The Oak Ridge Wildcats advanced to a Class 5A football semifinal game after a 31-28 quarterfinal win at West on Friday.
Here are photos by Barry Houchin, used with permission.
[Read more…]Football photos: Oak Ridge at West in quarterfinal win
Wildcats advance to semifinals after win over West
The Oak Ridge Wildcats advanced to a Class 5A football semifinal game after a 31-28 quarterfinal win at West on Friday.
The semifinal game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday, November 27, against South Doyle (10-3) on Blankenship Field in Oak Ridge.
Before Friday, the Wildcats (10-3) had lost to the Rebels 22-7 during the regular season in September. A year ago, their season ended at West (12-2) in a 34-14 second-round loss.
The Wildcats led early in the Friday night game, but West took the lead late in the second quarter and held it into the fourth quarter. Then, the two teams traded leads three times in the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge senior quarterback Mitchell Gibbons threw the winning touchdown to senior wide receiver Jonathan Stewart with 2:33 remaining in the game.
[Read more…]COVID-19 emergency delays start of football, girls soccer seasons
The extension of the COVID-19 emergency in Tennessee has delayed the start of the high school football and girls soccer seasons.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has extended the COVID-19 state of emergency until August 29. A prior order by the governor includes limitations and restrictions on contact sporting events and activities.
In an update sent to member schools on Tuesday, Bernard Childress, executive director of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association, said member schools cannot have any competition or scrimmage with other schools while the governor’s order is in place. The schools cannot have close contact activities during practice for football, 7-on-7 football, girls soccer, wrestling, and basketball. Football and girls soccer cannot begin their seasons as originally scheduled, Childress said.
The Oak Ridge football season opener had been scheduled for August 21.
The TSSAA Board of Control had a special meeting Wednesday and voted unanimously to require that member schools follow the governor’s executive order for sports activities.
The board discussed the effect that the extended COVID-19 state of emergency will have on contact sports in the fall. Football, girls soccer, and competitive cheer are considered contact sports.
[Read more…]Higgins will enter 2020 NFL draft
Tee Higgins, a former star wide receiver for the Oak Ridge Wildcats who won a college football championship at Clemson University, announced this month that he will enter the 2020 NFL draft.
Higgins announced his decision on Twitter on Wednesday, January 15.
“It has always been my dream to play in the NFL and take care of my family,” Higgins, a junior at Clemson, said in his Twitter announcement. “Because of Clemson, I now have the opportunity to do that. So it is with a grateful heart that I announce today my intention to enter the 2020 NFL Draft.”
The draft is scheduled from April 23-25 in Paradise, Nevada.
[Read more…]Football: Wildcats start season 0-2
The Oak Ridge Wildcats have started the 2019 football season with two losses.
The first was a 13-6 loss to Hardin Valley at home on Friday, August 23, and the second was a 41-6 loss at Dobyns-Bennett in Kingsport on Friday, August 30.
The Wildcats will play their first Region 3-5A game at Campbell County (2-0) on Friday.
Oak Ridge scored their one touchdown in the season-opening game against Hardin Valley (1-1) with a 21-yard pass from junior quarterback Mitchell Gibbons to senior running back Tyrell Romano with 8:26 left in the third quarter.
[Read more…]Football: Wildcats start regular season Friday
The Oak Ridge Wildcats will start the regular football season at home on Blankenship Field on Friday, August 23.
The Wildcats will open the season in a game against Hardin Valley. The game starts at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
It will be the first time the Wildcats have played a regular-season game on the new synthetic turf on Blankenship Field.
[Read more…]Oak Ridge to retire Tee Higgins’ number 5 football jersey
Oak Ridge’s Tee Higgins (5), who was then a senior, talks to a television reporter after a 56-21 rout at Clinton on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016. Higgins had two touchdown receptions and two interceptions that set up Wildcat scores in that game. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was updated at 9:45 p.m. Jan. 26.
Oak Ridge will retire the number 5 football jersey of Tee Higgins, a star football and basketball player who now plays as a wide receiver for the Clemson Tigers and caught a touchdown pass in the national championship win over Alabama on January 7.
Higgins’ football jersey will be retired during halftime of the Oak Ridge Wildcats boys’ basketball game against Campbell County at Wildcat Arena on Friday, February 1, Oak Ridge High School Principal Martin McDonald said. That game is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.
“Congratulate our hometown hero on his national championship and watch as his #5 becomes only the third number to be retired in our 76-year school history,” McDonald said in a post published on Twitter. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge shuts out Rhea County in first round of playoffs
Oak Ridge shut out Rhea County 42-0 in a first-round Class 5A playoff game on Blankenship Field on Friday, Nov. 2, 2018. Above, coach Joe Gaddis talks to the Wildcats after the game. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 10 a.m. Nov. 3.
Oak Ridge shut out Rhea County 42-0 in the first round of the Class 5A football playoffs on Blankenship Field on Friday.
“That was a complete game,” Oak Ridge Coach Joe Gaddis said. “It couldn’t have been more timely. No one has beaten them (Rhea County) like this.”
The Wildcats (9-2), a Region 3 team, advance to play at Soddy-Daisy (6-4), a Region 4 team, in the second round at 7 p.m. next Friday (November 9). Soddy-Daisy eliminated Clinton (a 4-7 Region 3 team) in another first-round game this Friday.
Winners of the second-round games advance to the state quarterfinals. The winner of the Oak Ridge-Soddy-Daisy game will play the winner of Catholic-Fulton in a quarterfinal game on Friday, November 16. [Read more…]
Football: Oak Ridge hosts Rhea County in first-round playoff game
The Oak Ridge Wildcats walk down the stairs at Jack Armstrong Stadium before a 41-12 win over Dobyns-Bennett on Blankenship Field on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018. (Photo by Barry Houchin)
The Oak Ridge Wildcats will host Rhea County in a first-round Class 5A football playoff game today. The game will start at 7 p.m. Friday, November 2, on Blankenship Field in Oak Ridge.
The two teams last met in the playoffs four years ago, in November 2014, when Oak Ridge had a thrilling fourth-quarter comeback, narrowing a three-touchdown deficit to one. But the Wildcats were unable to make up for missed opportunities and turnovers and fell to the Golden Eagles 35-21 in a state quarterfinal playoff game. At 12-0, both teams were undefeated before the game, which made it a historic showdown on Blankenship Field.
This year’s Rhea County team has a losing record at 4-5 in Region 4, while the Wildcats are 8-2 and finished second in Region 3. [Read more…]
Football photos at Karns by Houchin
Oak Ridge senior Herbert Booker (13) throws against Karns during a 48-7 win over the Beavers on Friday, Sept. 28, 2018. (Photo by Barry Houchin)
The Oak Ridge football team is 6-1 so far this season. Here are photos from the September 28 game at Karns, courtesy of Barry Houchin.
Oak Ridge is off this week. They play next at Clinton on Friday, October 12. [Read more…]
Football photos at Sevier County by Houchin, Simmons
Oak Ridge senior Jordan Graham (8) runs the football during a 41-13 win at Sevier County on Friday, Sept. 21, 2018. (Photo by Barry Houchin)
The Oak Ridge football team is 6-1 so far this season. Here are photos from the September 21 game at Sevier County, courtesy of Barry Houchin and Luther Simmons.
Oak Ridge is off this week. They play next at Clinton on Friday, October 12. [Read more…]
Football photos by Houchin
Oak Ridge senior quarterback Herbert Booker (13) scrambles during a 20-14 loss to Farragut on Blankenship Field on Friday, Sept. 7, 2018. (Photo by Barry Houchin)
The Oak Ridge football team is 6-1 so far this season. Here are photos from some of their first seven games, courtesy of Barry Houchin.
Oak Ridge is off this week. They play next at Clinton on Friday, October 12. [Read more…]
