Oak Ridge’s regular basketball season will end at Fulton on Tuesday.
The games had been scheduled for Saturday but were rescheduled because Knox County Schools were closed Thursday and Friday.
The girls’ game will start at 6 p.m. Tuesday, and the boys’ game will begin at 7:30.
Both teams will continue playing in the playoffs.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
Oak Ridge senior Jordan Graham (8) runs behind the blocking of junior Tyrell Romano (21) during a 54-28 win at Clinton on Friday, Oct. 12, 2018. (File photo by Barry Houchin)
Note: This story was last updated at 1:45 p.m.
The four touchdowns of senior Jordan Graham helped propel Oak Ridge to a 40-23 win in a second-round playoff game at Soddy-Daisy on Friday and a rematch with Knoxville Catholic in a quarterfinal game at home next Friday.
The Wildcats (10-2) did not score on their first possession on Friday, but then they scored on their next four drives to take a 27-3 halftime lead. Graham, who finished with 134 yards on 10 carries, had two touchdowns in that half. He added two more in the second.
Soddy-Daisy (6-5), which won a first-round matchup against Clinton last week, was more successful in the second half on Friday when senior quarterback Gavin Chambers played. They scored on two of their first three drives in the third quarter. Chambers threw for 170 yards and had two touchdown passes to narrow the margin to 40-23. The Trojans had no passing yards in the first half when senior wide receiver Spencer Gore was quarterback, according to preliminary statistics by Mark Haste.
Chambers did not start due to an injury from three weeks ago against Signal Mountain, and the Oak Ridge defense took advantage of the senior’s absence in the first half, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported. Soddy-Daisy Coach Justin Barnes told the newspaper that the Trojans, unsure of how Chambers was feeling, wanted to stick with what they’ve been doing the past few weeks because it had worked before Friday. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge trailed Powell in the first half on Blankenship Field on Friday, Oct. 19, 2018, but took the lead and a 28-21 win in the second half.
Note: This story was last updated at 11:45 a.m. Oct. 20.
Oak Ridge trailed Powell in the first half on Blankenship Field on Friday but took the lead and a 28-21 win in the second half.
It was the second week in a row that Oak Ridge (8-1, 5-0 Region 3-5A) struggled in the first half but played better in the second. Last week, Oak Ridge led Clinton 24-21 at halftime but then scored 30 points in the second half to beat the Dragons 54-28.
The Wildcats will meet the only other undefeated team in the region, Fulton (also 8-1, 5-0), at 7 p.m. Thursday in Oak Ridge for the region championship. It’s the last regular-season game.
Powell (1-8, 1-5 after forfeiting six wins due to an ineligible player) had a 21-7 lead over Oak Ridge halfway through the second quarter on Friday. But the Wildcats narrowed the lead to 21-14 on a two-yard run by senior Jordan Graham with 1:20 remaining before halftime. The Wildcats then scored two more touchdowns in the second half while holding the Panthers scoreless. [Read more…]
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 football team is 6-1 so far this season.
The Wildcats have had three wins and no losses in Region 3-5A. They have defeated Campbell County at home and West and Karns on the road.
Their other three wins were in non-regional games, with victories at Hardin Valley, at home against Dobyns-Bennett, and at Sevier County.
Their one loss, a non-regional game, was to Farragut on Blankenship Field.
All three games remaining in the regular season are regional games: Clinton (1-5, 0-2); Powell (6-1, 3-1); and Fulton (5-1, 2-0).
Oak Ridge is off this week. They play at Clinton on Friday, October 12. Their final two games, against Powell and Fulton, will be at home on October 19 and 25.
Here is a summary of the first seven games. [Read more…]
Two steals, a layup, and a free throw in the final minute helped Oak Ridge beat William Blount by one point, 48-47, in a Region 2-AAA semifinal game that came down to the final few seconds on Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. Pictured above are Oak Ridge juniors Jaymi Golden (32) and Destiny Kassner (30). (Photo by Luther Simmons)
Two steals, a layup, and a free throw in the final minute helped Oak Ridge beat William Blount by one point, 48-47, in a regional semifinal game that came down to the final few seconds on Monday.
The Lady Governors led by two points late in the Region 2-AAA semifinal elimination game, Oak Ridge Coach Paige Redman said. But a steal by Lady Wildcats senior Courtney Ellison led to a tying layup by junior Mykia Dowdell.
Then, another Oak Ridge steal led to a William Blount foul and two free throws by Lady Wildcats sophomore Jada Guinn. She missed the first one but hit the second, Redman said. That gave the Lady Wildcats (28-3) a one-point lead with about half a minute remaining.
With just over two seconds to go, Oak Ridge got the basketball. But the Lady Wildcats turned it over with about 1.3 seconds remaining. When the Lady Governors threw it in, Dowdell knocked it out of bounds. The clock ticked down to 0.3 seconds. That wasn’t enough time for William Blount (21-11) to get the ball in bounds and possibly make a game-winning basket. After being nervous—the Lady Governors led 47-45 with 2:14 remaining—Oak Ridge fans were jubilant.
“Wow!” said Stephanie Thompson, Oak Ridge High School assistant principal. “What a win for the Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats!” [Read more…]
Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins (5), making a layup here, scored a career-high 33 points during a 76-65 win at Fulton on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)
KNOXVILLE—Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins scored 33 points, a career high, during a 76-65 win at Fulton on Saturday. Here are photos from the basketball game by Luther Simmons. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins (5) scored 33 points, a career high, during a 76-65 win at Fulton on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)
KNOXVILLE—Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins scored 33 points, a career high, during a 76-65 win at Fulton on Saturday.
Higgins hit three three-point shots, made 12 free throws (he had 14 attempts), and pulled down 10 rebounds.
“He told me on the way over here he was ready to go,” Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said.
Falcons fans remember Higgins. In the last game at Jody Wright Arena two years ago—the gym was loud, hot, and packed that night, too—Higgins hit a three-point shot with 3.1 seconds left to give Oak Ridge a one-point victory. The Wildcats had been down by two, but Higgins, who was then a sophomore, finished the dramatic all-out battle between the two top-five teams. Besides the game-winning three-pointer, he had 20 points and 14 rebounds in that classic game.
The Wildcats didn’t get off to a great start this year in the non-district game on Saturday, the last of the regular season for Oak Ridge. Fulton jumped out to an early 4-0 lead and led for much of the first quarter.
“We gave up some easy points defensively,” Green said. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge junior forward Destiny Kassner (30) grabs a rebound during a 48-47 loss at Fulton on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017. The game was decided on a free throw with 0.2 seconds left. (Photo by Luther Simmons)
KNOXVILLE—The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats lost a close 48-47 game that was decided by a free throw in the final 0.2 seconds at Fulton on Saturday. Here are photos by Luther Simmons. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge sophomore Jada Guinn (24), shown driving to the basket here, scored a game-high 27 points during a 48-47 loss at Fulton on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017. The game was decided on a free throw with 0.2 seconds left. (Photo by Luther Simmons)
KNOXVILLE—It was the closest game of the year for the Lady Wildcats, and it was decided on a free throw after a controversial foul was called with 0.2 seconds left.
The half court foul, beyond the three-point line, sent Fulton junior LayLay Manning to the line to shoot three times. Giving hope to Oak Ridge fans, who wanted overtime, she missed the first two. But after timeouts were called, Manning dropped in the third free throw, giving the Lady Falcons a 48-47 win over Oak Ridge in a non-district game on Saturday, the last of the regular season.
It was a battle throughout, with the two teams regularly trading leads. Most of the time, neither team led by more than four points. One reporter compared it to a state championship game.
Fulton (22-4, 7-2 District 3-AA) was led by Keke McKinney, a 6-foot-1 senior forward who announced in October that she is going to Kentucky. She scored 22 points in the hot, loud, packed Jody Wright Arena on Saturday.
Oak Ridge (24-3, 16-0 District 3-AAA) was led by Jada Guinn, a 5-foot-8 sophomore guard. She scored a game-high 27 points, with 18 in the second half alone. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge senior E.J. Bush (2) led the Wildcats with 20 points during a 76-56 win over Cleveland in the Champion Chevrolet Shootout at Science Hill High School in Johnson City on Friday. Dec, 16, 2016. (Photo by Robert Kell)
JOHNSON CITY—Oak Ridge and Cleveland were both undefeated top-ranked teams before they played in Johnson City on Friday, and only the Wildcats remained undefeated afterward. Oak Ridge beat Cleveland 76-56 in the Champion Chevrolet Shootout at Science Hill High School in Johnson City.
The Wildcats are now 10-0 overall and 5-0 in District 3-AAA.
The Blue Raiders are now 11-1 overall and 4-0 in District 5-AAA.
Like the earlier girls’ game, the boys’ game was closer in the first half: 16-15 after the first quarter, and 32-30 at halftime. But Oak Ridge had a 20-6 run through most of the third quarter and an 8-0 run in the last part of the fourth quarter. [Read more…]
Information from WYSH Radio
Clinton 29, Karns 26: The Dragons entered the fourth quarter of Friday night’s game at Karns down by a score of 26-14. Instead of packing it in, however, Clinton took over in the fourth quarter and rallied for a 29-26 win over the Beavers.
The young Dragons grew up a lot on Friday night, especially first-year starting quarterback, sophomore Luke Harrison, who led the Dragons’ comeback with two fourth-quarter touchdown tosses, one to Demarea Whitt and the game-winner to J’Quan Thomas with 5:08 to play.
From there, the defense held, and the Dragons won their first game of the season to improve to 1-2, 1-1 in Region 3-5A. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge senior point guard Geevantay Gee (12) drives for a basket in his last regular-season game at Wildcat Arena, an 81-31 drubbing of Fulton on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 10 a.m.
It wasn’t the game anyone expected. In a battle of two top-ranked teams, Oak Ridge beat Fulton 81-31 at Wildcat Arena on Saturday.
The basketball game, the last in the regular season, was never really close. The Wildcats (29-2) were up by 16 points less than five minutes into the game, led 27-8 at the end of the first quarter, and went into halftime ahead 50-13. Junior guards Tee Higgins and Tajion Jones both had early dunks that fired up the loud, raucous standing-room-only crowd.
The Falcons (22-2), ranked number two in Class AA, shot 15 percent in the first half and probably didn’t do any better in the second, Coach Jody Wright said.
Meanwhile, Oak Ridge, ranked number eight in Class AAA, had 20 assists in the first half alone, a sign that the Wildcats were sharing the ball well, and they played their best game of the year, Coach Aaron Green said. Senior point guard Geevantay Gee had five of those first-half assists, and junior guard E.J. Bush had four. [Read more…]
