As the fall sports regular season begins to wind down across Hillsborough, there will be important events coming up on and off the field.
On Monday night, the Orange County School Board will vote on a new baseball coach at Cedar Ridge High School. Cedar Ridge Athletic Director Andy Simmons says a name has been submitted to the board. The new coach will replace Jamie Athas, who departed Cedar Ridge in July to become the new head coach at Burlington Williams. Athas, a former recruiting coordinator for UNC-Greensboro who played at Wake Forest, went 35-13 in his final two years at Cedar Ridge. Under his direction, the Red Wolves hosted state playoff games in 2017 & 2018. He went 55-39 at Cedar Ridge over four seasons. Athas’ replacement will be the fourth new baseball coach hired in the Big 8 Conference since the season ended in June.
Also on Monday night, the Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team will host Orange in the second leg of the Hillsborough Derby. On September 21, the Red Wolves defeated the Panthers 3-2 at Orange Soccer Park behind a game-winning goal from Calvin Navaez. It was his first varsity goal. Jose Luna opened the scoring for the Red Wolves. Cedar Ridge, Orange and Northwood are in a race for a state playoff spot in the Big 8 Conference. Cedar Ridge is in third place in the Big 8 with a 4-3 record, while Northwood is 4-4. Orange is 3-4. Chapel Hill defeated the Tigers 5-1 on Thursday night at Culton-Peerman Stadium. Luna scored Cedar Ridge’s only goal. Also on Thursday, Orange defeated Hillside 4-0 in Hillsborough. RJ Pherribo and Drew Jagentenfl each had two goals and two assists. Panther goalkeeper Francisco McKinley had a clean sheet.
Also on Monday, the Orange volleyball team will host senior night against Jordan. It will be the final regular season home match for seniors Liz LaNier, Libby Jones and Meg Gattis. Win or lose against the Falcons, Orange will start play in the Big 8 Conference Tournament on Tuesday night at Northern Durham. The Knights defeated the Lady Panthers 3-1 last week in Hillsborough to complete a regular season sweep. Orange is 10-10 and is still hoping for a wildcard birth for the 3A state playoffs, which starts next week.
Also on Tuesday night, the Cedar Ridge volleyball team will travel to face Northwood in Pittsboro. The Red Wolves concluded the regular season on Thursday with a 3-0 victory over Southern Durham. Senior Sarah McCuiston, in her final match at Cedar Ridge, had 13 kills. Rachel Tucker, another senior, had six kills. Tucker’s classmate, Colby Rabalais, finished with nine aces.
On Wednesday, the Big 8 Conference women’s tennis tournament takes place at East Chapel Hill High School. Participants who reach the semifinals in the singles and doubles tournaments will automatically qualify for the 3A Mideast Regionals.
As for football, Orange will try to rebound from Friday’s 33-0 loss to Northern Durham. They host Hillside at Auman Stadium. Last year, the Panthers defeated the Hornets 31-20, Hillside’s first conference loss since 2009.
The Cedar Ridge junior varsity has the week off. They were slated to face East Chapel Hill, but the Wildcats aren’t fielding a junior varsity team.