Oak Ridge Today

Jones named MVP as Wildcats win fifth straight district championship

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The Oak Ridge Wildcats won their fifth straight District 3-AAA championship with an 86-58 victory over Powell at Clinton on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

The Oak Ridge Wildcats won their fifth straight District 3-AAA championship with an 86-58 victory over Powell at Clinton on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

 

CLINTON—Oak Ridge senior Tajion Jones was named most valuable player as the Wildcats won their fifth straight District 3-AAA championship with an 86-58 victory over Powell at Clinton on Tuesday.

Oak Ridge (26-2) will play West, which finished fourth in District 4-AAA, in a first-round Region 2-AAA game at Wildcat Arena at 7 p.m. Saturday. West (15-17) lost to Hardin Valley 64-58 in the third-place District 4 game on Tuesday.

The Wildcats, the top seed in the District 3-AAA basketball tournament, advanced to the district championship at Clinton High School on Tuesday by beating Clinton, which had been the number five seed, 111-77 in a semifinal game on Saturday.

Oak Ridge was led against Powell on Tuesday by senior Anthony Gibson. He scored a game-high 24 points, with 22 of those in the first half. Gibson knocked down three three-point shots.

Jones scored 21, with 12 of those on four three-point shots. Jones, a Mr. Basketball finalist in Class AAA, also had a baseline drive for a dunk. [Read more…]

Wildcats race to quick 35-0 start again, this time against Karns

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Oak Ridge senior wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) caught two passes for touchdowns for the Wildcats during a 56-6 win over Karns on Blankenship Field on Friday, Sept. 30, 2016. One was a 56-yard reception on the Wildcats’ first offensive play, and the second was a 33-yard catch. Higgins is defended here by Karns senior Jefferson Holt (19). (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Like they did a week earlier, the Oak Ridge Wildcats again raced to a quick 35-0 start on Friday. The undefeated Wildcats scored their first four touchdowns in their first nine plays during a 56-6 win over the winless Karns Beavers.

Last week, against Sevier County, the Wildcats rolled to a 35-0 lead in the first quarter.

This week, against Karns, they jumped out to a 35-0 lead by early in the second quarter, on Senior Night on Blankenship Field. Like last week, the scoring pace slowed after that.

Oak Ridge held Karns to 65 yards on offense.

The Wildcats again scored on their first offensive play, this time on a 56-yard pass from junior quarterback Johnny Stewart to senior wide receiver Tee Higgins, a Clemson commitment who was left undefended in the middle of the field.

Higgins scored again late in the first quarter on a 33-yard touchdown pass from Stewart. [Read more…]

Caleb Jackson scores twice, recovers two turnovers in Wildcats’ win at Lenoir City

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Oak Ridge senior Caleb Jackson (25) scored two touchdowns for the Wildcats on Friday, Sept. 16, 2016, and he recovered two Lenoir City turnovers during a 45-8 win over the Panthers in Lenoir City. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

LENOIR CITY—Oak Ridge senior Caleb Jackson scored two touchdowns for the Wildcats on Friday, and he recovered two Lenoir City turnovers during a 45-8 win over the Panthers.

Senior wide receiver Tee Higgins, a Clemson commitment, added three touchdowns for Oak Ridge.

The Wildcats scored on their first four drives, once after intercepting Lenoir City sophomore quarterback Gabe Williams.

Halfway through the regular season, Oak Ridge is undefeated at 5-0 overall and 3-0 in Region 3-5A.

Lenoir City fell to 1-4 and 0-2 with the loss at home on Cecil Thomas Field.

Oak Ridge plays Sevier County (1-4, 1-1 Region 1-5A) at home on Blankenship Field at 7:30 p.m. September 23. It’s Homecoming Night. [Read more…]

Updated: Oak Ridge falls in no-hitter by Powell’s Alford, then loses to Gibbs

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Powell Alford Oak Ridge May 6 2016

Powell pitcher Peyton Alford strikes out the side in the top of the first inning during a 3-0 no-hitter win over Oak Ridge in the District 3-AAA tournament opener at Gibbs on Friday, May 6, 2016.

 

Note: This story was updated at 10 p.m. May 21.

GIBBS—Oak Ridge baseball head coach Mark Garrison had to give credit where credit was due.

The Wildcats fell victim to a dominating pitching performance by Powell’s Peyton Alford, who struck out 14 Oak Ridge batters and finished the game with a no-hitter in the Panthers’ 3-0 victory on Friday.

“He’s always good and I think that he was extra good today,” Garrison said. “He had a lot of days of rest, about five or six days. We did everything we could do. (Oak Ridge senior) Spencer Wilson did a great job even though he scattered 10 hits. We played great defense, and he kept us in the game. That’s what Spencer does. We just didn’t have an answer for Alford. He was very, very good.”

It was the District 3-AAA tournament opener, played at Gibbs High School.

Aside from an error, the Wildcats did in fact play solid defense and the pitching of Wilson—who recently tied the school’s record for most wins in a season—prevented Powell from taking a substantial lead. [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…]

Farragut plays ‘stall ball,’ but Oak Ridge takes the Region 2 quarterfinal win

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Oak Ridge senior forward Javien Johnson (11) celebrates during a 39-30 Region 2-AAA quarterfinal win over Farragut at Wildcat Arena on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12 p.m.

Farragut had this strategy coming into a Region 2-AAA quarterfinal game against Oak Ridge on Saturday: Limit the number of possessions, shorten the game, keep the score low, and play as little defense as possible.

The goal: Hold the ball for two minutes at a time, or about one-fourth of an eight-minute quarter.

For a while, it worked. Oak Ridge (32-2) found itself in the unusual position of being down two points at halftime, 17-15. But the Wildcats, the District 3 champion, found a way to win in the second half and they eked out a 39-30 victory to advance to a Region 2-AAA semifinal against Powell at Wildcat Arena on Tuesday.

“I’m just proud of our guys for getting it done,” Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said.

The Farragut strategy bewildered, frustrated, and irritated Oak Ridge fans. Fans and players called it “keep away” or “stall ball.” It’s a strategy often used near the end of a half or quarter, maybe when there is a minute or so remaining and a team wants the last shot, but it’s generally not used throughout a game. [Read more…]

Johnson scores 25 as Wildcats advance to district championship Tuesday against Karns

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Oak Ridge senior forward Javien Johnson (11) scored a game-high 25 points during a 72-46 win over Powell in a District 3-AAA semifinal at Anderson County High School on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 7:45 p.m.

CLINTON—Oak Ridge senior forward Javien Johnson scored a game-high 25 points in a 72-46 district tournament semifinal win over Powell on Saturday. The Wildcats advance to play Karns in the District 3-AAA championship on Tuesday.

The Wildcats (30-2) held the Panthers to six points in the first quarter and three points in the third on Saturday. But they allowed 21 points in the second.

“We quit guarding them in the second,” Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said.

But the Wildcats responded well in the second half and played better defense, Green said.

The District 3-AAA semifinal at Anderson County High School on Saturday was the third meeting this year between Oak Ridge and Powell (20-10). The Wildcats have won all three games. [Read more…]

Hamilton’s basket in final seconds gives Powell a playoff win over AC

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Loler Simpson (14) of Anderson County drives against the Powell defense during a 46-45 win for the Panthers at Anderson County High School on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—Powell senior Conley Hamilton scored with less than six seconds remaining to give the Panthers a one-point win over Anderson County in a second-round elimination game of the District 3-AAA basketball tournament on Thursday.

The Panthers (20-9) erased a 10-point third-quarter deficit and battled back to take a two-point lead about halfway through the fourth quarter.

But Zach Green of Anderson County tied the game at 42 with 1:10 remaining, and he gave the Mavericks a one-point lead on a three-point shot with about 30 seconds left.

Hamilton responded by driving to the basket in the last 10 seconds and firing off a short shot that went in, giving Powell a 46-45 win. [Read more…]

Wildcats open large lead in third quarter of 85-51 win over Powell

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Junior guard Tajion Jones (3) led Oak Ridge with a game-high 22 points in an 85-51 win over Powell at Wildcat Arena on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 3 p.m.

The first half was competitive. The second half wasn’t.

Oak Ridge led Powell by only seven points, 40-33, at halftime at Wildcat Arena on Thursday.

But Oak Ridge (24-2, 12-0 District 3-AAA) quickly opened up a large lead early in the third quarter. Junior guard Tajion Jones knocked down three consecutive three-point shots in the first 90 seconds of the third quarter. Then, about a minute later, he scored a field goal to widen the Oak Ridge lead to 52-33. That was 11 points for Jones in the first 2.5 minutes of the second half.

The Wildcats, undefeated in the district, ended up outscoring the Panthers 28-6 in the third quarter. Powell (13-8, 7-5) never recovered. [Read more…]

In last two games, Wildcats held opposing teams under 25 percent from field

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Oak Ridge senior point guard Geevantay Gee (12) scored 12 points for the Wildcats during a 79-31 win over Anderson County at home on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

In their last two games, the Oak Ridge Wildcats have held opposing teams to less than 25 percent shooting from field goal range, Coach Aaron Green said after a 79-31 win over Anderson County on Tuesday.

If a team can hold an opponent to 35 to 38 percent shooting or less, it is defending well, Green said.

He praised the Oak Ridge defense and said the team’s practice habits have been good the past few weeks.

The Wildcats (23-2, 11-0 District 3-AAA) applied a lot of defensive pressure to the Mavericks in the first half, especially in the Anderson County end of the court. Green said Oak Ridge learned a lesson from the previous meeting between the two teams, which Oak Ridge won 78-44 on December 11. The Wildcats’ lead was much smaller in the first half of that game, Green said. [Read more…]

Basketball photos: Oak Ridge and Powell

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Oak Ridge senior guard Geevantay Gee (12) had nine points and eight assists during a 78-61 win over Powell on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015. Gee is guarded here by Powell senior Charlie Richards (23). (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

POWELL—Oak Ridge junior Tajion Jones led the undefeated Wildcats to a 78-61 win at Powell on Tuesday with five three-point shots and 22 points total. Here are pictures by John Huotari of Oak Ridge Today.

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Oak Ridge junior Tajion Jones (3) hit five three-point shots and scored 22 points during a 78-61 win at Powell on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

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Jones leads Wildcats to win with five 3-pointers, 22 points at Powell

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Oak Ridge junior Tajion Jones (3) hit five three-point shots and scored 22 points during a 78-61 win at Powell on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

POWELL—Oak Ridge junior Tajion Jones led the undefeated Wildcats to a 78-61 win at Powell on Tuesday with five three-point shots and 22 points total.

“He’s shooting it well,” Wildcats Coach Aaron Green said of Jones.

Oak Ridge, which got into foul trouble, led by as much as 19 points in the second quarter, but Powell narrowed the lead to seven with about four minutes left in the game.

“I was proud of the way they (the Panthers) fought in the second half,” Powell Coach Gary Barnes said. [Read more…]