The Orange coaching staff did little to mask its frustration as they prepared to leave Henderson on Friday night.
After losing to power running teams in Southern Durham and Northern Durham the previous two weeks, the Panthers faced the high school equivalent of a Big 12 passing attack in Vance County. Vipers quarterback Samein Burwell torched the Panthers defense for 445 yards and five touchdowns as Vance County won 40-30 after they jumped out to a 40-30 lead on Friday night.
The cumulative effect of dropping three straight conference games was clearly on Orange Coach Van Smith’s mind. He also has rarely had a defense give up so much yardage. Even more painful was Orange has now lost nine of its last eleven games and the chances for a winning season are virtually nil.
“We’re better than a five-win football team,” Smith said afterward with more than a touch of anger in his voice.
Fortunately, with three games remaining in the season, Orange still has something to play for. Highschool.ot.com released its latest projections for the state football playoffs, which will be released three weeks from this Saturday. Currently, Orange has a #70 Maxpreps ranking. Where things get interesting is Northwood is listed as one of the last five teams in, according to writer Nick Stevens.
Of course, Orange hosts Northwood this Friday night for Homecoming at Auman Stadium. Last year, the Panthers largely had its way with the Chargers in Pittsboro. Eryk Mercado and Jake DeFranco each had interceptions, and Mercado added a rushing touchdown in a 24-7 Orange win.
On top of that, Orange finishes with a road trip to Cedar Ridge and senior night against Chapel Hill, two teams that the Panthers have dominated over the past six years. A 5-6 mark could get the Panthers into the playoffs. After missing the postseason last year, it would be a nice way to end the season.
It’s not like Orange is a young tea. Four of the five starters along the offensive line are seniors, with right tackle Robert Bray the only exception. Quarterback Wyatt Jones, running back Machai Holt and starting wide receivers Zyon Pettiford and Cameron White have never played in a postseason game.
Plus, there’s starting center Brody Andrews, who has played three years of varsity football. His sophomore year at Cedar Ridge, the Red Wolves went 1-10. And that one win was stopped in the 2nd quarter because of rain.
On top of that, Orange has a bit of revenge to consider. In 2017, Northwood very nearly wrecked Orange’s hopes of winning the Big 8 Championship when they rallied from a 14-0 deficit to win 21-20 in overtime. Plenty has changed around Northwood since then. Former head coach Brian Harrington left at the end of last season. The only players who were on the field in 2017 for Northwood that will play on Friday night are starting wide receivers Aaron Ross and Jalen McAfee.
At the end of the day, the questions about whether Orange is a conference championship team have been answered. But the question of whether Orange is a state playoff team is very much open, and the Panthers will have no one to blame but themselves if they can’t answer in the affirmative Friday night.