Oak Ridge Today

After days of delays, Oak Ridge boys advance, girls eliminated

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Wildcats Tee Higgins Dunk against Lenoir City

Sophomore Tee Higgins (5) led all Wildcats with 18 points, including three dunks and two three-pointers. (Photos by Melissa Livesey)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:57 p.m.

After days of delays because of winter weather, the Oak Ridge boys’ basketball team advanced to the regional semifinals on Wednesday, while the girls were eliminated from the playoffs. The Wildcats walloped Lenoir City 81-37, while the Lady Wildcats lost to Farragut 57-17.

Oak Ridge, which was the number one seed from District 3, will move on to play either Heritage or Halls in the Region 2 semifinals, although it’s not clear when because of the weather. The semifinal game could be played as early as Friday or as late as Sunday.

Wednesday’s game at home at Wildcat Arena was the only boys’ game in Region 2. Oak Ridge hasn’t played since Valentine’s Day, or 11 days, mostly because of the weather. [Read more…]

Lady Wildcats play Farragut in regional Monday, boys play LC Tuesday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats Caelyn Thompson and Courtney Ellison

Oak Ridge junior Caelyn Thompson (22) had seven points during a district tournament semifinal game against Powell on Saturday, February 14, and sophomore Courtney Ellison, seen here running slightly behind Thompson, led all Lady Wildcats with 17, including three three-point shots. The Wildcats haven’t played since because of weather. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:21 a.m. Feb. 24.

The final district tournament games were first postponed and then canceled, and the Oak Ridge Wildcats’ basketball teams will start the Class AAA regional tournament this week.

Update: These games have been postponed again as of Tuesday, February 24, due to weather. The latest is that the games will be played Wednesday.

The Lady Wildcats (19-11) play at Farragut (21-8) in the Region 2 quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Monday.

The Lady Wildcats are the number three seed from District 3, and Farragut is the number two seed from District 4. The games are played at the higher seed. [Read more…]

Wildcats use playoff ‘fury,’ determination to eliminate Soddy-Daisy

Posted at
By 2 Comments

Oak Ridge Wildcats Tee Higgins and Soddy-Daisy Trojans

Sophomore wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) of the Oak Ridge Wildcats catches a 30-yard touchdown pass over defender Christian Bell (26) of the Soddy-Daisy Trojans, giving Oak Ridge a 23-14 lead midway through the third quarter in a first-round playoff game on Friday. (Photos by Julio Culiat)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10:15 a.m.

Ahead by 17-14 at halftime, the Oak Ridge Wildcats played with fury and determination in the second half of their first-round playoff game on Friday and opened up a large lead against Soddy-Daisy, winning 53-28—despite an impressive offensive performance by the Trojans.

The undefeated Wildcats were not happy with the three-point margin at halftime.

“For it to be that close was just unacceptable,” junior running back Jaylen Nickerson said.

The 11-0 team was determined to play better in the second half against the best offense they had played all year, Coach Joe Gaddis said.

“We just came out and played with a fury,” he said.

While the Trojans had held Oak Ridge to two touchdowns and a field goal in the first half, they allowed four in the second—including two by Nickerson—and gave up a safety and an interception returned for a touchdown, or 36 points total. [Read more…]

Wildcats to play Soddy-Daisy in first round of football playoffs

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Wildcats Football Helmet

The Oak Ridge Wildcats (10-0) will play the Soddy-Daisy Trojans (4-6) in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs on Friday, November 7. The game starts at 7 p.m. at Blankenship Field in Oak Ridge.

Pairings for the football playoffs for the 2014 Division I BlueCross Bowl were posted on the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association website on Saturday.

Thirty-two teams will compete in 16 games in the Class 5A playoffs next Friday. Winners advance to the second round on November 14.

Other District 3-AAA teams in the playoffs are Anderson County (8-2), Campbell County (8-2), Clinton (7-3), Knoxville Central (5-5), and Gibbs (5-5). [Read more…]

Wildcats prevail over Powell in 21-14 comeback

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Isiah Jones Touchdown Catch

Sophomore running back Isiah Jones catches the second touchdown for the Oak Ridge Wildcats at Powell on Friday night.

POWELL—The Oak Ridge Wildcats beat the Powell Panthers in a thrilling 21-14 come-from-behind win on Friday night in Powell.

The Wildcats were down two touchdowns at halftime, but a fired-up football team returned in the second half, scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, and prevented Powell from scoring again.

“I’m so proud of this football team right now,” Wildcats Coach Joe Gaddis said. “You find out a lot about yourself when you stare adversity in the face.”

In some ways, it resembled the season opener against Farragut, when Oak Ridge struggled to score in the first half but came alive in the second.

[Read more…]