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Wildcats win district championship, then beat West in regional game

Posted at 3:34 pm February 26, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Wildcats won the District 3-AAA basketball championship with a 75-65 win over Karns on Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 3:20 p.m. Feb. 28.

Oak Ridge won the District 3-AAA basketball championship with a 75-65 win over Karns on Wednesday, and the Wildcats won a Region 2 quarterfinal game with a 78-63 victory over West at home on Sunday.

The Wildcats (25-5) will play Knoxville Catholic (25-6), the District 4 runner-up, in a regional semifinal at Wildcat Arena this evening (Tuesday, February 26).

Oak Ridge senior Marcus Smith scored 41 points during the championship win over Karns on Wednesday, with 26 points in just the fourth quarter. Eleven of those points were from free throws. Smith was named most valuable player of the district tournament.

On Sunday, Wildcats senior JaVonte Thomas scored 30 points in the Region 2 quarterfinal win over West at Wildcat Arena. Smith and Thomas have been the Wildcats’ top two scorers. Like Smith, Thomas was named to the District 3 All-Tournament Team last week.

The other semifinal game at Wildcat Arena this evening will feature Bearden (26-5), the District 4 champion, and Maryville (28-3), the number three seed from District 4. Oak Ridge is the only District 3 team in the regional tournament. [Read more…]

Boys basketball game rescheduled to Sunday

Posted at 3:36 pm February 23, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Wildcats had been scheduled to play West in a Region 2-AAA quarterfinal game today (Saturday, February 23), but the game has been rescheduled to Sunday as heavy rain causes flooding and road closures across the area.

The elimination basketball game is now scheduled for 6 p.m. Sunday at Wildcat Arena at Oak Ridge High School.

Football: Oak Ridge Wildcats 6-1 so far this season

Posted at 9:48 pm October 1, 2018
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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…]

Tennis: Three Wildcats advance to regional tournament

Posted at 3:07 pm May 14, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Pictured are Oak Ridge Wildcat brothers Ethan and Andrew Brady, who will play the number one-seeded Bearden doubles team of Grayson Marlow and James Eaves in a regional semifinal on Monday afternoon, May 14, 2018, at Tyson Park in Knoxville. (Submitted photo)

Three Oak Ridge Wildcats have advanced from the district tennis tournament to the regional tournament.

The three tennis players will compete in regional semifinals at 4:30 p.m. today (Monday, May 14) at Tyson Park in Knoxville. They face the number one seeds from West and Bearden high schools, Oak Ridge Coach David Bowman said.

Two of the three players are Wildcat brothers Ethan and Andrew Brady. They will play the number one-seeded Bearden doubles team of Grayson Marlow and James Eaves. [Read more…]

Football: Wildcats improve to 4-2 with win over Sevier County

Posted at 2:00 am September 26, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge senior linebacker Adarius Simpson (24) makes a tackle against West at home on Blankenship Field on Friday, Sept. 15, 2017. In the background is senior linebacker Cobe Angel (22). (Photo by Luther Simmons)

The Oak Ridge Wildcats improved to 4-2 for the season with a 30-14 win over Sevier County at home on Blankenship Field on Friday.

The Wildcats are now 2-0 in Region 3-5A. Their remaining four games are all region games.

After their season-opening win at home against Hardin Valley, the Wildcats:

lost 28-25 in a non-region game at Dobyns-Bennett in Kingsport on August 25,
won 17-15 in their first region game at Campbell County on September 1,
were shut out 41-0 at Farraugt, a non-region opponent, on September 8, and
won their second region game, 23-13, over West at home on September 15.

The win over Sevier County this past Friday night was the second straight win for the Wildcats.

Here are the four games remaining, all Region 3-5A games:

at home against Karns (2-4, 0-3) on Friday, September 29;
at home against Clinton (2-3, 0-1) on Friday, October 13;
at Powell (5-1, 2-1) on Friday, October 20; and
at Fulton (4-1, 2-0) on Friday, October 27.

All games start at 7:30 p.m.

Here are highlights of the season so far: [Read more…]

Football photos: Oak Ridge-West

Posted at 7:05 pm September 22, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge junior defensive back Herbert Booker (13) tackles West junior wide receiver Jackson Snodgrass (11) on Blankenship Field on Friday, Sept. 15, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

Here are photos by Luther Simmons from the Oak Ridge football game at home on Blankenship Field against West on Friday, September 15. Oak Ridge won 23-13. It was the third win of the season, out of five games total, and the second region win of two played. [Read more…]

Volleyball: Undefeated in district, Lady Wildcats win 12 straight

Posted at 4:12 pm September 14, 2017
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Pictured above during a 3-0 district win at Bearden on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017, is Oak Ridge senior Olivia Milloway (13). (Photo by Luther Simmons)

Undefeated in their district, the Oak Ridge volleyball team has won 12 straight games. They’ll play another district game, their fifth of the season, at home today (Thursday, September 14) at Oak Ridge High School.

The Lady Wildcats (19-4, 4-0 District 4-AAA) have played four district teams since August 31. They won in three sets at Powell on August 31, at home against Karns on September 5, and at Bearden on September 7.

In their most recent district game, they beat West 3-1 at West on Tuesday.

Oak Ridge will play Campbell County in a district match this evening in the Wildcat Arena at Oak Ridge High School. The junior varsity games start at 5 p.m., and varsity play begins at 6 p.m.

Under this year’s classification, Oak Ridge is in District 4 in Class AAA’s Region 2 along with Bearden, Campbell County, Karns, Halls, Powell, and West. [Read more…]

Girls soccer photos: Oak Ridge vs. West, Grace Christian

Posted at 9:18 pm September 13, 2017
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Pictured above during a 3-1 win over Grace Christian at Oak Ridge High School on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, is senior Alex Rouse (11). (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats soccer team beat Grace Christian 3-1 at home on Tuesday, August 29, and the girls defeated West 2-1 at home on Tuesday, September 12. Here are photos from the games by John Huotari of Oak Ridge Today.

(See a season summary here.) [Read more…]

Soccer: Lady Wildcats win four straight games

Posted at 8:30 pm September 13, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Pictured above during a 2-1 win over West at Oak Ridge High School on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, is freshman Lilah Brown (12). (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats soccer team has won its last four games, and the girls have won both of their district games this season.

The most recent win for the girls was a 2-1 victory at home against West on Tuesday. That was a non-district game.

Before that, the Oak Ridge girls won their last three games. Those were a 8-1 win at Heritage on August 30, a 3-1 victory at home against Grace Christian on August 29, and an 8-3 win at Campbell County, a district game, on August 22.

In their first district game on August 17, the Lady Wildcats (6-2-1, 2-0 District 3-AAA) beat Halls 8-0 at home.

Oak Ridge is playing at Farragut (5-5, 3-0 District 4-AAA) in a non-district game at 7 p.m. today (Wednesday, September 13).

Here is the girls’ record of wins and losses so far this season: [Read more…]

Boys basketball photos: Oak Ridge-West

Posted at 6:59 pm February 27, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge junior point guard Levert Smith (10) became the single-season assist leader for Oak Ridge, with 187 assists this year, during a 68-38 Region 2-AAA quarterfinal win against West at home on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. Also pictured are Oak Ridge seniors Tee Higgins (5) and Tajion Jones (3), who became only the second Wildcat to hit his 200th career three-point shot. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

Oak Ridge senior Anthony Gibson again led the Wildcats in a playoff win, this time in a Region 2-AAA quarterfinal win against West at home on Saturday. Here are photos from the game by Luther Simmons. [Read more…]

Gibson again leads Wildcats, this time in quarterfinal win over West

Posted at 5:47 pm February 27, 2017
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Oak Ridge senior Anthony Gibson (23) again led the Wildcats in a playoff win, this time in a 68-38 Region 2-AAA quarterfinal win against West at home on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

Note: This story was updated at 9 a.m. Feb. 28.

Oak Ridge senior Anthony Gibson again led the Wildcats in a playoff win, this time in a Region 2-AAA quarterfinal win against West at home on Saturday.

Gibson, a 6-foot-1 guard, scored a game-high 18 points in the elimination game at Wildcat Arena on Saturday. He had four three-points shots for 12 of those points.

Earlier in the week, on Tuesday, Gibson led Oak Ridge with 24 points as the Wildcats won their fifth straight District 3-AAA championship with an 86-58 defeat of Powell.

With the Region 2 quarterfinal win on Saturday, Oak Ridge advanced to play Maryville at Wildcat Arena at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in a semifinal elimination game. The winner of the Tuesday night Oak Ridge-Maryville game will move on to play in the Region 2-AAA championship. The season will be over for the loser.

“This is the toughest game of the year,” Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said. “There’s a lot on the line across the state.” [Read more…]

Jones named MVP as Wildcats win fifth straight district championship

Posted at 2:18 am February 23, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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…]