After the Orange junior varsity football team defeated Northwood in Pittsboro on October 24, Panther football coach Van Smith said there would be changes to the varsity team’s lineup the following night.
Smith didn’t go into specifics, but after three straight losses, he wasn’t making empty promises.
As Smith made that vow, several junior varsity players had just finished playing (albeit ten minute quarters). Some of them, like Connor Ray, Eli Danley and Jackson Wood would play extensively against Northwood’s varsity only hours later.
They had no idea they would be vital parts in Orange’s most dramatic game of the year.
Not that it paid immediate dividends, but that wasn’t the message that Smith wanted to communicate at that point. He was ready to build for the future, starting with the ninth game of the regular season.
If you didn’t review the game notes, it’s easy to forget how close Northwood was to going ahead 24-0 in the first half. Midway thought the second quarter, Orange was flat and there was no buzz inside Auman Stadium whatsoever. The Panther offense had consecutive three-and-outs with Northwood leading 17-0. The Chargers started a drive from the Panther 30-yard line after a poor punt.
Northwood faced a 3rd-and-1 from the Orange 21-yard line when senior defensive end Khaleb Smith extended his 6-foot-1 frame and tipped a pass from Northwood quarterback Jack Thompson straight up in the air, then pulled it down for a critical interception.
Orange ended the first half with a 12-yard touchdown run by Omarion Lewis, his first of three touchdowns.
The Panthers scored 35% of its points off turnovers this season. On this night, two critical interceptions paved the way for Orange’s largest come-from-behind victory since 2015. With Northwood in possession leading 24-6 and 6:02 remaining in the third quarter, Elliott Woods picked off a pass by Thompson at midfield and returned it 26 yards.
Two plays later, Lewis scored his second touchdown on a 24-yard gallop. Orange’s defense summoned the momentum with its best stretch of the season. They held the Chargers to two first downs in their final six drives of regulation.
At the end of the third quarter, Lewis scored off a 24-yard touchdown run.
By the end of the night, Machai Holt would have his most Machai Holt game ever. He didn’t play in the first half. He played sparingly in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, he picked off a Thompson pass. Two plays later, quarterback Wyatt Jones hit Holt in stride on a 32-yard touchdown pass to tie the game.
The drama at the end was tense and eerie. Ross intercepted a Jones’ pass with 1:51 remaining. Northwood Coach Cullen Homolka made the ultimate gamble by calling for a fake punt on 4th-and-three from midfield. Punter Aidan Laros rushed around right end and barreled into the Orange sideline to get the first down by the nose of the football.
At this point, Laros had been as reliable as a three-way kicker that also played linebacker could be. Earlier, he drilled a 42-yard field goal in the first quarter to open the scoring. After the fake punt, Northwood gained 25 yards and relied on Laros to attempt a 40-yard field goal and win the game from nearly the same spot on the field where he converted earlier. This time, Orange’s Trey Grizzle got an incredible vertical jump at the line to block the field goal and force overtime.
Holt scored on a 10-yard run in Orange’s opening possession. Nigel Slanker, who had missed the previous four extra points on the night, converted to give Orange a 31-24 lead. After Ross caught a touchdown pass from Thompson, Laros pulled the extra point wide left.
It was a downright weird finish that brought back similar memories from two years prior, when Northwood upset Orange 21-20 in overtime. On that night, it was the Panthers’ reliable kicker, Francisco McKinley, who missed an extra point that would have sent the game into a second overtime.
On this night, Orange would come from behind for a win that propelled them to a three-game winning streak to close the year.