The Oak Ridge boys’ and girls’ basketball teams both won their second games of the regular season on Friday.
The boys (2-0) beat Bearden (2-1) 66-63 at the Stone Memorial Thanksgiving Showcase at Stone Memorial in Crossville.
The Wildcats play McCallie at the showcase at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Crossville. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge basketball teams open the 2016-2017 regular season at Christian Academy of Knoxville, or CAK, today.
The Lady Wildcats’ game is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. today, Thursday, November 17. The Wildcats’ game begins at 7:30 p.m.
CAK, a Class AA school, is at 529 Academy Way in Knoxville. (Oak Ridge is Class AAA.)
Oak Ridge senior Jake Etheridge led the Wildcats, finishing 11th in the Class AAA boys’ cross country meet at Percy Warner Park in Nashville on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Led by senior Jake Etheridge, the Oak Ridge Wildcats finished third in the state boys’ cross country meet on Saturday. Etheridge, a senior, was the 11th-place runner.
Here are pictures from the meet, which was at Percy Warner Park in Nashville. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins won’t play basketball for the Wildcats this season in order to focus on football. Higgins (5), who was then a junior, scored 25 points for the Wildcats in a double-overtime 87-85 quarterfinal loss to David Crockett in the Arby’s Classic basketball tournament in Bristol on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015. (Photo by Allen Greene/TriCitiesSports.com)
Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins, a standout in football and basketball, confirmed on Sunday that he won’t play basketball for the Wildcats this season in order to focus on football.
Higgins is a wide receiver who has committed to Clemson. He had posted on Twitter on Friday that it was his decision to not play basketball this year.
For the record everyone, it was my decision not to play basketball this year.👌🏾
— Tee Higgins (@teehiggins5) October 28, 2016
Higgins, who was listed as 6’5″ and 190 pounds earlier this football season, has been one of the most dynamic players for the Wildcats on the basketball court. He has had the ability to fire up crowds with powerful dunks. (One dunk at Gibbs in December got the attention of ESPN.) Higgins played as a freshman on the 2014 runner-up team in the state championship game, and since then, he’s been a key part of the team and a regular starter, with some memorable clutch free throws and three-point shots in big basketball games.
Higgins was regularly one of the top scorers for the Wildcats, and he was one of three Class AAA Mr. Basketball finalists earlier this year. (You can see the list of finalists and winners here.) He had picked up basketball scholarship offers from Tennessee, Louisville, Auburn, and others, according to PrepXtra at the Knoxville News Sentinel. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge sophomore Tre Jackson (6) ran for 99 yards and two touchdowns during a 28-0 region championship win at Campbell County on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
JACKSBORO—Oak Ridge won the regional championship and secured home-field advantage to start the playoffs with a 28-0 win at Campbell County on Thursday.
The Thursday night shutout win followed two disappointing losses this month, one at McMinn County and the other at Webb. Both games were decided by four points or less.
After giving up 393 yards at Webb a week earlier, the Wildcats (8-2, 5-0 Region 3-5A) held the Cougars to 183 yards of total offense in the regular-season finale on Thursday.
The defense played great, Oak Ridge Coach Joe Gaddis said.
“Nobody has really shut them down like we did tonight, and no one has come close to shutting them out,” Gaddis said. “Tonight, we were ready to play.” [Read more…]
Oak Ridge Coach Joe Gaddis was pleased with the performance of the Wildcats’ defense, which is shown here trying to stop Cougars quarterback Zach Rutherford (12) during a 28-0 region championship win at Campbell County on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
JACKSBORO—The Oak Ridge Wildcats shut out Campbell County 28-0 on Thursday to win the Region 3-5A championship, making them a top seed going into the playoffs and giving them home-field advantage in at least the first two rounds, assuming they get a win in round one.
Here are photos from the game by John Huotari of Oak Ridge Today. [Read more…]
Isabella Steade (11) plays wide receiver and cornerback for the Robertsville Middle School Rams football team. She is pictured above during the City Championship game with Jefferson Middle School on Blankenship Field on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was updated at 5:15 p.m.
A sixth-grade girl played wide receiver and cornerback for the Robertsville Middle School Rams this season.
It’s unusual but not unprecedented for a girl to play football, although it’s not clear if one has played wide receiver and cornerback before. Other girls have played for Robertsville before, but Steade might be the first one who wasn’t a kicker, Rams Coach James Branson said. He said RMS had a female kicker, Reagan Madden, a few years ago.
Oak Ridge Wildcats broadcaster David Clary said there were two females who played in the early 2000s, and one, Lori Niemeyer, kicked an extra point in a game against Sevier County in 2002. Niemeyer is the only female Wildcat to score in a football game, Clary said.
“There have been a couple of others that have played middle school though,” he said.
Other schools have also had female kickers. This year, Lenoir City High School senior Hailey Abston is the goalkeeper on the school’s soccer team and also the kicker on the football team. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins (5) returned two punts for touchdowns and he also caught a touchdown pass during a 42-10 win over Sevier County on Blankenship Field on Friday, Sept. 23, 2016. (Photo by Luther Simmons)
Senior Tee Higgins scored three touchdowns, including two on punt returns, as the Oak Ridge Wildcats jumped out to a quick 35-0 lead over Sevier County at home on Friday.
After five touchdowns in the first quarter, though, Oak Ridge only scored once more the rest of the game. Still, the scoring outburst in the first quarter was enough to give the Wildcats (6-0, 3-0 Region 3-5A) a 42-10 win.
Oak Ridge Coach Joe Gaddis said the Wildcats started well but didn’t play well in the last three quarters.
“We weren’t good after the first quarter,” Gaddis said. “We got sloppy. We got complacent.”
When you’re ahead of a team like that, Gaddis said, you’ve got to finish them. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge senior wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) dives for a touchdown on a four-yard pass in the first quarter of a 42-10 win over Sevier County on Blankenship Field on Homecoming Night on Friday, Sept. 23, 2016. (Photo by Luther Simmons)
Oak Ridge jumped to a quick 35-0 first-quarter lead over Sevier County on Friday, and the Wildcats finished with a 42-10 win on Homecoming Night. Here is the second set of photos by Luther Simmons. [Read more…]
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…]
The Oak Ridge boys cross country team finished first at the A.F. Bridges Cross Country Invitational in Nashville on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016. From left are Asher Chance, Reid Dukes, Christian Borden, Will Jeter, Jacob Etheridge, Jose Villegas, and Dalton Morgan. (Photo courtesy Allen Etheridge)
The Oak Ridge boys cross country team finished first in its first meet of the season. Oak Ridge Coach Allen Etheridge called it a great start.
Oak Ridge senior Jacob Etheridge was third in the boys 5k (5,000-meter) run, and the Wildcats had four runners in the top 10. Besides Etheridge, they were Reid Dukes (8th place), Dalton Morgan (9th), and Will Jeter (10th).
The A.F. Bridges Cross Country Invitational was in Nashville on Saturday. The Oak Ridge girls finished third. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge girls cross country team finished third in the A.F. Bridges Cross Country Invitational in Nashville on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016. From left are Ruthie Froning, Eden Gee, Maddie Zawisza, Genevieve Schwartz, Jessie Strader, Robyn Wood, and Bailey Baldwin. (Photo courtesy Allen Etheridge)
The Oak Ridge girls cross country team finished third in its first meet of the year, and Coach Allen Etheridge said the girls ran well.
Oak Ridge junior Genevieve Schwartz finished seventh in the girls 5k (5,000-meter) run with a time of 21:31.13.
The A.F. Bridges Cross Country Invitational was in Nashville on Saturday. The Oak Ridge boys finished first. [Read more…]
