Oak Ridge Today

Soccer: Wildcats win district championship

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The Oak Ridge Wildcats won the District 3-AAA championship with a 1-0 victory at Powell on Thursday, May 13, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

POWELL—The Oak Ridge soccer team won the district championship with a 1-0 victory at Powell on Thursday.

It was the first time the Wildcats have won the District 3-AAA soccer championship since 2017.

Marvin Media-Jovel scored the one goal for the Wildcats in the 52nd minute on Thursday, getting the ball around a Powell defender on the left side of the net and kicking it into the right side.

Oak Ridge coach Tom Gorman said the first half was back-and-forth between the Wildcats and Panthers, but he was concerned because Powell had better scoring opportunities. But Oak Ridge weathered the storm, settled down in the second half, and played better, Gorman said.

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Basketball photos: Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats

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Oak Ridge senior guard Khamari Mitchell-Steen (2) drives against Powell during the District 3-AAA championship game at Wildcat Arena on Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. (Photo by Zack James/used with permission)

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats won the District 3-AAA championship with a 52-43 win over Powell on Monday. They advanced to a Region 2-AAA semifinal game with a 67-58 quarterfinal win over Farragut on Friday.

It was the sixth consecutive district championship win for the Lady Wildcats.

Oak Ridge (21-4), which is coached by Paige Taylor, will host Maryville (23-5) in the semifinal game at Wildcat Arena on Monday.

Here are photos from the Monday and Friday games by Zack James and Luther Simmons. (See our story here.)

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Basketball: Lady Wildcats win district championship, defeat Farragut

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The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats won the District 3-AAA championship with a 52-43 win over the Powell Lady Panthers at Wildcat Arena on Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. (Photo by Luther Simmons/used with permission)

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats won the District 3-AAA championship with a 52-43 win over Powell on Monday. They advanced to a Region 2-AAA semifinal game with a 67-58 quarterfinal win over Farragut on Friday.

It was the sixth consecutive district championship win for the Lady Wildcats.

Oak Ridge (21-4), which is coached by Paige Taylor, will host Maryville (23-5) in the semifinal game at Wildcat Arena on Monday.

With their district championship win on Monday, the Lady Wildcats finished first in the District 3-AAA tournament. That meant they played the fourth-place team in District 4, Farragut, in the Region 2 quarterfinal on Friday.

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Soccer: Lady Wildcats’ season ends in region semifinal

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Pictured above from left to right are Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats soccer seniors Maddie Peters, Rachael Brewer, Katie O’Brien, and Jennie Pont Briant. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Lady Soccercats)

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats soccer team finished the 2019 season with a 3-0 loss to Maryville in a Region 2-AAA semifinal game at home on Tuesday, October 22.

It was the fifth year in a row that the Oak Ridge girls’ team has been eliminated in a regional semifinal game.

The Lady Wildcats also lost to Maryville, 8-1, in a Region 2 semifinal last year.

They were defeated by Farragut in the regional semifinal the previous two years and by Hardin Valley in 2015, according to records posted online by CoachT.com.

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Soccer: Oak Ridge girls win district championship

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The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats soccer team won the District 3-AAA soccer tournament championship with a 1-0 win over Powell at Oak Ridge High School on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Oak Ridge won the District 3-AAA girls soccer championship with a 1-0 victory over Powell at Oak Ridge High School on Thursday.

It was the first time the Lady Wildcats have won the district championship since 2016. The Lady Panthers won the title in 2015—the first-ever district title for the Powell girls—and again in 2017 and 2018.

Seniors on this year’s Oak Ridge team were freshmen the last time the Lady Wildcats won the district title. Oak Ridge and Powell have played for the district championship five years in a row.

On Thursday, Oak Ridge senior Katie O’Brien scored the winning goal on a breakaway after a pass from junior Katelyn Mattus in the center of the field in the 53rd minute. O’Brien, who has committed to play soccer at Maryville College, got behind the Powell defense, came into the center, and shot the ball into the left side of the net, Oak Ridge Coach Tom Gorman said.

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Volleyball: Oak Ridge eliminated in Region 2 semifinals

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The Oak Ridge volleyball team suffered a season-ending loss at Wildcat Arena on Tuesday night in the Region 2-AAA tournament semifinals.

Farragut, which went on to win the regional championship, defeated the Lady Wildcats in the semifinal elimination game for the second straight year. The Lady Admirals won in straight sets Tuesday: 25-20, 25-20, and 30-28.

That prevented Oak Ridge from moving on the sectional round, the set of games that determine which teams go to the state tournament. Sectionals follow the regional championship games. Win or lose, both teams in each regional championship game move on to sectional games.

“This is such a disappointing way to end what was otherwise a banner year for Oak Ridge volleyball,” Oak Ridge Head Coach David Kolodney said after the Tuesday night semifinal loss, according to information provided by Buzz Patrick, who provides volleyball stories and photos to local news and sports outlets. â€œIn the match that mattered most, we came up very short. We know going into this that it would be tough—Farragut always brings their ‘A’ game in big moments—but we had a good game plan and when we were able to execute it, we were successful.”

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Volleyball: Lady Wildcats win fourth straight district championship

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The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats volleyball team won its fourth consecutive District 4-AAA tournament championship at Bearden High School on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019. (Photo submitted by Buzz Patrick)

The Oak Ridge volleyball team won its fourth consecutive District 4-AAA tournament championship on Thursday.

The Lady Wildcats were undefeated in the district during the regular season, and as a result, they did not have to play in the first round of the district tournament, which was at Bearden High School.

Here is information about the tournament provided by Buzz Patrick:

Oak Ridge faced the number five seed, Karns, in the semifinal match on Thursday, and the Lady Wildcats swept the Lady Beavers in three sets (25-12, 25-15, 25-16) behind the stellar serving of junior Paige Halcrow, who notched seven aces against the Lady Beavers to help the ‘Cats counteract some of their own passing errors.

After a short break, the Lady Wildcats faced the number two seed, West, in the finals. Oak Ridge defeated West for the third time this year (25-22, 25-12, 25-12) to earn the 2019 District 4-AAA tournament championship to accompany their regular season championship.

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Oak Ridge soccer season ends at Farragut

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Oak Ridge lost 3-0 at Farragut in a Region 2-AAA semifinal soccer game on Tuesday, May 14, 2019. Pictured above making a save is Oak Ridge goalkeeper Bryson Brown (1). Also pictured is Demarcus Wright (12) of Oak Ridge and Zach Lowe (6) of Farragut. (Photo credit: Carlos Reveiz/crfoto.com)

FARRAGUT—Farragut senior Wes Jeter scored a hat trick—three goals—as the Admirals eliminated Oak Ridge from the soccer playoffs in a 3-0 regional semifinal shutout on Tuesday.

It was the second year in a row that the Wildcats’ season ended in a Region 2-AAA semifinal loss at Farragut, although last year’s score was closer, 3-2.

Jeter scored his first goal in the first half on Tuesday. He scored his next two goals about three minutes apart halfway through the second half. Jeter scored the second goal as he curled into the middle of the field from the left side and drilled a line drive shot past diving Oak Ridge goalkeeper Bryson Brown. Farragut scored its last goal after passing the ball from left to right near the net and then back out front to Jeter, a senior forward, who kicked in another low shot.

The Admirals have been described as a senior-laden team, while the Wildcats have had a lot of young players this year. Four to five freshman started most of the year, with some sophomores sprinkled in.

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After win over Catholic, Wildcats play for Region 2 championship

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The Oak Ridge Wildcats were led by senior guard Marcus Smith (2), pictured above during a district tournament game on Feb. 18, 2019, with a game-high 23 points against Catholic in a Region 2-AAA semifinal game on Tuesday, Feb. 26. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge Wildcats were led by senior guard Marcus Smith (2), pictured above during a district tournament game on Feb. 18, 2019, with a game-high 23 points against Catholic in a Region 2-AAA semifinal game on Tuesday, Feb. 26. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge will play Bearden in the Region 2-AAA boys basketball championship at Wildcat Arena this evening (Thursday, February 28).

Oak Ridge (26-5), the District 3 champion, advanced by defeating Knoxville Catholic 65-58 in a semifinal elimination game at home on Tuesday.

Bearden (27-5), the District 4 champion and defending Region 2 champion, advanced by beating Maryville 55-43 in the other semifinal game at Wildcat Arena on Tuesday.

The Wildcats were led by senior guard Marcus Smith with a game-high 23 points against Catholic. Senior guard Herbert Booker scored 16 points, and he had at least five steals. Senior guard JaVonte Thomas added 15, and he had at least five rebounds.

The Fighting Irish (25-7), the District 4 runner-up, were led by 6-foot-9 junior forward Akeem Odusipe, who scored 19 points and had at least seven rebounds and three blocks. Freshman Presley Patterson added 13 points, including on three three-point shots, and senior Ryan MacDonald and freshman Brian Edwards each scored 10 for Catholic. Edwards also had at least eight rebounds. [Read more…]

Second in region, Lady Wildcats play for chance to go to state tonight

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The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats finished as Region 2-AAA runner-up in a 57-45 loss at Bearden on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018. The girls will play in a sectional game, which determines who goes to the state tournament, at Daniel Boone in upper East Tennessee on Saturday, March 3, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats finished as Region 2-AAA runner-up in a 57-45 loss at Bearden on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018. The girls will play in a sectional game, which determines who goes to the state tournament, at Daniel Boone in upper East Tennessee on Saturday, March 3, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

BEARDEN—The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats finished as runner-up in the regional basketball tournament at Bearden on Wednesday, and they will play in a sectional game, which determines who goes to the state tournament, at Daniel Boone in upper East Tennessee this evening (Saturday, March 3).

The runner-up in Region 2-AAA (Oak Ridge) plays at the winner of Region 1-AAA (Daniel Boone). The runner-up in Region 1-AAA (Jefferson County) plays at the winner of Region 2-AAA (Bearden). The games start at 7 p.m.

The eight girls’ teams that win in the Class AAA sectionals in Tennessee will advance to the state basketball tournament at Middle State State University in Murfreesboro on Wednesday.

Tonight’s game is the first sectional game on the road for the Lady Wildcats since 2005 at Greeneville, according to broadcaster David Clary. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge eliminates Catholic in Region 2 quarterfinal

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The 2018 Region 2-AAA boys' basketball tournament bracket.

The 2018 Region 2-AAA boys’ basketball tournament bracket.

 

Oak Ridge eliminated Catholic in a Region 2-AAA quarterfinal game at Wildcat Arena on Saturday.

The Wildcats (21-7) advanced to play Bearden (34-1) in a regional semifinal game at Bearden High School at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Oak Ridge was the District 3-AAA runner-up this year, and Bearden was the District 4 champion.

The winner of Tuesday’s semifinal will play in a state sectional game, which determines who goes to the state tournament, and the Region 2-AAA championship at 7 p.m. Thursday. The Tuesday night semifinal is an elimination game, so the season will be over for the loser.

The other semifinal Tuesday is between Powell (20-10), the District 3 champion, and Maryville (25-6), the District 4 runner-up. It’s scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Tuesday, just before the Oak Ridge-Bearden game. [Read more…]

After district win streak ends at 70, Wildcats play Catholic on Saturday

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Oak Ridge senior Seth Caldwell (4) dribbles near the basket during a 60-58 loss to Powell in the District 3-AAA championship at Halls on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Oak Ridge senior Seth Caldwell (4) dribbles near the basket during a 60-58 loss to Powell in the District 3-AAA championship at Halls on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 9:45 a.m. Feb. 25.

HALLS—Oak Ridge hadn’t lost a district game in four years, but Powell ended the Wildcats’ long 70-game win streak during the district championship at Halls last week.

It was a close game, and Oak Ridge (20-7) led after each of the first three quarters: 26-16 at the end of the first, 37-35 at the half, and 49-46 at the end of three.

But the Panthers (19-10) outscored the Wildcats 14-9 in the final quarter for a 60-58 upset victory to win the District 3-AAA basketball championship at Halls High School on Saturday, February 17.

The Wildcats missed 16 free throws, including 10 in the second half. That could have been the difference in the two-point game. Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said the missed free throws were uncharacteristic.

“It hurts to lose a game, especially a championship game,” Green said. [Read more…]