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Oak Ridge falls to Rhea County in thrilling fourth-quarter comeback

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Oak Ridge Wildcats Logan Fadnek and Rhea County Golden Eagles

Rhea County dampened a fourth-quarter comeback by Oak Ridge, sacking Wildcats quarterback Logan Fadnek (17) three times in one eight-play drive before intercepting him. Also pictured above is Tyler Pendleton (40) of the Golden Eagles. (Photos by Julio Culiat)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:50 a.m. Nov. 24.

Oak Ridge mounted a thrilling fourth-quarter comeback against Rhea County on Friday—narrowing a three-touchdown deficit to one—but the Wildcats were unable to make up for missed opportunities and turnovers and they fell to the Golden Eagles 35-21 in a state quarterfinal playoff game.

Down 28-7 in the final quarter, Oak Ridge scored back-to-back touchdowns in 24 seconds to close the 28-7 deficit to 28-21 with about eight minutes left to play.

After a defensive stop less than two minutes later, the Wildcats had the ball back at midfield, with a chance to tie the game. Oak Ridge fans were fired up, and Coach Joe Gaddis said he’s never heard Blankenship Field so loud. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge obliterates Knox Central on Senior Night

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Gavin Warrington Oak Ridge Wildcats

Backup quarterback Gavin Warrington (11) sparked an offensive outburst early in the third quarter, scoring on a 47-yard quarterback keeper, as the Oak Ridge Wildcats dominated the second half in a 48-7 win over Central on Friday. (Photos by Julio Culiat)

 

Wildcats open up large lead in second half

The Oak Ridge Wildcats came into Friday night’s game against the Knox Central Bobcats undefeated and hungry to pick up one last home victory for the seniors on Senior Night. The Wildcats fed that hunger and went back for seconds against the Bobcats, trouncing Knox Central 48-7, with 45 of those points coming in the second half.

The first quarter was very defense-centered for both teams, with neither team scoring a point. Even the second quarter was quiet for both teams, with the only points coming from a 40-yard field goal from Brandon Nickle with 5:40 left in the second quarter. The score at halftime was 3-0 Oak Ridge.

But during the halftime break, running back T.J. Allison said, head coach Joe Gaddis gathered his team and told them to do one thing: “Execute.”

The whole team took that message and ran with it. Allison broke out a long TD run to start out the third quarter, but the play was ultimately reversed on a holding penalty. However, just a few short plays after that, backup quarterback Gavin Warrington snuck the ball up the middle and evaded multiple defensive players on his way to a 47-yard touchdown run. With 11:19 to play in the third, the score was 10-0 Wildcats. With 6:17 left in the third, Allison broke through for a 17-yard touchdown run, this time with no penalty flags to stop him. At that point, it was a commanding 17-0 lead for Oak Ridge (9-0, 7-0 District 3-AAA). [Read more…]

Wildcats defense shines in third shutout of season

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Oak Ridge Wildcats Jaylen Nickerson and McMinn County

Junior running back Jaylen Nickerson (29) ran for two touchdowns for the Oak Ridge Wildcats at McMinn County on Friday. (Photos by Julio Culiat)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 2:15 a.m.

By Alex Myers

ATHENS, Tennessee—It was a beautiful night for a high school football game in McMinn County on Friday night.

Oak Ridge traveled down Interstate 75 Friday evening to face the Cherokees of McMinn County High School in Athens. Oak Ridge (4-0, 2-0 District 3-AAA) was coming off of a 42-0 win against Halls, while McMinn County (0-5, 0-1 District 5-AAA) was looking to rebound after a 32-point loss to Alcoa last week.

The Wildcats got things started quickly in the first quarter after getting on the board with a five-yard touchdown run from Jaylen Nickerson. Just minutes later shortly after a Cherokee turnover, Nickerson carried the ball in from 22 yards out for his second touchdown of the game.

With 1:39 left in the first quarter, junior quarterback Logan Fadnek connected with Jordan Dunbar to once again get the Wildcats into the end zone. At the end of the first quarter, Oak Ridge had jumped out to a 21-point lead. [Read more…]

Updated: Wildcats shut out Farragut on long kicks, interception

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Gavin Warrington of Oak Ridge Wildcats

Oak Ridge used two quarterbacks on Friday, junior Gavin Warrington, #11 above, and junior Logan Fadnek. Also pictured above is junior running back Isiah Jones, #20. (Photos by Julio Culiat.)

 

Note: This story was last updated with new photos at 11:30 p.m. August 30.

Oak Ridge coach Joe Gaddis savored the 13-0 shutout during the season opener against the Farragut Admirals on Friday night.

“Anytime you get out a shutout against anyone, it’s sweet,” Gaddis told the team during a post-game huddle. “Against these guys, it’s even sweeter.”

Neither offense was able to score a touchdown at Blankenship Field. The Wildcats scored twice on long kicks by junior Brandon Nickle—the first was 44 yards and the second was 46—and an interception returned up the left sideline for a 76-yard touchdown by cornerback Jemiah Hall.

Senior cornerback and wide receiver Ted Mitchell had a momentum-stopping interception near the goal line with about a minute-and-a-half to play, ending Farragut’s final drive deep in Wildcats territory.

“They were moving the ball, and I knew we had to come up with a big play,” Mitchell said of his first-ever goal-line pick. “I didn’t care who it was. Luckily, it was me.” [Read more…]

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