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OR edges Halls, takes on Maryville in Thursday TV game
editor@oakridgesports.com
against Halls. Leading 14-7 with just seconds to play, Blade nixed the punt and opted to go for it on a fourth-and-1 from Oak Ridge’s 28. Don’t convert the first down and the Red Devils get at least a couple of shots at the end zone. Make it and perhaps look back at the play as a pivotal moment in the season. “I thought we were at a crossroads,” said Blade. “I asked the kids ‘can you get me a foot?’ Our linemen said ‘yes’ and our sophomore quarterback said ‘yes.’” That sophomore quarterback -- Bradley Zulliger -- responded like he had much of the night against the tough Halls defense. Zulliger wedged forward to pick up the first down by a nose and Oak Ridge went on to run out the clock for a hard-fought 14-7 District 3- AAA victory on Blankenship Field. Zulliger’s arm and feet were keys to the victory for the Wildcats. He completed 13 of 23 passes for 120 yards and looked like University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow running the football. Zulliger ran for 63 tough yards on 18 carries, continually testing the middle of the Halls defense with keepers. “I’m so proud of how far this kid has come,” said Blade. “He wants the ball when the game is on the line -- that’s when you know that someone is special. “This is one of those games where you’re gonna grow up,” said Blade, whose Wildcats improve to 3-1 overall and 3-0 in district play. “Halls is 0-5, but they’ve played a tough schedule and (their record) doesn’t say how good they are. We had to work for everything we got -- I’ll take it.” The meeting was the first between the two teams since 1992. Oak Ridge leads the all-time series 13-2. Halls took the fight to Oak Ridge early. The Red Devils marched 77 yards in 10 plays on their opening series to take a 7-0 lead. Senior wide receiver Garrett Gresham hauled in a 9-yard scoring pass from junior quarterback Josh Coffman to put the Red Devils ahead with 5 minutes and 25 seconds to play in the first period. Oak Ridge finally got on the scoreboard late in the first half when Zulliger engineered a 60-yard scoring drive in the final 1:18, diving over from the 1 with 18 seconds to go. Zulliger hit three key passes on the drive, connecting with Jordan Woullard for 14 yards, Tyrus Henderson for 25 yards and Morgan Guymon for 20 yards. Guymon led Oak Ridge in receiving with five catches for 56 yards. Zulliger later hit Guymon on a post pattern for a 20-yard touchdown with 10:47 remaining for the winning points. The pair also connected for a key first down on a third-and-11 from the Halls 41 to keep the drive alive. Zulliger rolled to his left, bought some time and hit a sliding Guymon for an 11-yard pickup. The Red Devils had one last chance when Gresham – who had five receptions for 69 yards – picked off Zulliger at the Oak Ridge 42 with just more than five minutes to play. Halls drove to the Wildcats’ 19, but Oak Ridge’s Alex Ingham recovered a Spencer Cochran fumble to end the Red Devils’ hopes. Halls coach Kevin Julian said he would have gone for two points -- and the win -- if the Red Devils had been able to get into the end zone on that last drive. “Our kids came out and believed they could win,” said Julian. “They fought the whole game and took some chances. We went for it on a couple of fourth downs and brought the house and blitzed as much as we could.” Both teams struggled offensively as Oak Ridge managed just 229 yards to Halls’ 179. “They were able to lock us down offensively, but my kids played hard and kept fighting,” said Blade. Oak Ridge -- which now has four consecutive road games and doesn’t return home until Oct. 23 against Clinton -- turns its attention to the much-anticipated Thursday night (kickoff at 7) matchup at Maryville. “Being 3-0 in the district is all we can ask for at this point in the season,” said Blade. “We play some really fine competition the rest of the schedule, but we’ll keep getting better. We’re going to play a really fine Maryville team on TV Thursday night.” Oak Ridge-Halls statistics Oak Ridge First downs: 13 Rushes/yards: 32-109 Passes/yards: 13-23-1 120 Total plays/yards: 55-229 Fumbles/lost: 1-0 Penalties: 8-60 Punts: 4-36 Rushing Bradley Zulliger 18-63 Rian Hall 4-19 Rocky Fludd 8-19 Zach Zulliger 2-8 Receiving Morgan Guymon 5-56 Zach Zulliger 3-2 Tyrus Henderson 2-36 Johnny Vann 2-12 Jordan Woullard 1-14 Passing Bradley Zulliger 13-23-1 120 Halls First downs: 8 Rushes/yards: 35-98 Passes/yards: 7-12-0 81 Total plays/yards: 47-179 Fumbles/lost: 2-1 Penalties: 2-15 Punts: 4-33 Rushing leaders Jared Burton 8-53 Zack Gibson 13-20 Receiving leader Garrett Gresham 5-69 Passing leader Josh Coffman 7-12-0 81 |
Rebs hold off OR; Wildcats face big district test at Anderson County Friday
editor@oakridgesports.com
moments after his Oak Ridge Wildcats laid it all on the line against Maryville Thursday night. “You look up there and see eight state championships in the last 10 years,” said Blade, whose Wildcats saw their furious rally fall just short 21-13 in front of a packed house. “We were beaten by the better team tonight, but we went toe to toe with them for four quarters. I’m so pleased with my kids. They did all I asked of them for four quarters.” The game -- which featured the first meeting of the two teams since 1969 -- was a tale of two halves. Maryville (4-1) dominated the first half before Oak Ridge (3-2) got the best of the Rebels after intermission. The Rebels appeared to have sealed the deal with 5 minutes and 45 seconds to play when defensive back Lee Bristol intercepted a pass by Oak Ridge quarterback Bradley Zulliger and raced 58 yards for the touchdown to put his team up 21-6. Zulliger, who hit 15 of 19 passes for 161 yards, completed his first 11 passes before Bristol stepped in front of an Oak Ridge receiver who had slipped on the play. But lightning struck on OR’s next play from scrimmage as a Zulliger pass was tipped to wideout Jordan Woullard. The senior caught the deflection behind the Maryville defense and rambled 64 yards for the score. Brett Beeler booted the extra point to pull the Wildcats closer at 21-13. With added momentum, the Oak Ridge defense -- which checked Maryville to three first downs and 58 total yards in the second half -- held the Rebels on three downs and forced the punt. Zulliger, who accounted for 267 of the Wildcats’ 280 yards in total offense, ran for 11 yards on first down to the Maryville 49. Zulliger led all rushers with 106 yards on 22 carries. On a fourth-and-2 from the 41, Zulliger hit Morgan Guymon for 8 yards to the 33. The Wildcats moved to the Rebels’ 25, but Maryville’s Kody Harris picked off a pass in the end zone on fourth down with 19 seconds to play to half the OR comeback bid. “We’re very pleased to get the win,” said Rebels coach George Quarles, who applauded Zulliger’s play at quarterback. “I was very impressed with him,” said Quarles. “He did a lot of it with his legs.” Maryville dominated first-half action with 160 yards and 13 first downs, but led just 7-0 thanks to key stops by the Oak Ridge defense. Jacob West hauled in an 8-yard pass from quarterback Phillip Juhlin with 8:34 to play in the second quarter for the lone points of the first half. The Rebels left points on the field when Zach Sharp missed a 31-yard field goal and the Oak Ridge defense came up with a stop on a fourth-and- 2 at the Wildcats’ 33. The key defensive stop of the half came with 41 seconds to play when West fumbled after getting blasted by linebacker Chris Harder at the OR 1 and Brian Loeffler recovered for the Wildcats. “We dominated the first half, had the ball the whole time and get seven points,” said Quarles, whose team had possession of the ball for 17 minutes to Oak Ridge’s seven in the first half. Oak Ridge managed just 51 total yards in the first half and ran only 14 plays before turning the tables in the second half. The Wildcats actually finished with more yards (280 to 218) than the Rebels. “We made a few plays, but we didn’t make many plays offensively tonight -- but give Oak Ridge credit,” said Quarles. One of those big plays was an 80-yard punt return by junior Desmund Horne with 1:05 to play in the third quarter that put the Rebels up 14-0. Horne’s return looked like a potential knock-out punch, but the Wildcats fought back. Oak Ridge finally got on the scoreboard with 10:16 remaining when Zulliger dropped back to pass, pulled the ball down and darted 19 yards for the TD. Juhlin finished 14-of-22 for 93 yards through the air and also topped Maryville in rushing with 53 yards on 13 carries. Buddy Jones added 48 yards rushing on 12 carries for the Rebels, who were limited to only 58 second-half yards. On tap: Oak Ridge returns to action Friday night at 7:30 in a huge District 3-AAA match-up at Anderson County. The Mavericks are tied with Clinton for the district lead at 4-0 (Oak Ridge is 3-0 in the district) and have won four games in a row since opening the season with a 41-35 loss to Morristown East. The high-powered Mavs are averaging 38.4 points a game and have defeated Campbell County (46-13), Central (42-14), Powell (41-35) and Halls (28-7). Oak Ridge-Maryville statistics Oak Ridge First downs: 13 Rushes/yards: 27-119 Passes/yards: 15-19-1 161 Total plays/yards: 46-280 Fumbles/lost: 2-2 Penalties: 3-12 Punts: 3-34 Leaders Rushing Bradley Zulliger 22-106 Receiving Jordan Woullard 3-77 Morgan Guymon 3-32 Tyrus Henderson 3-18 Passing Bradley Zulliger 15-19-1 161 Maryville First downs: 16 Rushes/yards: 32-125 Passes/yards: 14-22-0 93 Totals plays/yards: 54-218 Fumbles/lost: 2-2 Penalties: 0-0 Punts: 2-29 Leaders Rushing Phillip Juhlin 13-53 Buddy Jones 12-48 Receiving Desmund Horne 4-26 Stian Romberg 4-23 Passing Phillip Juhlin 14-22-0 93 |
Score by Quarters
Oak Ridge 0 0 0 13 -- 13
Maryville 0 7 7 7 -- 21
Second quarter
Maryville: Jacob West 8 pass from Phillip Juhlin,
Zach Sharp kick (8:34).
Third quarter
Maryville: Desmund Horne 80 punt return,
Sharp kick (1:05).
Fourth quarter
Oak Ridge: Bradley Zulliger 19 run, kick failed (10:16).
Maryville: Lee Bristol 58 interception return, Sharp kick (5:45).
Oak Ridge: Jordan Woullard 64 pass from Zulliger, Brett
Beeler kick (5:17).
Oak Ridge 0 0 0 13 -- 13
Maryville 0 7 7 7 -- 21
Second quarter
Maryville: Jacob West 8 pass from Phillip Juhlin,
Zach Sharp kick (8:34).
Third quarter
Maryville: Desmund Horne 80 punt return,
Sharp kick (1:05).
Fourth quarter
Oak Ridge: Bradley Zulliger 19 run, kick failed (10:16).
Maryville: Lee Bristol 58 interception return, Sharp kick (5:45).
Oak Ridge: Jordan Woullard 64 pass from Zulliger, Brett
Beeler kick (5:17).
Scoring
Halls 7 0 0 0 -- 7
OR 0 7 0 7 -- 14
First quarter
Halls: Garrett Gresham 9 pass from Josh Coffman,
Jared Khan kick, 5:25.
Second quarter
Oak Ridge: Bradley Zulliger 1 run, Brett Beeler kick, 0:18.
Fourth quarter
Oak Ridge: Morgan Guymon 20 pass from Zulliger,
Beeler kick, 10:47.
Halls 7 0 0 0 -- 7
OR 0 7 0 7 -- 14
First quarter
Halls: Garrett Gresham 9 pass from Josh Coffman,
Jared Khan kick, 5:25.
Second quarter
Oak Ridge: Bradley Zulliger 1 run, Brett Beeler kick, 0:18.
Fourth quarter
Oak Ridge: Morgan Guymon 20 pass from Zulliger,
Beeler kick, 10:47.
Oak Ridge rally falls just short against Clinton, 16-14 By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com Oak Ridge High School’s furious comeback bid came up just short Friday night against unbeaten Clinton. Coach Scott Blade’s Wildcats fell behind 10-0 less than eight minutes into the game against the state’s No. 2-ranked Class 5-A team on Blankenship Field. But Oak Ridge battled back, cutting the deficit to 16-14 when quarterback Bradley Zulliger scored on a 1-yard sneak and kicker Brett Beeler tacked on the conversion with 2 minutes and 51 seconds to play. Blade then opted for an onsides kick and the strategy looked spot on as Oak Ridge appeared to recover the ball. However, officials ruled that the Dragons recovered the ball at the 40 and Clinton picked up two first downs to run out and the clock. “I’m disappointed with the loss, but we’re a young team and we’re growing,” said Blade. “I thought our defense held well after we went down 10-0 at the half -- they (Clinton) have some wonderful athletes. My team played at a very high level.” Oak Ridge (6-3, 6-1 District 3-AAA), which has already qualified for the 6-A playoffs, has lost to three of the best teams in the state in Clinton, Maryville and Farragut. “We haven’t rolled over for anyone,” said Blade. “I’ve got to give Oak Ridge a ton of credit,” said Dragons coach Andy Shattuck. Clinton (9-0, 7-0) opened the game with a 15-play drive that chewed almost eight minutes off the clock. Josh Willard’s 25-yard field goal put the Dragons up 3-0 with 4:39 to go in the first quarter. Clinton’s opportunistic defense, which picked off two passes, recovered a fumble and blocked two field goal attempts, then came up with its first big play of the night as end Corey Washington intercepted a pass by Zulliger and returned it to the OR 7. Dragons quarterback Darian Stone then hit running back Weston Hazelhurst on a 7-yard touchdown pass. Oak Ridge had a chance to get on the board late in the first half, but Clinton’s Nick Frazier blocked a 35-yard field goal attempt by Beeler. “We had our opportunities and didn’t capitalize,” said Blade. The Wildcats got untracked offensively in the second half as Oak Ridge’s offensive line took charge. Zulliger directed a six-play, 65-yard drive that culminated with Rocky Fluud’s 5-yard TD burst up the middle with 3:42 to play in the third quarter. Clinton answered with a key nine-point swing as the Dragons blocked a 24-yard field goal attempt and Stone cut loose for a 77-yard scoring dash with 11:42 to play in the game to lead 16-7. Oak Ridge pieced together a magnificent 10-play, 95-yard drive to pull within two points late. Zulliger (12-for-20, 123 yards) connected on passes of 26 (to Jordan Woullard), 12 (Morgan Guymon) and 11 yards (Rian Hall) to move the ball to the Clinton 30. Hall, who ran for 61 yards on six carries, then went for 12 and 17 yards to set up Zulliger’s 1-yard sneak. Oak Ridge closes out the regular season against Campbell County at 7:30 Friday night on Blankenship Field.
Oak Ridge First downs: 15 Rushes/yards: 25-219 Passes/yards: 12-20-2 123 Total plays/yards: 45-342 Fumbles/lost: 1-1 Penalties: 3-35 Punts: 2-31 Rushing Bradley Zulliger 8-85 Rian Hall 6-61 Zach Witherspoon 7-45 Rocky Fluud 4-28 Receiving Morgan Guymon 5-24 Jordan Woullard 2-34 Rian Hall 2-19 Brady Hull 1-37 Zach Miller 1-4 Zach Witherspoon 1-1 Clinton First downs: 14 Rushes/yards: 43-243 Passes/yards: 11-23-0 132 Total plays/yards: 66-375 Fumbles/lost: 1-0 Penalties: 7-83 Punts: 1-35 Rushing Darian Stone 15-116 Weston Hazelhurst 14-77 Austin Powell 13-43 Nick Frazier 1-7 Receiving Joel Chapman 6-72 Weston Hazelhurst 2-27 Billie Tackett 1-13 Dee Shannon 1-12 Blake Williams 1-8 Passing Darian Stone 11-23-0 132 |
Wildcats roll past Karns 45-14
editor@oakridgesports.com
Blade. Oak Ridge (5-2, 5-0 District 3-AAA) blitzed host Karns 45-14 to surpass its win total for the 2008 season and move a step closer to clinching a berth in the Class 6-A playoffs. The Wildcats can earn a spot in the playoffs by winning Thursday night (kickoff at 7) at Hardin Valley Academy. A victory over the Hawks would also give Oak Ridge the opportunity to clinch the District 3-AAA title with an Oct. 23 win over Clinton on Blankenship Field. “The kids took another step tonight -- I‘m extremely proud of them,“ said Blade. “We set some pretty clear goals at the start of the season and we want to play for a district title.” Quarterback Bradley Zulliger passed for three touchdowns, ran for two more and accounted for 234 yards in total offense to lead the Wildcats. Oak Ridge’s offensive line gashed Karns (2-6, 2-4) to the tune of 368 yards on the ground as Wildcats running backs Rocky Fludd (14 carries, 101 yards) and Zach Witherspoon (9 for 71) were the beneficiaries of some gaping holes. “I’m real pleased with the offensive line,” said Blade. “We challenged them and the running backs all week in practice.” Zulliger, playing with more confidence each week, directed an Oak Ridge offense that generated 468 yards and racked up 18 first downs. The 5-foot-11, 170-pound sophomore scored on tackle-breaking runs of 27 and 49 yards. He rushed for 134 yards on just nine carries and was 10-for-19 for 100 yards through the air. “He has responded to all of the challenges we’ve throw at him,” said Blade. “We keep expanding the offense and he keeps reacting. He has played well.” Oak Ridge was dominant on defense in the first half as the Wildcats built a 17-0 lead, holding Karns to one first down and 17 total yards. The Beavers finished with 152 yards, but most of those came late in the game long after the issue was decided. “Our offense didn’t really help us out in the first half,” said Karns coach Robert Reeves. “We just didn’t do well on offense in the first half and it winded our defense out. They’re a good team.” The Wildcats struck for 17 points in the second quarter to pull away in the first meeting of the teams since 2000. Oak Ridge leads the series 21-1. Zulliger hit wideout Jordan Woullard with a 10-yard touchdown pass on the second play of the quarter. The Wildcats scored 10 points in the final two minutes and 40 seconds of the first half as Brett Beeler booted a 24-yard field goal and Tyrus Henderson tallied on a 5-yard pass from Zulliger with 32 seconds to play. Zulliger added his touchdown runs in the second half and he also threw a 15-yard touchdown strike to Morgan Guymon. OR’s final TD came on an 11-yard run by Fludd. The Beavers got a pair of fourth quarter touchdown passes of 5 and 8 yards from quarterback Kyle Boden to wide receiver Tyler Morrow. On tap: Oak Ridge’s Thursday night foe has fallen on hard times since edging Carter 7-0 in the season opener. Hardin Valley, in its first season of varsity competition, has since lost to West (29-6), Clinton (55-21), Campbell County (13-7), Central (34- 15), Powell (46-14) and Halls (34-13. Oak Ridge-Karns statistics Oak Ridge First downs: 18 Rushes/yards: 42-368 Passes/yards: 10-19-1 100 Total plays/yards: 61-468 Fumbles/lost: 1-0 Penalties: 4-32 Punts: 1-28
Rushing Bradley Zulliger 9-134 Rocky Fludd 14-101 Zach Witherspoon 9-71 Rian Hall 4-21 David Wright 3-19 Joe Cobb 2-16 Tyrus Henderson 1-6
Morgan Guymon 4-55 Jordan Woullard 2-22 Brady Hull 1-11 Tyrus Henderson 1-5 Zach Miller 1-4 Zach Witherspoon 1-3
Bradley Zulliger 10-19-1 100 Karns First downs: 5 Rushes/yards: 20-78 Passes/yards: 9-17-0 74 Total plays/yards: 37-152 Fumbles/lost: 5-3 Penalties: 5-53 Punts: 5-27 |
Scoring by quarters
Oak Ridge 0 17 14 14 -- 45
Karns 0 0 0 14 -- 14
Second quarter
OR: Jordan Woullard 10 pass from Bradley Zulliger,
Brett Beeler kick (11:06)
OR: Beeler 24 field goal (2:40)
OR: Tyrus Henderson 5 pass from Zulliger, Beeler kick (0:32)
Third quarter
OR: Zulliger 27 run, Beeler kick (10:36)
OR: Morgan Guymon 15 pass from Zulliger, Beeler kick (3:19)
Fourth quarter
KA: Tyler Morrow 5 pass from Kyle Boden (11:53)
OR: Zulliger 49 run, Beeler kick (10:37)
KA: Morrow 8 pass from Boden (8:42)
OR: Rocky Fludd 11 run, Beeler kick (4:48)
Oak Ridge 0 17 14 14 -- 45
Karns 0 0 0 14 -- 14
Second quarter
OR: Jordan Woullard 10 pass from Bradley Zulliger,
Brett Beeler kick (11:06)
OR: Beeler 24 field goal (2:40)
OR: Tyrus Henderson 5 pass from Zulliger, Beeler kick (0:32)
Third quarter
OR: Zulliger 27 run, Beeler kick (10:36)
OR: Morgan Guymon 15 pass from Zulliger, Beeler kick (3:19)
Fourth quarter
KA: Tyler Morrow 5 pass from Kyle Boden (11:53)
OR: Zulliger 49 run, Beeler kick (10:37)
KA: Morrow 8 pass from Boden (8:42)
OR: Rocky Fludd 11 run, Beeler kick (4:48)
Scoring by quarters
Clinton 10 0 0 6 -- 16
Oak Ridge 0 0 7 7 -- 14
First quarter
CLINTON: Josh Willard 25 field goal (4:39)
CLINTON: Westin Hazelhurst 7 pass from Darian Stone,
Willard kick (4:14)
Third quarter
OAK RIDGE: Rocky Fluud 5 run, Brett Beeler kick (3:42)
Fourth quarter
CLINTON: Stone 77 run, kick failed (11:21)
OAK RIDGE: Bradley Zulliger 1 run, Beeler kick (2:51)
Clinton 10 0 0 6 -- 16
Oak Ridge 0 0 7 7 -- 14
First quarter
CLINTON: Josh Willard 25 field goal (4:39)
CLINTON: Westin Hazelhurst 7 pass from Darian Stone,
Willard kick (4:14)
Third quarter
OAK RIDGE: Rocky Fluud 5 run, Brett Beeler kick (3:42)
Fourth quarter
CLINTON: Stone 77 run, kick failed (11:21)
OAK RIDGE: Bradley Zulliger 1 run, Beeler kick (2:51)