Oak Ridge seeks redemption against Lenoir City
To say that Oak Ridge High School’s 2024 football season has been streaky would be an understatement.
The Wildcats opened the season with consecutive losses to Jefferson County and Powell.
They then reeled off four consecutive victories over Karns, McMinn County, Clinton, and Knox Central.
Now, ORHS has dropped its last two games, falling to Farragut 28-13 in Week 8. The Wildcats also came up short in their most-recent outing, losing to Bearden 35-6 on Friday night at Bill Young Field.
Oak Ridge scored first against the Bearden Bulldogs (5-3). The Wildcats took a 6-0 lead when Damillyan Porter scored on a 4-yard run, culminating a 20-play, 95-yard drive that consumed 11 minutes.
But it was not easy from there. Kicker Eli Pearson had his extra-point attempt blocked with 8 minutes, 17 seconds remaining in the first half.
“That first drive was huge,” Bearden Coach Josh Jones said. “Oak Ridge did a good job game-planning, and we just couldn’t get them off the field.”
Despite the struggles that plagued them throughout the game, the Wildcats maintained a 6-0 advantage well into the second quarter.
Bearden got on the board with 5:37 left in the second frame when Torian Riggins scored on a 9-yard scamper to even the contest.
The Bulldogs’ Daniel Kinney made it 7-6 with the PAT kick. Bearden added another touchdown just before halftime, making the score 14-6, and never trailed again.
The second half was mistake-filled for the Wildcats, who went three-and-out on their first possession of the third quarter and later lost a fumble.
Meanwhile, Bearden quarterback Drew Parrott connected on a 33-yard touchdown pass, and Riggins scored on a 3-yard plunge before reserve running back Demarcus closed out the scoring with a 4-yard run with less than a minute remaining.
Oak Ridge Coach Derek Rang left West Knoxville eager to turn the page, as the Wildcats can repeat as Region 3-5A champions with victories in their final two regular-season games, both on the road.
“Obviously, we’ve got to put these last two weeks behind us and go to Lenoir City expecting their best effort and hoping we play better,” Rang said.
Next up for the Wildcats: Oak Ridge will travel to Loudon County to take on the Panthers (5-3 overall, 2-0 in the region).
The winner at Lenoir City will likely secure the league title. LCHS is coming off a 45-0 loss to Heritage in a non-region game last week.
The Panthers are led by former Oak Ridge Coach Scott Cummings, who guided the Wildcats to a 7-6 record and an appearance in the Class 5A state quarterfinals in 2022, his lone season at the helm.