They are one of the better teams we’ve played all year,” Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said. “It’s going to be a tough game. It should be a tremendous basketball game. There’s a lot on the line.”

The Pioneers eked out a two-point 89-87 win over the Wildcats on two free throws in double overtime in the Arby’s Classic on December 29. [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…]

Higgins scores 20, Johnson named MVP as Wildcats win district championship

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The Oak Ridge Wildcats won the District 3-AAA championship in an 88-62 victory over Karns on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

 

CLINTON—Oak Ridge junior Tee Higgins scored a game-high 20 points and senior Javien Johnson was named MVP as the Wildcats won the District 3-AAA championship in an 88-62 victory over Karns on Tuesday.

Coach Aaron Green said the Wildcats (31-2) had 13 offensive rebounds in just the first half. Junior E.J. Bush had a career-high 14 rebounds through both halves. Higgins had 12, including nine at the half, and Johnson pulled down eight.

“Rebounding was phenomenal,” Green said. “I thought we played really well, especially on defense in the first half.”

Johnson and junior Tajion Jones each scored 18 points for Oak Ridge. Bush added 10. Jones scored 13 of his 18 points in the third quarter.

Johnson, who has been playing with more intensity recently, said he knew he was capable of being named the most valuable player of the District 3-AAA tournament, which was played at Anderson County High School. [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 finish top in district, enter playoffs as No. 1 seed

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Oak Ridge senior point guard Geevantay Gee (12) scored 10 points for the Wildcats during an 86-60 win over Karns on Friday, Feb. 5, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge Wildcats, who are undefeated in their district, won the regular-season district championship on Friday and will enter the basketball playoffs as the top seed.

The Wildcats (26-2, 14-0 District 3-AAA) will also automatically get a spot in the Region 2 tournament, Coach Aaron Green said.

Oak Ridge played Karns again on Friday. That game was not as close as the last meeting between the two teams, when the Wildcats escaped with a 72-68 win. In that January 5 game, the Beavers whittled the lead down to two points, 70-68, with 1:04 remaining, and they had a chance to tie the game or even take the lead with about 35 seconds left.

The second game, at Wildcat Arena on Friday, February 5, was competitive, but Oak Ridge maintained a healthy lead through most of it, often leading by 10 points or more. They were up by 13 points, 43-30, at halftime, and widened the lead in the fourth quarter to finish with an 86-60 win.

Oak Ridge has two district games remaining. The first had been scheduled for Tuesday, January 9, at Halls (6-19, 2-12), but it has been postponed to Wednesday. The second is at Campbell County (14-12, 5-9) on Friday. [Read more…]

Three Wildcats, Thackerson named to East-West All-Stars roster

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Oak Ridge Alex Alcorn and Soddy Daisy Justin Cooke Nov. 5, 2015

Oak Ridge senior defensive end Alex Alcorn (66) pursues Soddy Daisy junior quarterback Justin Cooke during a 45-33 win for the Wildcats in a first-round Class 5A playoff game on Blankenship Field on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Three Oak Ridge Wildcats and players from Clinton, Karns, Farragut, and Sevier County have been named to the East All-Stars roster for the 2015 Toyota East vs. West Tennessee All-Star Classic.

The Oak Ridge players are Alex Alcorn (offensive guard), Davon Middleton (cornerback), and Brandon Nickle (kicker).

Tyler Thackerson of Clinton and Deuce Wallace of Sevier County were named quarterbacks for the East.

The game is for seniors only. [Read more…]

Football photos: Oak Ridge and Karns

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Wildcats Ka'Yon Waters and Adam Manookian and Karns Greg Tye on Oct. 2, 2015

Junior Ka’Yon Waters (31) and senior Adam Manookian (35) pressure Karns quarterback Greg Tye (12) during a 56-14 win for Oak Ridge on Friday, Oct. 2, 2015. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

The Oak Ridge Wildcats rushed for more than 500 yards, and senior running back T.J. Allison scored four touchdowns in a 56-14 win at Karns on Friday. Here are photos by Julio Culiat.

See a story on the game here.

See stats here.

Wildcats T.J. Allison and Karns Travis Blair on Oct. 2, 2015

Oak Ridge senior running back T.J. Allison (6) ran for 171 yards and four touchdowns during a 56-14 win at Karns on Friday, Oct. 2, 2015. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

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Wildcats rush for 500+ yards, Allison scores four TDs in 56-14 win at Karns

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Wildcats Darel Middleton and T.J. Allison at Karns Oct. 2, 2015

Senior running back T.J. Allison (6) scored four touchdowns, including two in the first quarter, during a 56-14 win over Karns on Friday, Oct. 2, 2015. Here, Allison runs for a 53-yard TD, his first of the night, behind the blocking of senior receiver Darel Middleton (9). (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

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

KARNS—The Oak Ridge Wildcats rushed for more than 500 yards, and senior running back T.J. Allison scored four touchdowns in a 56-14 win at Karns on Friday.

With 514 yards rushing, it was the most productive running game for the Wildcats (6-1, 3-1 Region 3-5A) this season. Their previous high was 270 yards rushing against Sevier County on Thursday, September 24.

For the first time this year, the Wildcats had two runners with more than 100 yards rushing. Allison had 171 yards on 12 carries and four touchdowns, and freshman Jordan Graham, who went out with an ankle injury in the third quarter, had 163 yards on three carries.

Graham, who had a breakout performance against Lenoir City two weeks ago, has now picked up more than 100 yards in each of his last three games.

Friday was the least productive game through the air for the Wildcats. The Beavers held Oak Ridge to 75 yards passing, and for the first time this season, standout junior receiver Tee Higgins (two catches, 29 yards) did not score a touchdown. Higgins, a University of Tennessee commitment, was covered much of the night by senior Devin Harper, an Oklahoma State commitment who led Karns (1-5, 0-3) in rushing. [Read more…]

Undefeated in district, Wildcats end regular season at Fulton on Saturday

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Geevantay Gee of Oak Ridge Wildcats at Karns

Geevantay Gee of Oak Ridge (12) had eight points and 10 assists against the Karns Beavers in the last regular-season district game on Friday. (Photo by Terri Blair)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:55 a.m. Feb. 7.

Oak Ridge ends regular season at Fulton on Saturday

KARNS—The first game was a blowout. The second wasn’t.

In early January, the Oak Ridge Wildcats rolled over Karns 83-49.

But on Friday night, the Beavers kept it closer, pulling within one point (32-31) late in the second quarter.

But the Wildcats gave themselves a five-point cushion going into halftime and stretched their lead to 16 late in the third. Karns struggled to cut into the Wildcats’ double-digit lead throughout the fourth. [Read more…]