T. J. White Is MVP in O'Hara's Double Overtime Win

TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS THIS YEAR _____ _____ _____ _____ _____One year ago, a lane violation cost O'Hara a last second victory but this time it took a double overtime game, and the Celtics came away with an exciting 71-70 Championship in the Patterson Division of the William Jewell Basketbal Classic. _____ Teamwork and talented individual efforts paid off for O'Hara who led much of the way before the game went into overtime. _____ It appeared the Columbia Rock Bridge Bruins would take the game in the first overtime period when they went up by five points, but eventually T. J. White tied the contest with a layup and the game proceeded into the second overtime. _____ The Bruins' Ricky Kreklow had two seconds on the clock when his shot missed and the game went to the Celtics. _____ O'Hara was off to a great start in the first quarter picking up 17 points while holding Rock Bridge to 9. They outscored the Bruins 19-12 in the next quarter as well. _____ To tie up the game in regulation time, the Bruins put defensive pressure on the Celtics and managed to outscore them by five third quarter points and ten fourth quarter points. The score was 61-61 going into the overtimes. _____ Top scorer in the game was Justin Miller for the Bruins who had 23. Ricky Kreklow who had three three-pointers and Travis Jorgenson each had 13 for Rock Bridge. _____ O'Hara's Josh Rupprecht was O'Hara's leading scorer with 17 followed by T. J. White with 15. Junior Jevon Lyle contributed 10 points. _____ In addition to O'Hara taking the Championship with Rock Bridge as the runner-up, Park Hill won the battle for third place with a 66-49 win over Lincoln Prep. Winner of the Consolation bracket was Grandview topping Lee's Summit West 67-56.

O'HARA ADVANCES TO CHAMPIONSHIP GAME WITH 80-55 WIN

In the Bank Midwest/William Jewell Holiday Basketball Classic on December 29, the O'Hara Celtics Dealt the Trojans of Park Hill an 80-55 loss to advance to the tournament championship game the following evening. _____ The first sixteen points were scored by the Celtics and the Trojans didn't get onto the scoreboard until the second quarter. _____ A tight defense leading to turnovers and rushed shots along with 8 first quarter points provided by T. J. White gave O'Hara a margin that the Trojans couldn't dent. ______ After the two teams played evenly for the second and third quarters, the Celtics pulled way ahead in the final quarter outpointing the Trojans 27 to 18. _____ T. J. White led the O'Hara squad with 18 points. Andre Jordan added 11 and Josh Rupprecht had 10 as ten O'Hara players tallied points in the fast paced game.

O'Hara Wins First Round of the HOLIDAY BASKETBALL CLASSIC

On December 26, the O'Hara Celtics won their first round game of the 30th Annual Holiday Basketball Classic at William Jewell 85-59. They faced the Blue Springs Wildcats and moved on to the December 29 game to play Park Hill, the 70-59 winner of the Grandview-Park Hill contest. _____ D. J. Jackson got the Celtics off to a good start with five points while O'Hara carved out a 12-3 lead. _____ A bit later in the first quarter, the Celtics led 17-11 and then scored the next eleven points for a 28-11 bulge. Jevon Lyle, T. J. White, D. J. Jackson, and Josh Ruppprecht contributed to the run. _____ The Wildcats were outscored in each of the ensuing quarters by more modest margins. _____ Josh Rupprecht was O'Hara's scoring leader with twenty points, all of which were done within the first three periods. _____ T. J. White added 12, D. J. Jackson had 11, and both Andre Jordan and Ronnie Miller pumped in 10 apiece.

O'HARA 98 WARRENSBURG 81

Had the O'Hara basketball team maintained their torrid scoring for more than each of the first three quarters of their West Central Conference game with Warrensburg on December 22, they would have reached the century mark. The Celtics poured in 98 points as the Tigers answered with 81. _____ D. J. Jackson and Josh Rupprecht each scored four of O'Hara's initial points to give the home team an 8-0 lead, and the Celtics led the whole game. _____ Ruppecht scored 8 of his 16 total in the first quarter as O'Hara pulled ahead by ten 28-18. _____ Bringing the halftime score to 54-41, T. J. White scored 7 of his 17 total in the second period. _____ Four other O'Hara players made double figures by the time the game ended. D. J. Jackson had 15, Daniel Hurtt had 14, Aaron Stubblefield had 12, and Andre Jordan had 12. _____ The closest the Tigers could get was by a margin of four points when the score was 22-18 but the next twelve points were Celtic points. _____ For Warrensburg, Tyler Schmidt led all scorers with 27 points, 18 of which were in the first half before the Celtics slowed down his production. _____ O'Hara went up by 77-50 in the third quarter which was their largest lead in the game. _____ The Celtics are 3-0 in the WWC.

O'Hara to Play in Holiday Basketball Classic

O'HARA IS SEEDED SECOND IN TOURNAMENT _____ The Archbishop O'Hara High School basketball team is seeded 2nd in the Bank Midwest/William Jewell Holiday Basketball Classic which is to run between December 26 and December 30. _____ Last year the Celtics nearly took the Championship in their Division but the apparent winning basket by T. J. White was disallowed due to a lane violation. _____ The team is entered in the Patterson Division and scheduled to play seventh seeded Blue Springs at noon on Saturday, December 26. _____ The winner of this game will have a noon game on Tuesday, December 29 against the winner of the Park Hill-Grandview contest. _____ The winner of the bracket will face the survivor of the other bracket consisting of Lee's Summit West, William Chrisman, Rock Bridge, and Lincoln Prep and is scheduled for 7:30 PM on Wednesday, December 30.

THIRTEEN SENIORS HONORED AT O'HARA FOOTBALL AWARDS

On Decemeber 20, at the Archbishop O'Hara Football Awards Ceremony, the thirteen senior players who played on the team that took Third Place State 3-A with a 12-2 record were given special recognition. ____ They were T. J. White, Joe Melchior, Louis Golden, Aaron Stubblefield, Ted Dujakovich, Tyler Houser, Matt Falke, Nick Coatney, Anthony Liggett, Terrell Johnson, Keon Young, Keenen Wilkins, and Damon Larmond. _____ Varsity players from the underclasses were presented with their letters too. These were juniors Raphael Spencer, Andre Jordan, Jimmy Clark, and Logan Halil along with sophomores Brett Coatney, Jorge Belcher, Jake Fortin, Julian Gidley, Tanner Hull, and Josh Snow. Provisional varsity, junior varsity and freshman football players also got their letters. _____ At the ceremony, T. J. White was the recipient of the "Red Zone Player of the Year" plaque. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ TEAM MILESTONES OF 2009 FOR O’HARA: Most O’Hara points in a season: 502; previous high was 440 in 2000. Highest average O’Hara points per game in a season: 35.9; previous high was 356 in 1999. Most points for both teams in a season: 774; previous high was 575 in 2008. Most points for both teams in a game: 99 [with Pleasant Hill]; previous high was 82 which happened twice. Most touchdowns in a season: 74; previous high was 61 in 2000. Most touchdowns per game in a season: 5.3; previous high was 5.0 in 1999. Most total rushing and passing yards in a season: 4,909; previous high was 4,439 in 2000. Most pass attempts in a season: 187; previous high was 186 in 1998. Most passing touchdowns in a season: 19; previous high was 16 in 2008. Most kickoffs in a season: 87; previous high was 81 in 2000. Most defensive unassisted tackles in a season: 349; previous high was 277 in 2007. O’HARA TEAM WAS SECOND IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS: Most rushing touchdowns in a season: 49; record is 50 in 2000. Most completions in a season: 89; record is 93 in 2008. Highest completion percentage in a season: 47.6; record is 58.1 in 2008. Most net passing yards in a season: 1,567; record is 1,939 in 2008. Highest completion percentage in a game: 58.3 [vs Savannah]; record is 72.7 in 2008 [vs Smithville]. Most kickoff yards in a season: 3,298; record is 4,067 in 2000. INDIVIDUAL O’HARA SCHOOL RECORDS SET IN 2009: Career Top Passer: T. J. White completed 240 out of 475 for 4,587 yards and 45 touchdowns. Season Top Receiver: Aaron Stubblefield (tied with Matt Morrison 1998) with 35 receptions. AMONG TOP TEN O’HARA SCHOOL RECORDS SET IN 2009: Season second place in Top Ten Passing: T. J. White; 88 out of 181 for 1,545 yards and 19 touchdowns. Career second place in Top Ten receivers: Aaron Stubblefield with 53 for 1,254 yards and 10 touchdowns. Season fifth place in Top Ten Rushing yards: Raphael Spencer with 1,454 yards and 22 touchdowns. Season sixth place in most extra points kicked: Julian Gidley with 29 (tied with two others). Career eighth place in Top Ten Rushing yards: Raphael Spencer with 1,642 yards and 24 touchdowns. Career eighth place in Top Ten receivers: Joe Melchior with 31 for 428 yards and 7 touchdowns. Season tenth place in Top Ten receivers: Joe Melchior with 22 for 310 yards and 5 touchdowns.

O'Hara in the Hy-Vee Shootout

The O'Hara boys team lost to Miege by a close 58-56 score and the girls team dropped a 62-42 decision to Shawnee Mission West over the weekend. _____ With a few seconds left to the boys contest, a three point shot that could have won the game for the Celtics bounced off the rim. _____ O'Hara had led by two points after the first quarter and then by as much as four until Miege pulled ahead 24-22 midway through the second period. _____ Aaron Stubblefield got the Celtics back on top with a layup at 33-32 during the third quarter, but then the Stags retook the lead and held on the remainder of the game. _____ Within the last half minute of playing time, Miege had a seven point advantage at 58-51 and it appeared they would hold on with ease. Not so however. Ronnie Miller scored a three-pointer and Josh Rupprecht scored an inside shot when the Celtics stole the inbound pass. _____ Trevor Releford scored 25 points and Rodney Givens had 14 for Miege, but the Celtic defense kept all but three other Stags from scoring. _____ O'Hara, with a deeper bench, had had eight players contributing to the scoring. They were led by Ronnie Miller with 15, T. J. White with 12, and D. J. Jackson with 11. With the Stags using a zone defense, five of the Celtics' baskets were three-pointers. _____ O'Hara's record went to 5-1 while Miege went to 3-0. _____ The Lady Celtics fell behind by four in the first quarter of their game with the Vikings 11-7 and could not stay with their opponent the rest of the way. Alex Smith led the O'Hara attack with 15 points.

ALL WCC SOCCER

From O'Hara, the West Central Conference Soccer First Team included Matt Shelton and Jerry Rellihan and the Second Team had Pat Berney and John Tyler.

Lady Celtics Have Easy Time with Clinton Cardinals

O'HARA 69 CLINTON 21 _____ On December 16th, the O'Hara girls basketball team held the Clinton Cardinals to 12 points over three quarters while scoring 54 points during the first half alone on their way to a 69-21 win. ______Alex Smith, Hailey Houser, Cameron Randle, and Ashley Clark poured in a total of 52 points. _____ The game ended with a running clock and provided the Celtics with ample opportunity for the entire bench to gain experience.

O'HARA BASKETBALL GO TO 4-0 WITH WIN OVER CENTER

O'HARA 73 CENTER 66 _____ The O'Hara boys basketball team outscored Center by twelve points in the second quarter to lift the team to a seven point victory on December 15th at Center. _____ The top scorer in the game was Center's Mark Braden who played his last three years at O'Hara before transferring schools. He had 25 points. _____ Anthony Rule had 18 points for the Yellowjackets but the rest of Center's team only came through with 23 points. _____ The Celtics, with a more balanced attack, had four players in double figures. D. J. Jackson and Jevon Lyle each ended up with 14 points. Daniel Hurtt and T. J. White also were in double figures.

Lady Celtics Win by Ten Over Smith-Cotton Tigers

After a slow start, the O'Hara Lady Celtics won on December 14th at Smith-Cotton 50-40. _____ At halftime, the Celtics were trailing 24-18, but managed to whittle the score down to one point to start the fourth quarter at 36-35. _____ A three-point shot by Cameron Randle tied the game at 40-40 with three minutes remaining in the game. _____ Ashley Clark followed with another three-pointer to give O'Hara the lead. _____ The Tigers were forced to foul and the Celtics took advantage with seven free throws on eight attempts to seal the victory. _____ 18 of O'Hara's total came from three point range although the team did have the advantage of height with Hailey Houser and Tori Hurtt under the basket. _____ Costly turnovers forced by the Celtic defense and missed layups worked against the Tigers. _____ At one time the Tigers led by a 15-9 score. _____ O'Hara took a temporary 35-32 lead inside of the third quarter when Ashley Clark hit on a trey along her way to 14 total points in the game. _____ Cameron Randle and Alex Smith had 13 game points each. _____

PIUS FALLS TO O'HARA 80-47

Taking over early, the O'Hara boys basketball team jumped to a 17-4 lead against Saint Pius X within the first quarter. They led 22-8 going into the second quarter on their way to an 80-47 West Central Conference victory on December 14th. _____ Five Celtics achieved double figures in the game. _____ T. J. White, Josh Rupprecht, and Jevon Lyle each had 12 points or more, and they were followed by Daniel Hurtt and Keenan Wilkins-Hemphill with 10 apiece. _____ After reaching a 40-26 halftime score, O'Hara scored 20 points in each of the final two quarters. _____ In the fourth quarter the Saint Pius Warriors were held to 5 total points. The closest Saint Pius could come was nine points when they closed the gap to 42-33, but the Celtics easily controlled the remainder of the game. _____ The Celtics are 3-0 for the early season. _____ Prior to the varsity game, the O'Hara JV team won 58-42.

Girls Basketball in Kickapoo Tournament

The O'Hara Lady Celtics competed in the Kickapoo Basketball Tournament on December 10, 11, & 12 against some very tough competition. _____ The Celtics did not manage a win but had two games in which they stayed close before the final buzzer. _____ Nixa was the Tournament winner going undefeated: 49-38 over Kickapoo, 50-42 over O'Hara, and 50-40 over Liberty. _____ Liberty came through with two victories over O'Hara 61-54 and Kickapoo 44-40 to take the runner-up spot. _____ O'Hara lost to Kickapoo 73-43.

O'HARA OVER SAINT JAMES BY ELEVEN

Saint James Academy got 17 of their 38 points from 6'6" Clint McCullough, but the O'Hara Celtics used a fast paced offense and full court defense to win on December 11th 49-38. _____ Ahead by three points after the first quarter, the Celtics increased their lead to 24-17 by halftime, limiting the Thunder to just five points in the second quarter. _____ The Thunder tied the score at 25-25 within the third quarter to tighten up the game and actually held a brief lead before D. J. Jackson lifted the Celtics to a three point lead on a three-point shot to end the third quarter. _____ O'Hara kept coming on in the fourth period and scored eight more points than the Saint James squad for the victory. _____ In the low scoring game, the Celtics held their opponent to an average of less than ten points per quarter. _____ In double figures, T. J. White and Aaron Stubblefield had 11 points each. Just missing double figures, D. J. Jackson and Jevon Lyle had 9 points apiece.

Travis Peter Adds Another Wrestling Win

Although the O'Hara wrestling team did not fare very well against Warrensburg on December 10th, Travis Peter won his 130 lb match with a pin. In the first period he built up a 6-2 advantage with three take-downs to two escapes. The match ended in the second period after Travis picked up six more points via an escape, take-down, and near-fall prior to the actual pin.

ALL STATE FOOTBALL HONORS

The Following O'Hara Students have been selected to the Missouri Football Coaches Association 2009 All State Football Team: 1st Team: Matt Falke; Offensive Line _____ 2nd Team: Raphael Spencer; Running Back, Aaron Stubblefield; Receiver _____ 3rd Team: T. J. White; Quarterback, Louis Golden; Defensive End, Raphael Spencer; Returner _____

Lady Celtics Win Conference Game 73-25

Lady Celtics 73 Yellowjackets 25 _____ On December 8th, the Archbishop O'Hara High School girls basketball team won a WCC home game 73-25 with the Center Yellowjackets. _____ Holding Center to two baskets and two free throws for six points for the first quarter, the Celtics poured on 20 points with nine coming from Cameron Randle. _____ By halftime, the Celtics were up 47-15 with seven players combining for 27 points in the second quarter. _____ The first 17 points of the third quarter were scored by O'Hara, eight of which were scored by Ashley Clark. _____ The fourth quarter was played with a running clock and a number of less experienced players got to see action. _____ Ashley Clark had 16 points in the game followed by Cameron Randle with 15 for the scoring honors.

TRAVIS PETER LEADS O'HARA WRESTLERS

At the December 5th Grain Valley Wrestling Invitational, Travis Peter won all five of his matches to take First Place in the 130 lb weight class. _____ Teamwise, the O'Hara Celtics were 8th among the 14 participating schools. _____ Jake Fortin won 3rd place in his weight class, Miles Womack was 4th, and Danijo Adams took 5th. _____ Winning the first two matches of their careers, Jimmy Clark and Jeremy Ambrose each came in 6th.

O'Hara Wins 59-29 In Second Basketball Game

The Pembroke Hill Raiders couldn't keep pace with the O'Hara Celtics in the December 4th basketball game at Pembroke Hill. _____ After falling behind by six points in the initial quarter, the Raiders were only able to come up with two more points until halftime as the Celtics poured in sixteen for a 30-10 lead. ____ Eventually the game ended 59-29 with D. J. Jackson leading the way in double figures with 15 points. _____ O'Hara only cashed in on 9 free throws in 23 attempts but the game did not hinge on points from the free throw line. _____ D. J. Jackson, Jevon Lyle, and Ronnie Miller contributed three-point shots in the game.

IMPRESSIVE BASKETBALL OPENER FOR O'HARA

O'Hara Tops Smithville 81-54 _____ The O'Hara boys varsity basketball team opened their 2009-2010 season with an exclamation point on December 1st. ______ Scoring 31 of their 81 points in the second period alone, the Celtics reached a 50-22 halftime score as eleven players contributed to the scoring. _____ Led by D. J. Jackson with 20 points and Jevon Lyle's 14 points, the team benefitted from nine three-pointers along the way (five of which were by Jackson and Lyle). _____ In the first quarter, the Celtics had surged ahead by eight points and were able stretch the advantage until letting up in the fourth quarter.

SCHEDULE OF 2009-2010 BOYS VARSITY BASKETBALL

O’Hara 2009-2010 Boys Basketball Schedule : Tuesday, Dec 01 @ Smithville R-2 High School 7:00PM _____ Friday, Dec 04 @ Pembroke Hill School 7:00PM _____ Friday, Dec 11 @ St. James Academy 7:00PM _____ Monday, Dec 14 St. Pius X High School-Kansas City 7:00PM _____ Tuesday, Dec 15 @ Center Senior High School 7:00PM _____ Thursday, Dec 17 @ Smith-Cotton High School 7:00PM _____ Saturday, Dec 19 @ Hy-VEE Shoot Out (Miege) @ Avila 8:30PM _____ Tuesday, Dec 22 Warrensburg High School 7:00PM _____ Saturday, Dec 26 @ William Jewell TBA _____ Sunday, Dec 27 @ William Jewell TBA _____ Friday, Jan 08 @ Rockhurst High School 7:00PM _____ Tuesday, Jan 12 @ St. Pius X High School-Kansas City 7:00PM _____ Monday, Jan 18 @ Lee Summit Boys Basketball 1/18-1/22 TBA _____ Tuesday, Jan 26 Smith-Cotton High School 7:00PM _____ Thursday, Jan 28 @ Nixa Tournament TBA _____ Friday, Feb 05 @ Clinton High School 6:00PM _____ Monday, Feb 08 Hogan Preparatory Academy 7:00PM _____ Friday, Feb 12 @ Warrensburg High School 7:00PM _____ Wednesday, Feb 17 Clinton High School 7:00PM _____ Friday, Feb 19 Center Senior High School 7:00PM _____ Monday, Feb 22 Districts TBA

O'Hara Accomplishments in 2009 Football

Only two Missouri 3-A football teams surpassed the 12-2 O'Hara Celtics in 2009. _____ Undefeated Bowling Green topped Priory 20-7 to meet once-defeated Cassville who dropped the Celtics 23-7. They play next weekend for the State Championship. Priory ended their season with a 7-7 record. _____ SCHOOL RECORDS: Raphael Spencer led the Celtics during the season in rushing with 1,454 yards to advance to 5th place for a single season, and is presently in 8th place in career rushing yards with a total of 1,640 with another year to go. _____ Senior T. J. White completed 9 passes in the semifinal game to make this season his second best at O'Hara. He holds the season record of 1,919 yards on 92 completions done last year, and this year had 1,545 yards on 88 completions. From his sophomore year, he also holds down the 4th place behind Ryan McNamara '98. He finishes his O'Hara career passing top position with a grand total of 240 completions for 4,587 yards. _____ Senior Aaron Stubblefield caught three passes in the semifinal game which was enough to tie Matt Morrison '98 for #1 for a single season with 35 catches and Stubblefield finished his career at O'Hara in 2nd place among the school's best with 53 receptions for 1,254 yards. Only Joe Pepple from last year's squad had a better career total with 68 receptions for 1,259 yards. _____ Senior Joe Melchior caught two passes in the semifinal game. With this, he moved into 8th place in career receptions with 31, and only nine receivers topped his 22 catches for a single season. _____ Senior Louis Golden holds the #6 place in the top ten miscellaneous career points on defense. This included his 281 tackles,2 blocked kicks, 7.5 quarterback sacks, and 5 recovered fumbles. _____ Sophomore Julian Gidley tied Bryce Scovill '05 and Kevin Furey '90 for 6th place for a single season with his extra point conversion in the semifinal game; all three had 29 apiece. _____ In their fantastic season, the Celtics scored 32 or more points in all but three games, and only once did they fail to score at least 20 points. _____ The team had two shutouts and their only loss prior to the semifinal game was by 8 points to 4-A Smith-Cotton, the winner of the West Central Conference. _____ O'Hara scored a total of 502 points for an average of 35.86 per game. _____ Raphael Spencer was the team's leading scorer with 29 touchdowns and three 2-point conversons for 180 points. _____ T. J. White was second in scoring with 114 points on 18 touchdowns and three 2-point conversions. _____ The next four scorers were Aaron Stubblefield with 44 points, Terrell Johnson with 42 points, Joe Melchior with 35 points, and Louis Golden with 34 points.

O'HARA LOSES SEMIFINAL FOOTBALL GAME 23-7

For the first time in fourteen games, the O'Hara Celtic football team failed to score 20 points and at least three touchdowns as they lost 23-7 to the Cassville Wildcats on Saturday, November 21st. _____ Ending their season 12-2, the Celtics had outlasted 28 of the 32 teams that made postseason play in qualifying for the State's final four. _____ Entering the fourth quarter, O'Hara was down by only three points at 10-7, but Joseph Gouvion and Trevor Tanner scored on touchdown runs of 33 yards and 9 yards in the final quarter to seal the win. _____ At the start of the game the Wildcats scored first on a 21 yard run by Joseph Gouvion and Matt Angel kicked the extra point. _____ The Celtics came back with a breakaway run by Raphael Spencer for 31 yards and Julian Gidley kicked the extra point that tied up the game. _____ The score could have remained tied for half time, but an ill-advised O'Hara pass interception on a fourth down play gave the Celtics the ball on their own 8 yard line instead of the original line of scrimmage on the 27 yard line. ______ The Wildcats eventually profited from this gift because with just three seconds left to the half, they were close enough for Matt Angel to nail a field goal. _____ Neither team showed much spark in the third quarter as the game stayed close. _____ After the game was out of reach in the fourth quarter, the Celtics came alive starting from their own 24 yard line and got as close as the 11 yard line. _____ In this display of offensive comeback, T. J. White completed a 20 yard pass to Joe Melchior, ran for a 24 yard gain and a first down, and passed to Aaron Stubblefield for 15 yards. _____ _____ _____ ONE WEEK LATER CASSVILLE DEFEATED THE PREVIOUSLY UNBEATEN BOWLING GREEN 24-7 WHICH LEAVES NO MISSOURI 3-A TEAM UNDEFEATED. O'HARA LOST BY A SLIGHTLY CLOSER SCORE TO CASSVILLE THAN BOWLING GREEN. PRIORY, THE FOURTH TEAM IN THE FINAL FOUR, LOST TO BOWLING GREEN. THUS O'HARA COULD BE CONSIDERED THIRD BEST IN THE STATE. . .

O'Hara's Wyatt and Huber Help Missouri win in MO/KAN Volleyball _____ Selected among the top twelve seniors in volleyball from Missouri, O'Hara's Katie Huber and Jordyn Wyatt played in the small school division of the November 15th MO/KAN All-Star Game at Avila College. _____ The Missouri squad lost the first set 20-25 but came back to take the second and third 25-18 and 25-12. _____ Both Celtic players had been named to their All-District First Team.

More O'Hara Football Stats after 13 games

Raphael Spencer ran for 280 yards against Pleasant Hill (averaging 17.5 yards per carry) and moved into 6th place among the O'Hara Top Ten Rushers for a season with a total of 1,391 yards. His career total at O'Hara over two seasons is 2,578 yards placing him in the 9th position. _____ Julian Gidley moved into a tie for 6th place for the most extra points made in a single season. In the Pleasant Hill game, he connected on six to increase to 29, tying him with Kevin Furey '90 and Bryce Scovill '05 just one shy of Ben Dollins '99. Gidley needs three more to tie Jason Jacob '02-'04 for 10th place in career extra points made (and could do it in a single season).

WOW: O'HARA 50 PLEASANT HILL 49

O'HARA REACHES FINAL FOUR IN STATE _____ At one time in the close State 3-A quarterfinal game between the O'Hara Celtics and the Pleasant Hill Roosters, O'Hara led 35-7. But Pleasant Hill chipped away until eventually leading 49-42 with 2:72 remaining in the game. _____ With 0:35 on the clock, the Celtics rallied to make the score 50-49, and their defense held on for the win. _____ So close was the contest that there were a number of parallels. _____ Both Raphael Spencer for O'Hara and Matt Hertzog for Pleasant Hill scored five touchdowns apiece. Louis Golden and Jake Warren scored on pass plays for their respective teams. _____ Justin Starks returned a punt to offset a touchdown catch by Aaron Stubblefield. _____ Raphael Spencer and Cody Todd ran in two-point conversions. _____ The difference ultimately was in the kicked extra points. Sophomore Julian Gidley won that battle succeeding with six while senior Jake Goosey missed one of his six attempts. _____ HOW THE 99 POINTS OCCURRED _____ At the beginning of the game, the Celtics scored on their third play of the game, a 65 yard TD run by Raphael Spencer [7-0]. _____ On the Roosters' sixth play, Raphael Spencer picked up a loose fumble and returned for a 58 yard score [14-0]. _____ In Six plays, the Roosters halved the score to 14-7 on Matt Hertzog's 11 yard run. _____ On the first play after the ensuing kickoff, Raphael Spencer broke free for a 72 yard TD run [21-7]. _____ The Celtics methodically advanced the ball from their own 22 yard line, and in eight plays increased the score to 28-7 on T. J. White's 21 yard pass to Louis Golden. _____ In O'Hara's next possession, Raphael Spencer had runs of 48 yards, 13 yards, and 21 yards, the last of which was for a touchdown [35-7]. _____ The momentum changed drastically from here on. The Roosters scored the next five TD's. ____ First was a 7 yard run by Matt Hertzog [35-14]. _____ Next was a punt run back by Justin Starks which made the half time score 35-21. _____ Cody Todd, on a fourth down play, connected with Jake Warren for a 29 yard touchdown [35-27] but the Roosters failed to cash in on an extra point. _____ Matt Hertzog added a 19 yard TD to tie the score at the end of the third quarter. _____ Putting the Roosters ahead for the first time in the game, Matt Hertzog scored from 16 yards out and the team benefitted by Cody Todd's two-point conversion [42-35]. _____ Eight plays later, Raphael Spencer ran for a 14 yard touchdown tying the score at 42-42. _____ It took the Roosters thirteen plays, but they managed to retake the lead 49-42 while eating up valuable time on the clock. The six point score was a 2 yarder by Matt Hertzog. _____ 2:12 remained in the game. Andre Jordan covered the on-side kick attempt on the 46 yard line. After two short passes to Aaron Stubblefield and and Joe Melchior, T. J. White completed a 19 yard touchdown pass to Aaron Stubblefield with 35 seconds on the clock. _____ With Spencer's two-point conversion, O'Hara moved back into the final lead 50-49. _____ The Roosters got to the 21 yard line with time running out and tried a long field goal, but Jake Goosey's kick was wide to the right.

O'Hara's Boehm Is Athlete of the Week

With four All-State volleyball players from the Archbishop O'Hara High School 3-A State Champions to choose from, Michala Boehm was named ATHLETE OF THE WEEK by the Kansas City Star on November 13th. _____ Her 17 kills in the State final was a strong boost in influencing the panel as the Celtics defeated Villa Duchesne 25-16 & 25-13 for the State Title. _____ Boehm had 47 kills as a middle hitter in the games against the other teams that made the final four. Her "kill efficiency" was .482 for the weekend. _____ Michala Boehm is a junior and was named First Team All State along with senior Katie Huber and juniors Tori Hurtt and Lindsey Hanaway.

HAILEY HOUSER SIGNS LETTER OF INTENT

On November 11th, Hailey Houser, a senior at Archbishop O'Hara High School, signed a letter of intent to attend UMKC. Houser was among the leaders on the Celtics' basketball team in rebounding and scoring.

Some Additional O'Hara Football Stats

In the exciting 21-16 Sectional win over Savannah, the O'Hara team came up with some impressive stats. _____ The Celtics had 375 total yards to 269 for the Savages. _____ 212 yards resulted from 14 pass completions by T. J. White. _____ Savannah was more one-dimensional completing only two passes in the entire game. _____ Raphael Spencer gained 85 rushing yards, averaging 7.1 yards per carry. _____ Aaron Stubblefield gained 105 yards on five pass receptions. _____ Raphael Spencer, Louis Golden, and Joe Melchior each caught three passes. _____ Savannah was one of the two O'Hara opponents to hold the Celtics to under 32 points in the twelve games played; the other team was Smith-Cotton, the only team to outscore the Celtics. _____ With 1111 total yards, Raphael Spencer overtook Lamar Dawn '93 for 9th place among the top rushing for a single season. _____ T. J. White increased his already top career passing feats and now has 227 completions for 4,431 yards. _____ Aaron Stubblefield moved to 3rd place in pass receptions for a season with 30, and to 2nd place for career catches with 48. _____ Joe Melchior advanced to 9th place in career catches with 28, and his 19 receptions this year ties him for 13th for a single season. _____ Prior to the Regional & Sectional games, O'Hara was ranked 4th in 3-A. They have eliminated from State competition the 8th and 10th ranked teams with their past two victories. ____

O'HARA 21 SAVANNAH 16

Trailing 9-0 at the half and 16-8 after three quarters, the O'Hara Celtics football team scored 13 fourth quarter points to slip past the Savannah Savages on November 9th by a score of 21-16. _____ The last score of the game was as exciting as the Celtics' previous win over Chillicothe, and again accomplished within the last ten seconds of game time. _____ The clincher was a 20 yard TD pass from T. J. White to Aaron Stubblefield. ______ Up to that time, the Celtics never led in this game. _____ Although not scoring in the entire first half, the Celtics did occasionally move the ball well. ____ Near the end of the first quarter, Savannah pulled ahead 6-0 on a 12 yard run by Quinton Peak. The extra point attempt was blocked. _____ Savannah was trying for a second score in the second quarter, but was stopped when Joe Melchior recovered a fumble on the 15 yard line. _____ With time running out in the first half, Savannah again was on the march and reached the 17 yard line. This time with 10 seconds remaining on the clock, Cameron Vulgamott kicked a field goal. _____ It was the first time this season the Celtics were held scoreless for the first half of a game. _____ After receiving the kickoff to start the third quarter, O'Hara took the ball all the way from their own 36 yard line to score their first TD of the evening. By far, the key play in the series was a 43 yard pass caught by Aaron Stubblefield. T. J. White scored the touchdown on a 14 yard run, and Raphael Spencer ran the two-point conversion to narrow the score to 9-8. _____ Savannah answered with a long 87 yard march consuming 13 plays with Quinton Peak scoring on a 5 yard run and Cameron Vulgamot providing the extra point kick for a 16-8 advantage. _____ With just over five minutes of playing time in the game, the Celtics took the ball 76 yards up the field to score six points. Along the way, Louis Golden caught an 11 yard pass to keep the drive alive, and from 25 yards out, gathered in a T. J. White pass for the TD. A two-point conversion would have tied up the game, but T. J. White's pass failed, leaving the Celtics behind by two 16-14 with just over three and a half minutes left in the game. _____ Savannah played conservative in their next possession, and after three short gains, punted to the Celtics. _____ O'Hara had the ball on the 36 yard line with the clock showing 1:21 remaining. A third down pass play to Aaron Stubblefield advanced the ball to the 50 yard line. T. J. Whites 30 yard pass to Joe Melchior got the ball to the 20 yard line. That's when White connected with Stubblefield for the winner. Julian Gidley kicked the extra point. ____ As a result of the three touchdowns scored by the Celtics, they kept their enviable record of scoring no less than 20 points in every one of their games this season.

All-State Volleyball Players from O'Hara

Four O'Hara volleyball players won All-State First Team Honors voted on by coaches around the State of Missouri: Victoria Hurtt, Katie Huber, Michala Boehm, and Lindsey Hanaway. These same four were also selected to the 2009 All-State Tournament Team with Tori Hurtt designated as team captain. The O'Hara team had a 30-6-1 record for the season and were undefeated in the tournament winning the State 3-A Championship for the third year in a row.

O'HARA COMPETING IN FORENSICS

With competition among 25 schools, the O'Hara Forensic & Debate team competed in the Blue Spring Tournament. Johanna Kelly in Original Oratory Speaking earned the 6th place medal. _____ Earning excellect ballots but not advancing were Alex Keffer-Swaney, Rachel Goode, and Derrianna White in their events. _____ In the debate area, the team of Bria Anderson-Gardner & Trey Hampton won two rounds, and the team of Johanna Kelly & Alec Robb won one round.

One-Plus Honors to James Campo

In the Kansas Music Teachers Association Honors Auditions, James Campos from Archbishop O'Hara High School received the highest honors rank of One-Plus.

* S T A T E * C H A M P S *

Once again the O'Hara High School Celtic volleyball team successfully defended its 3-A State Championship, and this year, with relative ease. _____ Villa Duchesne had to settle for second place after O'Hara posted 25-16 and 25-13 games on Saturday evening. _____ Numerous kills by Michala Boehm and Tori Hurtt, spectacular digs by libero Katie Huber, and accurate settings by Lindsey Hanaway led the way with support from Jordyn Wyatt, Madison Clark, and Janell Jordan. _____ In the first game, the score was close until it reached 6-5 with neither team leading by more than a point. Then the Celtics pulled away and led by as much as nine at 21-12 and coasted to the win. _____ In the second game, the Celtics jumped ahead 4-0 immediately and stretched the lead to ten midway through the contest.

VOLLEYBALL: O'Hara Dominates in Pool Play

The defending State Champs won all of their pool games on Friday, November 6th and faces Villa Duchesne for the STATE CHAMPIONSHIP on Saturday. Villa Duchesne was the only team to score more than 16 points against the Celtics! _______ Scores: O'Hara over Villa Duchesne 25-11 & 25-20; O'Hara over Logan-Rogersville 25-16 & 25-14; O'Hara over Notre Dame Cape Girardeau 25-11 & 25-14. _______Villa Duchesne won over Notre Dame 25-12 & 25-22 _______ The other two games were splits: Villa Duchesne winning 25-16 and losing 19-25 to Logan-Rogersville AND Notre Dame winning 26-24 and losing 27-29 to Logan-Rogersville 27-29 in the closest contest on the evening [and determining which team would have the honor to face the Celtics for the Championship game].

LATEST FOOTBALL SCORING

O'Hara's nine football players (along with a safety) accounting for the 424 points scored in eleven games are Raphael Spencer 140, T. J. White 108, Terrell Johnson 42, Joe Melchior 35, Aaron Stubblefield 32, Louis Golden 22, Julian Gidley 21, Brett Coatney 12, and Chuck Preston 10. The Celtics held their opponents to 184 points. AND DID YOU KNOW: The 32 points O'Hara scored against Chillicothe was the MOST that any team scored against them this year; the previous high was 27. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * In T. J. White's passing stats, he has a career total of 213 completions for 4,219 yards. In the 2008 football season, he had 92 completions for 1,919 yards which is the O'Hara season best. Presently he has 61 completions for 1,777 yards which is third best for a season. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Raphael Spencer is now in tenth place for top rushing yards in a single season with 1,026 yards [in 9th place is Lamar Dawn '93 with 1,035 yards]. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Aaron Stubblefield with his 25 catches this year is in 9th place for a single season; he is tied for 3rd place in career receptions with 43 [tying Tokie Aromona] and is in 2nd place in total yards via passing with 1,069 yards. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Joe Melchior moved into a tie for 11th place among the top career receptions with 25 catches, and needing only three more to take over 9th place.

Celtic Football Team Win Regional Game 32-29

O'Hara got by Chillicothe 32-29 in scoring five touchdowns and a two-point conversion. The Celtic defense held the Hornets to two offensive touchdowns. However the game was close because Chillicothe scored a defensive TD, three field goals, and converted a 2-point conversion. But that wasn't quite enough. _____ The real excitement in the close game came at the very end. The Hornets were ahead 29-26; the Celtics had the ball on the 12 yard line needing 8 yards to accomplish a first down, and it was fourth down with 21 seconds left in the game! _____ Quarterback T. J. White rolled out to pass but gained the needed eight yards for a first down on a keeper. From the 3 yard line with 10 seconds remaining he nearly completed an endzone pass to Aaron Stubblefield, but it was ruled out of bounds. Then with 6 seconds on the clock, White ran across the goal line for the winning points! _____ Back at the start of the game, O'Hara had to punt. Chilllicothe took the ball from the 50 yard line down to the 24 yard line before giving up the ball on downs. _____ On O'Hara's third play after the Celtic defense held the Hornets, Raphael Spencer raced 48 yards for the first points of the game. O'Hara led 6-0. _____ The Hornets moved the ball to the 16 yard line before being halted on a third down. Rather than risk another giving up of possession on downs, they called upon Connor Lindley for a 33 yard field goal, making the score 6-3. _____ In the second quarter, O'Hara obtained their second touchdown from a T. J. White pass to a wide open Joe Melchior covering 40 yards. The score was then 12-3. _____ The Hornets needed twelve plays to grind out their first touchdown which was a 1 yard keeper by quarterback Jared McCauslin. That made the score 12-9. _____ The Hornets got one more score, just barely however, before half time. This time they had to consume 14 plays and although it at first appeared the O'Hara defense stopped them when the clock ran out, a second was placed back on the clock to accommodate a Hornet time out. Connor Lindley kicked his second field goal to tie up the score at the half at 12-12. _____ Starting the second half, the Hornets used up ten plays to get as close as the 6 yard line where a third field goal by Connor Lindley put Chillicothe ahead for the first time in the game 15-12. _____ O'Hara needed only five plays to regain the lead. The touchdown was scored by Louis Golden on a 27 yard pass play from T. J. White. T. J. White also scored the 2-point extra points to bring the score to 20-15. _____ The Celtics were moving the ball fairly well when an unexpected turn of events put the Hornets back in the lead. T. J. White completed a short pass to Joe Melchior who attempted to lateral to Raphael Spencer. Bryce Young alertly picked off the lateral and carried to ball into the end zone for a defensive TD. The Hornets were ahead 21-20 at the end of the third quarter. _____ In O'Hara's next possession, Raphael Spencer had a long 28 yard run to reach the Hornet 5 yard line. The Hornet defense stiffened but O'Hara did manage to score on fourth down on a one-yard plunge by T. J. White and a Celtic lead of 26-21. _____ A failed on-side kick attempt gave the Hornets good field position and they capitalized on it with a score mostly generated by Brett Stephens who took it in for the last four yards and the Hornets' 27-26 advantage. A pass to Bryce Young for the 2-pointer upped the score to 29-26. _____ The next four minutes were taken up by the Celtics on their final scoring drive. It began on the 22 yard line. Along with some short gainers, T. J. White had a couple of runs of 16 yards and 25 yards to set up the final excitement of the game.

FOOTBALL ALL-WCC

ALL WEST CENTRAL CONFERENCE O’HARA PLAYERS _____ T. J. White, Joe Melchior, and Ted Dujakovich led the O’Hara football players in All West Central Conference honors. White was named the Offensive Player of the Year, First Team Offense, and Second Team Defense. Melchoir and Dujacovich were also named to the First Team Offense and Second Team Defense. _____ Included in the First Team Offense were Terrell Johnson, Raphael Spencer, and Aaron Stubblefield. Louis Golden and Chuck Preston made the First Team Defense. _____ Tyler Houser and Nick Coatney were named to the Second Team Offense while Matt Falke and Andre Jordan were named to the Second Team Defense. _____ Teamwise the Celtics were 5-1 having scored 173 points to their Conference opponents’ 66. Their only loss was by 8 points to Smith-Cotton.

Huber & Wyatt To Play in MO/KAN Volleyball

Selected among the top twelve seniors in volleyball from Missouri, O'Hara's Katie Huber and Jordyn Wyatt were selected to play in the November 15th MO/KAN All-Star Game at 5:30 at Avila College. Both were named to their All-District First Team. ______________________________________________ From O'Hara, four players were named to the First Team All-Region. They were Katie Huber, Lindsey Hanaway, Michala Boehm, and Tori Hurtt.

O'HARA VOLLEYBALL MAKE FINAL FOUR

The Archbishop O'Hara High School Celtics volleyball team will join Villa Duchesne, Logan-Rogersville, and Cape Girardeau-Notre Dame for the November 6th State semifinals to defend their State Championship of last year. _____ The Celtics had an easy first round against Holden winning 25-10 and 25-16. _____ In the quarterfinals, they encountered a determined Saint Pius X team who took the first game with a close 25-23 score. The Celtics stepped up on the next two games winning both by 25-12 scores. _____ Both Logan-Rogersville and Cape Girardeau-Notre Dame had tough quarterfinal games to make the final four. Logan-Rogersville made it with scores of 21-25, 28-26, and finally 25-23 playing Republic High. Cape Girardeau-Notre Dame was 25-19, 17-25, and 25-23 with Rosati-Kain as their opponent. Villa Duchesne had the easiest route with 25-19 and 25-20 scores eliminating Francis Borgia.

DISTRICT 7 CROSS COUNTRY

In the Missouri Class 3 District 7 Cross Country Championships on October 31st at Swope Park, varsity boys runners from Archbishop O'Hara High School finished as follows: 24th: Lowell Thomas,;34th: Chris Wesche; 38th: James Keeney; 39th: Colin McKinney; 40th: Andy Meyer; 46th: Ronald Clark; and 47th: Sam Baird. The top six teams were Pleasant Hill who won first, followed by Clinton, Nevada, Webb City, Carl Junction, and O'Hara. There were also runners from Harrisonville, Hickman Mills, Ruskin, and Center. Varsity girls runners from O'Hara were 17th: Claire Becker; 25th: Allison Seck; 26th: Katelyn Gutteridge; 30th: Amy Gatson; and 31st: Mackenzie Shelton. Notre Dame won first place and the Celtics were fourth beating out pleasant Hill. Carl Junction and Clinton took second and third places in the meet.

O'HARA FOOTBALL DISTRICT CHAMPS

O’HARA UPENDS SAINT PIUS 42-3 FOR DISTRICT TITLE Raphael Spencer, T. J. White, and Aaron Stubblefield each scored two touchdowns in the O’Hara Celtics 42-3 victory over the Saint Pius X Warriors on October 30th. The two teams were undefeated in the District showdown which was played at the Paul Monteil Field at O’Hara High School. _____ To provide an exciting start, Raphael Spencer took the opening kickoff on his 8 yard line and returned the ball all the way for the TD. Chuck Preston crashed in for the two-point conversion. _____ Spencer scored his second touchdown on a 29 yard run just before halftime, and this TD was followed by another two-pointer on a pass play to Louis Golden. _____ T. J. White had two touchdown runs for his scores, a 33 yarder at the very tail end of the first quarter, and an impressive 50 yard run up the middle right after halftime. On White’s second touchdown, Raphael Spencer caught a pass for a two-point conversion. _____ Aaron Stubblefield caught two touchdown passes, one in the second quarter for 10 yards and the other in the third quarter covering 37 yards. _____ The Warriors’ only scoring was a 35 yard field goal by Michael Kaufman early in the game when the Celtics were up 8-0. The entire fourth quarter was played with a running clock when neither team added points to the total. _____ The win for O’Hara made them the hosts of the first round of post season games on Wednesday, November 4th against Chillicothe. _____ In their ten regular season games, the Celtics scored three or more TD’s in each game played. Only once were they held to less than 32 points, and in five of their games they scored more than 40 points. _____ The Celtics were runners-up to Smith-Cotton in the West Central Conference, losing that game by eight points 28-20. However, they scored more points against the Sedalia team than the combined total scored by the other four teams of the Conference. _____ By scoring 392 points in their ten games and giving up 155, they average 39.2 points to their opponents’ 15.5 points. _____ As for O’Hara High School records, Raphael Spencer moved to 10th place in individual rushing yards for a season with a total of 915. Lamar Dawn ’93 holds the 9th place spot with 1,035 yards. _____ Aaron Stubblefield advanced to 9th place in catches for a single season with 23, and only four players ahead of him have more total yardage. Stubblefield is in 5th place among the top ten receivers for a career with 41 receptions needing only three more to move into 3rd place. Already he is in second place for total reception yardage with 1,056 yards. Joe Pepple reached 1,259 yards last year to take the top position. _____

Celtics Win Football District

O’Hara 42 Saint Pius X 3 For District Championship On the opening kickoff, the O’Hara Celtics had enough points to win over the Saint Pius Warriors when Raphael Spencer returned the kick for a 92 yard TD. Chuck Preston ran in the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead within the first minute of playing time. _____ Well into the first quarter, the Warriors had a scoring drive, mostly on the runs by Anthony Zicarelli, but after reaching the 18 yard line, had to settle for a 35 yard field goal by Michael Kaufman. _____ Just before the second quarter got under way, O’Hara scored a touchdown on a 33 yard run by quarterback T. J. White, but the run for the extra points was unsuccessful. The drive for this scoring was kept alive by a 10 yard pass play from T. J. White to Louis Golden, a 20 yard run by Brett Coatney, and a 13 yard run by Terrell Johnson. _____ Midway into the second quarter, T. J. White completed a 10 yard touchdown pass to Aaron Stubblefield but the extra point kick was blocked. _____ Julian Gidley kicked off to the Warriors but he ball was fumbled and Louis Golden recovered for the Celtics on the 29 yard line. On the very next play, Raphael Spencer took the ball in for the Celtics’ fourth TD. Louis Golden scored the two-point conversion on a pass from T. J. White. The halftime sore was 28-3. _____ The Warriors netted only two yards on three downs to start the second half and punted. _____ On O’Hara’s third play, T. J. White ran right up the middle of the line for a 50 yard touchdown. He then passed to Raphael Spencer for the additional two points to spread the score to 36-3. _____ O’Hara’s final touchdown of the evening was set up by a great punt return by Joe Melchior giving O’Hara the ball on the 37 yard line. Aaron Stubblefield gathered in a T. J. White pass for the six pointer, a the start of the running clock for the remainder of the game. _____ There wasn’t any scoring in the fourth quarter.

O'HARA HALLOWEEN COSTUME WINNERS

The eleven O'Hara students that won the Costume Contest on October 30th are: MOST THEATRICAL: Nicole Krawczyk and runner-up Brynn Thibault; MOST UNIQUE: Jack Parres and runner-up Alyssa McKee; MOST EFFORT: Kierra Jackson and runner-up Travis Peter; MOST SPIRITED: Brittany Gallatin, Jerry Rellihan, Stephanie Welsh, Kelly DeFeo, and runner-up Mary Warm.

District Champs in Volleyball

O'Hara topped Pembroke Hill in two games for the 3-A District 14 Championship played at Center High School. The scores were 25-12 and 25-4. They go on to meet Holden who were victorious over Pleasant Hill. ______ AND HERE ARE THE ALL-DISTRICT TEAM MEMBERS: First team : 1. Tori Hurtt O’Hara ______ 2. Lindsey Hanaway O’Hara ______ 3. Michala Boehm O’Hara ______ 4. Jordyn Wyatt O’Hara ______ 5. Sarah Munday Pembroke Hill ______ 6. Ellen Munday Pembroke Hill ______ Libero Katie Huber O’Hara ______ Second team: 1. Jannell Jordan O’Hara ______ 2. Esme Nulan Pembroke Hill ______ 3. Sarah Nelson Pembroke Hill ______ 4. Anna McRobert Pembroke Hill ______ 5. Christina Pratt Lincoln Prep ______ 6. Erica Mendenhall East ______ Libero Simone Schmid Pembroke Hill

O'HARA FRESHMAN FOOTBALL TEAM WIN 26-20

On October 28, the O'Hara Celtic freshman football team defeated the Pembroke Raiders 26-20. ______ The Celtics never trailed in the game. ______ On O'Hara's second possession, Derrick Davis ran 72 yards for a TD. The extra point attempt was blocked but O'Hara was up 6-0. ______ It took the Raiders twelve plays which overlapped the second quarter, but they were able to tie up the score with a fourth down 3 yard run. ______ The Celtics responded with a touchdown by quarterback Cardell Miller on a 4 yard keeper. Contributing to the scoring drive were a 45 yard pass from Cordell Miller to Ben Janet, and a 24 yard run by Ronnie Sailer. Sailer also ran in a two-point conversion to bring the score to 14-6. ______ The Raiders next drive witnessed a 9 yard sack by Peter Briggs and Derreck Davis to eventually bring about a punt. ______ O'Hara scored their third touchdown in six plays. It began with a 21 yard run by Derreck Davis and ended with a 19 yard run by him. The extra point attempt was wide, but the Celtics reached their largest lead of the game 20-6. ______ An 11 yard run by the Raiders' quarterback sliced the score to 20-12 in the third quarter. ______ Kyle Lay nearly scored on a 45 yard pass from Cardell Miller, but stepped out of bounds on the one yard line. Miller scored on a line plunge. The extra point attempt was an incomplete pass so O'Hara led 26-12. ______ Before the third quarter came to a close, Pembroke Hill surprised the O'Hara secondary with an 18 yard TD pass, followed by a successful extra point run by the Raiders' quarterback. _____ The six point margin held up throughout the final quarter. Both teams gave up the ball on fourth down attempts. The game was sealed however when the Celtics had a fourth down with two yards to go on the 40 yard line with less than a minute on the clock; Cardell got three yards on a keeper and the Celtics did not have to turn over the ball.

O'Hara Win Games in Soccer and Volleyball

On October 27th, the O'Hara soccer team won a 6-3 game against Center. Three of the Celtics' goals were put in by Kevin Hogan, Matt Shelton added two, and Jerry Rellihan had one. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The O'Hara volleyball team out classed East High 25-5 and 25-0 on the same day.

CELTICS BEAT RAIDERS 35-13 HEAD FOR DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIP

Bringing their season record to 8-1, the O'Hara Celtics football team headed into the District Championship game with the Saint Pius X Warriors on Friday at O'Hara. _____ Both teams are 2-0 in District play. _____ O'Hara easily got by the Pembroke Hill Raiders on October 23rd 35-13 in a game that had a slow first half. _____ O'Hara eventually had 367 total yards, 219 of which were rushing yardage. They held Pembroke Hill to 255 yards, 49 of which were through passing. _____ In their nine games, the Celtics lost only to Smith-Cotton by 8 points. In their eight wins, the Celtics won every game by 14 or more points and never scored less than three touchdowns in all the games. _____ Led by Raphael Spoencer's 20 touchdowns for 120 points, the Celtics have a total of 350 to their opponents' 152. _____ Nine individual players scored points for the Celtics in addition to a safety attributed to the defense. _____ T. J. White added to his school record for passing with nine completions, two for touchdowns. His career total is 205 completions for 4,073 yards. (His closest competitor has 126 completions for 1,869 yards: Joe Holder 1978). In 2008 White had 92 completions for 1,919 yards to set the school season record, in 2007 he had 60 completions for 3rd place and this year he now has 4th place with 53 completions and the season yet to be finished. (Ryan McNamara '98 is in second place with 77 completions for 1,377 yards). _____ Aaron Stubblefield caught three passes to pass head coach Jim DeMarea and take over 5th place for career receptions with 39. He also reached a tie for 9th place for season pass receptions with 21 catches. _____ Julian Gidley who only had one successful extra point conversion in the game with the Raiders, needs three more to tie for 15th place among the place kickers for a single season. _____ HOW THE TEAM FARED IN THE GAME WITH THE RAIDERS: The Raiders had first possession, but after three downs, had to punt. A fumble on the attempted punt return gave the ball back to ther Raiders. ____ With good field position, they advanced the ball to the 12 yard line where Andre Jordan intercepted for the Celtics. _____ O'Hara used up much time on the clock with their first possession and got the ball to midfield before punting. _____ The second quarter began with the two teams exchanging several punts until O'Hara took over on the 44 yard line to launch the first scoring of the game. _____ A 10 yard run by Raphael Spencer gave the Celtics a first down, A 20 yard pass from T. J. White to Joe Melchior netted another first down. Two five yard runs by Terrell Johnson and Brett Coatney resulted in the third first down. Louis Golden hauled in a 16 yard pass to set up a short plunge by Raphael Spencer for the score. T. J. White ran for the two point conversion. _____ O'Hara had a close 8-0 halftime lead. _____ At the start of the third quarter, O'Hara moved the ball to the 25 yard line where they lost possession with a fumble. _____ The Raiders only managed four yards on their next three plays and punted. _____ In four plays, O'Hara had their second touchdown of the game. A 15 yard pass to Aaron Stubblefield followed by a 36 yard TD pass to Louis Golden boosted the O'Hara leasd to 14-0. The Celtics completed a pass on the extra point attempt but could not advance the ball across the goal line. _____ The Raiders proceeded to sustain a scoring drive that overlapped the fourth quarter. They nearly failed to reach the end zone but gambled on a fourth down play on the 31 yard line with 25 yards needed to get a first down. Jacob Gerson completed the unlikely pass for the six pointer and Nathan Wagner added the extra point. At 14-7, it was as close as the Raiders could come. _____ O'Hara scored again taking only four plays. Louis Golden's 45 yard pass reception placed the ball within the 20 yard line, and Raphael Spencer carried the ball in for the points. Again T. J. White ran for a two-point conversion and a 22-7 O'Hara advantage. _____ On the Riaders' next series, they gambled again on a fourth down with a fake punt and succeeded in keeping their drive alive. A bit later though they gave up the ball on downs to the Celtics. _____ One play, one run, a 65 yard blast by Raphael Spencer, and O'Hara was adding another six points. Julian Gidley's extra point kick made it 29-7. _____ All the Raiders were able to do on the next three plays was to throw three incomplete passes and punt. ____ After T. J. White broke free for a 65 yard run to the end zone which was called back by a penalty, he ran for a 51 yard touchdown. O'Hara was ahead 35-7. _____ The Raiders did get a late TD that actually covered 93 yards in all. Using hurry-up plays without huddles, they managed to cross the goal line with a mere three seconds on the clock. Quarterback Jacon Gerson scored the short distance needed, but Marquelle Smith was kept from scoring the two-point conversion.

OHara Girls Win Cross Country

In the Saint Mary's Fall Classic Cross Country Run held at William Jewell on October 24, the O'Hara Celtics girls squad won the championship. _____ The team had 36 points, easily ahead of the next two teams of Saint Mary's (62 points) and Odessa (66 points). _____ Leading the Celtics was Claire Becker who was the first runner across the finish line with a time of 23:56! _____ The other four contributing to the victory were 4th place Amy Gaston (25:47), 7th place Katelyn Gutteridge (26:28), 11th place Allison Seck (28:00), and 13th place Mackenzie Shelton (28:47). _____ In the boys race, the Celtics took fourth place as a team with 162 points. _____ Lowell Thomas was 11th and Chris Wesche finished 20th. _____ Collin McKinney, James Keeney, Andy Meyer, and Ronald Clark also ran for O'Hara. _____ The ten schools invited to the meet were Saint Mary's, O'Hara, Odessa, Lone Jack, Drexel, Lee's Summit Community Christian, Barstow, Sherwood, and Princeton. _____ Not all of the schools had complete squads for team scoring.

O'HARA 35 PEMBROKE HILL 13

After a sluggish three quarters with the O'Hara Celtics owning a 14-0 lead over the Pembroke Hill Raiders, the scoring picked up for a final score of 35-13. _____ Both teams had to adjust to a slippery field and neither could put any points on scoreboard in the first quarter. The Raiders reached the 12 yard line before Andre Jordan intercepted a Jacob Gerson pass. _____ The second quarter also had a slow pace until a poor Raider punt gave the Celtics the ball on the 44 yard line. The Celtics were on the move with a 10 yard run by Raphael Spencer and two T. J. White pass plays for 20 yards to Joe Melchior and 16 yards to Louis Golden. Melchoir scored just before halftime on a 3 yard pass play and T. J. White ran the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead at the half. _____ In the middle of the third quarter, T. J. White was able to complete a 36 yard touchdown pass to Louis Golden, but his two-point attempted pass to Chuck Preston, although complete, did not cross the goal line. O'Hara was up 14-0 entering the final quarter. _____ O'Hara scored three of the five fourth quarter touchdowns. Their first score of the quarter was set up by a 45 yard pass to Louis Golden and a 20 yard run by Raphael Spencer. The TD was scored on an 18 yard run by Raphael Spencer and the extra points by T. J. White. _____The Celtics' other two TD's were on long runs: a 65 yarder by Raphael Spencer and a 61 yard run by T. J. White. _____ The Raiders scored the other two touchdowns. The first was on a fourth down with 25 yards to go for a first down. Jacob Gerson passed for the score in the endzone covering 36 yards. The second was scored with just three seconds remaining in the game, a 3 yard run by Jacob Gerson. ----- Julian Gidley for the Celtics and Nathan Wagner for the Raiders each kicked an extra point.

Wyatt & Huber Honored at VB Game

October 21st was senior night at the O'Hara Celtics' volleyball contest with Smith-Cotton. _____ The only two seniors on the talented squad were Jordyn Wyatt and Katie Huber who were given special recognition prior to the game. _____ The Celtics held the Tigers to four points in the first game and at one time held a 17-1 lead. _____ The Tigers managed a dozen points in the second game. _____ _____ On October 22nd, the Clinton Cardinals fell to the Celtics 25-3 and 25-5.

O'HARA SOCCER UPDATE

Harrisonville was a 2-0 winner over the Celtics' varsity team, but the two JV teams played to a 0-0 tie. The varsity record is now 5-11. The winning JV record is 4-3-2.

Freshman Football Team win 20-14

In a close football game with Rockhurst, the O'Hara freshman football team won 20-14 on October 19th. Ronnie Sailer broke away for an 80 yard TD and Derrick Davis scored twice on runs of 20 and 15 yards. Ronnie Sailer kicked the two extra points. Among the impressive defensive plays, Myles Cason recovered a fumble and had a quarterback sack.

O'HARA VOLLEYBALL SECOND IN TRUMAN TOURNAMENT

On October 17th, the O'Hara volleyball team brought home the Runner-Up Trophy from the Truman Tournament, coming up short in the Championship Game 25-20 & 25-20 to Lee's Summit North. To reach the finals, the Celtics emerged from the Gold Pool to face Marquette whom they defeated 2 games to 1. Among the strong opposition in the games were Park Hill South, Dushesne, North Kansas City, Fort Osage, William Chrisman, Parkway West, Truman, Raytown, and Staley. Staley was the winner of the Consolation final defeating Dushesne.

O'Hara Announces Cast for FRUITCAKES

Twelve O'Hara students were announced for the cast in Fruitcakes, the play scheduled for December 11 (evening), 12 (evening), and 13 (afternoon). Set in the small Southern town of McCord's Ferry, Fruitcakes introduces an array of quirky, nutty characters preparing for their traditional holiday tasks including two sisters, Miss Sarah (Beth Vernon) and Miss Alice (Kayla Henderson), who bake a many Jack Daniels-laced fruitcakes for all the townsfolk, a sheriff named Beebo (Mike Berney) who delights in building the biggest and baddest holiday light display, the sheriff's wife, Betty Jo (Sara Downs) who desperately tries to salvage the Christmas pagaent plagued by the chicken pox, and Skeeter (Jo Burdett), a fisherman who scares his catch with Shakespeare. The heart of the story, however, revolves around general store owner Mack (Rocky Chael) who befriends runaway teen, Jamie (Emanuel Moore). Jamie hides out in Mack's barn after stealing one of the sisters’ hard-as-a-brick fruitcakes. The relationship between Mack and Jamie is at times funny and sad as each of them struggles with past hurts and disappointments. While the outcome is expected, the play has moments of comfort and joy and is a great way to spend time this holiday season. Four other parts in the play are Lil' Beebo (Nick Cobb), Sally (Katie Baylie), Rick (Andy Vernon), and James (Sammy Verhulst).

SUMMARY OF HOMECOMING FOOTBALL GAME

HOMECOMING SHUTOUT WIN FOR O’HARA The O’Hara Celtics football team celebrated their 2009 Homecoming with a lopsided 55-0 win over the Lincoln Prep Tigers on October 16th. On O’Hara’s first play from scrimmage, Raphael Spencer broke loose for a 60 yard gain, and three plays later, quarterback T. J. White scored on an 11 yard keeper. The Tigers began their first offensive plays on the 13 yard line and were penalized back to the 8 yard line. Tyler Houser and Keon Young then sacked the quarterback in the end zone for a 2-point safety. O’Hara was on the scoreboard again in five plays, two of which were runs by T. J. White for 24 yards and 30 yards, the second of which was for the score. After the Tigers went three and out with a punt, the Celtics sustained a nine play drive for their third TD of the first quarter. T. J. White’s 40 yard pass to Louis Golden and Raphael Spencer’s 15 yard run set up the touchdown. Terrell Johnson carried the ball in from 2 yards out. Four plays later, Louis Golden blocked the Tigers’ punt and Tanner Hull recovered for the Celtics. However, on the very next play Kelvin May intercepted T. J. White’s pass to give the Tigers possession on the 4 yard line. The Tigers had to punt again, this time from deep in their own territory. As a result, Jimmy Clark was able to return the ball all the way back to the 11 yard line as the first quarter drew to a close. Terrell Johnson scored the first O’Hara touchdown of the second quarter with a 7 yard run. Julian Gidley kicked the extra point (he would add four more before the game was over). Another double-trade occurred next. On an attempted hook-and-ladder pass, the lateral was missed and the Tigers recovered. For the Celtics, Brett Coatney intercepted Jonathan Bingham’s pass near midfield. Five more plays and O’Hara had another 7 points. The big gainer was a 24 yard pass to Joe Melchior but the actual TD was a 2 yard run by Chuck Preston. The Tigers had the ball on the 26 yard line when a very bad snap caused a scramble to recover the ball. Keon Young eventually took possession on the one yard line! The Celtics picked up the one yard for the score on a short pass to Joe Melchior. Within the last two minutes of the second quarter, the Tigers showed some offensive life when Jonathan Bingham passed to Kelvin May for a 57 yard gain. Eventually the Tigers relinquished the ball on downs. Starting on their own 27 yard line, the Celtics used three plays to increase their total to 48 points. T. J. White ran for 25 yards. He passed to Aaron Stubblefield for 42 yards, and Raphael Spencer ran the ball in from 6 yards out. The third and fourth quarters slipped by rapidly with the running clock. The Tigers made a first down but then declined to punt on fourth down, giving up the ball on downs. This set up O’Hara’s last TD of the game. In the scoring drive, Brett Coatney had a 25 yard run and the touchdown was scored on a 14 yard run by Terrell Johnson. O’Hara got possession on an on-side kick wherein Jake Fortin recovered for the Celtics. On fourth down, Joe Melchior’s punt was blocked, but alertly Terrell Johnson picked up the ball and nearly ran enough yards for a first down. A measurement was taken, but the Celtics had to give up the ball on downs. The Tigers moved the ball effectively for the first time in the game picking up four first downs until they got as close as the 19 yard line where a fumble turned the ball over to the Celtics. O’Hara moved the ball forward for the next eight plays until the time ran out. Two of the longer gains in this drive were a 22 yard pass from Jake Fortin to Keenen Wilkins and a 12 yard run by Tanner Hull. The stats favored the Celtics in most categories. O’Hara had 443 net yards to Lincoln’s 113. In the ground game, O’Hara led 299 yards to 23 yards. T. J. White added 122 yards to his already impress total in passing, completing 5 out of 11. As for the school record, playing in six of eight games, Julian Gidley is four extra points shy of 15th place for the most extra points made in a single season.

Update On O'Hara Football Scoring

In the eight O'Hara games played by October 16th, nine players contributed points to the 315 total along with a 2 point safety. ______ Raphael Spencer has 18 touchdowns for 108 points, T. J. White has 72 points on 12 touchdowns, and Terrell Johnson is third with 42 points on 7 touchdowns. ______ Joe Melchior contributed 23 points on three touchdowns, two 2-point conversions, and a kicked extra point. ______ Both Julian Gidley and Aaron Stubblefield have 20 points, Gidley via extra point kicks and Stubblefield with three touchdowns and a 2-point conversion. ______ Brett Coatney's two touchdowns account for 12 points. Louis Golden and Chuck Preston each have 8 points on a TD and a 2-point conversion. ______ Tyler Houser and Keon Young were credited with the sacking of a quarterback for the safety. _______ The opponents of the Celtics scored a total of 139 points, most of which were in the latter parts of the games.

O'HARA 10 RUSKIN 0 IN SOCCER

Led by Jerry Rellihan's three goals and Kyle Quirk's shutout, the O'Hara soccer team won a 10-0 game with Ruskin on October 16th. It was the Celtics' 5th win in 15 games. Kevin Hogan, Matt Shelton, and Taylor Mathews each had two goals, and Julian Gidley got one.

O'Hara 55 Lincoln 0 District Game

On October 16th, the O'Hara Celtics won their first District football game defeating the Lincoln Prep Tigers 55-0. It was O'Hara's Homecoming Game. In scoring 21 first quarter points, the Celtics had two TD runs by T. J. White for 11 and 30 yards along with a 2 yard scamper by Terrell Johnson. Julian Gidley kicked an extra point while Keon Young and Tyler Houser combined for a safety tackling the Lincoln quarterback in the endzone. _______ Four additional touchdowns were scored by the Celtics in the second quarter. Terrell Johnson scored on a 7 yard run, Chuck Preston scored from two yards out, Joe Melchior caught a one yard pass from T. J. White, and Raphael Spencer had a TD run for 6 yards. _____ At halftime the Homecoming queen and king were announced: Katie Huber and Travis Peter. Alumni from O'Hara's State Championship team thirty years ago were honored and a special award was made for Mary Jo Post Sandburg '71 for achievements made over the years. _____ With the running clock, the Celtics managed one more second half touchdown. Terrell Johnson scored on a 14 yard run in the third quarter.

VOLLEYBALL RANKED #1

On October 13th, the Missouri Volleyball Coaches Association State Class 3 Ranking has the Archbishop O'Hara High School Celtics RANKED # 1. _____ O'Hara's win-loss record is 15-4. Ranked #2 is De Soto with an unblemished 24-0 season. O'Hara is the defending State Champions. _____ Ranked #3 and #4 are Saint Francis Borgia and Notre Dame Cape Girardeau.

O'Hara Softball Players: All West Central Conference

Five softball players from Archbishop O'Hara High School were named to the All West Central Conference Team. The three that made the First Team were infielder Andi Davis, outfielder Kellie Bachkora, and utility player Ashley Clark. Making the Second Team were pitcher Allison Seck and outfielder Brittany Gallatin.

FORENSICS/DEBATE CONGRATS

Congratulations to members of the Archbishop O'Hara High School Forensics and Debate Team. Sara Downs, Paige Bush and Johanna Kelly placed at the Oak Park Tournament on October 9 -10. Thirty-three teams participated in the competition. Coached by Mrs. Ethel Stauffer, Sara Downs took first place in prose interpretation/novice division, Paige Bush, a 6th place medal in poetry interpretation/novice division, and Johanna Kelly, a 6th place medal in storytelling and advanced to semi finals in original oratory. Other team members are Rocky Chael, Alex Keffer-Swaney and Bria Gardner-Anderson.

O'Hara in District Tennis

In class 1 District 6 girls tennis, the O'Hara Celtics tied for 6th place among twelve schools. Their 9.5 points was matched by Lamar. Notre Dame de Sion won the District Championship with 37 points. The next four teams were Pembroke Hill, Bolivar, Barstow and Nevada. O'Hara had a higher score than those from Clinton, Hickman Mills, Center, Harrisonville, and Ruskin.

FOOTBALL O'HARA 32 CENTER 0

Raphael Spencer scored four touchdowns for O'Hara and T. J. White returned an interception for a TD as the Celtics shutout the Center Yellowjackets 32-0 on October 9. Julian Gidley kicked O'Hara's two first quarter extra points, but those were the only extra points scored in the game. _____ At the very beginning of the game, O'Hara was unable to sustain a drive and punted. Center, after four short gains, lost the ball on a fumble on their own 26 yard line. Raphael Spencer ran the ball in with just one play. _____ On Center's third play in the next series, T. J. White intercepted and returned the ball to the endzone with a 42 yard return. _____ The Celtics moved the ball within the 20 yard line with their next possession, but gave up the ball on downs. _____ The Yellowjackets took the ball from deep in their own territory to midfield when Ted Dujakovich recovered a fumble for the Celtics. It took O'Hara ten plays to gain their third touchdown; Raphael Spencer carried the ball for the final three yards in the drive. _____ In the third quarter following a Yellowjacket punt, the Celtics took over on their 26 yard line. They mounted a nine-play drive ending with a 4 yard run by Raphael Spencer, boosting the score to 26-0. _____ As the third quarter came to a close, the Yellowjackets gambled on a fourth down fake punt, but gave the ball over to the Celtics. _____ Three plays later, T. J. White completed a 32 yard TD pass to Raphael Spencer. _____ Center's last drive to get on the scoreboard was halted by an interception by Jimmy Clark.

O'Hara Homecoming Court

Candidates for Homecoming Queen and King and the underclassman Court were announced at Archbishop O'Hara High School on October 9th. The Queen candidates are Katie Baylie, Alyss Brown, Jamesha Byes, and Katie Huber. Candidates for the King are Ted Dujakovich, Roy Jackson, Travis Peter, and Noah Volz. The undersclassman Court are juniors Brynn Thibault & Matt McInerny, sophomores Angela Fenani & Ryan Wald, and freshmen Mercy Favrow & James Campo.

OCT 7 RANKINGS in FOOTBALL and VOLLEYBALL

The Celtics football team is ranked 8th in 3-A competition. Undefeated Monnett, Potosi, and Cardinal Ritter hold the top three positions. Chillicothe, Cassville, Mountain Grove and Logan-Rogersville are ahead of O'Hara each having one loss as does O'Hara. __________________ __________ _____________ The Celtics volleyball team has a 4th place ranking with Glendale in Springfield holding the #1 position. They are followed by Saint Joseph Academy and Cor Jesu in Saint Louis.

Volleyball: O'Hara Over St Pius 25-20 & 25-15

On October 7th, the O'Hara Celtics volleyball team defeated the Saint Pius X Warriors 25-20 and 25-15 at the O'Hara gym. In the first game, the Celtics didn't take the lead until 7-6 and never trailed the rest of the way, but the Warriors kept it close. In the second game the two teams were tied at 6-6, 7-7, 8-8, and 11-11. O'Hara then scored eight unanswered points to jump the score to 19-11, and coasted to the win the remainder of the game.

CLINTON FALLS TO O'HARA IN SOCCER

The O'Hara soccer team won for the fourth time this season when they beat Clinton 4-2 on October 6th. Jerry Rellihan provided the Celtics with three goals and Justin Chang added an insurance shot.

JV Post 28-6 Win Over Christ Prep

Behind a great offensive front of Logan Halil,Blake Hughes, Jeremy Schaefer, Josh Snow, and Micah Johnson, the O'Hara Celtics JV team won a 28-6 football game with Christ Prep. _____ O'Hara touchdowns were scored by Jake Fortin, Brandon Dennis, Curtis McClintock, and Ryan McDowell. _____ McDowell completed 11 passes in 15 attempts. _____ McClintock picked off two interceptions. _____ Tanner Hull and Blake Hughes each had a quarterback sack. _____ Hull led the team in rushes with 172 yards in 7 carries and recovered a punt. _____ The O'Hara team recovered four fumbles in the game.

DRESSING UP FOR HOMECOMING

Homecoming week [ October 11-17 ] at Archbishop O'Hara High School has the theme "Justice Week."Showing spirit, students have the opportunity to dress up in a special way each day of the week. Monday is HISTORICAL HERO DAY, Tuesday is SUPERHERO AND SIDEKICK DAY, Wednesday is FAVORITE TEACHER DAY, Thursday is SAFARI DAY, and Friday is GREEN & GOLD DAY.

VOLLEYBALL & SOFTBALL WINS

The O'Hara volleyball team traveled to Notre Dame de Sion and returned with a 25-15 & 25-12 victory on October 5th. They followed up with 25-10 & 25-10 at home against Warrensburg the following day. _____ The Celtics softball team went to Saint Pius X and got a 5-2 win. The game had enough runs from the first three batters when Andi Davis opened with a double, scored on Ashley Clark's double, and Katie Bachkora belted a home run. Allison Seck pitched a 5 hitter giving up two runs in the 6th on a double, two singles, and a sacrifice fly. Seck struck out ten batters. O'Hara's other two runs came in the 6th inning on a double by Britany Gallatin and singles by Natalie Berigan and Erin Lynch.

KC Metro Cross Country Meet

O'HARA COMPETES WITH 26 TEAMS At the Kansas City Metro Cross Country Meet on October 3rd, the O'Hara boys team competed with twenty-six schools. With nearly 200 runners competing, Andy Meyer had the best finish among the five-man Celtic squad, finishing the race in 77th place. Thomas Lowell, Graham Grier, Collin McKinney, and James Keeny made up the remainder of the O'Hara team, but each of these runners were beyond the 100 finishers. None of the girls varsity runners were in the top 100 although Claire Becker had the best time of the four from O'Hara. The other three runners were Amy Gaston, Katelyn Gutteridge, and Rachel Gudde but one runner short of a complete team. The Meet was held at Raymore-Peculiar.

LEADING FOOTBALL SCORERS 2009

Leading the O'Hara Celtics in scoring in this year's first six games of the season is Raphael Spencer with 13 touchdowns for 78 points. Eight others have scored points. T. J. White has 9 touchdowns for 54 points. Scoring 24 points on 4 touchdowns is Terrell Johnson. Aaron Stubblefield has three touchdowns and a two-point conversion to account for 20 points. Versitile Joe Melchior contributed two touchdowns, two two-point conversions and one kicked extra point for a total of 17 points. Next is Julian Gidley with 13 kicked extra points. Brett Coatney crossed the goal line twice for 12 points. Louis Goldan has a touchdown along with a two-point convesrion for 8 points. Finally Chuck Preston scored a two-point convesrion for 2 points. That makes a total of 228 points or an average of 38 points per game.

O'Hara 49 Christ Prep Academy 31

CELTICS' 28 FIRST QUARTER POINTS IMPRESSES PATRIOTS _____ The Archbishop O'Hara football team had an easy time with Christ Prep Academy in building up a 49-7 advantage over the first three quarters. _____ Terrell Johnson, on O'Hara's first offensive play of the game, ran 73 yards for a touchdown. Julian Gidley put the team up 7-0 with the first of his seven extra point kicks. _____ The Christ Prep Patriots answered with a 4 yard touchown on a quarterback keeper by Darren Wallace who also kicked the extra point. _____ That was all the scoring for the Patriots until the fourth quarter at which time O'Hara rested their seniors; the next 42 points were scored by the Celtics. _____ O'Hara's second and third TD's were runs of 56 yards and 30 yards by quarterback T. J. White. _____ Just as the first quarter was coming to a close, Raphael Spencer returned a Patriot punt for a 75 yard score. _____ At the start of the second quarter Jorge Belcher recovered a Patriot fumble on the 25 yard line, and in just one play, T. J. White passed a scoring touchdown to Joe Melchior. _____ The sixth time O'Hara scored, the team sustained a drive covering 80 yards. In the drive, Raphael Spencer had a 19 yard run and Aaron Stubblefield caught a 25 yard pass. However the last 10 yards were on a run by Raphael Spencer. _____ The margin of 35 points were enough to cruise through the third quarter with the running clock. Nevertheless, the Celtics acquired another seven points. After Louis Golden gained 26 yards on a pass play, Raphael Spencer reached the end zone on a 26 yard run. _____ The Patriots scored three fourth quarter touchdowns, a 3 yard run and a 5 yard run by Lenard Manuel, and a 51 yard break away by Darren Wallace. For all three touchdowns, the Patriots scored two-point conversions. The first one was on a pass from Darren Wallace to Demonta Bailey, the second and third ones were on runs by Darren Wallace. _____ Chuck Preston made an interception to halt the Patriots' last hope for another TD.

SOCCER SHOOTOUT WON BY O'HARA

In an exciting overtime game, O'Hara won a soccer game with Center on September 29th. In regulation time the teams were knotted at 2-2 with both of the Celtics' goals scored by Jerry Rellihan. In the shootout, Center had three successful shots but O'Hara won out with four. Jerry Rellihan along with Kevin Hogan, Julian Gidley, and Pat Berney brought the victory to the Celtic team.

Volleyball Team Fares Well With Powerful Opponents

On Saturday, September 26th, the O'Hara volleyball team competed in the Blue Springs South Invitational in which sixteen powerhouses were represented, and did a commenable job even though unable to survive as one of the four semifinalists. # # # # # # # # # # The team played in the White Pool losing only one game in overtime to Blue Springs South. They came back to win 25-20. The Celtics then beat Cor Jesu 25-20 and 26-24 and went into the Championship bracket. # # # # # # # # # # Facing Nerinx Hall, O'Hara won 25-18 and dropped a 21-25 game. Nerinx Hall was one of the four teams to go on the the semifinals having the better overall scoring.

AMONG THE TOP TEN O'HARA FOOTBALL

T. J. White holds O'Hara's school record for career passes through 2006-2009 at the halfway mark of the present regular season with 181 completions in 359 attempts for 3,625 total yards. (well ahead of runner-up Joe Holder 1976-1978 who has 126 completions in 331 attempts for 1,869 yards). Included in White's total is the 117 yards from 8 completions in 10 attempts in the game with Saint James. One of the reasons the total didn't increase by much is that the running game was working for the Celtics. The four running backs that scored six of O'Hara's touchdowns in the game each averaged over six yards per carry as the Celtics had 323 rushing yards and the team did not need too much dependence on passing. * * * * * * * * * * * Aaron Stubblefield is now tied for 7th place in the top ten receivers for O'Hara with 30 career catches. He ties David Pugh (1976-1978). The school record was established last season when Joe Pepple reached 68 receptions. Head Coach Jim DeMarea holds the 5th place with 37 catches back in 1970-1972. * * * * * * * * * * * Chuck Preston moved into 10th place in the Miscellaneous category which includes a formula for tackles, blocked kicks, quarterback sacks, recovered fumbles, interceptions, and yards returned from interceptions. He has 325 points while the ninth place is held by Nick Saviano (2001-2003) with 351 points. The top player in this category is William Lanning with 465 points (1997-2000).

How 76 points were scored: O'Hara Football

CELTICS HANDLE THE THUNDER WITH LIGHTNING PLAYS Led by T.J. White’s and Raphael Spencer’s two touchdowns apiece, the O’Hara Celtics downed the Saint James Thunder 45-31 on September 25th. Touchdowns were also scored by Terrell Johnson, Brett Coatney, and Louis Golden in the romp. Here is a rundown of the evening’s scoring: O’Hara 0, Saint James 6: O’Hara received the opening kickoff but were stopped in three running plays. Saint James mounted a thirteen play drive to reach the scoreboard first. Grinding out yardage in which none of the plays netted over ten yards, Danny Manning scored from 10 yards out. In the drive the Thunder twice went for yardage on fourth downs. Their extra point kick was wide. It was the first time in five games that the Celtics were scored upon in the first quarter. O’Hara 7, Saint James 6: Jimmy Clark returned the kickoff with a great run and the Celtics took over in good field position on the Thunder 41 yard line. Five plays later, Brett Coatney found his way into the end zone on a 14 yard carry. Julian Gidley kicked the extra point after which the Celtics never trailed in the game. O’Hara 13, Saint James 6: It took a while for the Celtics to score again. Saint James moved the ball from the 23 yard line to the 41 yard line, helped along with two completed passes. But their third pass was intercepted by Joe Melchior who took the ball all the way to the end zone. A penalty called on the blocking however brought the ball back to the 38 yard line. Aaron Stubblefield made up for 35 yards as he hauled in a T. J. White toss to place the ball on the 3 yard line. Swinging around the right end, Terrell Johnson fumbled into the end zone for a touchback, and the Thunder got the ball on the 20 yard line. After advancing the pigskin 17 yards, Saint James attempted another pass which was picked off by Joe Melchior again. O’Hara scored with five plays capped by a 26 yard pass completion from T. J. White to Louis Golden. No more scoring until the half: The Thunder failed to make a first down on the next possession and punted. O’Hara ran the next eight plays from their own 26 yard line to Saint James’ 26 yard line, the big gainers were two T. J. White scrambles for 19 and 16 yards. But the Celtics gave up the ball on downs. With the little time left, Saint James was unable to dent the O’Hara defense. O’Hara 19, Saint James 6: The Thunder attempted to keep a drive alive at midfield by going for it on fourth down rather than punt, but gave O’Hara relatively good field position when they fell short. In two plays, O’Hara had its third TD. Brett Coatney ran for 9 yards and Raphael Spencer went all the way for the score, a distance of 36 yards. O’Hara 27- Saint James 6: Saint James took over on their own 33 yard line and with two complete passes for 12 and 47 yards got first down on the 8 yard line. Four attempts to run the ball into the goal failed and O’Hara took over on the one foot line! With Raphael Spencer and Terrell Johnson running the football, O’Hara advanced the ball to the 40 yard line in seven plays. Spencer broke loose for a 60 yard scoring run. Chuck Preston scored two points on the conversion attempt. O’Hara 27- Saint James 12: The Thunder went exclusively to a passing game on their next possession. A 53 yard pass from Jim Getto to Danny Manning accounted for the six points. O’Hara 33 - Saint James 12: Keon Young recovered O’Hara’s on-side kick, and on the very next play, T. J. White outmaneuvered the Thunder defense for a 51 yard TD. The extra point attempt by Julian Gidley was blocked. O’Hara 33 - Saint James 18: Continuing with a passing game, the Thunder was able to cash in on a Jim Getto to Matt Eckelman pass covering 53 yards, even though it appeared Getto was well beyond the line of scrimmage when he threw the ball. The play was not called back. The quarterback was sacked on the two-point conversion attempt. O’Hara 33 - Saint James 25: Logan Pyle recovered the Thunder’s on-side kick, and the home team worked for a score that would bring the two teams to within eight points. It required a fourth down play along the way, but the Thunder managed to get the job done on a 12 yard pass to Bryan Eisman. Logan Fortney’s extra point kick was good. O’Hara 39 - Saint James 25: Thanks to a good runback by Raphael Spencer and a face mask penalty, O’Hara had the ball on the 20 yard line. However a fumble four plays later coughed up the ball. Saint James returned to the running game and got the ball up to midfield where they gave up possession on downs. Aided by a 15 yard gain on a T. J. White to Aaron Stubblefield pass, the Celtics were able to widen their lead on an 8 yard scoring run by T. J. White. O’Hara 45 – Saint James 25: The last O’Hara TD was almost a gift. Very deep in the O’Hara territory, the Thunder elected to go or it on fourth down and failed to come close to the first down. They gave up the ball on the 9 yard line! Terrell Johnson got the call and delivered the ball to the end zone. O’Hara 45 – Saint James 31: With remaining time, the Thunder used up eight plays but did get an additional six points on an 18 yard run by Jake Heller. The final points were garnered with only 12 second of playing time left in the game.

FOOTBALL SCORING IN FIVE GAMES

In averaging 35.7 points per game with the recent 45-31 win over Saint James, Raphael Spencer leads the O'Hara Celtics in scoring with 60 points on ten touchdowns. Quarterback T. J. White has 42 of O'Hara's total 179 points scoring on seven touchdowns. _____ Aaron Stubblefield and Terrell Johnson have scored three touchdowns apiece and Stubblefield has added a two-point conversion. _____ Brett Coatney scored twice for 12 points. _____ Joe Melchior and Louis Golden each have a touchdown. Melchior added a kicked extra point and two two-point conversions as a pass receiver for a total of 11. Golden also has a two-point catch for a total of 8 points. _____ Julian Gidley kicked six of O'Hara's extra points. _____ Chuck Preston entered the Celtic scoring with a two-point conversion in O'Hara's last game.

O'Hara 45 Saint James 31

The Archbishop O'Hara High School football team scored five second half touchdowns to overwhelm Saint James Academy 45-31 on September 25th. _______ The wild game didn't really develop until the second half after the mild halftime score of 13-6. _____ At the start of the game, the Saint James Thunder scored on a 10 yard run by Danny Manning but the extra point kick was wide. In the scoring drive, the Thunder had to gamble twice on fourth down plays. It was the first time this season O'Hara gave up first quarter points. _____ With just five plays, the O'Hara Celtics had a touchdown with Brett Coatney scoring on a 14 yard run. Julian Gidley's extra point kick put the Celtics ahead and the team never trailed after that. _____ Joe Melchior stopped the Thunder's drive at the start of the second quarter with an interception, running the ball in for an apparent TD, but a blocking penalty prevented the score. After Aaron Stubblefield gathered in a 35 yard pass, the Celtics had first down on the 3 yard line. A fumble into the end zone on the next play gave the Thunder a touchback and possession on the 20 yard line. Joe Melchior intercepted again, and this time O'Hara put together a scoring drive, capped by a 26 yard touchdown pass by Louis Golden from T. J. White. The extra point kick was wide but the Celtics owned a 13-6 halftime score. _____ The Thunder went three and out to start the third quarter. In two plays, O'Hara upped the score to 19-6 with Raphael Spencer breaking away for a 36 yard TD. _____ Saint James strove to narrow the score with Jim Getto passing to Chase Jackson for 47 yards and bringing the ball within the 8 yard line. But on four consecutive attempts, the Thunder was unable to cope with the O'Hara defense and gave up the ball on the one foot line! _____ O'Hara was able to cover the 99 plus yards in seven plays finished off with a 60 yard touchdown run by Raphael Spencer! Chuck Preston ran in the two-point conversion for a 27-6 O'Hara lead. _____ Saint James answered with a touchdown; the two key plays were a fourth down 16 yard pass play from Jim Getto to Matt Eckelman and a 35 yard TD pass from Getto to Danny Manning. That made the score 27-12. _____ O'Hara put six more points on the board on a long 51 yard run by quarterback T. J. White. The extra point attempt was blocked, but the score became 33-12. _____ The Thunder responded with a long 53 yard touchdown pass caught by Matt Eckelman and a 33-18 game. The quarterback appeared to be well beyond the line of srimmage on the toss but the play was not called back. _____ Then Saint James got a successful on-side kick to set up another touchdown. In six plays, they brought the score to 33-25 with Bryan Eisman catching a 12 yard pass and Logan Fortney kicking the extra point. _____ With the margin shaved to only 8 points, the Celtics pushed across two consecutive fourth quarter touchdowns. The first was a10 yard yard keeper by T. J. White and the second was a 9 yard end run by Terrell Johnson. _____ With the score at 45-25 and twelve seconds on the clock, Jake Heller scored on an 18 yard run for Saint James.

VOLLEYBALL TEAM WINS ANOTHER

On September 23rd, the O'Hara volleyball team won another West Central Conference game by scores of 25-11 and 25-9 over Warrensburg.

O'Hara Football Ranks 7th in 3-A

Following the competitive 28-20 football game in which Smith-Cotton (ranked 8th in 4-A) was the winner over O'Hara (ranked 5th in 3-A), new rankings came out on September 23. Smith-Cotton moved up to 7th in 4-A and O'Hara dropped to 7th in 3-A.

VOLLEYBALL TEAM WIN TWO EASILY

As Autumn officially arrived, the O'Hara volleyball team won two West Central Conference games against Center and Clinton.

Football Scoring In First Four Games

Leading the Celtic scorers in their first four games is Raphael Spencer with eight touchowns for 48 points. Quarterback T. J. White has five TD's for 30 points. Others contributing to this year's 3-1 record in which O'Hara outscored their opponents 134-77 are Arraon Stubblefield with 20 points on three touchdowns and a two-point conversion, Terrell Johnson with two TD's for 12 points, Joe Melchior with one touchdown, two two-point conversions, and a kicked extra point for 11 points, Brett Coatney who has one touchdown for 6 points, Julian Gidley with five kicked extra points, and Louis Golden with a two-point conversion for 2 points. _____ The scores of the first four games are 38-14 over Clinton, 35-14 over Oak Grove, 41-21 over Warrensburg, and a 20-28 loss to Sedalia Smith-Cotton. _____ The West Central Conference standings after four weeks are Smith-Cotton 2-0, O'Hara 2-1, Clinton 1-2, Saint Pius 1-2, Center 1-1, and Warrensburg 0-1. _____ None of O'Hara's opponents were able to score in their first quarters.

SMITH-COTTON OUTLASTS O'HARA 28-20

Bolstered by a 21 point second quarter, the Smith-Cotton Tigers won a close 28-20 football game with O'Hara at Paul Monteil Stadium on September 18th. Twice the Celtics had had the lead, in the first quarter 6-0 and just before halftime 20-14. The halftime score was 21-20. _____ The Celtics scored in the first quarter on a 2 yard pass from T. J. White to Raphael Spencer. Just previous to the touchdown, Spencer had run 63 yards to within the five yard line. _____ The Tigers were held scoreless throughout the first quarter; the Celtics have not given up a point in all of the four first quarters of the season. _____ The Tigers were first to score in the second quarter on a 28 yard pass play from Kendal Brown to Sam Brummett, taking a one point lead when Jacquelen Greer kicked the extra point. The Tiger defense had blocked O'Hara's extra point attempt earlier as they would again do after the Celtics' third TD. _____ After a sustained drive, the Tigers scored a touchdown on a 12 yard run by Andrew Byrd to increase the lead to 14-6. _____ On the kickoff following the Tiger score, Raphael Spencer sped 92 yards to bring O'Hara within two points. Louis Golden caught a pass for the two-point conversion to tie up the game. _____ Ted Dujakovich sacked the Tiger quarterback on a fourth down to give the Celtcs an opportunity to score in the final two minutes of the second quarter. _____ O'Hara scored the go-ahead touchdown on a hook-and-ladder play: T. J. White passed to Joe Melchior who immediately lateraled to Raphael Spencer who carried the ball to the goal line. The play covered 58 yards. _____ Shockingly, with a mere 16 seconds left to the half, Andrew Byrd returned O'Hara's kick for 75 yards and the slim halftime advantage. _____ Smith-Cotton scored the only touchdown of the second half on an 11 yard run by Jacob Hayworth. Neither team scored in the fourth quarter.

Two medal in Cross Country Invitational

The O'Hara cross country team participated in the Platte County Invitational on September 17th and although teamwise the Cerltics did not score high, Andy Meyer and Claire Becker were medalists. Meyer finished 26th and Becker had 30th. Becker has improved her time in each of the year's three meets. Personal bests were also run by James Keeney, Ronald Clark, Stephen Cushing, Travis Peter, Collin McKinney, and Rachel Gudde.

SOCCER LOSS IN DOUBLE OVERTIME

The Warrensburg Tigers scored 4-3 over the Celtics in soccer, but they had to go into a double overtime for the win. Jerry Rellihan had two of O'Hara's goals and Matt McInerney had one.

O'Hara Ranked 5th in Football

Among the 3A schools in Missouri, the Archbishop O'Hara High School Celtics are ranked 5th in football. They will be hosting the 8th ranked team in 4A on Friday, Smith-Cotton of Sedalia. _____ Ranked ahead of O'Hara are the following four schools: Monnett, Chillicothe, Cardinal Ritter, and Potosi.

O'HARA VB WINS OVER SAINT TERESA'S

After taking the first game 25-18, the O'Hara volleyball team struggled but won 26-24 over a talented team from Saint Teresa's. The second and deciding game saw the score tied at 13-13 and 17-17 before the drama played out. The Celtics fell back by as much as five points at 18-23 before Jordyn Wyatt was handed the task to serve. She got the job done when the team rallied to tie up the contest at 23-23! The squad gave up the next point, but then took the next three to win.

Soccer Team shuts out Holden

Jerry Rellihan scored two of O'Hara's goals in a 5-0 decision with Holden. Others involved in the scoring were John Allard, Taylor Mathews, and Julian Gidley. Goalkeeper Jeff Best was credited with the shutout.

FOOTBALL JV 38-6 & FROSH 14-16 VS WARRENSBURG

Scoring 20 first quarter points, the O'Hara JV easily downed the Warrensburg Tigers 38-6 on September 14th. _____ Curtis McClintock opened the door early with an interception on the Tigers' first offensive play. In five plays, the Celtics took the lead. A 23 yard pass from Ryan McDowell to D. J. Griffith was followed by a 15 yard run by Tanner Hull. The TD was a 6 yard run by Gabe Spencer who also ran in a two point conversion for an 8-0 advantage. _____ O'Hara's second touchdown was set up by a quarterback sack by Jake Chichuk on a fourth down. Gabe Spencer raced down the right side line for a 53 yard score. ______ An outstanding punt by the Warrensburg squad placed the ball on O'Hara's 5 yard line. But this was followed by a much more outstanding play. Quarterback Ryan McDowell ran the entire 95 yards from scrimmage down the left side line! _____ O'Hara only scored six points in the second quarter. D. J. Griffin caught two passes for 14 yards and 12 yards in the drive. After Tanner Hull brought the ball to the five yard line with a 12 yard run, Ryan McDowell threw a pass to Curtis McClintock for the points. _____ At the start of the third quarter, Ryan McDowell went to the goal line on a 34 yard keeper to up the score to 32-0. _____ Sam White got the Tigers on the scoreboard with their only points with a 34 yard pass to Andrew Cornoa. _____ The scoring for the Celtics came to an end just before the end of the third quarter with Brandon Dennis receiving a 41 yard pass from Ryan McDowell. _____ THE FRESHMEN NEVER TRAILED IN THEIR GAME UNTIL JUST OVER ONE MINUTE REMAINED IN THEIR GAME. With their first possession, Sam Morrison got free for a 56 yard gain to set up the touchdown. Derrek Davis ran the final 24 yards for six points and Sam Morrison ran in the extra point conversion to give the Celtics an early 8-0 lead. _____ On the first play of the second quarter, the Tigers tied the score with a 2 yard run and a successful two-point conversion. _____ O'Hara scored a touchdown on their next series although on a 4th down and 11 yards to go, they needed a big play to keep the drive alive. They got it from DerreckDavis who broke loose for 21 yards. Four plays later Davis scored from the 11 yard line. The extra point attempt failed and ultimately this was the margin of their eventual loss. _____ Neither team reached pay dirt in the third quarter. Up to the last two minutes of the game, O'Hara clung on to their six point lead. The turning point was a 28 yard pass by the Tigers that put the ball on the one yard line. A line plunge and a successful extra point run decided the contest.