Orange football spent much of 2018 running off the fumes of three consecutive Big 8 Championships and was left trying to find replacements for quarterback/linebacker/punter/everything else Payton Wilson, running back Marvante Beasley and wide receiver Milton Purcell.
They opened 2019 trying to find replacements for linebackers Colin Guntensberger, Jett Satterfield and Jeremiah Bailey, and the results weren’t pretty.
In the first-ever matchup between the two teams, R.J. Reynolds’ quarterback Caden Davis factored in on six touchdowns to push the Demons past the Panthers 47-24 at Auman Stadium on Friday night. Davis ran for 104 yards and three touchdowns and threw for three touchdowns.
It was the most points Orange has surrendered in a game since Cedar Ridge hung 49 on the Panthers on August 26, 2011.
Orange (0-1) dropped its fourth straight home game dating back to 2018, and has lost seven of its last eight at Auman Stadium.
The Panthers had one returning starter on defense back from last season. That’s senior defensive end James McAdoo, who missed Friday’s game because of an eye injury suffered in a scrimmage against Person on August 17.
Orange coach Van Smith didn’t want to talk about players who graduated three months ago after losing for the 11th time in the last 14 games.
“We’ve got to get tougher on both sides of the ball,” Smith aid. “I was not very good tonight. We were not prepared. We were not organized. Our intensity was not very good from me and from the assistant coaches. Therefore, it carried down to the players.
There were positives for the new double wing offense designed by offensive coordinator Marty Scotten. Orange totaled 329 yards, which would have been the fourth best total among 12 games from last year. Orange also had 14 first downs compared the Reynolds’ 12. They were also 7-for-12 on 3rd down conversions.
The result obscured a spectacular performance from senior wide receiver Machai Holt, who nearly single handily carried Orange to the lead in the first half. In one of his rare gaffes on the night, Davis floated a pass that Holt picked off on the first play from scrimmage and streaked 36 yards on the return.
Holt went on to score Orange’s opening five-yard touchdown. He also blocked an extra point, caught a 27-yard pass from senior quarterback Wyatt Jones to set up Orange’s 2nd touchdown, and blocked a field goal late in the first half when the Demons were one yard away from going ahead 33-16.
After Holt’s interception and score put Orange ahead 7-0, the Demons scored touchdowns on four consecutive possessions. Williams running back Tyreik Leach, who finished with 66 yards on 13 carries, converted a 3rd-and-1 with an eleven yard game. The Demons offense never looked back the rest of the half. After Davis completed consecutive passes to Tobias Johnson for 20 and eleven yards, Davis scored on a three-year keep around right end.
On the subsequent kickoff by Reynolds’ Jack Doherty, the Demons Nassir Gibbs recovered at the Orange 21-yard line. On a swing pass, Leach weaved his way around several Panthers into the end zone from 13 yards. Despite a missed extra point, Reynolds led 12-7.
Orange took the lead right back at the end of the first quarter. After Holt’s one-hand catch for 27 yards, Jones found J.J. Torres out of the backfield for a 16-yard touchdown pass across the left corner of the end zone.
Reynolds didn’t blink. Davis started the ensuing drive with a 20-yard pass to H-back Greg Hunter on the opening play of the second quarter. On a 3rd-and-12, David again hit a cutting Johnson for a 41-yard touchdown. Doherty’s extra point gave Reynolds the lead for good at 19-13.
Reynolds was flagged for consecutive pass interference penalties on 3rd downs to keep the next Orange drive alive. Junior Nigel Slanker, replacing Tucker Krogstad, easily kicked a 30-yard field goal for the Panthers’ final points of the half.
The Demons started the next drive in Orange territory after a personal foul penalty. It only took three runs by Davis to break into the end zone, ending with a 17-yard gallop for his 2nd touchdown to end the Demons ahead 26-13 going into the locker room.
Orange controlled the ball for much of the third quarter and its defense didn’t allow a point. On the tenth play of a grueling drive that started after an interception by Orange’s Jared Weaver, Orange appeared to be on the verge of cutting into the lead after covering 84 yard on ten plays. Then Gibbs intercepted a pass intended for Zion Pettiford and flashed 90 yards to put the game out of reach.
Jones found Zyon Pettiford for a 60-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. It was Pettiford’s only catch of the night.
Davis found Johnson for another touchdown of 18 yards in the fourth quarter.
The Panthers travel to South Granville next Friday. The Vikings fell to 0-2 on Friday night with a 23-14 loss to Sanderson in Raleigh.
But Smith will focus on Orange in the week ahead.
“Our coaching staff is going to get better because I’m going to get better,” Smith said. “And our players are going to have to get better.
R.J. REYNOLDS 47, ORANGE 24
RJ 12 14 7 14-47
OR 13 3 0 8-24
OR–Machai Holt 5 run (Nigel Slanker kick)
RJ-Cadin Davis 3 run (kick blocked)
OR-J.J. Torres 16 pass from Wyatt Jones (run failed)
RJ-Tobias Johnson 41 pass from Davis (kick failed)
OR-Slanker 30 FG
RJ-Davis 17 run (Jack Doherty kick)
RJ-Nassir Gibbs 90 INT return (Doherty kick)
RJ-Johnson 18 pass from Davis (Doherty kick)
OR-Zyon Pettiford 60 pass from Jones (Jones run)
RJ-Davis 39 run (Doherty kick)
RUSHING: R.J. REYNOLDS 33-206 3TD (Davis 13-104 3 TD, Tyreik Leach 13-66, Tavarius Goodwin 6-35, Duke Ferree 1-1)
ORANGE 35-130 TD (J.J. Torres 12-59, Machai Holt 8-35 TD, Elliott Woods 9-20, Jacob Chapman 6-16)
PASSING: R.J. REYNOLDS (Davis 11-17 183 3 TD 2 INT) ORANGE 10-22 201 yards 2 TD 2 INT (Jones 9-19 188 2 TD 2 INT, Slanker 1-3 13 yards)
RECEIVING: R.J. REYNOLDS (Wiliams 6-110 2 TD, Antonio Yates 1-21, Greg Hunter 1-20, Leach 1-13 TD, Antonio Yates 1-11, Blase Matheson 1-8.
ORANGE (Holt 3-50, Joe Kiger 2-53, Woods 2-14, Zyon Pettiford 1-60 TD, Torres 1-23 TD, Chapman 1-8.