Month: October 2019

Photo by Heather Walker

The Stanford Chargers are headed back to the Orange-Person Athletic Conference Championship game.

On Wednesday afternoon, Stanford clinched the OPAC Northern Division Championship with a 28-6 victory over the Stanback Bulldogs at Auman Stadium. The Chargers will face Southern Roxboro for the OPAC Championship next week. Smith/Phillips defeated Stanford in the season opener on September 11 in Chapel Hill.

Stanford received strong games from several players. Nahour Kenion started the scoring with a strong touchdown run. Brayden Benfield followed with a 2-point conversion to put the Chargers ahead 8-0.

Cameron Guentensberger, the younger brother of former Orange linebacker Colin Guentensberger, scored on a 75-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown on a errant lateral. Guentensberger also had a receiving touchdown.

Quarterback Josh Cowan threw for one touchdown and had a 40-yard touchdown run.

The time and location of the OPAC Championship game is to be determined.

Boys Soccer: The Gravelly Hill Grizzles boys soccer team have a date in the OPAC Championship game next week.

On Monday, Gravelly Hill defeated Northern Middle School 9-0 on Monday in Efland to officially sew up the OPAC Northern Division Championship. It’s the third straight division championship for the Grizzlies. Hayden Kirk, Nathan Sorrells, Gabriel Contreas, Erick Morales, A.J. Roberts, Micah Morrow, and Lucas Gauldin all scored for the Grizzlies to win the division title.

On top of that, Gravelly Hill had to play again on Tuesday in a make-up game against Phillips Middle School in Chapel Hill. The Grizzles prevailed 5-1. Nathan Sorrells had a hat trick for Gravelly. Konner Johnson and Carson Condon scored the other Gravelly goals.

Gravelly Hill had strong defensive performances from Hayden Kirk and Don Wheless. Ben Miller earned the victory as goalkeeper.

Gravelly Hill will face Smith Middle School in Chapel Hill for the OPAC Championship on October 29.

If you have any results from any other middle school sports in Hillsborough, please send them to hamlin37@hotmail.com. This includes cross country, volleyball, etc.

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.

Payton Wilson: On Wednesday, the Football Writers Association of America named Wilson to its Freshman All-American watch list. As mentioned in Sunday’s edition, Wilson is third on N.C. State’s football team with 36 tackles this season. He has three-and-a-half tackles for loss through six games. He’s also tied for second the team with three special teams tackles. Wilson is a 2018 Orange graduate who won the 2017 3A state championship in wrestling at 220 pounds. He was also a midfielder in lacrosse before leaving Orange in January 2018 to enroll early in Raleigh.

Chandler Compton: The 2016 Orange graduate played on senior night for the Wofford men’s soccer team in Spartanburg, SC on Wednesday night. Compton played eight minutes as the Terriers defeated VMI 3-0 at Snyder Field. It was Compton’s first game of the season for the Terriers. Wofford named John Tyson, a former assistant with Charlotte Independence of the United Soccer League, as its new head coach last December. The Terriers are 4-9-1 overall, 2-1-1 in the Southern Conference.

Lionel Reid-Shaw: Division III Gettysburg defeated Dickinson 4-2 at Clark Field in Gettysburg, PA on Sunday night. Reid-Shaw started for Dickinson at center back. The Red Devils are now 8-6, 4-2 in the Centennial Conference. Reid-Shaw has played in 13 games for Dickinson this year and started nine.

Kayla Hodges: Another goal for Hodges as Elon defeated James Madison 3-2 at Rudd Field in Elon on Sunday. Hodges tallied her fourth goal of the season in the 40th minute off a corner kick sent in by Hannah Doherty. Hodges has scored goals in three consecutive games. After a three-win season in 2018, the Phoenix is in the hunt for the Colonial Athletic Association Championship. Elon is tied with UNC Wilmington for second. Hofstra leads the CAA with a 5-0-2 mark with two games remaining in the regular season. Elon travels to Delaware Thursday night.

Taylin Jean: On Sunday, Jean claimed her seventh win of the season in net for the Division II Limestone women’s soccer team. The Saints defeated Emmanuel 3-1 in Stephen Athletic Complex in Franklin Spring, GA. Jean made eight saves for the win. On Wednesday night, Carson-Newman defeated Limestone 2-1, the Saints’ first home loss of the season. Jean started at goalkeeper for Limestone and made three saves. Limestone is 7-6 overall, 6-2 in Conference Carolinas. They fall one game behind Carson-Newman for 1st place in the league.

Brittany Daley: Pfeiffer defeated the Division III Greensboro College women’s soccer team 1-0 on Wednesday night at Pride Field in Greensboro in a battle for first place in the USA South Athletic Conference. Daley started her 16th game of the season for the Pride. Greensboro’s seven-game undefeated streak came to an end. The Pride are 11-4-1 overall, 5-1-1 in the USA South. They are tied with Pfeiffer in the loss column for first place. The Falcons are 7-1. However, Pfeiffer is ineligible for the USA South Tournament because they have reclassified as a Division III program (they were previously Division II).

Jordan Rogers: Division III Meredith defeated the William Peace women’s soccer team 2-1 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary on Tuesday. Rogers started her 16th game of the year for the Pacers. Peace is 6-10, 2-5 in the USA South.

Lili Henry: Division III Methodist volleyball team swept Pfeiffer in Merner Gym in Misenheimer on Wednesday night. The Monarchs never trailed in winning 25-20, 25-19, and 25-15. Henry popped up 20 assists for the Monarchs. Methodist improves to 5-15, 4-8 in the USA South.

Bailey Lucas: The Division III Meredith volleyball team swept North Carolina Wesleyan at Weatherspoon Gymnasium in Raleigh on Tuesday night. Lucas played in all three sets, finishing with 12 assists, six digs and two aces. Meredith is 16-7 overall, 10-2 in the USA South.

Olivia Ward has been through a lot in her four years at Cedar Ridge. Last week, she accomplished qualifying for the 3A State Singles Championship for the firs time and how she did it was remarkable. After winning over a player from Terry Sanford in the opening round, Ward faced Orange’s Jera Hargrove with a spot in the state championship on the line. Ward won a grueling match 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 in a dual that lasted over two-and-a-half hours. Last October, Ward qualified for the 3A State Championships in doubles with Alana Lutz as her teammate. In 2016, Ward was a part of Cedar Ridge’s Big 8 Conference Championship team. Along the way, Ward underwent major thoracic surgery at Duke Hospital. She still has to go through rehabilitation drills to this day. Now, Ward is set to compete for the state championship. She has also committed to Methodist University in Fayetteville to continue her tennis career. 

Yet another Hillsborough baseball product is set to take his talent to the college level.

Last week, former Orange and Cedar Ridge shortstop/2nd baseman Dante DeFranco committed to Charlotte. The 49ers were the only school to offer DeFranco a scholarship. UNC Asheville, UNC Greensboro, and Old Dominion also recruited DeFranco.

“I’ve been wanting to go to Charlotte for about two years now,” DeFranco said. “The coaching staff is great. The atmosphere is great. The campus is beautiful and it’s not too far from home. It’s Division I baseball.”

DeFranco joins former teammates Cooper Porter, Joey Berini, and Phillip Berger as players who have committed to playing in college. Porter, a senior left fielder, committed to N.C. State after his freshman year. Berini agreed to attend East Carolina in June. Berger, the winningest pitcher in Cedar Ridge history, started classes at William Peace University in Raleigh last August.

DeFranco spent his first three years at Cedar Ridge, where he played shortstop for two teams that won state playoff games. He shared the middle infield with his younger brother, Jake. As a sophomore in 2017, DeFranco helped Cedar Ridge to a 17-7 record, including a 4-1 win over Nash Central in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs. It was Cedar Ridge’s first postseason win in eleven years.

DeFranco led the Red Wolves with 30 hits. He hit .375 with 17 RBIs.

In his junior season, DeFranco hit .348 with 19 runs, 24 hits and 20 RBIs. The DeFrancos, Berger Adam Chnupa, Sailor Ramos and Matthew Kahn helped the Red Wolves to an 18-6 season, its best record of the decade. Cedar Ridge defeated Southern Alamance in the 3A State Playoffs before falling to Terry Sanford in Fayetteville.

In his senior season, Cedar Ridge didn’t field a varsity football team. DeFranco, who started for Scott Loosemore’s final Cedar Ridge football team as a junior, and four other Red Wolves received permission from the Orange County School Board to transfer to Orange to continue their gridiron careers. DeFranco started at wide receiver and was third on the team with 20 receptions for 200 yards.

Last spring, DeFranco started at 2nd base for Orange. He kicked off his senior year by lining the very first pitch of the season off the left field wall for a stand-up double against Ragsdale in Jamestown in an 18-0 win. DeFranco alternated between the top two batting slots for first-year head coach Jason Knapp. He was 2nd on the team with a .425 batting average. He also had 31 hits (tied for 2nd on the team) and a team-high 29 RBIs. DeFranco also tied for the team lead with three home runs.

In Charlotte, DeFranco will play under Robert Woodard, who was named the new 49ers head coach in June. Woodard has been the pitching coach at UNC the past three years.

“The whole coaching staff is awesome,” DeFranco said. “The hitting coach is Bo Robinson and he’s been in Charlotte for awhile now. When I was a sophomore and junior, I used to go to a bunch of camps at Charlotte. He was one of the coaches I talked to the most.”

While he spends the next year in the Triangle, DeFranco is staying in shape for baseball by playing for the Pro5 Baseball Academy out of Raleigh. This month, the Pro5 team has trips scheduled for Barton College in Wilson, Lenior Community College, South Carolina-Lancaster, Brunswick Community College and even a journey to Puerto Rico for Halloween.

DeFranco is currently taking courses at Wake Technical Community College. He plans to enroll in Charlotte next August.

The list of former Hillsborough products who are currently playing college baseball include Brad Debo (N.C. State), Landon Riley (Liberty), DeFranco’s former teammate Brandon Andrews (Nicholls), Will White (Greensboro College), Jason Slaughter (Belmont Abbey), Caige Clayton (Brevard College).

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior setter Kaitlyn Werden. On Tuesday night, the Orange volleyball team rallied from two sets down to defeat Northern Durham at Poe Gymtorium in the regular season finale. The Lady Panthers have won three straight. This Orange team now has won more games than any other Lady Panther squad this decade with 16 victories. Werden finished with 22 assists, seven kills, and nine digs. Last week, Orange claimed wins over Southern Durham and Roxboro Community School. Against the Bulldogs, Werden had 22 assists, six kills, three aces and one block. Werden leads the team with 268 assists and 36 aces. She also has 112 digs and 45 kills. Now, Orange sits back and will wait for the state playoff brackets to be announced on Thursday at around noon. 

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is women’s tennis senior Brianna Cellini. Last week, Cellini teamed with Hannah Shinnick representing Cedar Ridge in the 3A Mideast Regionals. Interestingly, Cellini spent most of her life training for another sport: figure skating. She worked out daily at the Orange County Sportsplex on the ice, but an injury abruptly ended her career on the ice. She decided to take up tennis just in time for the start of high school, and it was the perfect time. She joined the Cedar Ridge varsity in 2016, the most successful team in school history. They won the Big 8 Conference Championship. Cellini has participated in regionals before. Now that her tennis career has ended, she focused on coaching and graduating from Cedar Ridge in June. 

Check out Phil Stapleton online here for more of his work with East Chapel Hill. He was on the sidelines on Monday night as East Chapel Hill men’s soccer defeated Cedar Ridge 3-0. The Red Wolves remain in the hunt for a state playoff birth and is #64 in the latest MaxPreps ranking, meaning they’re right on the bubble. Thanks, Phil!

It’s finally feeling like fall.

This year, it also feels like playoff anticipation is alive and well again across Hillsborough after a relatively quiet 2018 at Cedar Ridge. Last academic year, only the Cedar Ridge softball team made the state playoffs among sports that determine their champions through a routine knockout tournament (the Cedar Ridge men’s and women’s cross country teams did qualify for the state championship meet)

This week, the Cedar Ridge volleyball team will officially make the state playoffs for the first time since 2015 when the brackets are unveiled online by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.

Orange will also be included in the field of 64. Not only that, but the Lady Panthers have a chance to be the winningest volleyball team at Orange this decade with a win over Northern Durham on Tuesday.

This Friday, Olivia Ward will represent Cedar Ridge women’s tennis in the 3A State Championships at the Burlington Tennis Center. Details about Ward qualifying for the state championships are detailed below.

On Monday, the 3A Central Golf Regionals will be held at Greensboro National Golf Club. Orange’s McKenzie Hawks and Sarah Durham will be competing and attempt to qualify for the 3A State Championships. Hawks and Durham will be the only golfers in Hillsborough competing in the regionals. The top three teams automatically qualify for the 3A State Championships with the three best scores. The top 17 individuals not on a qualifying team (which Orange falls into since they’re only taking two players) can also qualify for the state championships.

Here’s this week’s Magnificent 7. As always, we’ll have the announcement of the Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week and the Orange Panther of the Week later this week.

Olivia Ward: For the second year in a row, Olivia Ward has qualified for the 3A Women’s Tennis State Championships. In a thrilling match on Friday afternoon at the Burlington Tennis Center, Ward defeated Orange sophomore Jera Hargrove in the 2nd round of the 3A Mideast Regionals. Ward won 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 to establish herself as the most established women’s tennis player in school history. Ward started the day with a victory over a player from Terry Sanford 6-0, 6-1. In Ward’s freshman year, Cedar Ridge won the 2016 Big 8 Championship. As a junior, she teamed with Alana Lutz to qualify for the 3A State Championships in doubles, where they lost to the eventual state championship tandem of Natalie Lutz and Madelynn Frye of Kings Mountain. Ward will start play in the State Championships on Friday as the #4 seed from the Mideast. She will face the champion of the Midwest Region in the opening round.

Nicholas Frank: Scored the final goal in regulation as the Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team defeated Orange 3-2 in penalty kicks on Monday night. Frank, who notched a brace in the first game between the two teams last month, also scored the game-winning penalty kick as the Red Wolves took another step toward qualifying for the state playoffs for the first time since 2017. Cedar Ridge is 6-10-1 overall, 4-7 in the Big 8 Conference.

Julie Altieri: Yet another week where a freshman Cedar Ridge freshman makes the Magnificent 7. On Thursday, Altieri had 26 assists, five digs, five aces and one block as the Red Wolves swept Vance County in Henderson. Altieri leads the team with 78 aces and 552 assists for the Red Wolves, who are scheduled to conclude its regular season at Southern Durham on Tuesday (though Southern forfeited against Orange on Thursday due to a lack of available players).

Jera Hargrove: Last week’s Orange Panther of the Week won her first match in the Mideast Regionals over the top singles player from Eastern Alamance on Friday at the Burlington Tennis Center in straight sets. It’s the second time in the opening two years of Hargove’s athletic career that she has qualified for regionals. She missed qualifying for states by two games. Hargrove was the #1 singles player for the most successful Orange women’s tennis team this decade. The Lady Panthers finished 11-8.

Kaitlyn Werden: Finished with six kills, three aces, one block, 15 digs and 22 assists in Orange’s five-set thriller at Roxboro Community School on Friday. Werden also had 10 assists and five digs in the loss to Chapel Hill. Combined with Orange’s forfeit win over Southern Durham, the Lady Panthers have won 15 games this season. If they defeat Northern Durham on Tuesday, this Orange team will have more wins than any other Panther volleyball squad this decade.

Machai Holt: Scored two touchdowns in the Orange football team’s 40-30 loss to Vance County on Friday night in Henderson. Holt leads Orange with seven touchdowns. He paced the Panthers with 48 rushing yards and 23 receiving yards against the Vipers. The previous week against Northern Durham, Holt had 111 of Orange’s 144 yards of total offense.

Elliott Sikes: Blasted the game-tying goal for the Orange men’s soccer team in the waning minutes to send the Cedar Ridge game into extra time. Sikes is 2nd on the team with five goals on the season. Orange travels to Chapel Hill on Monday.

It’s finally feeling like fall.

This year, it also feels like playoff anticipation is alive and well again across Hillsborough after a relatively quiet 2018 at Cedar Ridge. Last academic year, only the Cedar Ridge softball team made the state playoffs among sports that determine their champions through a routine knockout tournament (the Cedar Ridge men’s and women’s cross country teams did qualify for the state championship meet)

This week, the Cedar Ridge volleyball team will officially make the state playoffs for the first time since 2015 when the brackets are unveiled online by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.

Orange will also be included in the field of 64. Not only that, but the Lady Panthers have a chance to be the winningest volleyball team at Orange this decade with a win over Northern Durham on Tuesday.

This Friday, Olivia Ward will represent Cedar Ridge women’s tennis in the 3A State Championships at the Burlington Tennis Center. Details about Ward qualifying for the state championships are detailed below.

On Monday, the 3A Central Golf Regionals will be held at Greensboro National Golf Club. Orange’s McKenzie Hawks and Sarah Durham will be competing and attempt to qualify for the 3A State Championships. Hawks and Durham will be the only golfers in Hillsborough competing in the regionals. The top three teams automatically qualify for the 3A State Championships with the three best scores. The top 17 individuals not on a qualifying team (which Orange falls into since they’re only taking two players) can also qualify for the state championships.

Here’s this week’s Magnificent 7. As always, we’ll have the announcement of the Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week and the Orange Panther of the Week later this week.

Olivia Ward: For the second year in a row, Olivia Ward has qualified for the 3A Women’s Tennis State Championships. In a thrilling match on Friday afternoon at the Burlington Tennis Center, Ward defeated Orange sophomore Jera Hargrove in the 2nd round of the 3A Mideast Regionals. Ward won 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 to establish herself as the most established women’s tennis player in school history. Ward started the day with a victory over a player from Terry Sanford 6-0, 6-1. In Ward’s freshman year, Cedar Ridge won the 2016 Big 8 Championship. As a junior, she teamed with Alana Lutz to qualify for the 3A State Championships in doubles, where they lost to the eventual state championship tandem of Natalie Lutz and Madelynn Frye of Kings Mountain. Ward will start play in the State Championships on Friday as the #4 seed from the Mideast. She will face the champion of the Midwest Region in the opening round.

Nicholas Frank: Scored the final goal in regulation as the Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team defeated Orange 3-2 in penalty kicks on Monday night. Frank, who notched a brace in the first game between the two teams last month, also scored the game-winning penalty kick as the Red Wolves took another step toward qualifying for the state playoffs for the first time since 2017. Cedar Ridge is 6-10-1 overall, 4-7 in the Big 8 Conference.

Julie Altieri: Yet another week where a freshman Cedar Ridge freshman makes the Magnificent 7. On Thursday, Altieri had 26 assists, five digs, five aces and one block as the Red Wolves swept Vance County in Henderson. Altieri leads the team with 78 aces and 552 assists for the Red Wolves, who are scheduled to conclude its regular season at Southern Durham on Tuesday (though Southern forfeited against Orange on Thursday due to a lack of available players).

Jera Hargrove: Last week’s Orange Panther of the Week won her first match in the Mideast Regionals over the top singles player from Eastern Alamance on Friday at the Burlington Tennis Center in straight sets. It’s the second time in the opening two years of Hargove’s athletic career that she has qualified for regionals. She missed qualifying for states by two games. Hargrove was the #1 singles player for the most successful Orange women’s tennis team this decade. The Lady Panthers finished 11-8.

Kaitlyn Werden: Finished with six kills, three aces, one block, 15 digs and 22 assists in Orange’s five-set thriller at Roxboro Community School on Friday. Werden also had 10 assists and five digs in the loss to Chapel Hill. Combined with Orange’s forfeit win over Southern Durham, the Lady Panthers have won 15 games this season. If they defeat Northern Durham on Tuesday, this Orange team will have more wins than any other Panther volleyball squad this decade.

Machai Holt: Scored two touchdowns in the Orange football team’s 40-30 loss to Vance County on Friday night in Henderson. Holt leads Orange with seven touchdowns. He paced the Panthers with 48 rushing yards and 23 receiving yards against the Vipers. The previous week against Northern Durham, Holt had 111 of Orange’s 144 yards of total offense.

Elliott Sikes: Blasted the game-tying goal for the Orange men’s soccer team in the waning minutes to send the Cedar Ridge game into extra time. Sikes is 2nd on the team with five goals on the season. Orange travels to Chapel Hill on Monday.