It won’t feel like it, but this is the first full week of fall. It’s also the start of the 2nd half of volleyball, women’s tennis and men’s soccer seasons.
Cedar Ridge and Orange were both swept by teams from Chapel Hill last week. Against an unforgiving Big 8 Conference schedule, Orange faces East Chapel Hill tonight (Monday) to start a three-game week. After losing its first conference game to East Chapel Hill on Friday, Cedar Ridge will look to bounce back with its first-ever match against Vance County in Hillsborough on Tuesday. The Red Wolves travel to Southern Durham on Thursday.
Also on Monday afternoon, Cedar Ridge will host Orange for its senior night. It will be a special day for the Red Wolves’ Olivia Ward, who was a member of Cedar Ridge’s Big 8 Championship team as a freshman. The Red Wolves haven’t lost to Orange since the two teams became conference rivals in 2014.
On Friday, football will start conference play. Orange will host East Chapel Hill. Cedar Ridge will travel to Northwood in Pittsboro. Both games will kickoff at 7. Our coverage here on Hillsboroughsports.com starts at 6:45 with the C&R Ski Outdoor pregame show.
Without any further ado, here’s the Magnificent 7 from last week. It featured a dramatic first leg of the Hillsborough Derby between Orange and Cedar Ridge in men’s soccer. Despite losing to East Chapel Hill, it was still another strong showing from Cedar Ridge volleyball. And the Orange women’s tennis team won three dual matches.
As always, a reminder that two of these athletes will be named the Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week and the Orange Panther of the Week on Tuesday.
Nicholas Frank: Orange appeared set to win its third straight men’s soccer game at Cedar Ridge on Wednesday night. The Panthers led 3-1 with 19:00 remaining. But Cedar Ridge freshman Nicholas Frank scored two stunning goals within 47 seconds to even the match. Dean Allen found Frank on a through ball with 15:43 remaining, and Frank finished from 18 yards. Moments later, Reese Weaver created a turnover and found Erickson Thole, who hit Frank again for the equalizer. Frank also scored the game-winning goal in penalties as Cedar Ridge defeated Orange 4-3.
Ty Corbin: Cedar Ridge’s goalkeeper earned the victory against Orange with back-to-back saves on Orange’s final two penalty attempts. Corbin also made a huge save in the first overtime session, which was the only major chance by either team to score after regulation ended. Corbin, who is also a lacrosse player, earned his third win of the year.
Cameron Lloyd: Yes, it’s cliche by now. But Lloyd becomes the first three-time inductee into the Hall of Awesome after two stellar games against Bartlett Yancey and Northern Durham. Against the Knights, Lloyd had 17 kills, 12 aces and ten digs as Cedar Ridge defeated Northern for the first time since becoming Big 8 rivals. In Monday’s sweep of Bartlett Yancey, Lloyd had 13 kills, one ace and four digs. Plus, she celebrated her birthday last week.
James McAdoo: The Orange football team fell short against Riverside on Friday night. It was also Orange’s best effort of the season. McAdoo, playing his second game after getting injured in a scrimmage against Person, had a team-high seven tackles. In the 2nd quarter, he stripped the ball away from Riverside quarterback Landon Sledge, and Will Torain dove on the loose ball. It led to a touchdown from Machai Holt. In the third quarter, McAdoo recovered another fumble, again leading to a touchdown from Holt.
Emma Williamson: The Orange women’s tennis team swept Vance County in back-to-back matches on Wednesday, then defeated Roxboro Community School 8-1 on Thursday. Williamson won her lone match at #4 singles against the Vipers 8-0. On Thursday, she won her match against Roxboro Community in straight sets. She also teamed with Morgan Gwinn at #2 doubles to win 8-1.
Lottie Scully: A sophomore enshrined into the Hall of Awesome for the first time, Scully had a team-high nine kills in Orange’s 3-0 win over Northwood on Tuesday night at Panther Gymnasium. Scully also had ten assists, two digs and an ace as the Lady Panthers improved to 7-4 before Thursday’s game against Chapel Hill.
Elliott Sikes: On Monday night, the Orange men’s soccer team defeated Vance County 10-1. Sikes came away with his first hat trick against the Vipers. Sikes also had two goals against Hillside in a 7-1 Panther victory on September 3.