Photo by WNC

by Jon Franklin

HOME WRECKED

It’s been a while since I last posted an article here on HillsboroughSports.com. During my period of abeyance, I was very much busy in PA announcing games at Cedar Ridge, occasionally broadcasting Orange and Cedar Ridge games on the website, and of course, working my job in various public services.

Throughout my time writing various editions of The Franklin Mint and on-air, I’ve often recalled fond memories of past games from my hometown of Marion, McDowell County, and throughout Western North Carolina as they are near and dear to me. 

Yet, two weeks ago as a result of the devastation of Hurricane Helene, the areas I called home are almost unrecognizable. In some parts, they’ve disappeared.

Marion, Old Fort, and McDowell County were a part of a huge swath of territory along with Asheville, Boone, Burnsville, Chimney Rock / Lake Lure, Marshall, Newland, Spruce Pine, Swannanoa, and others were devastated due to the immense flooding. Massive recovery and humanitarian efforts are ongoing, continuing to help those ravaged by this terrible event.

In Marion, homes, roads, land, and businesses located near a body of water were decimated as Buck Creek, the Catawba River, Goose Creek, Lake James, Lake Tahoma, Toms Creek, Peppers Creek, and the Second Broad River all sprawled out of their banks, taking out everything in sight. The northwestern part of Marion located along the Catawba near McDowell High School became impassable, cutting off Marion from the northern part of the county. 

Also affected was Old Fort, which also became inaccessible. Old Fort is the location source of the Catawba and the namesake of the mountain on Interstate 40 that was victim of a large landslide, cutting off Western North Carolina to the rest of the state.

In the wake of the devastation, the Baxter plant in the northern part of McDowell in North Cove – manufacturer of 80% of intravenous bags and fluids used in healthcare and McDowell’s largest employer – abruptly ceased production due to mudslides and the floodwaters entering into their sterile environment. The bridges and access roads on all sides of their immense property were destroyed as a result of the nearby raging Peppers Creek and the Catawba’s north fork. Normally, this plant churns out more than twenty million IV bags each day, ranging from half-liter field bags to the six-gallon bags used in dialysis. Efforts at Baxter’s home base in Illinois are ongoing to ramp up production other Baxter plants so that the world’s healthcare facilities are not impacted.

Many of you know that I previously worked for many years as a corrections officer in our state and federal prisons. Oddly enough, the four state facilities that I worked at in WNC while employed with the NC Department of Correction have all evacuated their inmates and relocated them to facilities unaffected. The timetable of restoring power, sewer, and water services to these institutions are unclear as the infrastructure to these facilities must be rebuilt.

Nothing was more crushing than to witness than the total destruction of the villages of Chimney Rock & Lake Lure in nearby Rutherford County. This serene and tranquil area located thirty minutes from my childhood home, was often a fun place to go to during the summer. On a hot day, nothing beat taking a dip in the ponding cold water at the summit of the Hickory Nut Falls or to just take in the views from the rock itself. The Village Scoop was another favorite of mine to enjoy an ice cream after a day of adventure.

Chimney Rock was featured in the 1992 epic film, The Last of The Mohicans that starred Daniel Day-Lewis and was based off of the 1826 novel of the same name by James Fenimore Cooper. Lake Lure was featured in many of the scenes of the 1987 smash romance drama Dirty Dancing, starring the late Patrick Swayze. But after Helene’s fury, the quaint shops, restaurants, and small businesses that lined NC 9 are now reduced to rubble or relocated to the waters of Lake Lure. 

If you’re wondering, I have been in communication with family and friends. My parents are safe, but have slight damage to their home. My sister had major structural damage to her house, but she and her family are also alive and well. Other family and friends are in similar situations, but are safe. As fate would have it, my brother-in-law is one of the leading insurance agents in McDowell County and had been looking forwards to retirement. But now, he has enough work to keep him and his agency in business for an exceptionally long period of time. While my family was relatively unscathed despite being without power and cell phone service for nearly ten days, others are currently without power and cell service, now more than two weeks removed. Other families weren’t so lucky as their homes and roads were obliterated – and even lost loved ones.

But as Western North Carolina was dealt a dirty hand, the rock-solid resolve of its’ people never wavered and became lifelines to their family, friends, and neighbors.

My home church, Marion’s New Manna Baptist Church, along with other places of worship in McDowell, have stepped up to support their own by transforming their facilities into shelters serving hot meals, receiving and distribution centers for food, water, and supplies, and becoming relief stations for first responders and linemen. Other relief agencies such as Baptists on Mission, Hearts with Hands, and Samaritan’s Purse are supplementing their efforts by ensuring their work is not in vain or depleted of resources. 

Such supplementation came from our nearby area. Lee’s 24-Hour Towing of Durham, has utilized their fleet of trucks to haul trailers of food, water, and supplies all over the mountains. Fredrickson Aviation based out of Timberlake, has airlifted supplies to inaccessible areas of WNC using the Burlington-Alamance Regional Airport as their hub of operation. 

But come Hell or High Water, the work must continue to help our families, friends, and neighbors in Western North Carolina.

If you have supported any these causes by donating blood, food, water, supplies, finances, or even your time to help load a vehicle with supplies, I can speak for the thousands of Mountaineers to say thank you for supporting some of the finest people you’ll ever meet. If the roles were reversed from our area, they would be the first to help us in our time of need. Please continue these efforts as they have a long road ahead of them. 

Cameron Lloyd: The Bucknell Bison has won 14 consecutive matches, which is tied for the longest winning streak in the country with South Dakota State. The Bison defeated Navy and American University last week. Against the Eagles, the Bison won 26-24, 25-19, 20-25, 21-25, 15-7 at Bender Arena in Washington, D.C. It was just the second time that the Bison defeated the Eagles in the nation’s capital. Lloyd recorded a double-double with 12 kills and 20 digs. On Satruday, Bucknell defeated Navy 3-0 (25-15, 25-9, 25-18) at Brown Fieldhouse in Annapolis, MD. Lloyd had nine kills, three digs and one ace. Bucknell is 6-0 in the Patriot League, 14-1 overall and will face Loyola (MD) and Colgate this weekend.

Cameron Lanier: The Elon Phoenix completed a two-match sweep of Hampton last Friday. The Phoenix won 3-0 (25-12, 25-16, 26-24) at Holland Hall in Virginia. Lanier led Elon with eleven kills. It was Lanier’s eighth match with double-digit kills this season. Elon is 10-7 overall, 4-2 in the Coastal Athletic Association. They will host Campbell for matches at the Schar Center on Saturday and Sunday.

Lottie Scully: The Binghamton Bearcats split two American East Conference matches last week. Maryland-Baltimore County defeated Binghamton 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-21) at Chesapeake Employees Insurance Arena in Baltimore last Friday. Scully, who was named the American East Setter of the Week on September 30, had 15 assists, six digs and one ace. On October 6, Binghamton triumphed over Bryant University 3-1 (33-31, 8-25, 27-25, 25-17) at West Gym in Binghamton. Scully finished with 41 assists, the fourth-most by an American East player this year. Scully’s season-high is 56 assists against Long Island University on September 29. Binghamton will face Temple on Wednesday.

Julie Altieri: The Division III Salisbury Sea Gulls have won seven in a row. Last Saturday, Salisbury swept Scranton (25-18, 25-23, 25-15) at Maggs Activities Center in Salisbury, MD. Altieri had a kill to clinch the match. She finished with 23 assists, six kills and eight digs. Salisbury opened the day with a sweep of Christopher Newport (25-17, 28-26, 25-23). Altieri finished with 31 assists, 12 digs, four aces and two kills. Altieri has nine double-doubles this season. Salisbury is 14-2 overall and will travel to Fredericksburg, VA to face UC Santa Cruz and Mary Washington in a tri-match on Saturday.

Allie Wilkerson: The Averett Cougars swept two matches in Old Dominion Athletic Conference play last weekend. On Friday, Averett defeated Shenandoah University 3-1 at the Stuart James Grant Center in Danville, VA on scores of 23-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-17. Wilkerson finished with five kills, one digs and one ace. On Saturday, the Cougars won a five-set battle over Eastern Mennonite University 21-25, 20-25, 25-19, 25-23, 15-11. Wilkerson finished with seven kills, one ace and three digs. Averett has won five in a row and are 9-10 overall, 4-2 in the ODAC. The Cougars will face Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia on Wednesday night.

Melissa Benkowitz: Franklin & Marshall defeated Washington College in a sweep at the Cain Athletic Center in Chestertown, MD last Saturday. Benkowitz finished with four digs, one kill and two aces. The Diplomats are 13-3 overall, 2-0 in the Centennial Conference. They will host Dickinson College at the Mayser Center in Lancaster, PA on Wednesday night.

Grace Young: Greensboro College swept North Carolina Wesleyan at Everett Gymnasium in Rocky Mount on Saturday (25-12, 25-20, 25-19. Young had 14 digs. The Pride are 12-5 overall, 5-2 in the USA South Conference. They will host Pfeiffer at Hanes Gymnasium in Greensboro on Wednesday night.

Ella Wimsatt: The Division II Lenoir-Rhyne Bears bounced back from its first loss of the season with a 3-1 win over Lincoln Memorial at Mary Mars Gym in Harrogate, TN last Saturday. Wimsatt played two sets and had one kill with five digs. The Bears are 14-1, 4-1 in the South Atlantic Conference.

Anaya Carter: UNC Pembroke lost a five-set match to Mount Olive on October 4 (14-25, 25-17, 25-14, 20-25, 15-13). Carter played one set and had one kill with one dig for Pembroke. The Braves will travel to Murfressboro, NC to face Chowan on Wednesday night. Pembroke is 5-9 overall, 2-2 in Conference Carolinas.

I celebrated a birthday last week. The fact it pops up in the middle of high school football season only serves as a reminder of how long I’ve been covering local sports.

Around 2004, I vowed that if I didn’t get a college play-by-play job in football, I would stop doing high school sports and do something else.

My favorite cliche isn’t “The more things change, the more they stay the same” for nothing.

In the 1990s, there was a school mired in a three-year winless streak that was easily the 98-pound weakling of Durham County.

That was Jordan High School. After having winless seasons in 1995 and 1996, they had a conference championship team by 2000.

Now, the Falcons may be the best team in the city under Antonio King, who was the Cedar Ridge head coach in 2019.

For three decades, the shining beacon of high school football was Northern Durham. Not just in Durham, but the entire state.

They won 17 consecutive conference championships, went 24 years without losing to another team from the city of Durham and went 21 years without losing consecutive games. In the fall of 1990, Northern lost to Person at home.

They didn’t lose another conference game the rest of the decade.

Fast forward to September 2024 when Vance County stormed out to a 22-0 lead against Northern Durham. The Knights lost their starting quarterback due to injury and the game was stopped before regulation ended.

If you would have told me back in 1999 that in 25 years, there would even be a remote possibility of Northern not having enough football participation, I would have told you there was a better chance of opera being the most popular music taste among teenagers in 2024.

The point is nothing lasts forever in high school football.

Cedar Ridge football lost to Orange 54-0 on Friday night. Most likely, the Red Wolves will finish with a second straight winless season.

But they aren’t winless because of the players who are on the field. They’re winless because of the players who are not on the field, but could be.

At a time when football, as a whole, has never been more safe to play, it’s harder to find players willing to try the sport because of safety concerns. Last year, for the first time in school history, Orange didn’t field a junior varsity team.

Fortunately, the Stanback Middle School Bulldogs have fielded more players this year which will hopefully lead to healthier participation numbers in the future for the Red Wolves.

Cedar Ridge coach Brent Bailey remains dedicated to the cause. Even down late in the fourth quarter against Orange, Bailey gave defensive back Matthew Asay a chest bump after picking off a pass thrown by Orange quarterback Kyse Devore.

Bailey drives in 90 minutes from Clayton each morning to start practice at 7AM because he wants to make Cedar Ridge football great. He has organized midnight practices in July and set up media day at Radius Pizza, which included Orange, in August because he wants to see football flourish in Hillsborough.

And so do I. No sport bands as many people together during successful times than football.

I saw Devon Moore rush for over 6,000 yards and 42 touchdowns at Cedar Ridge from 2002-2005 at Cedar Ridge. Then he graduated and won two FCS National Championships at Appalachian State. For a long time, the Red Wolves dominated Hillsborough under the direction of head coaches Lou Geary and Joe Kilby.

What does triumph look like once it emerges from a deep abyss?

It looks like FirstBank Stadium in Nashville on Saturday night.

The Vanderbilt Commodores, the only private school in the SEC, beat #1 Alabama for the first time since 1984. Clark Lea, the Commdores head coach, knew when he accepted the job in 2001 of the challenges he faced. He played at Vanderbilt.

But he persisted and beat the #1 team in the country.

Afterwards, he told sportswriter Matt Fortuna “There’s an inevitability to success when you stay in the fight.”

Cedar Ridge football can have a Vanderbilt moment.

They just have to stay in the fight.

From the moment Orange ran the Philly Special on the first play from scrimmage on Friday night, the Panthers dominated their crosstown rivals in the Battle of Hillsborough.

Orange junior Kyse Devore, in just his third start, threw for four touchdowns as rushed for another as the Panthers retained the Victory Bell with a 54-0 victory over Cedar Ridge during Homecoming at Auman Stadium. Orange captured its first home victory since they defeated Montgomery Central on September 8, 2023.

It was a night of milestones for the Panthers. For starters, Orange offensive lineman Kayshawn Farrington and Marshea Byrd were crowned Homecoming King and Queen. It was also the anniversary of the dedication of Auman Stadium, named for Glen Auman, who coached Hillsboro High School football to consecutive conference championships in 1959 and 1960.

In between the first and second quarters, Orange High’s 1969 3A State Championship Men’s Basketball team was honored. Last spring, the surviving members gathered for a daylong celebration at Orange High’s Auditorium, where they received championship rings 55 years after winning the title at Durham’s Sykes Gymnasium.

Cedar Ridge was without its top skill player, running back Isaiah Craig, who had consecutive 100-yard running games to open the year against East Chapel Hill and Northwest Halifax. The Red Wolves finished with five yards total offense and had to use quarterback Thomas McDermott on keepers for its few positive bursts of offense.

“It was a much-needed win,” said Orange coach DeVante Pettiford. “We’re in the closing stretch with three games left. If we win two of these last three, we stand a good chance of getting into the playoffs. Hopefully, this lights a fire under us and gets us rolling.”

Devore, whose younger brothers Ayden and Asher play at Orange Middle School, was pressed into emergency duty at quarterback three weeks ago after senior Hank Nunnery was injured late in the first quarter at Montgomery Central. It’s been a trial by fire. His opening two starts were against Western Alamance and Walter Williams, possibly the best two teams in the Central Conference.

On Friday night, Devore spread the wealth, delivering four touchdowns passes to four different players. He now has seven touchdown passes over the last six quarters.

“Kyse has a lot of confidence behind him,” Pettiford said. “It’s not just showing up on Friday. He’s putting the time in every week. He’s working hard at practice. He’s watched over four-and-a-half hours of practice over the past two weeks. The success you’re seeing is coming from the time he’s spent preparing.”

The first quarter dragged on amidst a flurry of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on both teams. There were four penalties on the first three plays from scrimmage, but Orange broke the slog on its opening possession when Devore handed the ball to Kingston Purefoy-Farrington, who dropped it off to Hunter Albert, who flipped it back to Devote and aired it out for Kayden Bradsher for a 38-yard gain. On the next play, Devore found Purefoy-Farrington for a 39-yard touchdown.

The Panthers scored on all of its drives in the first half. On its second series, Ja’ki McDaniels returned after missing two games with an injury suffered at Montgomery Central and ripped off a 21-yard run. On the next play, freshman Owen Phillips hauled in a 32-yard touchdown pass. The extra point from Will Cooper gave Orange a 13-0 lead.

Devore called his own number after Bradsher moved the ball into the red zone with a 20-yard gain. Devore scored his first varsity touchdown on a 2-yard carry.

Orange’s offense, defense and special teams all scored in the first quarter. After the Panthers’ defense forced a Red Wolf punt, Bradsher picked up a great block from Ty’lieq Jones and raced 79 yards for a touchdown with 3:04 remaining in the first quarter.

On the next Red Wolf drive, Hunter Albert picked off a pass and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown. Albert later scored on offense, catching a 42 yard pass from Devote to open the second quarter.

McDaniels would add a 39-yard touchdown pass from Devore to end the first half.

The second half was played with a running clock of 10-minute quarters. Orange senior Deandre Brown scored the only points of the fourth quarter on a six-yard run.

Cedar Ridge’s Matthew Asay had an interception in the second half.

ORANGE 54, CEDAR RIDGE 0

CR–0   0    0   0-0

ORA–34  14  0   6-54

ORA–Kingston Purfoy-Farrington 39 pass from Kyse Devore (kick blocked)

ORA–Owen Phillips 16 pass from Devore (Will Cooper kick)

ORA–Devote 2 run (Cooper kick)

ORA–Kayden Bradsher 79 punt return (Cooper kick)

ORA–Hunter Albert 15 interception return (Cooper kick)

ORA–Albert 42 pass from Devore (Cooper kick)

ORA–Ja’ki McDaniels 39 pass from Devore (Cooper kick)

ORA–Deandre Brown 6 run (kick failed)

RUSHING–CEDAR RIDGE (Thomas McDermott 11-10, Mason Hughes 1-1, Jordan Oliva 3-(-3), team 3-(-13).

ORANGE: Bradsher 2-21, McDaniels 1-20, Devore 3-18 TD, Brown 1-6 TD.

PASSING: CEDAR RIDGE (McDermott 3-12 7 yards, INT)

ORANGE (Devore 6-11 195 yards 4 TD, INT)

RECEIVING: CEDAR RIDGE (Gavin Stone 1-9, Olivia 1-1, Hughes 1-(-1))

ORANGE: (Albert 2-47 TD, Purefoy-Farrington 1-39 TD, McDaniels 1-39 TD, Bradsher 1-38, Phillips 1-36 TD)