Month: September 2019

Article by Tim Hackett

Silent in Sanford: Cedar Ridge Suffers Second-Straight Shutout at Hands of Southern Lee

Friday the 13^th with a full moon in full effect – Friday night seemed like a great night for a team named the Red Wolves to transfigure some meteorological magic into their first varsity football win in more than two years. Instead, the Cedar Ridge Red Wolves (0-3) were bewitched and bedeviled all evening on this, the unluckiest of evenings, by the Southern Lee Cavaliers (2-2), falling 44-0. It’s the second week in a row that Cedar Ridge failed to score a single point. 

It’s also the second week in a row that mistakes cost Cedar Ridge dearly. After they mostly shirked the responsibility for their turnovers and missed opportunities against Carrboro, Bartlett Yancey made the Red Wolves pay for their turnovers last week – and the Cavaliers did too. Cedar Ridge moved the ball to midfield on its opening possession, but quarterback Will Berger miscommunicated with his two tailbacks on an attempted handoff, and Southern Lee fell on the dropped change. A few plays later, the Cavaliers were in the end zone for the opening score. 

But Cedar Ridge didn’t waver. Berger rebounded to help spearhead a drive deep into Cavalier territory, but the drive stalled in the Southern Lee red zone when Torrean Hinton correctly elected to attempt to convert a fourth-and-medium rather than try a 35-yard field goal with an inexperienced kicker. The gamble failed, leaving Southern Lee the ball on their own 18-yard line. Two plays later, the Cavaliers were at the other 18-yard line, and a few plays after that, they were back in the end zone. 

Cedar Ridge never had another prolonged drive. On Cedar Ridge’s next three possessions, the Red Wolves punted. On Southern Lee’s next three drives, the Cavaliers found the end zone, and the home team headed to halftime on top 35-0. There was only more trouble in store after the break, as Zach Holmes had to scramble to recover a poor snap on a punt attempt, hustling after the loose ball and tossing it through the back of the end zone for a safety. The Red Wolves did force a trio of Southern Lee punts in the second half, but the Cavs were able to strike once more to switch on the running clock and seal the deal at 44-0. 

Southern Lee entered Friday night’s contest with a lot of questions. Could its defense, which surrendered more than 60 points two weeks ago against Pinecrest, get back in shape? Was its offense, which put up 47 in a rout of Northwood last week, for real? On this night, at least, the answer to both of those questions seemed to be yes. The Cavs’ defensive front bottled up Isaiah McCambry for the first time this year, while a loaded secondary rendered ineffective a passing attack that was without top wideout KJ Barnes. 

On the other side of the ball, Southern Lee showcased just what its new-era, modernized pseudo I-formation offense can do. Running backs Keshaun Mays and Nick Locklear were excellent up the middle, allowing for halfback Tanoah Lockley to ravage the Cedar Ridge perimeter defense with sweeps and pitch-based runs all evening – Lockley had four all-purpose touchdowns in the first half alone before Locklear added his in the second. 

For Torrean Hinton and Cedar Ridge it was another evening of finding the silver linings in the many clouds, literal and metaphorical, that covered the Sanford sky on Friday. The defense was solid, though not perfect in the second half, even if Southern Lee might have lifted its foot off the gas somewhat. The secondary was pretty solid even without Barnes and albeit against a team that doesn’t throw very much. Elijah Whitaker was excellent in the return game in Barnes’ absence, consistently giving the offense good and even great field position to work from. The highlight though for Cedar Ridge was easily the blocked field goal in the second half when someone reached up their right arm and redirected Daniel Pisano’s bid from about 34 yards away. The next step, once again, is learning from those moments and turning it into better, more consistent play in all phases. The Red Wolves will need to be much better next week than they have been the last two, but the good news is there are eight more chances for that first win in more than two years, and the next chance comes on the road next week against Providence Grove at 7 PM. 

A turnover and a touchdown.

That’s what Orange needed the most midway through the second quarter against former Five County Conference rival Williams on Friday night.

After Williams’ Alijah Richardson snapped off an 80-yard touchdown run to put the Bulldogs ahead 13-0, Orange Coach Van Smith noticed a discouraging but familiar look of despair on his player’s faces.

It’s common among teams on a five-game losing streak who haven’t won at home in nearly a year.

“They had that look of ‘oh no. Here we go again.'” Smith said.

The quirkiest game in recent team history ended with Orange (2-1) beating Williams 21-13 at Auman Stadium in Hillsborough. After Richmond’s run, Orange didn’t give up another point and won its first game of the season despite just 178 yards total offense.

Yet the turning point of the game wasn’t an explosive touchdown run, a blocked punt or even a 99-yard touchdown bomb.

It came when linebacker Owen Brimmer picked off a pass deep inside Williams’ territory late in the first half. That was promptly followed by something that could have only happened on Friday the 13th with a full moon overhead.

The subsequent Orange drive appeared to be just another series that would dissipate without a first down. Junior Nigel Slanker was set to attempt a field goal before Williams was whistled for back-to-back offside penalties.

Suddenly faced with a 4th-and-inches with the Williams’ 3-yard line, Smith inserted 270-pound nose tackle Courtney Edwards at fullback, who rumbled around left end for his first touchdown since his Pop Warner days.

“I can’t even remember the last time I had a touchdown,” Edwards said. “I love carrying the ball, though.”

Williams’ (2-2) offense was hamstrung after losing its top two quarterbacks to injury in the previous two weeks. Senior Kennedy Miles suffered a torn ACL in a win over Western Alamance on August 30. Backup Kalihal Currie was knocked out of last week’s loss to Eastern Alamance.

Bulldogs’ coach Jim McGill played three quarterbacks, alternating between junior Evan Breedlove and senior Shane Whitter (their leading tackler) for most of the game. Senior J.J. Rone started behind center, but didn’t play after the second series.

The lack of dependable throwing arms relegated Williams’ offense almost exclusively to quarterback keepers and handoffs to Richmond. They were held to 86 yards and three first downs in the second half.

Meanwhile, it didn’t take long for Orange to find that turnover with a touchdown.

Early in the third quarter, Orange senior linebacker Joe Kiger picked off a Breedlove pass near midfield. The Panthers, who went 0-for-6 on third down conversions in the first half, finally moved the chains on 3rd-and-six when quarterback Wyatt Jones found wingback Elliott Woods for eleven yards. It was Orange’s longest pass play of the game.

Facing a 4th-and-2 from the Williams 12-yard line, Jones executed a gorgeous read-option around left end and dove for the first down. Sophomore Omarion Lewis scored his second varsity touchdown on the next play from four yards. Slanker’s extra point gave Orange its first lead in the 2nd half this year at 14-13.

After Williams was called for a chop block on a touchback during the ensuing kickoff (Friday the 13th, you know), the Panthers watched as the Bulldogs shanked a nine-yard punt.

That led to the 4th quarter where some quiet leaders emerged for the Panthers. One of them was Woods, who had consecutive gains of eleven yards during Orange’s final touchdown drive. After Lewis converted a 3rd-and-5 with a nine-yard run to burst into the red zone, Jones bounced off Williams’ tacklers like he was a human pinball as he spun, shimmied and shook to the edge of the goal line. Two plays later, Jones snuck it across the goal line for his first rushing touchdown of the year.

Trailing 21-13, Whitter was inserted at quarterback and found leading receiver Kendrel Briggs for a 35-yard gain to the Orange 26-yard line. An unsportsmanlike penalty against the Panthers led to a first-and-goal at the 10-yard line.

That’s when Orange cornerback J.J. Torres made the last two big plays of the night in succession.

On 3rd-and-goal from the Orange 8-yard line, Williams ran a jet sweep for Briggs around left end. Torres read the play adroitly, stringing it out to the left sideline and drew a holding penalty against a Bulldog wide receiver.

Faced with 4th-and-goal from the 18-yard line, Torres picked off Breedlove’s final pass to start a long-awaited celebration along the Panther sideline.

After a scoreless first quarter, Williams took the lead off smoke and mirrors. On a double pass, Breedlove lateraled to Briggs, who hit Whitter for a 26-yard touchdown pass in the north end zone.

The Bulldogs’ consecutive offsides gaffes greatly benefited an Orange offense that largely struggled. Up to that point late in the first half, the Panthers registered only 65 yards.

But, as Smith said, they needed only a turnover and a touchdown to come away smiling in the end.

“I’ve been preaching to these kids since they were freshman that when you’re down two touchdowns, that’s just a touchdown and a turnover. Then you’re right back in this thing,” Smith said. “That’s always been our mentality.”

ORANGE 21, WILLIAMS 13

W—Shane Whitter 26 pass from Kendrel Briggs (Brennan Lagana kick)

W—Alijah Richmond 80 run (kick failed)

O—Cortney Edwards 4 run (Nigel Slanker kick)

O—Omarion Lewis 4 run (Slanker kick)

O—Wyatt Jones 1 run (Slanker kick)

RUSHING—WILLIAMS 29-194 TD (Richmond 15-148 TD, Whitter 10-31, J.J. Rone 3-11, Frank Anderson 1-4)

ORANGE: 42-148 2 TD (Lewis 20-61 TD, Elliott Woods 8-40, Jones 6-31 TD, Joe Kiger 2-8, J.J. Torres 2-4, Edwards 1-4 TD, Jake DeFranco 2-1, team 1-(-1))

PASSING—WILLIAMS 7-13 75 yards TD 4 INT (Briggs 1-1 26 TD, Breedlove 3-7 14 yds 3 INT, Whitter 3-3 38 yards, Rone 0-2)

ORANGE—Jones (3-13 30 yards 2 INT)

RECEIVING: WILLIAMS (Brings 4-40, Whitter 1-26 TD, Kyndall Haith 1-11, Richmond 1-(-2).

ORANGE—(Zyon Pettiford 2-11, Woods 1-19)

Standing in a sweatbox gym at Fairchild Community Center in Burlington, Anna Seethaler seemed to know something a month ahead of everyone else.

She was asked by a local reporter how good her 2nd Cedar Ridge volleyball team would be.

“Look out,” was her pithy reply while wearing a beaming grin.

Look out? Many coaches in fall sports are full of optimism in August, but for a team that went 7-15 last year? That just lost senior Sarah McCuiston, who led the team in kills? That just lost promising sophomore Lydia Wood, who opted to transfer to The Trinity School after one year in Hillsborough?

Indeed, Seethaler did know something that almost everyone else didn’t. She watched as the Red Wolves breezed past Riverside, Greensboro Page and the Alamance Aces in scrimmages at the Fairchild Center on August 17 and understood that 2019 would be very different, in part because of three freshmen.

Three weeks later, Cedar Ridge has just completed its most successful stretch since reaching the 3A Eastern Regional Championship match in 2015.

To end an unenviable stretch in a sultry Orange High Gymnasium, the Red Wolves defeated crosstown rival Orange 3-2 on Thursday night in a rivalry game that was as entertaining as it was draining. Freshman Julie Altieri’s ace on match point was the perfect culmination of a week where the Cedar Ridge rookies delivered notice to the rest of the Big 8 Conference, and possibly the entire region.

Look out, indeed.

Cedar Ridge won on scores of 25-23, 22-25, 25-23, 15-25 and 15-7.

Orange (6-4, 1-1) had a six-game winning streak snapped.

After beating three-time defending Big 8 Champion Chapel Hill on Tuesday and Orange on Thursday, the Red Wolves sit atop the league with a 3-0 league record. With an 8-1 overall mark, the Red Wolves have already surpassed its win total from last season.

The last time Cedar Ridge defeated Orange, it was September 1, 2016. There was barely a ripple of celebration around Red Wolves Gymnasium that night because beating the Lady Panthers was all too common. Cedar Ridge had trumped Orange nine straight times.

Seethaler, who lived in Utah in 2016, wasn’t a clued in about the rivalry as other longtime local residents.

“I haven’t been here so I don’t know the rivalry so well,” Seethaler said. “I’m happy, though.”

The win on Thursday ended the Red Wolves’ five-game losing streak to the Lady Panthers.

It came amid a raucous gym where opposing student sections standing on opposite sides traded barbs about everything from the officiating to lack of air conditioning.

On a day where the heat index reached 101 degrees in Hillsborough, the sweltering weather led to a slick court and some spectators retreated to the parking lot before the exciting finish.

“I think it got to me,” Seethaler said. “I don’t think they thought about the heat. They had to play through it.”

In the fifth set, it was freshman Cameron Lloyd who fired the biggest shots, serving four consecutive aces as the Red Wolves bounced ahead 7-2. Lloyd, who already has 100 kills after Monday’s loss to Jordan, had three kills in the final set.

Orange sophomore Lottie Scully had four kills in the 4th set, the only lopsided frame in the match.

The opening set had eight ties and four lead changes. The second set had 13 ties and four lead changes.

In the first frame, Cedar Ridge scored the final four points with Lloyd serving. She delivered an ace to tie the set 23-23. Senior Emma Downing gave Cedar Ridge the lead with an unassisted kill. The Red Wolves took the opening set when a service return by Orange went wide.

Orange evened the match in the second. A successful block by Erin Jordan-Cornell gave the Lady Panthers a 22-18 lead. Jordan-Cornell finished the set with five kills. Cedar Ridge lost junior setter Layne Foster in the 2nd set because of a left quadricep injury.

Orange appeared set to take the 3rd set, leading 20-15 after a kill by senior Emma Clements off an assist from Ella Van Time. Cedar Ridge finished the frame with a 10-3 run, which included Altieri serving up three straight aces. She also slammed home set point.

The Red Wolves return home to face Bartlett Yancey on Monday. Orange returns home to take on Bartlett Yancey on Tuesday, then travels to Chapel Hill on Thursday.

It was a night of triumph for the Cedar Ridge volleyball team, who defeated Orange 3-2 in a thrilling match at Panther Gymnasium. It was Cedar Ridge’s first win over the Lady Panthers since 2016, a span of five matches. Julie Altieri had an ace on match point to culminate the most successful week in recent team history. On Tuesday, the Red Wolves defeated three-time defending Big 8 Champion Chapel Hill 3-2. Altieri and classmate Cameron Lloyd were teammates with Orange’s Erin Jordan-Cornell on the Chapel Hill Area Volleyball Club last spring. On Thursday, they were on opposite sides of the net. Cedar Ridge won despite losing junior Layne Foster with an injured quad in the 2nd set. Cedar Ridge now sits atop the Big 8 with a 3-0 mark going into Monday’s nonconference match against Bartlett Yancey in Hillsborough. 

Thursday night was a long time coming for Cedar Ridge middle blocker Celeste Pasley. As a senior, she’s been on the short end of five straight losses to crosstown rival Orange. On Friday night, only 48 removed from a dramatic win over defending Big 8 Champion Chapel Hill, the Red Wolves defeated Orange 3-2 in a sultry Panther Gymnasium, ending a five-game losing streak to the Lady Panthers. Pasley has been a reliable ball handler for the Red Wolves, totaling five kills in its victory over Northwood last week. This week, she started in the most successful week of Cedar Ridge volleyball since they won the Big 8 Championship in 2015 and reached the Final Four of the 3A State Playoffs. 

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is freshman middle hitter Erin Jordan-Cornell of the Lady Panther volleyball team. Going into Thursday night’s match against Cedar Ridge, Jordan-Cornell help the Lady Panthers win six consecutive matches. Orange defeated Roxboro Community School 3-0 in Hillsborough on September 3. Jordan-Cornell led Orange with seven kills. Through the first six matches of her high school career, Jordan-Cornell has 31 kills, which is second on the team. Jordan-Cornell played for Stanford in 2017 and 2018. She was also a member of the Chapel Hill Area Volleyball Club, a summer travel team that journeyed to Atlanta and finished 2nd in the Big South Qualifier. They earned an invitation to the USA Volleyball Girls National Championships in Indianapolis, which took place in June. Jordan-Cornell also plans to play basketball this winter for Orange. 

Article by Tim Hackett

Cedar Ridge High School volleyball coach Anna Seethaler isn’t usually a loud, exuberant coach. She doesn’t usually race up and down the sidelines, yell after every point, and take every opportunity to high-five, advise and rev up her players. She’ll get animated when necessary, but, usually, she’s content to watch, note, and instruct when needed. 

Tuesday was not a usual night. 

“I feel like we all needed that extra boost tonight,” Seethaler said.

News of one of the best starts to a season in Cedar Ridge volleyball history had clearly spread through Hillsborough, as a boisterous crowd packed the high school’s gym Tuesday night to see how the Red Wolves could rebound from a four-set loss to Jordan the night before. On the other side of the net: the three-time reigning and defending Big 8 conference champions, one of the top-ranked teams, 3A or otherwise, in the state of North Carolina, a team that hadn’t lost a match to a team from North Carolina all year, a team with wins over schools like perennial power Cardinal Gibbons and that same Jordan team that had just beaten Cedar Ridge – the Chapel Hill Tigers. 

On a usual night, this Chapel Hill team, by far the taller, stronger, more experienced of the two squads on Tuesday, might have mopped the floor with Cedar Ridge. But Tuesday was not a usual night. Instead, the Red Wolves (7-1, 2-0 Big 8) added a statement win to what could be a signature season, knocking off the Tigers (10-2, 1-1 Big 8) 25-23, 18-25, 17-25, 25-23, 15-12 in an all-time classic in Hillsborough. 

A tight first set proved predictive of how the rest of the match would be. No team led by more than four, and Chapel Hill battled back from two different deficits to level the score at 20-all and 22-all before Cedar Ridge took three of the final four points. As a Tiger hit the ball into her half of the net to clinch the first frame for the home team, the first drop of reality seemed to set in on the Cedar Ridge sideline – maybe this really could happen.

From there, the crowd was ready for the occasion: a couple of guys from a large Tuesday night student section bellowed “Oh Yeah!” every time a Tiger prepared to serve or receive (picture the Kool-Aid Man, but a bit more aggressive and about three octaves higher), and there were plenty of slaps on the risers from parents and even some tongue-in-cheek “O-ver-rate-ed!” chants as the match heated up. 

Chapel Hill quickly dispelled that notion, however, winning sets two and three fairly comfortably thanks to the swing of senior outside Kaya Merkler, who flashed some of the power from the left side and finesse from the back row that helped her win an offer from UNC a few years ago. Cedar Ridge led 15-11 at one point in set two, but then the Tigers took over, going on a 14-3 run to win the second set and barely ever trailing in the third. Seethaler conceded that it’s rare to see someone with Merkler’s 6’3 frame – not to mention arm strength – at the high school level, but that doesn’t mean she was an unstoppable force. 

“The plan was just to be aggressive,” Seethaler said. “She’s good, but she’s human. She can hit into the net and hit into blocks, as long as we force her into that.” 

And that’s exactly what they did. As the page turned to the fourth set, the left-side success Merkler and fellow senior outside Julia Charney had in the second and third sets started to dry up, thanks in large part to an improved Cedar Ridge block anchored by freshman Cameron Lanier. But while Lanier’s performance at the net was notable, her effort at the service line bordered on legendary. With set four even at 8 apiece, Lanier head back behind the line and steered her team to a 7-0 run, with five of those points coming from Lanier aces. Chapel Hill finally sided her out and battled back to level the set at 23, but then the other two standout Red Wolf freshmen came through – setter Julie Altieri delivered a setter kill for set point, and outside Cameron Lloyd did the rest by tooling the block to tie the match. 

By the time the fifth set arrived, much of the crowd that remained got to its feet. Chapel Hill held the advantage in the early going, but never led by more than two. The visitors were first to what Seethaler conceded was that pivotal tenth point, but with the Tigers ahead 11-10, Lanier stepped back to the line and delivered two more service aces to flip the script. Chapel Hill coach Ross Fields called a timeout. The teams traded points, as Merkler finished off another back row kill to make it 13-12 Cedar Ridge. From there, the Red Wolves’ gameplan was simple: feed Cameron Lloyd. It had worked all season, it had worked all game, and it worked when it mattered most: Lloyd delivered the game’s final two kills, both set up by Altieri, placing the match-winning point precariously over the net, pinpointing it into the middle of the back row for a 15-12, five-set victory. 

The excitement and emotion following this epic upset was evident. The Cedar Ridge coaches hugged. Chapel Hill shook hands, huddled and left the premises as soon as possible. Some parents stormed the floor, while others stayed rooted to their seats in disbelief. But in the midst of the mayhem, Layne Foster, with the rest of the team still on the court behind her, bounded up the riser steps, embraced her family, and succinctly summed the night up with three simple words. 

“We did it.”

The Orange women’s tennis team won its second match of the season on Tuesday night, beating Southern Alamance 7-2 at Orange High Tennis Courts. Sophomore Jera Hargrove won her match at #1 singles and partnered with Natalie Marochak to win at #1 doubles. Emma Williamson, Lindsey Jouannet, Morgan Gwinn and Halle Boroski also earned singles wins for the Lady Panthers. Senior Sydney Allison competed with Jouannet in doubles. Allison took up the game on the encouragement from her mother Wendy and her father Mark. She plans to continue playing tennis, in some form, after she graduates in June. Orange will look for its third win of the season on Thursday when they travel to face Person in Roxboro.