On September 13, Orange rallied from a 13-0 deficit to defeat Williams 21-13. It was Orange’s largest come-from-behind victory since stunning Chapel Hill in 2015, when they trailed 20-7 only to win 38-37.
So Friday’s night victory over Northwood set a new standard. Orange trailed 24-6 with 5:13 remaining in the third quarter before Elliott Woods sparked a comeback with an interception of a Jack Thompson pass. After that, the Orange defense went to work as they shut out the Chargers for the rest of regulation.
As the old football cliche goes, 12 plays decide every game. It was no different here. So with help from Thompson Team Films, here’s the Dire Dozen from Orange’s sixth win over Northwood in the last seven years.
- Northwood, 3rd-and-1 from the Orange 21-yard line, Orange’s Khaleb Smith with an interception.
Looking back at the game notes, it’s amazing how close Northwood came to blowing Orange out. After Aaron Ross scored on an 8-yard touchdown run, the Chargers led 17-0. Orange went backward on the subsequent drive and Auman Stadium seemed lifeless. Northwood had the ball at the end of the red zone and could have gone ahead 24-0 if it wasn’t for Khaleb Smith making his first interception of the year.
2. Orange ball late in the 2nd quarter, 3rd-and-7 from the Northwood 39-yard line, Wyatt Jones throws to Elliott Woods for 26 yards.
Quite a catch by Woods, who caught this ball over the back of Northwood cornerback Jack Vail. Jones had to rush his throw because Northwood defensive tackle Antawn Edwards broke free and had a free path to the QB. If Woods doesn’t make this catch, Orange is probably still at two wins.
3. Orange ball, 2nd-and-9 from the Northwood 12, Omarion Lewis scores his first TD.
Owen Aquino started at left tackle for Orange. He supplied a good block on outside linebacker Pierce Cook to free up Lewis for his 7th touchdown of the season.
4. 3rd quarter, Northwood 2nd & 11 at the 50 yard line. Elliott Woods with an interception.
This was the play of the game. Woods pick led to an Orange touchdown. It was the second of Orange’s three takeaways. Coming into the game, 35% of Orange’s points came off turnovers. In this game, they had 12. This started a string of 24 unanswered Panther points.
5. Orange ball, 2nd & 10 from the Northwood 24. Lewis scores his 2nd touchdown.
Another quality block from pulling guard Dari’us Matkins helped Lewis score his 2nd touchdown of the game. This score gave Orange life after some fans left the stands following a touchdown run by Northwood’s Aaron Ross on the previous drive put the Chargers ahead 24-6.
6. Northwood 3rd-and-4 from its own 26-yard line, Orange’s James McAdoo with a sack of Northwood quarterback Jack Thompson.
As mentioned above, Ross scored a touchdown on Northwood’s first possession of the second half. Then the Chargers went six consecutive possessions without a first down. James McAdoo met Will Torain to the quarterback on this sack that led to a Northwood punt.
7. Orange ball, 3rd-and-4 from the Northwood 24-yard line, Lewis scores his final touchdown.
Believe it or not, this was Orange’s final 3rd down conversion of the game and it happened late in the 3rd quarter. If Matkins didn’t get credit for a pancake block on this run, he should have. Pulling to the left after Lewis sprang outside, Matkins sent a Charger flat up his back, leading Orange to reduce Northwood’s lead to 24-18.
8. Northwood ball, 1st-and-10 from the Northwood 36, Orange linebacker Jackson Wood with a sack of Thompson.
On Thursday night, the Orange junior varsity team defeated Northwood 27-0 in Pittsboro. Several of the players who suited up for Orange on Thursday also played on Friday. Not only that, but some played at key points with Orange trailing 17-0. Jackson Wood was in the game as Orange trailed 24-17. He made this key sack on Thompson on a big play that would get much bigger soon.
9. Northwood ball, 2nd-and-18 from its own 28, Machai Holt with an interception.
Machai Holt has come up big down the stretch in big games before for Orange on the gridiron and on the hardwood. This game may have been his masterpiece. He took over in the final six minutes, starting with this interception.
10. Orange ball, 2nd & 8 at the Northwood 36, Jones to Holt for a 32-yard touchdown.
Jones had a 65-yard pass to Zyon Pettiford called back because of a ineligible man downfield penalty in the third quarter. This time, Jones found the right connection as Holt scored his first receiving touchdown of the year to tie the game.
11. Caulin Falser blocks a would-be game-winning field goal with 12 seconds remaining.
Northwood’s final drive set new standards for gutsy play calling. After Jack Spotz was stopped at the Charger 49-yard line on 3rd down, punter Aidan Laros came out on 4th-and-3 with :53 remaining. Instead of punting, Laros ran a designed fake around right end for a first down by six inches. Thompson completed passes to Jalen McAfee and Ross to move the ball to the Orange 28-yard line. With 12 seconds remaining, Laros came back out to attempt a 40-yard field goal to win the game. He drilled a 42 yarder from nearly the same spot to open the game. This time, Caulin Fansler got his six-foot frame up to deflect the ball and send Auman Stadium into a frenzy.
12. Holt scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime from 10 yards
Holt scored his eighth rushing touchdown of the year in the first possession of overtime. Even more importantly, Nigel Slanker kicked the extra point to sew up a win on Homecoming night and keep Orange’s state playoff chances alive.