High school football got under way Thursday night in Tennessee with a game between two high-powered offenses.
Knoxville Halls travels to take on Oak Ridge in a game featuring two teams that combined to win 17 ballgames last season. Both teams also feature returning quarterbacks (Halls’ Amari Lethgo and Oak Ridge’s Blaine Stansberry) who combined for nearly 4,900 yards passing.
MORE: How to watch Knoxville (Tenn.) Halls at Oak Ridge: Live stream, kickoff time for Thursday night season opening game
It will be the first game between the Red Devils and the Wildcats since 2014, when Oak Ridge prevailed, 42-0.
MORE: When does high school football season start in each state?
Follow The Sporting News correspondent Buck Ringgold (@Bucks_Ballpark) for all of the live updates and scoring from Oak Ridge.
Scroll down for live score and game updates from kickoff to the postgame. Refresh this page for the latest.
OAK RIDGE 28, KNOXVILLE HALLS 13 FINAL
Refresh for latest
POSTGAME
- That was the 700th win for Oak Ridge in program history.
- And that will do it, as Oak Ridge intercepts three passes, returning two of those for TDs, in a season-opening win.
FOURTH QUARTER
- Halls is pinned deep in its own territory, and with less than two minutes left and facing a fourth-and-18, they decide to punt it away.
- Halls still has a glimmer of hope. Red Devils hold on downs inside their 20 and have the ball with three minutes left.
- Oak Ridge inside the Halls 20 with less than seven minutes to play.
- Halls tries an onside kick but it doesn't materialize. Oak Ridge already in Red Devil territory.
- TOUCHDOWN HALLS. Amari Lethgo with his second TD throw on the night, covering 35 yards to Jarrell Chandler. It's a two-score game with less than eight minutes left. (Oak Ridge, 28-13 | 7:51, 4th)
- Oak Ridge on the march once more, as the Wildcats advance into Halls territory as the fourth quarter commences.
THIRD QUARTER
- TOUCHDOWN OAK RIDGE. Wildcats answer right back by converting a fourth-and-10 from the Halls 22. Blaine Stansberry finds Malik Howard, who makes a spin move along the sideline to break free for the TD. Stansberry then hooks up with Amarion Willis for two more points. (Oak Ridge, 28-7 | 2:50, 3rd)
- TOUCHDOWN HALLS. Red Devils finally get on the scoreboard by driving 60 yards in seven plays, ending with a 22-yard TD pass from QB Amari Lethgo. Oak Ridge's lead cut to 13. (Oak Ridge, 20-7 | 7:12, 3rd)
- Oak Ridge gets the kickoff to start the second half.
HALFTIME
- Oak Ridge got inside the Halls 20 but time runs out. Wildcats still in control at the break, up by 20 points.
SECOND QUARTER
- Oak Ridge has the ball inside the Halls 30 with less than a minute to go in the half.
- PICK-SIX OAK RIDGE. Wildcats' defense has forced three turnovers, all interceptions, with two going for TDs. Ja'rell Jemerson had the latest pick-six, going in 27 yards out, and the Wildcats go for two and they get it on a pass from Blaine Stansberry to Malik Howard. The lead is now at 20. (Oak Ridge, 20-0 | 6:14, 2nd)
- TOUCHDOWN OAK RIDGE. Wildcats extend the lead on a 19-yard TD run from Damillyan Porter, as he takes a handoff and is barely touched. But they miss another PAT, and it's a 12-point lead. (Oak Ridge, 12-0 | 9:27, 2nd)
- Oak Ridge on the move to start the second quarter, as the Wildcats have the ball beyond midfield.
FIRST QUARTER
- Oak Ridge forces a punt and takes over at its 20 in the closing seconds of the quarter.
- PICK-SIX OAK RIDGE. The Wildcats get a second pick in the first quarter and then some, as Tyree Porter finds open real estate and takes it 79 yards to the house. PAT fails, but Oak Ridge takes the lead. (Oak Ridge, 6-0 | 3:39, 1st)
- INTERCEPTION HALLS. Halls gets a pick of its own on Oak Ridge's opening series, courtesy of Jarrell Chandler. Both teams' initial drives end in interceptions.
- INTERCEPTION OAK RIDGE. Halls kept the ball for 13 plays on the game's opening drive, but a pass to the end zone is picked off by the Wildcats' Ja'rell Jemerson. Red Devils use up nearly half of the first quarter, but come away empty-handed.
- Halls receives the opening kickoff and have held onto the ball for at least five minutes. Red Devils face a fourth down near the Oak Ridge 20 and they just convert. First down at the Oak Ridge 21.
- It's 85 degrees at kickoff. Oak Ridge will kick things off to Halls to start the game.
PREGAME
- A cool pregame tradition in Oak Ridge. The Wildcats walk down to the field via a stairway called the "72 Steps To Glory." They walked down those 72 steps and have now taken the field.
- Coming to you from Oak Ridge as the Wildcats welcome in Knoxville Halls as part of a Thursday night season opening game in eastern Tennessee.
ABOUT KNOXVILLE HALLS
Lethgo passed for 2,602 yards on 200 completions and 24 TDs last season. He returns his leading receiver in Brody Rogers, who caught 73 passes for 1,002 yards and eight TDs.
The Red Devils finished 8-4 last season.
ABOUT OAK RIDGE
The Wildcats finished 9-5 in ’24 but made it all the way to the Class 5A semifinals.
Stansberry is back after a junior season in which he passed for nearly 2,300 yards and 19 TDs. He also brings back one of his main receiving targets in Will Pressley, who had 900 yards and 10 scores.
MORE HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS NEWS
The Sporting News Preseason High School Football Top 25
The Sporting News Roadmap to the National Championship
The Sporting News High School Football Preseason All American Offense 2025
The Sporting News High School Football Preseason All American Defense 2025