Posted 8:30 p.m. October 3, 2007 OR faces first of many region showdowns Friday By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com McMinn County proved to be a trap game for Oak Ridge’s Wildcats in 2006. Coach Stanton Stevens suffered a midseason 31-30 upset loss in overtime to the Cherokees and never recovered -- going 5-5 and failing to make the playoffs. Despite the fact that powerhouse William Blount comes to Oak Ridge next week in what may be the most-anticipated Region 2 5-A game of the season, Stevens said there’s no way his Wildcats will look past McMinn County Friday night. “This is not a trap game because they beat us last year,” said Stevens. “McMinn County is a dangerous football team and we’ll have to play like we’re capable of it we want to win. If we play like we did last week against Clinton, we’ll lose.” Oak Ridge stands 5-0 overall and 2-0 in region play while the Cherokees are 4-1 and 1-1. McMinn County’s only loss came at the hands of Ooltewah, 21-14. The Cherokees already have a big region win under their belt as they knocked off Farragut 24- 21 two weeks ago. Oak Ridge and William Blount, both 2-0, are the only two undefeated teams in region play. McMinn County is in a four-way tie for third with Farragut, Ooltewah and Soddy-Daisy. As Stevens said, a win goes a long way for either team in terms of staying in the hunt for a region title and a playoff berth. “This is a very big game. It’s not necessarily a must-win, but it’s very important.” Kickoff is set for 7:30 Friday night on Blankenship Field, with homecoming activities also on tap. He’s back: There’s no doubt that McMinn County senior Devon Johnson is the most athletic quarterback in the region. Stevens also cast his vote for Johnson as the best all-around quarterback in the region. The 5-11, 188-pound Johnson led McMinn’s comeback win over Oak Ridge last year, rushing for 125 yards on only nine carries and hitting some key passes in clutch situations. “He’s so dangerous with the football in his hands,” said Stevens. “He can throw it and he can break a long run every time it’s in his hands.” Stevens said McMinn operates exclusively out of the shotgun this season. “We have to be aware of where he is and what he’s doing every play. All spread teams have a package where the quarterback keeps the ball.” McDermott II: Last season the Cherokees featured talented senior running back Tre McDermott. Friday night, you’ll see his brother, Tevin, lined up in the slot for the Cherokees. “He’s scary,” said Stevens of the 6-0, 174-pound McDermott. “He can make plays. To me, he’s just as dangerous as his brother.” SEE THE FACT SHEET HERE |
| OCTOBER 2007 ARCHIVES |
Posted 8:30 p.m. October 3, 2007 Johnson’s development a key for Lady Wildcats By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com Oak Ridge soccer coach O.J. Sheppard admiringly likes to refer to Rachel Johnson as his “Little Rooney.” That’s a commentary on both Johnson’s style of play and how far the Oak Ridge junior has come on the soccer pitch. Sheppard’s moniker of endearment for Johnson is in reference to Wayne Rooney, a hard-nosed striker for the famous Manchester United soccer team in England. Rooney subscribes to a take-no-prisoners style of play. “Rachel plays the game with that same passion,” said Sheppard. “If she only has one percent of her battery charged, she’s going to try and run it at 10 percent. She’ll run until she collapses -- that’s how hard she plays. Every time I call her ‘Little Rooney’ I get that big grin.” Johnson has had good reason to flash that smile often this season. After struggling to find her niche with the Lady Wildcats the past two seasons, Johnson has blossomed into one of the most valuable players for Sheppard, whose Ridgers host defending state Class AAA champion Bearden at 7 Thursday night at the ORHS soccer complex. “During Rachel’s first two years she struggled trying to fit in with the team and fit in with the things we were asking her to do. She worked very hard in the offseason and brought in a new physical specimen of herself.” Sheppard said there’s no doubt that Johnson has made the most significant jump of any of his players from last season. “She’s our most-improved Lady Wildcat. She’s leading the team with 14 or 15 assists and I think she has 10 goals.” Sheppard said Johnson’s improvement has helped take some of the heat off Oak Ridge’s leading scorer, Trenna Howell. “Rachel sees the field so well and is able to find Howell. That puts so much pressure on opposing teams. We recently moved her off the midfield to forward -- the last three or four games we’ve pushed her up front. That has made a big difference taking the pressure off Howell.” Johnson and Howell led the way for Oak Ridge Tuesday as the Lady Wildcats ripped visiting Karns 7-0. Howell continued her climb up the career goal lists at Oak Ridge as the Lady Wildcats clinched the regular-season district title. Howell pushed her season total to 30 goals and career mark to 79. Jennifer Goff holds both the single-season (37) and career (94) scoring records for the Lady Wildcats. While Howell led the scoring parade against Karns, Oak Ridge displayed a balanced offense. “We had six players score goals -- that’s great,” said Sheppard, whose Lady Wildcats improved to 10-4-3. “This is probably the best Karns team in 12 years, but I think the speed of our team and the size of the field burned them. We got strong midfield play and our reserves played well.” Howell opened the scoring at the 5 minutes and 21 seconds mark of the first half as she tallied after taking an assist from Chelsea Angelo. Johnson (Jennifer Lee assist) added a goal three minutes later. Meghan Hughes (Tania Ayala assist) and Maggie Alexander (Johnson assist) made it 4-0 at the half. Lee knocked in another assist by Johnson to open the second half before Howell powered in goal No. 30 of the season thanks to an assist by Angelo. Oak Ridge closed out the scoring with a goal by Rebecca Kocak at 27:05. Kathryn Grabenstein earned the assist. |
Posted 1:30 p.m. October 6, 2007 Wildcats take control in Region 2 5-A By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com
5-A standings after Week 6, but there’s still much work to do for coach Stanton Stevens’ Wildcats. The Ridgers outlasted McMinn County 34-20 Friday night on Blankenship Field to improve to 3-0 in region play and 6-0 overall. That gives the Wildcats a one-game edge over William Blount, all tied for second at 2-1 in the region. The Wildcats face another huge region game Friday night when William Blount pays a visit to Jack Armstrong Stadium. The Governors, who were edged by Maryville two weeks ago, dropped a dramatic 36-35 contest to Farragut Friday night and are coming off back-to-back one point losses. “William Blount lost Friday night, but they’re still a great football team,” said Stevens. Oak Ridge road the coat-tails of a great football player Friday in its win over McMinn County. Senior tailback Jared Stephens rushed for 308 yards on 25 carries and scored on runs of 2, 76, 85 and 58 yards. Stephens’ final score sealed the victory with 2 minutes and 47 seconds to play. He also ended McMinn County’s final drive of the night by picking off a pass and returning it 50 yards. “Jared Stephens is a heck of a football player,” said Stevens. His 308 yards trails only Spencer Gulmire’s mark of 351 (Farragut/2005) on the Oak Ridge single-game rushing benchmark list. “He just gets better every week.” With his performance against the Cherokees, Stephens pushed his season rushing totals to 1,163 yards on just 115 carries and 16 touchdowns. McMinn County squeezed in a 74-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Devon Johnson to slotback Tevin McDermott between Stephens’ first two scoring runs. The Tribe, despite managing just 16 yards in offense besides the long score in the first half, somehow trailed only 14-7 at the break. “We struggled in the first half,” said Stevens. “We had some guys pressing and turned the ball over.” Oak Ridge lost two fumbles, an interception and had a field goal blocked in the first half. Stephens’ run to start the second half was a dandy. He made a quick cut to the right after breaking the line of scrimmage and then quickly veered back to the left before setting sail on the 85-yard touchdown. “His ability to start and stop is incredible.” Stevens said his tailback got a crunching block on the play from lineman Alex Stuart. “Stuart took his man and just planted him -- it was a textbook pancake (block). If Stuart isn’t a Division I (college prospect) player, I don’t know what one is.” McMinn County kept it close as Delano Ellison scored from 1 yard out to cut the deficit to 21-13 with 1:14 to play in the third stanza. But Oak Ridge, as has been much the case all year, came up with a big play just when it needed it most. David Irby, who played the second half at quarterback in relief of Tyler Clark, connected with Ralpheal Coffey on a 39-yard touchdown strike on a fade route along the Oak Ridge sidelines with 7:40 showing. Irby was 3-for-7 for 65 yards while Clark wound up 3-for-8 for 43 yards. “We kept (Irby) in there because he was in a groove,” explained Stevens. “Tyler was kind of out of sync, so we went with David in the second half.” McMinn County answered once again as Johnson scooted around left end from 4 yards out with 5:08 to play. Oak Ridge was forced to punt on its next series, but McMinn’s final possession ended with Clark picking off a pass on the Wildcats’ 42 with 2:59 to go. Stephens settled the issue for good on the next play, bolting 58 yards for his fourth touchdown of the night. Oak Ridge wound up with 462 yards of total offense, including 354 on the ground. Although Johnson was 10-of-24 through the air for 201 yards, Oak Ridge’s defense held the Tribe to just 48 yards on 27 rushes. Johnson, who ran for 125 yards last year in MC’s upset of Oak Ridge, was held to only 21 yards on 11 tries. “Garfield (Adams) and Jeff (Miner) did a good job getting our kids ready. We worked hard on applying pressure, but not over-running the quarterback -- and the kids did a good job executing it. This year, we were determined not to let (Johnson) beat us.” Oak Ridge stat leaders Rushing: Jared Stephens 25-308, Jaraious Sykes 5-24, Kevin Summers 2-22, Andrew Kirkpatrick 4-13. Receiving: Demarcus Rogers 3-48, Ralpheal Coffey 2-43. Passing: David Irby 3-7-0 65, Tyler Clark 3-8-1 43. |
Posted 7:00 p.m. October 9, 2007 Wildcats face toughest test of year vs. William Blount By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com Coach-speak it isn’t. When Oak Ridge’s Stanton Stevens talks about William Blount in glowing terms, you can rest assured he means every word of it. “We’re gonna have to play our best game of the year to win,” said the coach of the Wildcats. Stevens’ Wildcats and Scott Meadows’ Governors square off at 7:30 Friday night on Blankenship Field in one of those pivotal swing games in ultra-competitive Region 2 5-A. No. 2-ranked Oak Ridge (6-0 overall, 3-0 in region) sits all alone atop the league standings with William Blount (4-2, 2-1), Ooltewah and Farragut right behind. This will be the fourth big game in a row for the Govs, who trounced Ooltewah (32-0) before dropping heart-breaking one-point decisions to Maryville (20-19) and Farragut (36-35) the past two weeks. “They’ve got more athletes and kids who run well than I’ve ever known at William Blount. They are an extremely complete football team.” Offensively, the Govs’ no-huddle, hurry-up attack features senior quarterback Tyler Burstrom and a fast break-offense that includes four wideouts and standout running back, junior Darrin Garner. “Offensively they spread you out and force you to defend and cover the entire field,” said Stevens. Burstrom has completed 71-of-112 passes for 641 yards with six touchdowns and five interceptions. He’s also a threat on the ground with 316 yards on 59 attempts. Garner is William Blount’s fastest player and is capable of going the distance on any play. The 5-10, 165-pounder has rushed for 889 yards on 99 tries (12 touchdowns) and is WB’s leading receiver (25-207). Don Cope is the Govs’ big-play receiver, averaging 17.4 yards on 24 grabs. While William Blount was burned for 36 points last week by Farragut, the Govs have been dominating at times. William Blount’s defense is especially dangerous when it can go after the quarterback. Defensive end T.J. Walker (6-3, 230) is being courted by several SEC-caliber schools, including Alabama. Junior linebacker Cole Lail (6-1, 220) is William Blount’s leading tackler and is another big-time collegiate prospect in the making. “Their defense reminds me of a really good Kingsport defense,” said Stevens. “They’re really good up front, led by the Walker kid.” William Blount also has perhaps the top punter in East Tennessee in senior Kase Whitehead, who is headed to Marshall next season. “Their special teams are exceptional. They have a punter who can flip the field on you at any time.” A “Sterling” scouting report: Stevens said an encouraging aspect of last week’s William Blount- Farragut game was the ability of Farragut tailback Andre Sterling to run on the Govs’ highly touted defense. Sterling torched the William Blount defense for 306 yards on 35 carries and scored the game- winner on a 74-yard run with 42 seconds left to play. Of course, Oak Ridge has a quality tailback of its own in Jared Stephens. “Farragut’s ability to run the ball on William Blount gives us hope,” said Stevens. “Andre Sterling was literally a one-man show against them.” Speaking of Sterling and Stephens, the two senior tailbacks are in a statistical fight to lead East Tennessee in rushing. Sterling has carried the football 161 times for 1,340 yards (8.3 average) and 17 touchdowns. Stephens’ numbers include 1,163 yards on 115 attempts for a healthy 10.0 average and 16 scores. The two teams -- and two tailbacks -- meet in Week 10 on Blankenship Field. |
Howell sets OR scoring mark; Lady Wildcats set for postseason By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com
night as the Lady Wildcats blasted visiting Halls 15-0. Howell set an Oak Ridge single-game scoring record with seven goals -- and moved into a tie with Jennifer Goff for most goals (37) in a season. The senior striker clicked on 7 of 11 shots and registered her seven goals despite playing just 42 minutes. “She had four goals in the first 17 minutes,” said Sheppard. “Then, we sat her out along with all of our forwards and midfielders. We played our second string and JV players for much of the first half. Sheppard said he decided to let Howell go for the record after she scored consecutive goals at the 11- and 12-minute marks of the second half. “Some might criticize me (for keeping Howell in the game), but if she got close to it (the record) we were gonna give her a shot at it. A player the stature of Howell deserves to leave her name on the program.” Howell’s record-setting score came at the 12:40 mark of the second half on an assist from Maggie Alexander. Lori Boren had the previous single-game mark for OR with six goals. Sheppard said Howell is in select company. “You’re talking about a special class of strikers in Boren, Goff and Howell.” Oak Ridge had seven other players score goals against the Lady Red Devils. Kaelyn Angelo marked twice while Alexander, Maddie Bishop, Meghan Underwood, Rachel Johnson, Chelsea Angelo and Tania Ayala also scored goals. Alexander dished out three assists while Johnson and Hailey Nichols had two apiece. Oak Ridge had 35 shots on goal to Halls’ 1. The Lady Wildcats (11-4-3) finished up 6-0 in District 3-AAA play and now get ready for postseason action. Sheppard said OR opens play in the district tournament semifinals on either Tuesday or Wednesday night at 7 at the Oak Ridge soccer complex against the winner of a Monday quarterfinal contest between Powell and Central. “We’re 0-0 right now, so it’s a brand new season. We may have gone through the district unscathed, but we’re taking everybody as if it’s a state championship match now.” |
Posted 7:00 p.m. October 14, 2007 ’Cats fall to William Blount as Region 2 standings get interesting By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com Any more lingering questions about which Class 5-A region is the toughest in the state? William Blount handed Oak Ridge its first loss of the season, 21-10 Friday night on Blankenship Field, throwing Region 2 5-A into a wild four-way scramble at the top. The Governors, Wildcats, Farragut and Ooltewah are all 3-1 in region play with three weeks to go in the regular season. The Admirals, who beat William Blount two weeks ago, are the only team that controls its destiny as far as finishing first. If Farragut wins out against Ooltewah, Soddy-Daisy and Oak Ridge, the Admirals are the region champs no matter what the other three teams do. Oak Ridge coach Stanton Stevens, whose Wildcats dropped to 6-1 overall with the loss to William Blount, said he would welcome a rematch with the Govs (5-2) come postseason time. “They took it to us tonight, but we look forward to maybe meeting them again,” said Stevens. “I’m confident this team will bounce back.” Friday’s matchup was a turnover-fest that saw Oak Ridge lose five interceptions and two fumbles. William Blount defensive back Don Cope picked off four tosses by OR quarterbacks. “We made him all-state tonight,” said Stevens of Cope. “If you lose five interceptions and fumble on the goal, you’re gonna lose. I’ll take the blame for that -- I didn’t put the kids in position to win.” William Blount, which had turnovers woes of its own, overcame a 10-0 lead by the Wildcats midway through the first quarter. Coach Scott Meadows’ Govs lost three fumbles (including two on the Oak Ridge 10 in the second half), an interception and had a punt blocked that was returned for a touchdown. The Wildcats looked like they might turn the contest into a blowout early. Tyler Clark blocked Kase Whitehead’s punt, and Oak Ridge lineman Tony Carson ran it in from 4 yards out to put the Ridgers on the scoreboard first at the 7 minutes and 22 seconds mark of the first quarter. Will Hudson’s PAT made it 7-0. Whitehead mishandled a high snap on his next punt attempt and Oak Ridge took over on the William Blount 4. However, Oak Ridge had to settle for a 27-yard field goal by Hudson at the 4: 48 mark. From there, it was all William Blount. The Governors rattled off 72 plays to Oak Ridge’s 41 and totaled 331 yards to the Wildcats’ 98. “Our defense played like it’s capable of,” said Meadows, whose Govs were shredded for 36 points by Farragut just two weeks ago. “That’s the way William Blount’s defense usually plays. We didn’t do anything special, we just played our style of defense.” Oak Ridge ran only one play in William Blount territory in the second half as the Governors shut down tailback Jared Stephens (14 carries, 35 yards) and Wildcat quarterbacks Tyler Clark and David Irby combined on just 3-of-15 passes with five interceptions. “They took it to us,” said Stevens. “My hat’s off to their defensive coordinator.” William Blount got on track in the second quarter as quarterback Tyler Burstrom hit wideout Grey Clevenger for touchdowns of 4 and 3 yards. Burstrom was 19-for-28 on the night for 206 yards as William Blount’s passing game mixed it up with inside screens, intermediate routes and down-the-field throws. Oak Ridge suffered a momentum-breaking turnover in the second quarter after the Govs cut the gap to 10-7. The Wildcats quickly moved to the William Blount 1 as fullback Kevin Summers bolted for 11 yards and Clark hit Stephens with a 38-yard over-the-shoulder catch. However, two plays later, Stephens was blasted as he tried to go in from the 1, fumbled, and Burstrom recovered. The lone score of the second half was a 28-yard pass from Burstrom to Chase Helton. Brad Cochran then hauled in the 2-point conversion pass from Burstrom to make it 21-10 with 11:12 to play. William Blount also got an outstanding effort from junior tailback Darrin Garner, who rambled for 119 yards on 22 carries. Garner, maybe the fastest guy on the field, also caught six passes for 38 yards. In addition to his exploits on defense, Cope grabbed six Burstrom strikes for 70 yards. Coming off the key loss to Farragut, Cope said it’s good to be back in the thick of the region race. “We kept our head up -- we had to have this win. We’re back in the fight for the region.” In a fight … along with Oak Ridge, Farragut and Ooltewah. Oak Ridge heads to Soddy-Daisy Friday night before closing out the season at Ooltewah and in Week 10 against Farragut on Blankenship Field. It should be a wild final three weeks of the regular season. Stay tuned. |
Posted 7:00 p.m. October 14, 2007 OR boys first, girls third at Great American race in Alabama By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com Going up? Look for Oak Ridge’s boys to move up in the Southeast rankings after a sterling performance Saturday at the 9th Annual Great American Cross-Country Festival in Hoover, Ala. Coach Allen Etheridge’s Wildcats totaled 101 points to post a 35-point win over runnerup Chattanooga Baylor. Oak Ridge came in ranked No. 8 in the Southeast while Baylor was ranked third. Rounding out the top-five teams in the 19-team field were Kellenberg (148), Hoover (154) and Lilburn, Ga. (173). Hoover and Lilburn were ranked fifth and seventh, respectively, in the Southeast, while Kellenberg was the No. 5 team in New York. “We’re clearly one of the top couple of teams in the Southeast,” said Etheridge, who had been pointing towards Saturday’s race since last June. “The plan, ideally, was to start running a great race at the Great American because the boys really want to go to the nationals. There was a lot riding on this race.” The top two teams in the Southeast region at the end of the season advance to the nationals; and, the Wildcats certainly did nothing to hurt their aspirations Saturday. Oak Ridge rode the 1-2 punch of Maclean O’Donnell and Phil Riemer at the top. O’Donnell ran the 5k course in 16 minutes and 13 seconds to place 10th. Riemer was one place back in 16:14. “Maclean had side stitches a half-mile into the race -- he really had to gut it out. That shows his commitment to the team. There were some college coaches there who were interested in Phil. He wanted them to see that he could show up and play. Riemer passed about nine guys in the last 600 meters.” Emerson Peacock (28th, 16:36) and Chris Ostrouchov (38th, 16:51) also turned in superlative efforts for OR. “Without question, the biggest race for us was by Chris Ostrouchov. He just decided this is what he’s gonna do, and he PR’d (personal-record) by 20-to-24 seconds. He was just outstanding. He ran from the front, got out and held on. “We also got a huge race out of Emerson. He has moved himself up little by little to our top pair of guys. His points at No. 3 made a huge difference.” The Wildcats other varsity finishers were: 44. Chris Cole 16:59; 48. John Sharpe 17:04; 85. Ethan McGroom 17:30. “Chris is still working his way back up. I’m confident in six weeks he’s gonna be running up there with Maclean and Phil. I have a lot of confidence in him as a racer. John was right behind him. John takes everything out of himself when he’s racing -- there’s nothing left at the end. That was a nice breakthrough race for him.” Individually, Brentwood’s Sean Keveren broke the course standard with a clocking of 15:37. West’s Matt Sonnenfeldt had probably his best race ever as the East Tennessee standout was second in 15:44. On the girls’ side, Oak Ridge (124) took third place behind nationally ranked Mountain Brook (73) of Birmingham, and Collins Hill, Ga. (99). Mountain Brook was ranked second in the Southeast and No. 7 in the country. “Mountain Brook was ridiculous -- they are really, really good. Our girls did exactly what I wanted. The schools that beat us, should have beat us. I really hope our girls don’t get overshadowed (by the Oak Ridge boys) in this meet because I feel really good where they’re at.” Junior Ashley Brasovan of Wellington, Fla., not only set a course record in 17:05, she probably established herself as the top distaff runner in the nation with her showing. Her mark shaved 24 seconds off the previous course record. Oak Ridge got a benchmark-type performance from Melanie Kulesz, who took 22nd in 19:16. “That’s without a doubt the best race I’ve ever seen Melanie run,” applauded Etheridge. “Somewhere in the last mile, Melanie took over. Her 19:16 puts her among the top-10 runners ever (at Oak Ridge) in terms of time. That was a great race by her.” Autumn Gipson, one of the top sophomores in the race, grabbed 25th place for the Wildcats in 19:24. “I know Autumn isn’t used to running No. 2, but that’s a solid result for her.” Adrian Etheridge, just a ninth-grader, was the No. 37 finisher in 19:54. “She didn’t run the race like a freshman. She was out like a cannon in 5:57 (first mile) and PR’d for two miles.” Other results for the Lady Wildcats were: 42. Corinne Lariviere 19:59; 54. Leslie Jenkins 20:13; 72. Whitney Irby 21:02; 99. Lauren Irby 21:59. Etheridge said Lauren Irby’s race was special given the fact it was her first varsity race ever and she set a personal-best time. Next up for Oak Ridge is the Region 2 meet, which will be held a week from Thursday at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville. |
Lady Wildcats await West in district title game By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com
postseason soccer play in style Wednesday night with a resounding 7-0 win over visiting Powell in the District 3-AAA semifinals. Coach O.J. Sheppard’s Lady Wildcats (12-4-3), winners for the sixth game in a row, host West at 7 Friday night in the district championship game. West blanked Karns 3-0 in its semifinal contest. “This team is the most focused team I’ve ever had,” said Sheppard. “Our girls have been waiting a year to win back the district (from West).” Sheppard, who sat out senior all-state player Trenna Howell (ankle) Wednesday as a precautionary measure, watched Nichols pick up the slack. Nichols blasted a pair of first-half goals past the Powell keeper and added one more after intermission to lead the Oak Ridge scoring attack. “I thought Nichols would be a good fit up front, and she lived up to it with three nice goals. It puts other teams on notice that we have other people besides Howell who can score.” Sheppard also lauded the play of Jennifer Lee and Alexis Franco. Lee scored at the 8 minutes and 53 seconds mark of the second half to make it 5-0 Lady Wildcats. Franco recorded OR’s second score and handed out a late assist. The Lady Wildcats also got goals from Kaelyn Angelo and Briana Holmes. Rachel Johnson dished out three assists to lead Oak Ridge in that department. West and Oak Ridge advance to Tuesday’s Region 2 semifinals regardless of the outcome of Friday night’s game. Bearden and Farragut square off tonight in the District 4-AAA title game. If Oak Ridge beats West, the Lady Wildcats will host the loser of the Bearden-Farragut contest at 7 Tuesday at the ORHS soccer facility. If West downs OR, the Lady Wildcats will travel to the Bearden-Farragut winner Tuesday. Free kicks: Oak Ridge could have a big wild-card starting Friday night as sophomore Greta Jochman is eligible for the first time this season. Jochman, a transfer student from Webb, gives the Lady Wildcats another scoring threat and adds a strong presence both physically and skill- wise. … The latest Class AAA rankings find Oak Ridge at No. 8. Farragut No. 2, Bearden No. 7 and Collerville No. 1. |
Posted 7:00 p.m. October 18, 2007 Wildcats look to get back on track against Trojans By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com
like a blip on the radar screen than theTitanic crashing into the iceberg. Coming off the 21-10 loss to the Governors, Stevens’ Wildcats (6-1, 3-1) look to get back on track Friday night at 7:30 as they travel to Region 2 5-A foe Soddy-Daisy (2-5, 1-3). Oak Ridge, locked in a four-way tie atop the region standings, can ill-afford a loss if it entertains any hope of taking first place in the region. “We’ve got to win ’em all,” said Stevens, referring to the final three games against the Trojans, Ooltewah and Farragut. “To me, our goals haven’t changed. We’re capable of winning them all -- and, if we don’t -- it’s because we don’t show up in some phases of the game. We’re gonna go in Friday night with the mentality of taking care of business.” Considering what’s waiting for Oak Ridge the final two weeks of the season, Stevens said the Wildcats can ill-afford a sloppy performance against a Soddy-Daisy team that is coming off a 22-0 blanking at the hands of McMinn County. The Trojans have wins over Bradley Central (14-10) and Hixson (37-7). Their other losses have been to Red Bank (37-21), William Blount (31-6), Rhea County (34-7) and Heritage (20-13). “We’ve got to reduce our fumbles and penalties -- I was more worried about our fumbling than the interceptions last week.” Stevens said Oak Ridge’s offensive line -- after performing well the first six weeks -- stumbled against the Governors. “The William Blount game was the first game we didn’t block well. The big thing was we didn’t block the right guys.” Stevens said the Wildcats may be shorthanded up front Friday, with linemen James Normand, Alex Stuart and Chris Weller hampered with an assortment of ailments and injuries. At quarterback, Stevens said Tyler Clark will get the starting nod once again after giving way to David Irby for much of the second half against William Blount. “Tyler is the starter. David is getting to the point where we feel he’s more capable, but he hasn’t done anything to beat out Tyler.” Other Region 2 5-A games Friday include: William Blount (5-2, 3-1) at McMinn County (5-2, 2-2), Ooltewah (6-1, 3-1) at Farragut (6-1, 3-1) and Heritage (1-6, 1-3) at Bradley Central (2-5, 0-4).
Kickoff: 7:30 Friday night. Place: Soddy-Daisy High School. Records & rankings: Oak Ridge Region 2 5-A (6-1, 3-1) ranked No. 7 in the state; Soddy-Daisy Region 2 5-A (2-5, 1-3). Series record: Oak Ridge leads 7-1. Last meeting: (2006) Oak Ridge 21, Soddy-Daisy 0. Coaches: Oak Ridge--Stanton Stevens (third year at Oak Ridge, 24-8; ninth year overall, 86-22). Soddy-Daisy--Tom Weathers, fourth season. About the series: The two most memorable games in the series came in 2000-01. In 2000, the Wildcats and Trojans combined for 97 points in a wild 56-41 win by Oak Ridge on Blankenship Field. The following season at Soddy-Daisy, Oak Ridge dropped a 28-21 Week 10 loss in overtime that kept coach Bruce Lussier’s Wildcats out of the playoffs. Oak Ridge statistical leaders: Rushing…Jared Stephens 129-1213 (9.4), Jaraious Sykes 28-178 (6.4), Kevin Summers 14-118 (8.4). Receiving…Ralpheal Coffey 17-366 (21.5), Demarcus Rogers 11-212 (19.3). Passing…Tyler Clark 22-43 480, David Irby 7-15 72. Tackles…Kevin Summers 49-43-92, Drew Kirkpatrick 27-46 73, Jeremy Vaughan 24-26-50, Zach Zulliger 32-5-37, Stefone Gibson 22-13-35, Chris Weller 14-17-31, Tyler Clark 15-13-28. Scoring…Jared Stephens 98 (16 tds, 1 2-pt. conversion), Will Hudson 29 (3-6 fgs, 20-21 xp), Ralpheal Coffey/Demarcus Rogers 24 (4 tds). |
Posted 7:00 p.m. October 21, 2007 ‘Sudden-death’ time for the Wildcats By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com
Forget that, said Oak Ridge coach Stanton Stevens. With Region 2 5-A seedings at stake the next two weeks against Ooltewah and Farragut, Stevens said he has already shifted into the win-’em-all mentality after the Wildcats’ 27-3 triumph at Soddy-Daisy Friday night. As far as Stevens is concerned, it’s almost sudden-death from here on out. “We want to win every game and finish 9-1,” said Stevens. “The road to get there is gonna be tough, but we want to win out and lock up second place in the region.” Oak Ridge’s Friday night win moved the Wildcats to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in region play. Farragut and William Blount also won Friday night, to run their regional records to 4-1. Oak Ridge closes out the regular season with games at Ooltewah Friday night and Farragut in two weeks on Blankenship Field. The Wildcats will likely finish second in the region if they win out, but could finish as low as fourth if they fall in the final two weeks of the season. Stevens would just as soon finish 2-0 and not leave anything to chance. “We want to win out so we’ll be assured of second place.” Oak Ridge overcame a slow start to subdue Soddy-Daisy (2-6, 1-4). The Trojans’ Zack Martin booted a 29-yard field goal to put S-D on top 3-0 in the second quarter. Oak Ridge answered with a 70-yard pass from Tyler Clark to Jared Stephens for six points and a Will Hudson conversion kick to make it 7-0 at the half. The Wildcats added a third-quarter score on a 34-yard pass from David Irby to Ralpheal Coffey. OR posted two more touchdowns in the final 12 minutes as Kevin Summers bolted over from the 5 and linebacker Stefone Gibson returned an interception 40 yards for the score. “We started out slow,” said Stevens. “We had a hangover from the William Blount game and there wasn’t a lot of emotion. We came out really flat.” Stevens said the team’s play was much-improved in the second half with quarterbacks Clark and Irby leading the way. “Both quarterbacks looked good and I thought both rebounded (from the William Blount game). I thought the second half was probably one of the best we’ve played.” In the hunt and the mix: William Blount and Farragut are in the driver’s seat for the Region 2 championship. If Farragut defeats Soddy-Daisy and Oak Ridge the next two weeks, the Admirals (7-1, 4-1) are the region champs. William Blount appears headed to a 6-1 region record with final games against heavy underdogs Bradley Central and Heritage. If William Blount and Farragut win out, the Admirals would take the region due to their earlier 36- 35 victory over the Governors. If William Blount and Oak Ridge should win out and finish 6-1 in region play, the Governors would take the title due to the tiebreaker -- their 21-10 win over the Wildcats. If the Wildcats win their final two games of the regular season, the Wildcats can finish no worse than second. Got it? |
Posted 7:00 p.m. October 21, 2007 OR girls face Tuesday showdown with Farragut By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com
Region 2-AAA soccer semifinal showdown is much like a loser leaves town match. The winner lives to play another day (Thursday) -- against the Bearden vs. West victor -- but the loser packs up their shin-guards for another season. “That’s the unfortunate thing about this region,” said Lady Wildcats coach O.J. Sheppard, referring to the fact that Region 2 is home to three of the top teams in Tennessee high school soccer. The Lady Wildcats (13-4-3) enter Tuesday’s 7 p.m. fray at the ORHS soccer complex on a seven-game winning streak against 17-3-1 Farragut. On the other side of the region bracket, it’s no slouch either as defending state champion Bearden (17-2-1) hosts West (12-6-1). The regional semifinals winners advance to Thursday’s championship round and claim an automatic berth in Saturday’s sub-state. The losers are done for the season. “If our team shows up and plays like I know we can, I like our odds (against Farragut),” said Sheppard, whose Lady Wildcats knocked off West 2-0 Friday night in the District 3-AAA title matchup. Freshman Hailey Nichols tallied in the first half for Oak Ridge against West and sophomore Jennifer Lee found net in the second half to account for the goals. Nichols’ score came off an assist by Maggie Alexander at the 30 minutes and 16 seconds point of the first half. Lee’s goal was unassisted, coming at the 23-minute mark or the second half. All told, Oak Ridge had 18 shots on goal to West’s 1. “This is back-to-back games she (Nichols) has hit the game-winner,” said Sheppard. “Lee was just absolutely awesome. We’ve talked to her all season about attacking and she beat four players on her goal.” Sheppard said the score could have been much more lopsided if not for the effort of West keeper Caitlin Cody. “She made five or six big-league saves.” Ironically, Farragut is the last team to beat Oak Ridge. The Lady Admirals handed OR a 3-1 setback back on Sept. 20. Since then, Oak Ridge has reeled off seven wins in a row. The teams have a long history of back-and-forth success. Farragut, which lost to the Lady Wildcats twice during the regular season in 2006, knocked off Oak Ridge 1-0 in overtime in last year’s Region 2 semifinals. In the teams’ last 11 meetings, the series stands knotted at 5-5-1. Sheppard said he sees a couple of keys Tuesday night. “Our midfield has got to play strong and we’ve got to be able to attack with our midfielders and find our forwards. Defensively, we’ve got to take space away from Farragut. We’ve got to slow down (Casey) Ulrich and (Ashley) Reveiz.” Sheppard likes his team’s chances going into Tuesday’s matchup. “It has been a close series, but I think we’ve shown better on our home field. Our team is playing well -- I think we’ll be focused.” |
Posted 7:00 a.m. October 25, 2007 Lady Wildcats advance to Region 2 finals By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com
disappointing 6-4-3 and had a couple of choices. Muddle through the rest of what had been a promising season or take charge of your destiny. Eight games later, it’s quite apparent coach O.J. Sheppard’s Lady Wildcats chose the later. Oak Ridge eliminated visiting Farragut 2-1 in the Region 2-AAA semifinals Wednesday night to move within one win of earning a trip to next week’s state tournament in Chattanooga. The Lady Wildcats (14-4-3) entertain Bearden (18-2-1) at 7 tonight in the Region 2-AAA championship game, with both teams advancing to sub-state play Saturday. Tonight’s winner hosts the loser of the Region 1 title contest between Science Hill and Greeneville. The loser must make the long trek to upper East Tennessee to take on the Region 1 victor. For Oak Ridge, the win over Farragut (18-4-1) not only atoned for an earlier loss -- it erased bitter memories of a 1-0 loss to the Lady Admirals in last year’s Region 2 semis. “It’s everything for the kids to get past Farragut,” said Sheppard. “This is absolutely huge. Now we can play against Bearden free. The worst case is we travel Saturday.” Sheppard’s Lady Wildcats were on top of their game this time out against Farragut as they won for the eighth match in a row. Freshman Kaelyn Angelo banged in both goals for OR in opportunistic fashion. Angleo opened the scoring 24 minutes and 25 seconds into the match after a shot by Kathryn Grabenstein bounced off Farragut goalie Megan Buzzeo. Angelo calmly booted the deflection into the Farragut net -- and that score stood the test in the first half as Oak Ridge led 1-0 at the break. Angelo later supplied the game-winning goal with 14 minutes to play when she headed in the aftermath of a long-range shot by sophomore Greta Jochman that clicked off the crossbar. Farragut mounted in a late surge, but managed only a lone goal off the foot of Mindy Hopkins inside of two minutes to play. Defense was the difference as Oak Ridge threw a fence around Farragut forwards Casey Ulrich and Ashley Reviez. “Our defense played absolutely outstanding and (Lauren) Fritts played great in goal,” said Sheppard. Fritts entered the game gunning for a school-record seventh shutout in a row and came within two minutes of achieving that goal as she stopped Farragut’s first six shots before Hopkins finally broke through. |
Posted 7:30 p.m. October 23, 2007 OR cross country teams ready to put exclamation point on season By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com At this point, it’s all about cementing a legacy for the Oak Ridge boys. The Wildcats can take the first step this postseason in completing one of the great six-year runs in the history of Tennessee cross-country by winning the Region 2-AAA championship Thursday. Coach Allen Etheridge’s Wildcats will be going for their sixth regional crown in a row when the opening gun goes off 9:45 a.m. at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville. The top-three teams advance to the Nov. 3 state championship meet in Brentwood, where Oak Ridge is the two-time defending champion. “The thing I worry about is this is the lowest-key race we’ve run all year, but I think the guys realize a lot is on the line,” said Etheridge, referring to his team’s participation in some of the top meets in the southeast this fall. While Oak Ridge is the solid favorite, Etheridge said he expects a stiff challenge from a talented Maryville squad. “I think Maryville is really good. They’re in that top handful of teams in the state. I think we’re gonna have to run pretty well to win the region.” Senior Maclean O’Donnell is also out to defend his individual regional crown for the Wildcats. Etheridge said the individual winner should come from the trio of O’Donnell, Oak Ridge’s Phil Riemer and West’s Matt Sonnenfeldt. “Maclean looks like he’s ready to run. To me, it’s not likely that anyone besides O’Donnell, Riemer or Sonnenfeldt will win. They’re that much better than anybody else.” O’Donnell won last year’s region, touring the three-mile course in a time of 16 minutes and 28 seconds -- four seconds faster than Sonnenfeldt. Also running for the OR boys will be Emerson Peacock, Chris Cole, Chris Ostrouchov, John Sharpe and Ethan McGroom. Meanwhile, the young Oak Ridge girls are perhaps in the process of building a similar legacy. The Lady Wildcats will be gunning for their third region title in a row and hope to set the stage for a run at next week’s state Class AAA championship. “Traditionally, this has been the strongest region in the state -- and it has been for 30 years. But, it would be hard for me to imagine somebody in the region challenging us (the Lady Wildcats) this year,” said Etheridge. “What we’ve got going for us is we’ve got five girls who could run No. 1 for most people.” Etheridge said he has two girls capable of running No. 1 Thursday -- Melanie Kulesz and Autumn Gipson. Gipson placed fourth in last year’s region as a freshman while Kulesz was fifth. Leslie Jenkins also took sixth for Oak Ridge. William Blount’s Kristen Tithof, the 2006 regional champion, is back to defend her crown. “Autumn and Melanie are two of the favorites for the individual championship. If Jenkins shows up to play, she’s our No. 3 runner.” Also running for the Lady Wildcats will be Corinne Lariviere, Adrian Etheridge, Lauren Irby and Whitney Irby. Moving up: Oak Ridge continues to make a move toward the top of the DyeStat Southeast Region cross-country rankings. The OR boys jumped from eighth to No. 3 in the Southeast in the latest poll, trailing only No. 1 Oakton (Va.) and No. 2 Midlothian (Va.). On the distaff side, the Lady Wildcats moved from seventh to fifth. The top-ranked girls in the Southeast are from Mountain Brook (Ala.). |
Posted 7:30 p.m. October 23, 2007 Wildcats look to snap Ooltewah’s streak
editor@oakridgesports.com You can’t quite say Ooltewah has Oak Ridge’s number on the football field. Yet. However, a win by the Owls over the Wildcats Friday night would probably validate that statement as Ooltewah shoots for its third victory in a row over Oak Ridge. The Owls (5-2, 3-2) and ’Cats (7-1, 4-1) go at it at 7:30 in Ooltewah in a pivotal Region 2 5-A contest. Oak Ridge is tied for the region lead with Farragut and William Blount while the Owls are fighting for an upper-tier playoff spot. Ooltewah leads the all-time series against the Wildcats, 4-2. OR coach Stanton Stevens said the Owls will be a huge challenge once again. “They seem to be extremely athletic,” said Stevens. “Up front, they’re big and they’ve got some really good-looking kids.” The best-looking kid of them all may be 5-7, 190-pound running back Brian Marshall. A three- year starter, Marshall has rushed for 934 yards on 126 carries in seven games. Marshall scored five touchdowns for the Owls last week in a 44-41 loss to Farragut and has 13 on the year. “The Marshall kid is a lot like Jared (Stephens, Oak Ridge tailback). He can be anywhere on the field -- when he breaks it, he’s gone.” The Wildcats actually did a pretty good job on Marshall last season, limiting him to 109 yards on 29 carries in a 23-6 loss. “We can’t give up big plays to Marshall. If he runs wild, it’s gonna be tough for us to win.” Stevens said the last thing he wants is a shootout like last week’s Ooltewah-Farragut game. “We’ve got to adjust to their speed as quickly as possible. They’re gonna score some points on offense, but we’ve got to make sure they don’t run hog wild.” While Marshall is the Owls’ main man, he’s hardly their only weapon in an offense that is capable of putting up lots of points on the scoreboard. Matthew Polk is another weapon at running back. Polk posted 140 yards on only seven carries in a recent win over Heritage. Sophomore quarterback Brady Reed is a transfer from Baylor who has lots of potential, according to Stevens. “This kid is going to be really good.” Reed has a trio of solid receivers to throw to in Gino Norwood, Ryne Shumaker and Nathan Swafford. In last week’s loss to Farragut, Reed passed for 216 yards with Shumaker hauling in seven of those tosses for 132 yards. Up to speed: Stevens said Oak Ridge may be as healthy Friday night as it has since the season started. “Right now (Tuesday afternoon) I anticipate having all of our starters back, except maybe Jeremy Vaughan.” Vaughan banged up his knee last week against Soddy-Daisy and the extent of his injury is still being evaluated, according to Stevens. It’s time: Stevens said quarterbacks Tyler Clark and David Irby need to step up their level of play from here on out for Oak Ridge to have a chance to make a long run in the playoffs. “Our quarterbacks need to carry us more so we don’t have to rely on the run so much.” Stevens said he’ll continue the trend of using both quarterbacks, especially since Clark rarely gets a break on the field. “We’ll continue to use both guys. Tyler is on the punt team, he’s on the kickoff-return team and he’s playing all the time on defense. I don’t think people realize how much football he is playing for us. If Tyler is in (at quarterback) and he’s tired, he’s not effective. We’ve got to continue to use both guys at quarterback.” |
Kickoff: 7:30 Friday night. Place: Ooltewah High School. Records & rankings: Oak Ridge Region 2 5-A (7-1, 4-1) ranked No. 7 in the state; Ooltewah Region 2 5-A (5-2, 3-2). Series record: Ooltewah leads 4 wins to 2. Last meeting: (2006) Ooltewah 23, Oak Ridge 6. Coaches: Oak Ridge--Stanton Stevens (third year at Oak Ridge, 25-8; ninth year overall, 87-22). Ooltewah--Benny Monroe (third year at Ooltewah, 27-6; overall 238-59). About the series: Ooltewah has won the last two meetings in the series. A year ago, the Owls downed Oak Ridge 23-6 as the Wildcats could muster only 104 yards in total offense. Ooltewah tailback Brian Marshall ran for 106 yards on 29 carries. |
Posted 8:00 p.m. October 26, 2007 Lady Wildcats travel to Science Hill after loss to Bearden By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com The bad news is that Oak Ridge’s girls saw a huge win slip away Thursday night in the Region 2-AAA soccer finals against Bearden. The good news is it really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Coach O.J. Sheppard’s Lady Wildcats -- despite the heartbreaking 2-1 loss to the defending state champs -- live to play another day. Oak Ridge travels to Johnson City Saturday (6 p.m.) to take on Science Hill (10-3-1) for the right to advance to next week’s state tournament at Girls Preparatory School in Chattanooga. “I expect us to do well,” said Sheppard, whose girls (14-5-3) saw an eight-game winning streak snapped by the Lady Bulldogs. “We have got to travel 120 miles and our team has got to be ready to play, but I firmly believe everything happens for a reason.” Oak Ridge has to travel Saturday because Bearden (19-2-1) pulled out a rally for the ages. Lady Bulldogs freshman Samantha Turner scored the winning goal with 1 minute and 47 seconds to play to pull out the victory. The winning goal came after some pinpoint passing from Amy Porter to Caroline Gianeselli to Turner for the eventual score. “Everything lined up for Turner,” said Sheppard. “Porter passes to Gianeselli and then Turner winds up and splits it. I’ve seen Turner (Bearden coach Eric) win more games in the last two minutes than any guy I’ve ever seen, but that’s the mark of a good team. They executed the perfect pass on that play.” Oak Ridge pretty much controlled dominated the first 30 minutes of the final half after the teams went to the break scoreless. Sophomore Greta Jochman, courtesy of an assist by Trenna Howell, put the Lady Wildcats on top 1-0 at the 46:27 mark of the match. That stood until Bearden tied things up with 12:31 to play as Ashley Howarth tapped in a goal from point-blank range on her way to sliding into goal. The loss spoiled a sterling effort in goal by Oak Ridge keeper Lauren Fritts. The junior kept the Lady Wildcats in the match in the first half as she stopped several legitimate Bearden scoring opportunities. All told, Fritts had eight saves on the night -- and the majority of them were of highlight-reel caliber. “I gave her a big hug after the game,” said Sheppard. “Fritts kept us in the game. She’s a young, exciting goalkeeper.” Oak Ridge suffered a key loss early in the game when junior defender Gwen Lawson went down with a knee injury. Sheppard said the extent of Lawson’s injury -- and her availability for the Science Hill game -- was yet to be determined. If Oak Ridge knocks off Science Hill, the Lady Wildcats would open state tournament play Wednesday. Second-round games are set for Thursday and the Class AAA finals are at 2:30 Saturday at GPS. |
Posted 6:30 p.m. October 28, 2007 Wildcats smack Ooltewah 17-7 By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com OOLTEWAH--Stanton Stevens has insisted all along. If his Oak Ridge offense can generate just a few points, the Wildcats’ hard-hitting defense will take care of the rest. Such was the case Friday night as Oak Ridge (8-1, 5-1) stuffed Ooltewah (5-3, 3-3) 17-7 to set up a huge regular-season finale against old foe Farragut on Blankenship Field. “I’ve said it all along, our defense is really good,” said Stevens, the head coach of the Wildcats. “If we can play defense like that from here on out, we’ve got a chance.” Brian Marshall, Ooltewah’s standout tailback, looked like he didn’t know what had hit him after the game. That’s probably because Marshall -- who was limited to 75 yards on 18 carries after torching Farragut for five touchdowns and 176 yards the previous week -- was rocked throughout the game by Oak Ridge’s defense. “Their pursuit to the ball is outrageous,” said Marshall, shaking his head. “They’re fast and aggressive -- probably the fastest defense we’ve played against.” Marshall finally scored on a 19-yard burst up the middle with 4 minutes and 10 seconds to play to put the Owls on the board, but it was too little too late. “I can’t say enough about our defense,” said Stevens. “It appears Kevin Summers had another monster night. He’s leading our defense, but we expect players like Summers and (Alex) Stuart to make plays.” Sophomore safety Zach Zulliger had his coming-out-party for the Wildcats. Zulliger picked off a pass and recovered a fumble in the first half, ending a couple of scoring opportunities for the Owls. He also made a possible touchdown-saving stop of Marshall early in the second half just when it looked like the Ooltewah standout was about to break free. “Zach had one interception and should have had two,” said Stevens. “Zach is growing up.” All told, Oak Ridge’s defense held Ooltewah to 109 yards on the ground and another 127 through the air. The Wildcats scored on their second series of the night following a short Ooltewah punt that went out of bounds at the Owls’ 42. Tailback Jared Stephens, who got back on track with 124 hard-earned yards on 24 rushes, darted for 8 yards on first down. OR quarterback Tyler Clark then hit wideout Ralpheal Coffey for 21 yards. Clark had a strong first half for the ’Cats at quarterback as he hit on 8-of-12 throws for 121 yards. Coffey, who ended up with five catches for 109 yards on the night, hauled in four Clark passes for 90 yards in the first half. Stephens finished off the drive with runs of 4 and 9 yards -- the later putting OR up 7-0 after Will Hudson’s conversion kick at the 5:18 mark of the first quarter. The Owls drove deep into Oak Ridge territory on the next series thanks to a 46-yard bomb from quarterback Brady Reed (12-21-1) to Gino Norwood. Zulliger ended the threat when he pounced on a fumble by fullback Garrison Caldwell at the OR 12. The Wildcats pieced together their best drive of the game on their first possession of the second quarter, marching 80 yards in just seven plays. Clark and Coffey hooked up on a 36-yard completion down the Oak Ridge sidelines. Jaraious Sykes, in for Stephens at tailback, supplied some hard running as he had consecutive pick-ups of 5 and 5 yards. Sykes ended up with 32 yards on five carries. Four plays later, Clark pump-faked and then hit Coffey streaking down the sidelines in the end zone for the score. Hudson again booted the PAT, good for a 14-0 Oak Ridge lead with 5:58 to go in the first half. Zulliger was on the spot once again to end the half as a desperation bomb by Reed was picked off by the Oak Ridge defensive back on the 1 with 34 seconds showing. The Wildcats’ lone points in the second half came on a 35-yard field goal by Hudson with 52 seconds left in the third quarter. David Irby played the entire second half at quarterback, completing 2-of-7 passes for 28 yards. Irby had a key fourth-and-5 conversion that led to Hudson’s field goal when he rolled left and hit Coffey in the flat for 19 yards. Stevens said Clark was exhausted at halftime after going both ways the first two quarters, necessitating the switch at quarterback. Oak Ridge ended up with 172 yards on the ground and 149 through the air. The victory snapped a two-game losing streak by Oak Ridge to Ooltewah. “They’re a good football team -- and a team I don’t want to see again (in the playoffs),” said Stevens. Speaking of good teams, the Wildcats draw another dandy Friday night as Farragut (8-1, 5-1) comes to town. The Admirals can clinch the Region 2 title with a win over the Wildcats. Meanwhile, Oak Ridge needs help to win the Region 2 crown. The Wildcats must beat Farragut and hope for an upset of William Blount by Heritage this week to nail down the top spot. An Oak Ridge win over Farragut coupled with the more probable William Blount win over Heritage puts the Wildcats second in the region. Regardless of Friday night’s outcomes, Oak Ridge can finish no worse than third in the region. “We’ve got another big week,” said Stevens. “Farragut is gonna be tough.” |
Posted 8:00 p.m. October 26, 2007 Oak Ridge dominates at Region 2 meet By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com
of the season, Thursday’s Region 2-AAA cross county meet must have seemed like a romp through the park for Oak Ridge runners. At least that’s the way it appeared as coach Allen Etheridge’s boys and girls swept to the team titles at Victor Ashe Park. Oak Ridge almost made it a clean sweep in the honors department as Autumn Gipson held off teammate Melanie Kulesz to claim the girls’ individual title and Maclean O’Donnell took second behind West’s Matt Sonnenfeldt in the boys’ race. “I’m a lucky guy -- I get to coach fast kids who I like,” said Etheridge. Oak Ridge’s runners returned that loving feeling by dumping Etheridge along with assistant coaches Ed Wright and Sam Roberts in the park’s pond after the meet. The Oak Ridge boys have now won six Region 2 crowns in a row while the Lady Wildcats have captured the last three meets. “Winning does not get old,” said Etheridge, whose teams move on to the state meet Nov. 3 on the Steeplechase course in Brentwood. “I don’t think there’s any doubt we’ll go into the state as favorites. You can always get beat, but we’ll go do what we do and hope that’s good enough to win.” What Oak Ridge did Thursday was plenty good enough to dominate the regional field. Etheridge’s charges won by even bigger margins than expected: The OR girls totaled a scant 25 points to easily out-pace Farragut (81) and Karns (90). The top three teams and the top 10 individual finishers advance to the state meet. For the boys, Maryville was expected to perhaps put up a fight. That never happened as the Wildcats scored 27 points to the Rebels’ 72. Farragut was third with 101. The girls’ race turned into an Oak Ridge battle to the finish line as Gipson and Kulesz broke from challengers Alex Newby of Farragut and Kristen Tithof of William Blount with about 1,000 meters to go. Gipson held a slight lead down the closing stretch and then headed off a challenge by Kulesz in the final 50 yards. “We had to dig down that last mile,” said Gipson, a sophomore who won in a time of 19 minutes and 34 seconds. “This was really big (for me). I was fifth last year -- that’s a big placement jump.” Gipson said it was nice to have a familiar face running side by side with her, but when it came time to get to the finish line she wasn’t going to be denied. “It was just a little friendly competition,” laughed Gipson. “I knew she (Kulesz) was gonna come after me so I just laid it down.” Kulesz, who was second in 19:35, finished 26 seconds ahead of Newby in third. “We always try and run together,” said Kulesz of her teammate. “That way we can always pick each other up.” Etheridge said he couldn’t have asked for any more from either Gipson or Kulesz. “Mel threw everything she had at (Gipson) in the last 100 meters. They really work well together. I don’t care who wins it as long as one of them goes for it.” Gibson and Kulesz had plenty of help in the team race. Corinne Lariviere turned in a fantastic effort as she placed fifth in 20:12. Freshman Adrian Etheridge was eighth in 20:15, Leslie Jenkins ninth in 20:26, Whitney Irby 11th in 21:03 and Lauren Irby 17th in 22:18. “We put five in the top 10 -- that’s pretty good,” said Etheridge. “Lariviere had a good race. She has really turned herself into a quality runner.” On the boys’ side, the race for individual honors featured the same two runners as last year -- the results were just flip-flopped. Sonnenfeldt, who finished second to O’Donnell by four seconds in 2006, won in 16:13. O’ Donnell was next in 16:22 with Wildcats Emerson Peacock (16:45) and Phil Riemer (16:46) in third and fourth. The Wildcats’ Chris Cole had his best effort of the season as he placed sixth in 16:59 and earned a rare fourth All-Region medal. |
Posted 6:30 p.m. October 28, 2007 Lady Wildcats draw Ravenwood in state tourney opener By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com A first-ever contest against mid-state foe Ravenwood awaits Oak Ridge’s Lady Wildcats Wednesday at the state Class AAA soccer tournament in Chattanooga. Coach O.J. Sheppard’s Ridgers, fresh off a 6-2 sub-state win at Science Hill Saturday night in the sub-state round, square off against Ravenwood (9-6-6) at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Girls Preparatory School. Oak Ridge (15-5-3) will be looking for its first state championship in soccer. Two years ago the Lady Wildcats lost to Collierville in the finals. “This is our fifth year out of the last six to the state tournament -- that’s phenomenal, especially with this young team,” said Sheppard, who starts just four seniors. If Oak Ridge takes it quarterfinal match, the Lady Wildcats will meet the winner of the first-round contest between Collierville (17-0-5) and Soddy-Daisy (13-6-2) at 4:30 Thursday in the semifinals. Wednesday’s other opening-round contests feature Franklin (18-1-3) vs. Siegel (16-7-1) and defending champion Bearden (20-2-1) vs. Germantown Houston (18-5) in the best quarterfinal matchup of them all. The Class AAA state title game is set for 2:30 Saturday afternoon. While Sheppard acknowledges his Lady Wildcats will be the favorite against Ravenwood, he’s leaving nothing to chance. “We’re not taking anything for granted. This is the state tournament and everybody is going to be at their best. It’s a good field -- it’s the final eight in the state.” Oak Ridge overpowered the Lady Hilltoppers (16-4-1) at Liberty Bell Field to get to the Elite Eight as senior Trenna Howell punctured the Science Hill goal for four scores. That pushed her season total to a school-record 41 goals. “I was real proud of our girls -- they played real hard,” applauded Sheppard. “Howell obviously looked like she was back to normal (coming off an ankle injury). She had the four goals and two assists.” Maggie Alexander scored the other two goals and handed out three assists for Oak Ridge, which led 3-0 at intermission. |
Posted 7:00 p.m. October 30, 2007 A ‘Sterling’ way to end the regular season: OR vs. Farragut By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com Playing the “what-if game” doesn’t interest Oak Ridge coach Stanton Stevens. All the coach of the Oak Ridge football teamwants to do Friday night is beat Farragut, then let the playoff scenarios fall where they may. Stevens’ Wildcats close out regular season play with a big one against the Admirals at 7:30 Friday night on Blankenship Field. Both teams enter the game 8-1 overall and 5-1 in Region 2 5-A play. Farragut can clinch the region title while the best Oak Ridge can hope for is a win and a second-place finish. A loss by the Wildcats would probably mean a third-place finish and a daunting trip to Kingsport Dobyns-Bennett in Round 1 of the playoffs. “The only storyline is to win,” said Stevens. “I don’t want to consider any other alternatives.” Oak Ridge is coming off arguably its most impressive win of the season -- a 17-7 victory at Ooltewah that wasn’t as close as the score would suggest. The Wildcats will be going up against an Admirals team that has won four games in a row since an inexplicable 24-21 loss to McMinn County. “Farragut is a good team and they play hard,” said Stevens. None of the Admirals plays harder than standout tailback Andre Sterling. A 5-11, 185-pound senior, Sterling has piled up 1,834 yards on 235 carries and scored 21 touchdowns. Stevens said there’s no doubt that slowing down Sterling is the key to the game. “Sterling is going to get his yards, we have to make sure he doesn’t run wild. We can’t let him dominate the game. Nobody has stopped him yet. We have to slow him down if we want to have any chance of winning.” While Sterling is without question the key to the Admirals’ success, he is by no means the only threat for Farragut, which averages more than 36 points a game. Quarterback Andrew Martland has connected on 79-of-127 throws for 871 yards and eight touchdowns. Zach Allen is his top target with 37 receptions for 479 yards and seven scores. “Their quarterback is so calm and cool in the pocket. When you forget about their quarterback, that’s when he makes plays.” Playoff math: Here is the playoff picture for Region 1 and Region 2, contingent on Friday night’s games which include: Region 2 -- Farragut at Oak Ridge, William Blount at Heritage, Ooltewah at Soddy-Daisy and McMinn County at Bradley Central. Region 1 -- Bearden at Jefferson County, Science Hill at Dobyns-Bennett and Karns at Campbell County. Sevier County has already wrapped up its regular season. Region 2
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