High School Wrap up

Knoxville Catholic 37

Oak Ridge 28

A late rally by the home team fell short as visiting Knoxville Catholic eliminated Oak Ridge from the Class 5A playoffs Friday night by a 37-28 score.

The Irish jumped out to a 14-0 lead and the Wildcats scored to trail 14-6 at the half.

Catholic built their lead to 28-6 late in the third quarter but the Wildcats refused to go away. They rallied cut the deficit to 30-20 — the Irish were awarded a safety after Oak Ridge was penalized for holding in the end zone.

A late score by Catholic put the game out of reach and the Irish advanced to the semi-finals.

Wildcats’ quarterback Johnny Stewart finished his career at Oak Ridge going 11-25 for 161 yards and three touchdowns — all to junior Kai’Reese Pendergrass.