* 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.