Posted 1:30 p.m. September 1, 2007 OR offensive line paves way for 30-14 win over Fulton By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com
Ridge erased some bitter memories of a disappointing 5-5 season and established high hopes for 2007 as the Wildcats handled defending Class 3-A state champions Fulton 30-14 Friday night. Stephens became just the 17th Wildcat in history to go over the 200-yard mark on the ground in a game as he ripped through the Falcons’ defense for 207 yards on 22 carries at Bob Black Field. The 5-9, 160-pounder -- blessed with outstanding moves and surprisingly strong for his size -- also scored on runs of 6, 6 and 48 yards as Oak Ridge kicked off the season in style. “Jared Stephens needs to be back there (tailback) all the time,” said OR coach Stanton Stevens. “Jared is really exceptional. We always thought he was good and we were right.” Fulton coach Buck Coatney certainly agreed with the Oak Ridge skipper. “They were just wearing us out (up front),” said Coatney. “That No. 5 (Stephens) … he’s a player.” Coatney probably wishes he had the first play of the 2007 season back. The Falcons tried an onsides kick to start the game, but Herve Bahati recovered at the Wildcats’ 48 to tip early field position in Oak Ridge’s favor. Stephens carried six times for 50 yards on the opening drive, going in from the 6 with 8:33 left in the first quarter. Will Hudson added the conversion kick. Oak Ridge then went right back to work on its next series after linebacker Tyler Clark picked off a Jock Stinson pass at the Fulton 49. Quarterback David Irby hit wideout Ralpheal Coffey for 11 yards and Stephens darted for 33 to the Fulton 11. Stephens continued his workhorse first quarter as he finished off the drive with runs of 5 and 6 yards. Oak Ridge botched the PAT try, but the Wildcats led 13-0 with 5:26 to go in the first quarter. Stephens looked like he might be on his way to challenging Spencer Gulmire’s single-game rushing record of 351 yards (Farragut/2005) after racking up 108 yards on 12 carries in the first quarter. Stephens had 155 yards on 20 carries by halftime as the Wildcats’ starting offensive line of Alex Stuart, Chris Weller, James Normand, Tony Carson and Chris Capshaw dominated up front. Meanwhile, Fulton couldn’t get anything going against the OR defense in the first half as the Falcons managed just four first downs and 111 yards in offense. “We’re gonna win by defense,” said Stevens, who got outstanding defensive play from a number of people -- including linebackers Jeremy Vaughan and Stefone Gibson. Fulton managed but 93 yards on the ground, with senior standout Terrence Cobb (12-57) doing most of the work for the Falcons. Oak Ridge closed out the first-half scoring with a 33-yard field goal off the foot of Hudson at the 5:14 point of the second quarter. The Wildcats put the game out of reach on their first series of the second half. Stephens blasted up the middle after taking the handoff from Irby and outraced the Fulton defense for a 48-yard score. That turned out to be his last carry of the night with 7:52 still to play in the third quarter. Sixteen of Stephens’ 22 runs went for 5 yards or more. Stevens said Oak Ridge’s advantage up front was obvious. “We thought we were pretty good up front -- and we are. We’ve got a bunch of veterans up front and Fulton is young. Their guys are gonna grow up and they’re gonna be back.” Coatney, who lost most of his top linemen on both sides of the ball to graduation, agreed that line play was the difference. “You could tell we were real green up front on both sides of the ball.” Fulton finally got on the scoreboard with 8:57 to play when Stinson found wideout Derrick Humphrey on a 5-yard scoring pass. Stinson wound up with good numbers through the air (14-for-28 200 yards), but those totals were padded with late success. The three-year starter continually overthrew receivers in the first half when Oak Ridge took command. “I didn’t think Jock was on his game in the first half,” said Coatney. The Wildcats ran five minutes off the clock late as they marched 63 yards in nine plays, with backup running backs Jaraious Sykes and Dedrick Oliver accounting for all of the yardage. Sykes ended up with 41 yards on six carries in relief of Stephens. Oliver capped the OR scoring as he grabbed a 13-yard pass from Irby and turned it into six points. Fulton scored on the game’s finally play as Humphrey got behind the Oak Ridge defense for an 82-yard scoring reception from Stinson. Oak Ridge finished up with a huge edge on the ground -- 292 yards to 93. Oak Ridge is now 15-1 all time against Fulton. Friday’s game was the first meeting between the schools since 1984. The Wildcats open their home campaign Friday night at 7:30 on Blankenship Field against Bradley Central. The Bears dropped a 40-21 decision to Cleveland Friday night. |
September Archives
| Watch The Oak Ridge vs. Fulton Video Photos by Donnell Field |
Posted 8:00 p.m. September 5, 2007 Bradley Central heavy underdog vs. Oak Ridge By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com The good news for Bradley Central is the Bears have a bit more team speed than usual as they prepare for the No. 4-ranked Oak Ridge Wildcats. The bad news is it still probably won’t be near enough to come close to knocking off coach Stanton Stevens’ Wildcats. That’s the synopsis heading into Friday night’s Region 2 5-A opener for each school at Blankenship Field (7:30 kickoff). Bradley Central is coming off a 40-21 loss to Cleveland in a game that wasn’t as close as the score would suggest. Oak Ridge is coming off a 30-14 win over Fulton in a game that wasn’t as close as the score would suggest. Bears coach Damon Floyd said his team will have to play a near-perfect game to have a chance against Oak Ridge, given the disparity in speed. “It seems like every game we’re in, we’re definitely the slowest team -- but we know that going in,” explained Floyd. “That means we have to eliminate mistakes. Obviously, we’ve got to keep the ball out of Oak Ridge’s hands as much as possible. We’ve got to grind it out and control the clock. Cleveland had a whole lot more speed than we did -- and we couldn‘t catch them.” While Oak Ridge’s Stevens would concur that his Wildcats have a huge edge in the speed department, he said Bradley Central has more breakaway threats than normal. “They’ve got some guys who can run,” said Stevens. “Their tailback (Deonte Lindsey) is scary fast and they’ve got another tailback (Brandon Coffell) who runs well.” Lindsey led Bradley Central in rushing against Cleveland with 89 yards on nine carries. Coffell added 86 yards on 16 attempts for the Bears. “Both have the speed to break the big one,” admitted Floyd. At quarterback, the Bears have two-year starter Timmy Linn. The 5-11, 175-pound senior completed 11-of-15 attempts for 153 yards in the loss to Cleveland. His top target is 6-3 wideout Will Jenkins, who had three catches for 96 yards against the Blue Raiders. Defensively, Bradley Central is led by athletic end Tyler Dunn (6-0, 210). He recorded a team-high 13 tackles last week. Still, Floyd said his Bears face a team in Oak Ridge that is very much like the athletic Blue Raiders last week. “I don’t see any weak spots. They all move well and you can tell they’re well-coached by Stanton Stevens.” |
Posted 7:30 p.m. September 3, 2007 Tourney ends on sour note for OR girls By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com
Sunday’s 2-0 upset loss by Oak Ridge at the hands of Hendersonville Beech put a damper on an otherwise good showing by Sheppard’s Lady Wildcats in the 11th annual Katie Hunter Tournament at the ORHS soccer complex. While both teams were leg weary from playing four games in three days, Beech managed to dig down a little deeper to find the resolve to sustain 80 minutes of soccer against Oak Ridge (4-1-2), which lost for the first time in 2007. “This is one of the poorest showings we’ve had at Katie Hunter,” said Sheppard. “I saw this coming during warm-ups. I knew it was gonna be a long 80 minutes.” Beech scored just seven minutes into the match and then sealed the upset with a goal in the final minute of action. Scoring opportunities for the Lady Wildcats were few and far between. Freshman Hailey Nichols had a breakaway scoring bid turned back by the Beech keeper with less than one minute to play in the opening half. Beech also survived a pair of late flurries by OR in front of goal at the 65- and 72-minute marks. Oak Ridge opened tourney play with a 5-1 win over St. George Friday. The Lady Wildcats had a long Saturday, posting a pair of 1-1 ties against Kingsport Dobyns-Bennett and No. 2-ranked Collierville. “To play four games at this level, we didn’t have any legs left,” said Sheppard. “Last night (Saturday) against Collierville we gave it everything we had against the No. 2 team in the state.” Oak Ridge also sustained a couple of injuries during Saturday’s double session. Lady Wildcats Briana Holmes and Jamie Grigsby both missed the Beech game due to knee injuries of a yet-to-be-determined nature that they suffered Saturday. While Sheppard gave his team a resounding dressing down after the loss, he expects a return to Lady Wildcat soccer Friday night when Oak Ridge returns to action at Greeneville. “We’ll learn from this and be OK.” After all, it’s better to have a wake-up call in early September rather than late October. Other Oak Ridge results during the weekend: Oak Ridge 5, St. George 1 … Trenna Howell fired in three goals to lift Oak Ridge Friday. Rachel Johnson and Chelsea Angelo also found net for OR. Johnson added a pair of assists. Oak Ridge 1, Kingsport Dobyns-Bennett 1 … Jennifer Lee (Rebecca Kocak assist) notched the lone score for Oak Ridge at the 26:24 mark of the first half. Oak Ridge 1, Collierville 1 … Saturday night’s showdown between No. 7 Oak Ridge and No. 2 Collierville saw the Lady Wildcats register their only goal on a shot from Johnson off an assist by Howell. Team title/all-tournament: Houston captured team honors in the tournament, completing its four-game slate of contests undefeated. The Lady Mustangs rang up an impressive 2-0 win over Farragut Saturday night. Oak Ridge’s Gwen Lawson was named Defensive MVP of the Katie Hunter Tournament. Staci Long of Houston earned MVP honors while Casey Ulrich of Farragut was the Offensive MVP. Goalkeeper Lauren Fritts of Oak Ridge also earned a spot on the all-tournament team. Soccer sidebars: Oak Ridge’s game at Farragut, originally set for Sept. 5, has been reset for Sept. 20 because of problems with the lights at the Lady Admirals’ home field. Oak Ridge won’t play at home again until Sept. 25 against West. The Lady Wildcats play at Greeneville Friday and at Powell on Sept. 11. Oak Ridge is in Memphis Sept. 14-16 for the Battle for Blues City Tournament. The Lady Wildcats face a trio of tough teams there, including Houston, Jackson (Miss.) Prep and BGA. After playing at Farragut on Sept. 20, OR visits always tough Girls Preparatory School on Sept. 22 before finally returning home to face West. |
Posted 7:00 a.m. September 10, 2007 Lady Wildcats, Greeneville play to 1-1 tie By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com Oak Ridge’s Lady Wildcats battled to their third standoff in the last four matches Friday night as they posted a 1-1 tie at Greeneville. Coach O.J. Sheppard’s girls (4-1-3) now get set for one of their most difficult stretches of the season. After visiting Powell at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oak Ridge travels to Memphis to take part in the prestigious Battle for Blues City tournament. The No. 7 Lady Wildcats play undefeated and No. 1-ranked Houston Friday in their tourney opener. Saturday, OR squares off against one of Mississippi’s best teams, Jackson Prep. The Ridgers wind up tourney play Sunday against BGA. If that’s not enough, Oak Ridge returns to local action on Sept. 20 against longtime foe Farragut on the Lady Admirals’ field. Friday against Greeneville, the Lady Wildcats had their chances … but. “We had great opportunities in the first half,” said Sheppard. “We hit the post twice and missed an open goal. We pretty much dominated, but we couldn’t find the net. We should have won by about four goals.” Greeneville (3-2-3), which has played an arduous schedule of its own, struck first at the 26:16 mark of the second half when Devan McIntyre found net. Oak Ridge answered less than three minutes later when senior all-state striker Trenna Howell converted a Jessica Hayes assist into a goal. Howell, Oak Ridge’s top scorer, managed just two shots on goal in 75 minutes of play. “They did a good job shutting down Trenna.” Lauren Fritts turned in a solid night in net for OR as she recorded four saves while going the full 80 minutes. Greeneville managed to pull the Lady Wildcats offsides 10 times. Sheppard applauded the play of Rachel Johnson and Jennifer Lee for Oak Ridge. Elite 11: The latest Tennessee Soccer Coaches Association rankings. 1. Houston (9-0-0); 2. Collierville (4-0-2); 3. Bearden (6-0-0); 4. Brentwood (6-1-0); 5. Franklin (5-0-1); 6. Farragut (8-2-0); 7. Oak Ridge (4-1-3); 8. Tullahoma (8-1-0); 9. Centennial (6-2-3); 10. Siegel (3-4-1); 11. Ooltewah (5-1-1). |
Posted 7:00 p.m. September 9, 2007 O’Donnell is ‘the guy’ for OR cross country team By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com Cross-country isn’t necessarily a sport where you thing of having a “go-to-guy.” Well, meet Oak Ridge’s go-to-guy on the racecourse; Maclean O’Donnell. The senior standout kicked off the much-anticipated 2007 high school cross-country season Saturday morning by winning the two-mile race in a dual-meet against Maryville. O’Donnell -- who led from start to finish -- toured the Maryville College course in 10 minutes flat to usher in the season in style. “I went through the first mile (4:47) really fast and finished with a 5:13 mile,” said O’Donnell. “I wanted to close a lot faster, but other than that, the race went great.” Wildcats coach Allen Etheridge said he expects nothing less than great things from O’Donnell this fall. “He’s poised for a real serious breakthrough year,” said Etheridge. “Maclean is so competitive. He’s relentless and fearless when we put him in a race situation. Coming back, he’s definitely one of the fastest guys in the state. I could see him being in the top two or three in the state (meet) this year.” O’Donnell, who won the Region 2 individual crown last year and placed 10th in the state meet, is on the same wavelength as his head coach in regards to a possible high finish at state this fall. “Individually, I’d like to run in the low 15s -- maybe 15:30 or 15:20,” said O’Donnell. “I’d like to PR (personal record) and get in the top five in the state -- and possibly challenge Sean Keveren (of Brentwood Academy, defending state champion).” Etheridge said O’Donnell is that rare combination of natural ability and work ethic. “He has got a ton of backbone and he’s got talent. Some people you put pressure on them and they really struggle with it -- it doesn’t bother Maclean. He’s not satisfied until he’s somewhere near the very top.” O’Donnell started off the season Saturday at the top, and he no doubt would like to end up at the head of the class come November in Nashville. Oak Ridge’s boys and girls easily swept by Maryville in Saturday’s meet. Trailing O’Donnell for the Wildcats were: 3. Emerson Peacock 10:23; 4. Phil Riemer 10:36; 6. Ethan McGroom 10:41; 8. Chris Ostrouchov 10:45; 11. John Sharpe 10:55; 12. Aaron Oswald 11:08; 14. Cory O’Lear 11:31; 15. Brian Satterwhite 11:35; 17. Aron Beierschmitt 11:46; 19. Jimmy Varnell 11:57. 21. John Black 11:58; 22. Rett Myer 12:00; 23. David Drown 12:06; 24. Liam Holland 12:06; 26. Carl Aquino 12:07; 29. Hal Hansen 12:15; 30. Ted Kocak 12:29; 31. Landon Smith 12:30. 32. Chris Ludtka 12:34; 36. Nathan Livesey 12:49; 37. Reid Robertson 12:53; 38. Patrick Tae 12:54; 40. Peter Hagemeyer 13:15; 41. Ben Kass 13:23; 42. Tanner Hartman 13:30; 43. Ben Gavin 13:43; 46. Colin Baughn 14:01; 47. Eric Peek 14:19; 48. Drew Evans 14:36; 49. Jordan Suggs 14:48; 50. Seth Capshaw 14:58; 51. Michael McClanahan 15: 08; 52. Tripp Coleman 15:12; 53. Brian Low 15:36; 54. Aaron McGregor 16:30; 57. David Clark 17:01. On the girls’ side, Oak Ridge runners took the top-five places to score a perfect 15 points in the team race. Sophomore Autumn Gipson won in 12:16. She was followed in the first five by Melanie Kulesz (12:21), Corinne Lariviere (12:27), Leslie Jenkins (12:30) and Adrian Etheridge (12:36). Next for OR were: 7. Whitney Irby 13:08; 8. Hilde Oliver 13:09; 9. Allison Miles 13:37; 11. Katie Ostrouchov 13:50; 12. Jessica Palmer 13:57; 13. Laurel O’Donnell 13:57; 17. Bernadette Riemer 14:16; 22. Hayley Hunt 14:58; 23. Carolina O’ Donnell 15:07; 24. Lauren Nettles 15:13; 25. Laura Mitchell 15:15. 26. Catherine Backus 15:18; 27. Emily Oswald 15:24; 28. Addie Williams 15:28; 29. Natalie Catlett 15:29; 30. Tabitha Maberry 15:39; 31. Ashley Stoezel 15:55; 32. Jennifer Hitchcock 16:15; 33. Camry Clark 16:25; 34. Danile Jodoin 16:46; 35. Ashlyn Kittrell 17:13; 37. Chermanth Foster 23:17; 38. Ella Foster 25:21. |
Posted 7:30 p.m. September 12, 2007 OR faces struggling Dobyns-Bennett team Friday night By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com
night (7:30 kickoff) for the annual non-region battle between two of East Tennessee’s traditionally best high school football programs. Coach Graham Clark’s Indians -- usually unbeaten at this stage of the season -- stand 1-2 after dropping consecutive games to Bearden (8-7 in double-overtime) and William Blount (24-14). Meanwhile, Oak Ridge has held up its end of the bargain. Coach Stanton Stevens’ Wildcats have opened with impressive victories over Fulton and Bradley Central. The Ridgers bring a No. 2-ranking in Class 5-A into the game. “We’re sitting in here 1-2 with a very inexperienced team,” said Clark Tuesday afternoon. “We’ve already played the fifth-ranked team in the state, the sixth-ranked team -- and now we’re getting ready to play the second-ranked team. We have a pretty small margin for error.” That small margin cost D-B both the William Blount and Bearden games, according to Clark. “You look at the Blount game and we’re right there fighting at the end. We drop a punt late and they get a score. The other night against Bearden we have three youthful busts at the end of the game. Our kids have played awfully hard -- they’ve just got to grow up. Maybe we‘ll take a step this week … we’ll get the ship righted.” Speed trap: Clark said Oak Ridge will have an edge in the speed department Friday. “They’ve got people that can run. Oak Ridge reminds me of their team two years ago. We have to tackle extremely well Friday night. They’ve got people who can break tackles and take it the distance.” While the Tribe has had a shortage of big-play people the past couple of seasons, Dobyns-Bennett has already experienced much success in the kickoff-return game. Lane Dukart has hauled back two kickoffs for scores, going 93 yards against Tennessee High and 89 yards against William Blount. Robert Hogg leads D-B in rushing with 188 yards on 38 carries. Hogg is more of a between-the-tackles running back while Justin Sylvester is perhaps the Indians’ best home-run threat. Dobyns-Bennett’s offensive numbers are way down from past seasons. The Tribe has averaged just 119 yards rushing and 50 passing through three games. Last week, Bearden held D-B to just 107 yards in total offense. Numbers game: The game, of course, boasts two of the state’s traditional football powers. Dobyns-Bennett, with an all-time football record of 693-206-28, has more victories than any school in the state. Oak Ridge stands at 552-148-11. The schools’ winning percentages are remarkably similar: Oak Ridge is at .784 while D-B stands at .762. The Wildcats lead the all-time series by a slim 18-15-1 margin. |
Posted 7:30 p.m. September 12, 2007 Kingsport Dobyns-Bennett Lineup |
Posted 7:30 p.m. September 12, 2007 Oak Ridge vs. Kingsport Dobyns-Bennnett Fact Sheet See It Here |
Oak Ridge girls blank Powell By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com POWELL--Oak Ridge’s No. 7-ranked Lady Wildcats improved to 5-1-3 with a 4-0 win over the Powell girls Tuesday night. Kaelyn Angelo and Rebecca Kocak pounded in first-half goals to stake OR to a 2-0 lead at the break before Trenna Howell added two more scores after intermission to cement the Lady Wildcats’ victory. “We did a lot of nice things,” said OR coach O.J. Sheppard. “Powell is a young team that is improving. The first 20 minutes it seemed like forever for us to get going. We played too slow in the first half and our speed of play wasn’t on tact. We had a good second half and moved the ball a little faster.” Angelo powered in the first goal for Oak Ridge at the 7 minutes, 35 seconds mark of the first half. Kocak followed that up with a score at 19:57, courtesy of a Chelsea Angelo assist. Howell’s second-half tallies came at 3:45 and 23:34, respectively. Kaelyn Angelo assisted on her first goal; the second was unassisted. “The Angelo girls had good evenings -- both played well,” said Sheppard. Oak Ridge wound up with an 11-0 edge in shots on goal. Lauren Fritts went the full 80 minutes in goal for the Lady Wildcats. Sheppard also lauded the defensive efforts of Meghan Hughes and Gwen Lawson. Oak Ridge next travels to Memphis to take part in the prestigious Battle for Blues City tournament. The Lady Wildcats play undefeated and No. 1-ranked Houston Friday in their tourney opener. Saturday, Oak Ridge squares off against one of Mississippi’s best teams, Jackson Prep. The Lady Wildcats wind up tourney play Sunday against BGA. |
Posted 10:00 a.m. September 9, 2007 ’Cats hang 53 on BC in first half; play at Kingsport Friday By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com With an as-expected romp over Bradley Central safely in the record books, coach Stanton Stevens’ Oak Ridge Wildcats face a reality check Friday night in Kingsport. While coach Graham Clark’s Dobyns-Bennett Indians have struggled to a 1-2 start, Stevens said he expects nothing but a battle this week at J. Fred Johnson Stadium. The Tribe fell to Bearden 8-7 in double-overtime Friday night and should be in a foul mood when Oak Ridge rolls into town. “This will be a totally different atmosphere,” said Stevens, whose Wildcats mangled Bradley Central 53-26 Friday night at Jack Armstrong Stadium. Oak Ridge raced to a 53-14 halftime lead against the Bears before emptying the bench as it improved to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in Region 2 5-A play. “If our guys come ready to practice Monday and ready to play, I can take what comes Friday night. But, our guys have got to prepare well because D-B will be well-prepared.” The Wildcats were certainly well-prepared for the opening gun against Bradley Central (0-2, 0-1). Oak Ridge scored on 7 of its 8 first-half possessions as senior tailback Jared Stephens ran wild. Stephens had 214 yards on 11 carries in the first quarter alone -- and ended up 16-265 by halftime. He had four touchdowns in the first quarter and tied the school record with a fifth in the second stanza. Stephens’ tallies came on runs of 7, 21, 38, 71 and 1 yards. He had just one attempt in the second half to wind up with 265 yards on 17 rushes. “The offensive line opened up some big holes and I was able to hit the hole running,” said Stephens, who has picked up almost 500 yards on the ground and scored eight touchdowns in OR’s first two games. “We’ll definitely be hard to stop if the offensive line keeps making holes like that.” The Wildcats wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as they marched 59 yards in nine plays on the game’s opening drive, with Stephens and fullback Kevin Summers (4-27) carrying the load. Stephens punched the ball in from the 7 with 8 minutes and 27 seconds left in the first quarter. Will Hudson added the conversion kick. Stephens scored three minutes later, breaking tackles on his way to a 21-yard gallop. After Charles Bailey pounced on a fumble by BC quarterback Timmy Lynn on the next series, Oak Ridge took just one play to find the end zone. Stephens took the direct snap at quarterback and rambled 38 yards for six more points. The Bears got on the scoreboard thanks to an 18-yard run by Deonta Lindsey (8-84), but back came the Wildcats. Junior Demarcus Rogers broke the ensuing kickoff up the middle for a 79-yard touchdown return for the ’Cats. Oak Ridge closed out a remarkable 36-7 first quarter as Stephens emerged from a pile of would-be tacklers on his way to a 71-yard scoring dash with 1:11 to go in the period. The Wildcats added two more points on the conversion as holder Zach Zulliger dug out the low snap and fired a pass to Jeremy Vaughan in the end zone. Lindsey, easily Bradley Central’s best breakaway threat, shook free for a 52-yard score early in the second quarter. However, OR answered with a 1-yard dive by Stephens and a 20-yard toss from quarterback Tyler Clark to wideout Ralpheal Coffey. Hudson put an exclamation point on the first half when he nailed a 43-yard field goal on the final play before intermission. “We made some plays and had the right mentality early on,” said Stevens. “Hopefully, that will be part of this team’s make-up the rest of the season.” The second-half raced by as the new mercy rule was in effect until late in the fourth quarter. When a team is up by at least 35 points in the second half, the clock runs continuously. Bradley Central scored two touchdowns against Oak Ridge reserves in the final five minutes: Lindsey tallied from 9 yards out and Lynn hit P.J. Bartlett with a 41-yard TD pass. With Stephens’ effort obviously leading the way, Oak Ridge totaled 305 yards on the ground to Bradley Central’s 139. “Jared Stephens … I don’t know what else you can say about that kid,” said Stevens. His five rushing touchdowns tied the school mark shared by Jim Grubb, Eric Menefee, Shawn Summers and Spencer Gulmire. Coffey (3-47) and Rogers (3-28) had three receptions apiece for the Wildcats. Clark had the best passing numbers among OR quarterbacks as he hit on 4-of-5 tosses for 77 yards. |
| Oak Ridge vs. Bradley Central Video |
OR girls face Farragut Thursday By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com Normally, Oak Ridge soccer coach O.J. Sheppard wouldn’t be feeling too upbeat coming off a 1-2 tournament performance heading into a match with longtime rival Farragut. But that’s the case this week as Sheppard’s Lady Wildcats -- fresh off an appearance in the Battle for the Blues City tourney in Memphis -- prepare for Thursday night’s (7:30) showdown at Farragut. Oak Ridge defeated Jackson Prep, the top-ranked Class AAA school in Mississippi. The Lady Wildcats also dropped tough losses to a pair of No. 1-ranked teams (Houston and BGA) from Tennessee. “Even though we came out of the tournament 1-2, it was the best weekend event -- outside the state tournament -- that we’ve taken the girls to,” explained Sheppard. “That’s how well we played. It was a great opportunity for my young players. My sophomores played a lot -- they’re gonna get stronger. Obviously, you want to win, but I’ve got no qualms about losing two matches considering the way we played.” Sheppard said his team should take the Memphis experience and build on it against Farragut. “I like our odds. Farragut knocked us out (of the playoffs) last year and I think our girls have something to prove.” Oak Ridge, ranked No. 7 in Class AAA, stands at 6-3-3 entering Thursday’s match. Farragut (10-2-0) is No. 6, with losses to Houston and Collierville. Here’s a look at the Lady Wildcats’ games over the weekend: Oak Ridge 2, Jackson Prep 0 The Lady Wildcats got second-half goals by Hailey Nichols (Maggie Alexander assist) and Jennifer Lee to knock off the Mississippi school. “We out-shot them 13-2 and had a lot of opportunities,” said Sheppard. “They had a quality team.” BGA 2, Oak Ridge 1 Mid-state BGA, the No. 1-ranked private school in Tennessee, came into the tournament having allowed just one goal all season. Trenna Howell doubled that total when she scored the Lady Wildcats’ only goal, courtesy of a Rachel Johnson assist. BGA (8-1-1) went on to lose to a team from Ohio in the tournament. Houston 1, Oak Ridge 0 The Lady Mustangs got the lone freak goal of the match after an unintentional deflection found its way into the OR net. “We had six shots on goal and they had four. With about two minutes left Howell hit the upper crossbar with a shot. Fritts (Lauren) went the distance for us in goal and she played well. This game was so disappointing -- we played so hard and dominated both halves.” |
Posted 8:30 p.m. September 20, 2007 Oak Ridge-Heritage Fact Sheet By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com Kickoff: 7:30 Friday night at Heritage High School in Maryville. Records and rankings: Oak Ridge (3-0 overall, 1-0 Region 2 5-A), ranked No. 2 in the state; Heritage (0-3 overall, 0-1 in Region 2 5-A). Head coaches: Stanton Stevens (third year at ORHS 21-7, ninth season overall 83-21); Tommy Rewis (fourth season at Heritage 8-26). Series record: Oak Ridge leads 11-2-0. Last meeting: (2006) Oak Ridge 37, Heritage 0. Of note: The Wildcats have dominated the series since losing a 29-27 shocker at Heritage in 2001. Oak Ridge has blanked the Mountaineers in four of the last five meetings, outscoring Heritage by an average of 44-2. … Last season, the OR defense held Heritage without a first down in the first half as the Mountaineers had minus-10 yards in the opening two quarters at Jack Armstrong Stadium. Oak Ridge statistical leaders Rushing: Jared Stephens 65-629 (9.7), Jarious Sykes 12-61 (5.1), Dedrick Oliver 7-37 (5.3). Receiving: Ralpheal Coffey 10-132 (13.2), Demarcus Rogers 5-27 (5.4), Dedrick Oliver 2-24 (12.0). Passing: Tyler Clark 12-22 183. Tackles: Andrew Kirkpatrick 12-23 35, Kevin Summers 18-13 31, Stefone Gibson 11-6 17. Scoring: Stephens 54 points (9 tds), Will Hudson 17 (11-11 PATs, 2-4 fgs), Oliver 12 (2 tds). |
Farragut stops Lady Wildcats, 3-1
editor@oakridgesports.com FARRAGUT--O.J. Sheppard couched his team’s performance in blunt terms following a 3-1 loss to longtime nemesis Farragut Thursday night. For whatever reason, Sheppard’s Oak Ridge’s Lady Wildcats failed to bring their “A-Game” when it was needed most. The loss drops OR to 6-4-3 while Farragut improves to 11-2-0. “Our performance over the weekend (in the Battle for the Blues City tournament) should have given us confidence,” said Sheppard. “Instead, we came back flat.” Sheppard said it was the poorest effort by one of his teams against the Lady Admirals in recent memory. “We lost it in the first half. I thought we played better in the second half, but we gave up those two soft goals in the first half.” As Sheppard said, the Lady Admirals appeared a step faster and a combination ahead of the Lady Wildcats, especially in the first 60 minutes of action at Bill Clabo Field. Oak Ridge had one of its few scoring opportunities early on in the first half when Trenna Howell set up Maggie Alexander. However, Alexander’s shot clicked off the post. From there, it was pretty much Farragut the rest of the way in the first 40 minutes. Ashley Reveiz snuck a shot between the post and Oak Ridge goalie Lauren Fritts to open the scoring at the 13 minutes, 42 seconds mark of the half. The Lady Admirals made it 2-0 when Fritts came out of goal to make a play on Joslyn Johnson. However, the ball skirted past the Lady Wildcats’ keeper and Johnson found net at 26:27. Fritts recovered to make a nice 1-on-1 save of a Reveiz breakaway opportunity late in the half to keep the score from getting out of hand. Oak Ridge finally showed signs of life midway through the second half. Howell hammered home a goal from about 20 yards out, pounding the ball past diving Farragut goalie Meghan Buzzeo. Kaelyn Angelo had the assist at the 17:01 mark. The Lady Admirals scored the clincher at 27:17 when striker Casey Ulrich (Mindy Hopkins assist) bounced in a header from in close. Farragut finished with seven shots on goal to Oak Ridge’s five. Next up for the Lady Wildcats is a Saturday afternoon (3) trip to Chattanooga to take on GPS. Oak Ridge returns home for the first time in 23 days on Sept. 25 (7 p.m.) as the Lady Wildcats take on West in a key district matchup. |
Posted 7:30 a.m. September 16, 2007 Oak Ridge edges D-B with late score By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com KINGSPORT--Tyler Clark got his first start of the year at quarterback, Kevin Summers played guard instead of fullback and tailback Jared Stephens -- well -- some things did stay the same for Oak Ridge Friday night at J. Fred Johnson Stadium. It all added up to a hard-fought 14-7 win by coach Stanton Stevens’ Wildcats over Kingsport Dobyns-Bennett in one of those turning-point kind of games you look back on at the end of the season. “I like this football team,” said Stevens, whose Ridgers improved to 3-0 heading into a Region 2 road trip to Heritage Friday night. “I think we’ve got something special here -- we played as a true team tonight.” Oak Ridge set up the game-winning points late in the fourth quarter when linebacker Stefone Gibson slammed into D-B running back Robert Hogg at the Indians’ 9 with 3:01 left to play. Sophomore lineman James Normand recovered the fumble for Oak Ridge. Stephens found the end zone following runs of 4 and 5 yards to provide the Wildcats with the winning points and Will Hudson tacked on the conversion kick with 2:23 to play. Dobyns-Bennett (1-3) picked up one first down on the following series, but Tribe quarterback Bart Ring was sacked by OR’s Joe Daniels-Mulholland and DeVonte Hawkins on first down. Three consecutive D-B passes failed to move the chains and Oak Ridge took over on downs with 36 seconds to play. Among the highlights for the Wildcats: Stephens went over the 100-yard mark on the ground once again as he battled for 142 yards on 28 carries against the always-tough D-B defense. Stephens had 103 yards on 16 carries in the first half. “Jared Stephens is a special running back,” said Stevens. At quarterback, Clark got just his second varsity start ever and the junior responded in style with a solid 8-for-16, 87- yard performance. He got Oak Ridge on the board at the 7:33 mark of the second quarter, hooking up with running back Dedrick Oliver on a 10-yard touchdown pass in the flat. Clark and wideout Ralpheal Coffey continually burned the Tribe on fade routes in the second half. Coffey ended up with six catches for 66 yards. “How many kids, in their second varsity start, win a game against Kingsport on the road?” asked Stevens. “Tyler threw some great fades to our go-to receiver. My hat’s off to him.” With personnel problems necessitating help on the offensive line, Summers pitched in at guard. The result? Yet another strong showing by OR’s offensive line. “We had a decided edge out there tonight with our offensive line. Coaches Miner (Jeff), Adams (Garfield) and Thompson (Phil) do a great job with our line. We took our fullback (Summers) and stuck him at guard and he did a great job.” Oak Ridge’s defense certainly did its part as the Wildcats held D-B to just 17 yards rushing and 39 passing in the second half. All told, the Indians ended up with just 172 total yards. Dobyns-Bennett went on top 7-0 following its only sustained drive at the end of the first quarter. Lane Taylor’s 1-yard run with 15 seconds to go in the first quarter capped a 12-play, 83-yard drive for the Indians. The Wildcats responded with an impressive scoring march of their own on the ensuing series, driving 81 yards in 10 plays. Stephens carried six times for 55 yards to spark the drive, which ended with Clark’s TD toss to Oliver. Junior running back Justin Sylvester (10-71) was one of the few bright spots offensively for D-B. Oak Ridge now leads the all-time series against Dobyns-Bennett, 19-15-1. Both teams stuck to the ground in the first half, each scoring on long drives aided by personal-foul penalties. Dobyns-Bennett tallied with 15 seconds to go in the first quarter as fullback Lane Taylor plunged over from the 1. That capped a 12-play, 83-yard march by the Indians, who got a big lift from running back Justin Sylvester. The junior carried six times for 64 yards on the drive, doing most of his damage on toss sweeps. Sylvester had more yards on that one drive than he had accumulated all season for the Tribe. |
Lady Wildcats return home Tuesday vs. West
editor@oakridgesports.com Home sweet home will probably never feel sweeter to Oak Ridge than it will Tuesday night for the Lady Wildcats, who haven’t played a match on the ORHS soccer complex pitch in 23 days. Coach O.J. Sheppard’s girls, fresh off a 5-1 win at Girls Preparatory School in Chattanooga on Saturday afternoon, finally get back home Tuesday at 7 for a big district matchup against West. “We’re elated to come back home and play our final five regular season games,” said Sheppard, whose Lady Wildcats played a brutal road slate since last playing in Oak Ridge way back on Sept. 2 against Beech. “We’ve played seven games in a row on the road. Of those seven teams, six of them are ranked. While we may not have the record (7-4-3) we want, I think it has made us a better team.” All told, seven of Oak Ridge’s 14 foes this season are ranked. The Lady Wildcats’ opposition has a whopping combined record of 170-25. GPS (3-5-4), ranked No. 8 in the private school division, proved to be no match for Oak Ridge on their spacious field, which played right into the Lady Wildcats’ hands. “It was one of those games where everything we did went right -- unlike the Farragut game,” explained Sheppard. “GPS is a good team -- and one of the best technically skilled teams we’ve seen -- but what I didn’t understand was they kept their goal keeper about 25 yards in front of the goal the whole game. We managed to break through and keep the goal keeper in transition all day. We hung them out to dry four times.” Trenna Howell bagged three more goals to spark Oak Ridge in the scoring department. Howell opened the scoring at the 4:32 mark of the first half. Meghan Hughes got the assist. GPS knotted it up just four minutes later as Allyssa Dresen pounded in a goal. But OR went ahead for good at 16:41 as Rachel Johnson converted a Howell assist. Just 80 seconds later, Howell (Gwen Lawson assist) tallied once again for the Ridgers. Howell (goal) and Johnson (assist) made it 4-1 Lady Wildcats at the five-minute mark of the second stanza. Jennifer Lee closed out the scoring on a penalty kick at 22:25. “Rachel Johnson played really well, as did Trenna. Lawson in the back also played well for us,” applauded Sheppard. Oak Ridge closes out regular season play with games against West, Cookeville, Karns, Bearden and Halls. Sheppard said the Lady Wildcats can avoid road trips the rest of the way in the district and region tourneys if they take care of business. “We could play at home all the way up to the state tournament if we win out.” But first things first, starting with West Tuesday night. The winner has the inside track to the district crown and home field advantage for the district tournament, which begins Oct. 15. West, which hasn’t played near the schedule Oak Ridge has, is still capable. The Lady Rebels bring a 7-1-1 record to town Tuesday. West’s only loss was to Bearden. They also tied Lenoir City. |
Oak Ridge rips Heritage, gets Clinton next WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS!!! By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com MARYVILLE--Oak Ridge, looking all the part of the No. 2-ranked Class 5-A team in the state, mowed down Region 2 foe Heritage 40-0 Friday night at Jack Renfro Stadium. Coach Stanton Stevens’ Wildcats stand 4-0 (2-0 in region play) heading into Friday’s annual cross-county contest with Clinton on Blankenship Field. The Clinton game marks the start of a huge three-game home-stand for the Wildcats, who follow up the Dragons with pivotal region matchups against McMinn County and William Blount. McMinn County upset Farragut 24-21 in overtime Friday night while William Blount handled Ooltewah with shocking ease, 32-0. Against the Mountaineers (0-4, 0-2), Oak Ridge scored on its first three series as the Wildcats took to the air early and often. OR opened with Jared Stephens in shotgun at quarterback and five wide receivers -- a move that stunned Heritage. “They caught us (off guard),” said Heritage coach Tommy Rewis. “We’ve got a couple of young people on defense who didn’t recognize the calls. We just couldn’t handle their speed on the outside.” By halftime, the game was easily in hand for the Wildcats, who blanked Heritage for the fifth time in the teams’ last six meetings. Oak Ridge now leads the all-time series against the Mountaineers, 12-2. Among the first-half highlights: Junior wideout Ralpheal Coffey scored OR’s first two touchdowns on throws of 61 and 23 yards from Stephens. Coffey, who later turned a Tyler Clark toss into a 76-yard gain, had four receptions for 185 yards -- all in the first half. Stephens (2-for-2, 84 yards) and Clark (3-for-4, 141 yards) combined for 225 yards passing by halftime. Clark also hit Demarcus Rogers on a 40-yard scoring strike late in the first quarter. The Wildcats attempted only one pass after halftime. Stevens said Oak Ridge decided to go with the unconventional look on offense after spotting something during film study of Heritage earlier in the week. “I don’t think they were ready for Jared at quarterback and us coming out five wide,” said Stevens. “What I want to let people know is if they put eight in the box, we’re gonna throw it deep and let people go get it.” People like Coffey. People like Rogers. “That’s the kind of first half (Coffey) is capable of having. When we get it in the hands of our wide receivers -- Ralpheal and Demarcus -- they’re gonna make plays.” Stephens scored OR’s other touchdown in the first half, going in from 4 yards out with 1 minute, 32 seconds to play in the first half. Stephens had only four rushes on the night, good for 45 yards. Jaraious Sykes led the Wildcats in rushing with 63 yards on four totes. Sykes scored both second-half touchdowns, scooting across from 25 and 15 yards out. Kevin Summers added 33 yards on three rushes for the Wildcats, who finished with 167 yards on the ground. Oak Ridge ran just 27 plays on the night, but they were good for 392 yards. On defense, the Wildcats held Heritage to just 109 yards rushing and 63 through the air. Rogers and Zach Zulliger had interceptions for Oak Ridge. Zulliger’s pick of a Dylan Morgan pass in the end zone ended Heritage’s only legitimate scoring threat of the night after the Mountaineers drove to the OR 22 late in the first half. Summers and Andrew Kirkpatrick both had fumble recoveries for the Wildcats, who have outscored Heritage 258-12 in the teams’ last six meetings. Rewis whose Mountaineers have already played a brutal schedule that includes the likes of Farragut, Maryville and now Oak Ridge, said the Wildcats stack up favorably with anybody. “I think they’re one of the very-best teams in the state. Hopefully, not many more teams we play will have that level of speed.” |
Posted 5:30 p.m. September 23, 2007 OR girls finish strong in cross-country opener By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com Oak Ridge’s Lady Wildcats were on the top of their game Saturday as they kicked off the 2007 high school cross-country season at the McCallie Invitational in Chattanooga. Coach Allen Etheridge’s girls placed four runners in the top 11 to take the team title with 48 points. Hoover, Ala., was second in the 10-team field with 67, followed by Tennessee teams Kingsport Dobyns-Bennett (118) and Science Hill (119). “The girls were terrific,” said Etheridge.
couple of real contenders for the state championship in Tennessee in Science Hill and Dobyns-Bennett -- and one of the state contenders in Alabama, Hoover. “We put four girls in the top 11. In a front-loaded meet like this, that’s pretty tough to do. It was an amazing field.” Topping the Lady Wildcats in order of finish were: 5. Autumn Gipson 19:30, 6. Melanie Kulesz 19:31; 10. Corinne Lariviere 19:50, 11. Adrian Etheridge 19:52; 19. Whitney Irby 20:41; 23. Hilde Oliver 20:44; 26. Leslie Jenkins 20:51. Science Hill’s Allie Scalf crossed the finish line first in the 3.1-mile race on the Greenway Farm course in 19:06. Considering Saturday’s meet was Oak Ridge’s first of the season, Etheridge admitted he was even taken aback just a bit by his girls’ performance.
workouts have been like.” On the boys’ side, the field included four of the top 10-ranked teams in the southeast, plus one of the top individual runners in the nation in Sean Keveren of Brentwood. Etheridge said it may have been the most talented field ever assembled for a boys’ cross-country meet in the state of Tennessee. Oak Ridge, ranked sixth in the southeast, took fourth in the team race with 95 points. No. 9 Baylor (65), No. 8 Hoover (75) and No. 10 Parkview, Ga. (95) went 1-2-3. “You look at all of the hype surrounding the race and that (a fourth-place finish by Oak Ridge) was pretty good. Most of the other teams had already raced three times this season -- that was our first race. I’m not disappointed at all. When you look at who we ran against and all of the expectations heaped on us, it just means we have a lot of room to improve on.”Keveren, as expected, easily took individual honors as he finished in 15:21.
18. Emerson Peacock 16:46, 33. John Sharpe 17:19, 38. Chris Ostrouchov 17: 25, 40. Ethan McGroom 17:34, 44. Chris Cole 17:51. Oak Ridge returns to action Saturday as Etheridge takes his charges to the McDonald’s Cross-Country Festival at Maymont in Richmond, Va. Two of the nation’s top-10 girls’ teams from Virginia and Maryland are slated to appear in the meet. |
| Phil Riemer |
| MacLean O'Donnell |
| Autumn Gipson and Melanie Kulesz |
| Left to right: Melanie Kulesz, Leslie Jenkins, Corrine Lariviere, Adrian Etheridge, Whitney Irby, Autumn Gipson, Hilde Oliver |
Posted 7:00 p.m. September 26, 2007 Oak Ridge vs. Clinton: Dragons rely on strong-armed sophomore quarterback By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com
“The first day of practice, Darian stood on the 50-yard line, took one step, threw the ball and hit the crossbar,” said Shattuck. Stone, a sophomore transfer from Kansas, has stardom written all over him, according to Shattuck, in his fourth season as Clinton’s coach. Shattuck and the Region 3 4-A Dragons (2-2 1-1) travel to Blankenship Field Friday night (7:30) to take on Oak Ridge (4-0 2-0) , the No. 2-ranked team in 5-A. The 5-11, 180-pound Stone figures to play a key role if the Dragons hope to pull the upset. Stone rallied the Dragons from a 34-7 second-half deficit against South-Doyle in Clinton’s last outing. His 1-yard touchdown pass to Glenn Honeycutt with eight seconds to play gave the Dragons a huge 42-37 comeback win over the Cherokees. “If he grows another two or three inches and gains about 20 pounds, he’s gonna be big-time,” said Shattuck. “Darian is extremely athletic and he has an arm as strong as anybody around. The difference he gives us in other quarterbacks we’ve had is escapability. If he gets flushed out of the pocket, it’s not necessarily gonna be a sack like it has in the past with us.” Stone is one of four sophomores who play key roles for Clinton -- another is running back Westin Hazelhurst. The 5-8, 170-pound Hazelhurst ran for 170 yards and four touchdowns in the win against South-Doyle. “He’s a sophomore who doesn’t play like a sophomore,” said Shattuck. “He’s a pure football player.” Shattuck said the Dragons can’t afford another horrid start like they had against South-Doyle Friday night at Oak Ridge. “We have got to be able to play the first half -- we haven’t come out in the first half and played to our potential yet this season. If we don’t (against Oak Ridge), it will be over. They’re too talented for us to have any miraculous comebacks.” Shattuck on the Wildcats: Shattuck, a former assistant at Oak Ridge, said the Wildcats’ 5-5 season a year ago was an anomaly. “Last year they were counting on a lot of young kids. This year, they’re more cohesive, more mature and play more as a team. “Guys like Jared Stephens now have two years of competition at this level under their belt.” Shattuck said without hesitation that Oak Ridge senior Alex Stuart is the top lineman Clinton will face all year. “Alex Stuart is the best lineman we have faced -- and will face -- all season. He’s extremely fundamental, he comes off the ball, he’s aggressive and he’s a great kid.” SEE THE OAK RIDGE VS. CLINTON FACT SHEET HERE. |
Posted 7:00 a.m. September 28, 2007 Lady Wildcats roll; point to next week By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com
complex. Coach O.J. Sheppard’s Lady Wildcats improved to 9-4-3 with key contests against district foe Karns on Tuesday and defending Class AAA state champion Bearden on Thursday. Both games start at 7 at the ORHS soccer complex. The Lady Wildcats had no problem with Cookeville as Trenna Howell scored on half of her eight shots on goal to spark OR. Howell’s first of four scores came at the 4:11 mark of the match as she took the assist of Hailey Nichols. Chelsea Angelo (Jennifer Lee assist) and Kaelyn Angelo (Tania Ayala assist) scored the next two goals for the Lady ’ Cats before Howell made it 4-0 at the break off a Maddie Bishop feed. Howell banged in two more goals to start the second half, with Maggie Alexander and Rachel Johnson supplying the assists. Oak Ridge’s final goal came at the 28:55 mark as Alexis Franco assisted Rebecca Kozak for the score. The Lady Wildcats had 20 shots on goal to Cookeville’s four. On Tuesday night, Oak Ridge’s first home match in 23 days proved to be no contest as the Lady Wildcats blasted district foe West 4-0. Coach O.J. Sheppard’s girls, fresh off a 5-1 win at Girls Preparatory School in Chattanooga on Saturday afternoon, scored all four goals in a dominating first-half showing against the Lady Rebels (7-2-1). Johnson, having a banner season for OR, continued her fine play with a goal and two assists. Johnson assisted Lee at the 18:53 mark to get the Lady Wildcats on the board against West. Johnson (Howell assist) then found net to make it 2-0 at the 20:22 mark. Johnson added another assist, with Howell taking honors at the 31:36 point. Kocak closed out the first-half barrage with a goal for the Lady Wildcats with just 22 seconds remaining in the first half. Chelsea Angelo recorded the assist |
Posted 5:30 p.m. September 30, 2007 Oak Ridge rallies at end to down Clinton By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com
After several years of lopsided victories by Oak Ridge over Clinton on the football field, the longtime cross-county rivals turned in a classic performance Friday night on Blankenship Field. Classic--and competitive. The No. 2-ranked Wildcats scored two touchdowns in the final 3 minutes and 5 seconds of play to pull out the 35-21 win and keep their record perfect at 5-0. Clinton (2-3), meanwhile, easily played its best game of the season as the Dragons rallied to take a 21-20 lead with 3:28 to play. Clinton looked on the brink of a huge upset after quarterback Darian Stone hit Nick Frazier in the end zone on a fourth- and-3 play. But back came Oak Ridge, thanks to the super efforts of junior Demarcus Rogers. The speedy and elusive Rogers returned the ensuing kickoff 49 yards to the Clinton 27. After a penalty moved the ball back to the 32, Rogers snared a pass from quarterback Tyler Clark at the 15 and strolled in for six points. Clark then hit tight end Joe Daniels-Mulholland with a 2-point conversion pass in the back of the end zone to put OR up 28-21 with 3:05 to play. Three Stone passes fell incomplete and the sophomore quarterback managed only a 3-yard run on fourth down, turning the ball back over to the Wildcats. Senior tailback Jared Stephens sealed the win with a 19-yard scoring run at the 2:09 mark. That makes it 10 wins in a row for Oak Ridge against the Dragons. The Wildcats lead the all-time series 36-10. Stephens also had an 87-yard touchdown dash in the first quarter and wound up with 200 yards on 21 carries. Stephens had 164 yards on 11 tries in the first half to push his rushing numbers for the year to 886 yards on 92 attempts. Clark, after completing just one pass for six yards in the first half, came alive at quarterback for the Wildcats when it counted most. The junior ended up 4-for-10 for 107 yards through the air. Clark’s 1-yard sneak on the final play of the first quarter gave Oak Ridge a 12-7 advantage. The Clark-to-Rogers combination also erased a 14-12 Clinton lead midway through the third quarter. Rogers beat a pair of Clinton defenders at the Dragons’ 35 and out-raced the defense into the end zone for a 64-yard scoring reception. Stephens took the 2-point conversion snap at quarterback and managed to sneak across the goal to put OR up 20-14 with 4:27 to go in the third quarter. The Dragons featured the play of Stone and running back Westin Hazelhurst, a pair of talented sophomores. Stone hit on 17-of-40 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns. Stone’s 7-yard pass to Frazier opened the game’s scoring at the 8:35 mark of the first quarter. Stone also targeted Jeff Wilkerson on a 15-yard touchdown pass in the third stanza. Wilkerson had a huge night, grabbing six passes for 146 yards. Hazelhurst ran for 62 yards on 25 attempts and also caught six Stone tosses for 38 yards. Oak Ridge finished the night with 325 yards of total offense (218 rushing, 107 passing) while Clinton managed 306 (235 passing, 71 rushing). The Wildcats overcame 11 penalties for 75 yards. Oak Ridge returns to action Friday night against McMinn County on Blankenship Field. The Cherokees defeated Rhea County 28-21 last week and are 4-1 overall and 1-1 in Region 2 play. Oak Ridge and William Blount (2-0) are the lone undefeated teams in Region 2 play. McMinn County, Farragut, Ooltewah and Soddy-Daisy are all tied for third at 1-1. |
| Watch The Highlights |
A day to remember for Oak Ridge’s cross-country teams
editor@oakridgesports.com
school history in the sport Saturday at the McDonald’s Maymont Cross-Country Festival in Richmond, Va. Running against some of the nation’s top-10 ranked teams -- and several of the Southeast Region’s elite -- coach Allen Etheridge’s Ridgers placed fourth in the boys’ standings and fifth in the girls’ field. “It was pretty amazing,” said Etheridge, of his team’s effort. “I’m not sure I have a perspective for it. Both our girls and boys were spectacular. How are you gonna ask for any more?” Oak Ridge’s boys claimed the No. 4 position in the team race with 178 points. The Wildcats, ranked sixth in the southeast, trailed only Medina, Ohio (134), Oakton, Va. (146) and Midlothian (Va.) 162. Oakton came in ranked first in the southeast and No. 6 in the nation. Midlothian was ranked No. 5 in the southeast. All told, there were 21 boys’ teams entered in the Invitational Division. Pete Dorrell of Blacksburg, Va., won the boys’ 5k individual race in a time of 15 minutes and 31 seconds. Oak Ridge’s Maclean O’Donnell turned in a superlative effort as he placed sixth in 15:49. “That was a great run by Maclean. He put himself right in there with a group of guys known nationally who are 4:10-type (milers) guys. Maclean was about 12th at two-and-a-half miles. He ate people up the last half-mile on what was the toughest part of the course mentally. I was trying to think of any race (by an Oak Ridge runner) in my history I could compare it to -- and I couldn’t.” Other finishers for the Wildcats were: 31. Phil Riemer 16:31; 35. Emerson Peacock 16:37; 66. Chris Cole 17:10; 67. Chris Ostrouchov 17:10; 73. John Sharpe 17:14; 74. Ethan McGroom 17:15. “A big thing for us was Emerson ran great. He PR’d on a difficult course. Ostrouchov was another big deal. He’s running varsity for the first time and he ran a PR. He’s a guy who the light has come on for. Sharpe and McGroom were pretty good, too.” The girls’ field was even more stacked with talent at the top as Midlothian, ranked fourth in the nation and No. 1 in the southeast, won going away with 66 points. Baltimore entry Eleanor Roosevelt (No. 6 nationally/No. 2 southeast) was runnerup with 108 points. Oak Ridge took fifth in the 15-team field with 125 points, just 17 points off the No. 2 finisher. Lady Wildcats sophomore Autumn Gipson turned in a 19:23 effort to garner 16th place. Midlothian sophomore Kat Lautzenheiser won in a sizzling time of 18:41. Trailing Gipson for OR were: 18. Melanie Kulesz 19:24; 28. Corinne Lariviere 19:51; 39. Leslie Jenkins 20:02; 43. Adrian Etheridge 20:07; 70. Whitney Irby 20:53; 108. Hilde Oliver 23:57. Etheridge said the 1-2 punch of Gipson and Kulesz is formidable. “They’re a good tandem and they work well together. They like each other and like to compete with each other in a good way. They had a strong finish -- and I really like seeing that out of them.” Etheridge said his top-five girls ran nothing short of a “super, solid race” against a national-caliber field. “Corinne Lariviere keeps on uncovering new levels of what she has got. She has basically turned herself into a really good runner -- and she has done it herself. Probably the best thing for us was Jenkins. She has struggled with her confidence and legs. She can definitely run closer to Melanie and Autumn. This was a good confidence builder for her. “Adrian ran the first part of her race like the freshman she is, but the second part of the race she ran like a senior. She really got after it.” Only one other freshman in the field finished ahead of Adrian Etheridge. Chinyelo Asher, a ninth-grader from powerhouse Eleanor Roosevelt, was 22nd in 19:39. *Thanks to Sam McGroom for the photos |
| Leslie Jenkins, Melanie Kulesz and Autumn Gipson |
| Corinne Lariviere |
| Whitney Irby and Adrian Etheridge |
| John Sharpe and Chris Cole |
| Phil Riemer |
| MacLean O'Donnell |