Month: November 2019

Taylor Montague committed to play women’s soccer at the University of Richmond during a ceremony inside Orange High Gymnasium on Thursday afternoon. Montague has spent the bulk of her high school career playing with the North Carolina Courage’ Academy in Cary. This fall, Montague played goalkeeper for the North Carolina Courage’s U-18/19 squad in the U.S. Soccer Girls DA Cup. She tallied a clean sheet. In the Courage’s 1-0 win over FC Virginia. So far this fall, Montague has started four games in net for the Courage. In September, she earned another clean sheet as the Courage defeated Weston FC 1-0 in Raleigh. Most recently, Montague earned a win as the Courage defeated the Cincinnati Development Academy 2-0 in Pineville. Montague will suit up for the Spiders starting next fall and become the latest women’s soccer product from Hillsborough to advance to the next level. That list includes former Orange High star Kayla Hodges, now at Elon University; Jordan Rogers, now at William Peace University; Taylin Jean, a goalkeeper at Limestone College who graduated from Cedar Ridge, and Brittany Daley, another Cedar Ridge graduate now at Greensboro College. 

785 days. That’s the amount of time Cedar Ridge varsity football waited for a win.

In fact, the heartache went deeper on several levels. On August 18, 2017, Cedar Ridge defeated Carrboro 21-6, but the game was stopped late in the second quarter. Though there was little doubt the Red Wolves would still defeat the Jaguars that night, you had to go all the way back to November 4, 2016 to find the last time Cedar Ridge won a game that lasted all four quarters.

That win was against Northern Vance, a school that no longer exists.

On October 11, Cedar Ridge was due. In particular, it was a special night for seniors Bradon Thompson, Braxton Mergenthal, Zach Holmes, K.J. Barnes, Brandon Poteat, Jai’Keel Gibbs and Matthew Hinton. It was Homecoming against Chapel Hill.

As tough as Cedar Ridge’s 1-10 season in 2019 ended up being, it wasn’t nearly as painful as the year before.

That’s because, in 2018, the varsity Red Wolves varsity didn’t play at all.

The deceit, staff turnover, player turnover and stress from that decision has been told time and again in this space. It not only hurt Cedar Ridge in football, but none of the other men’s athletic teams at Cedar Ridge made the state playoffs in 2018-19. It’s doubtful that was a coincidence.

Any or all of Cedar Ridge’s seven seniors could have elected to leave in the summer of 2018. No one would have blamed them. Five of their teammates did. But those seniors remained and they started to see the fruit of their courageousness pay off against Chapel Hill.

Cedar Ridge would defeat Chapel Hill 20-19 behind 190 yards and three touchdowns from sophomore running back Isaiah McCambry.

Cedar Ridge spent much of the game playing catch up. Chapel Hill’s Caleb Clegg opened the scoring with a 5-yard touchdown run. Tyler Roberts extra point bolted the Tigers ahead 7-0.

McCabry scored his first touchdown on a 53-yard run late in the first half.

Chapel Hill opened the second half with a 75-yard touchdown drive. Jaylen Mitchell scored off a two-yard touchdown run, but the extra point failed.

Barnes returned the opening kickoff of the second half 40 yards. McCambry rumbled up the middle for a four-yard touchdown run to cut Chapel Hill’s lead to 13-12.

Clegg struck pay dirt for the second time midway through the third quarter. With Chapel Hill leading 19-12, McCambry scored his third touchdown with a 36-yard burst up the middle. Cedar Ridge Coach Torrean Hinton didn’t hesitate on the extra point, sending out his offense for a two-point conversion.

Instead of going to McCambry, the Red Wolves ran a trick play. Quarterback Willam Berger faked a handoff to McCambry, instead sending the ball to Barnes, who ran an end-around. He had the entire end of the field to himself and scored untouched into the left corner of the end zone to give Cedar Ridge a 20-19 lead with four minutes remaining.

The Tigers managed to drive into Cedar Ridge territory late, but junior Desi Raspberry broke up a late pass attempt. A desperation field goal attempt came up short for the Tigers and Cedar Ridge finally savored a long-awaited taste of victory on their Homecoming night.

The 2013-2016 years of Orange baseball could be labeled the Wilson/Debo era.

The period that followed that have been the Berini/Cooper era.

Joey Berini and Cooper Porter each started their varsity careers on March 1, 2017 in a 6-0 win over Riverside in Hillsborough. Berini started at shortstop, Porter entered as a courtesy runner. Ironically, Porter started at shortstop in the next game at Jordan, the only time in his career that Berini didn’t start. Since then, Berini has been Orange’s starting shortstop for 69 consecutive games.

After beginning their high school careers together, Berini and Cooper took the next step in their respective baseball journey on Friday afternoon at Orange High Gymnasium.

Now, they have to prepare for the very likely possibility they’ll be opposing each other in college.

Porter, who committed to N.C. State shortly after his freshman season, formally signed with the Wolfpack.

“I just felt like State was the best option,” Porter said. “It’s in the ACC. It’s close to home. It felt more like home to me when I went on my visit.”

Berini signed with East Carolina, where he committed last spring. He was courted by UNC, UNC Asheville, Western Carolina, UNC Greensboro and North Carolina Central, among others.

“I’ve always wanted to (play college baseball),” Berini said. “I guess I knew when I started getting some (college recruiting) looks that I could play in college. It’s always been my dream to play in college and I’ve worked towards that.”

Berini was named the Big 8 Conference Player of the Year in 2018. He led the Panthers in five offensive categories with a .541 batting average, 35 runs scored, 33 hits, 12 doubles and four triples. He was third on the team with 26 RBIs.

As Berini prepares for his senior year, his younger brother is set to take over his long-held spot in the Orange infield. Jackson Berini is a shortstop at Stanford Middle School. Jackson hit leadoff with the Chargers last season, where they captured the Orange-Person Athletic Conference Northern Division championship.

N.C. State coach Elliott Avent wasted no time with a scholarship offer after Porter’s freshman year, when he played four different positions, including four appearances on the mound. Wolfpack coaches maintained contact with Porter while he played on the Showcase summer circuit with Canes Central.

“They reached out immediately to me,” Porter said. “They came to all my tournaments and stayed in contact with me more than the other coaches did.”

Berini and Cooper started as freshmen just as the program was in the midst of change. At the time, they had no idea the biggest transformation was yet to come.

After leading Orange to four consecutive Big 8 Conference championships, Bryse Wilson and Brad Debo had just graduated in 2016. Wilson was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the fourth round of the Major League Baseball Draft days after he turned his tassel at the Smith Center. Debo was en route to N.C. State.

Berini and Porter learned on the job in their freshmen year as Orange started 9-11. They reached the postseason and had a remarkable run, beating South Johnston in Four Oaks 4-2. The following Friday, the Panthers pulled a 2-1 upset over Southern Lee in Sanford, despite being held to four hits and six baserunners. Porter had the game-winning hit with an RBI single to score Dalton Brown in the 2nd inning.

The following Tuesday in Shallotte, Orange was two outs away from another upset against West Brunswick, leading 1-0 in the seventh inning. Berini scored Orange’s only run off a groundout by Caige Clayton. In the 7th, West Brunswick’s Garrison Gause launched a solo homer to centerfield just beyond the extended glove of Jayden Poteat to tie the game, only the second home run hit in the Trojan’s spacious ballpark the entire year. It was something that was more than poetic.

Gause’s father died the week before from cancer. The Trojans won 2-1 in eight innings.

In their sophomore season, Orange defeated Jacksonville 6-2 in the state playoffs. Porter had an RBI double to score Poteat in the opening inning as Orange roared out to a 6-0 lead. It was Orange’s seven consecutive year with a postseason win, tying Southeast Guilford for the longest streak in 3A baseball.

It was also be Dean Dease’s final one.

The following month, Dease retired after winning 504 games in 34 years.

Berini and Porter helped new Coach Jason Knapp usher in another Panther era in 2019, where they finished second in the Big 8.

Berini and Porter weren’t the only members of Orange’s 2019 squad to sign with a college team this week. On Wednesday, former Cedar Ridge and Orange infielder Dante DeFranco signed with Charlotte. DeFranco’s commitment to the 49ers was reported on Hillsboroughsports.com last month.

Shortly after his freshman season ended at Orange in 2017, Cooper Porter committed to N.C. State. On Friday, Porter officially signed with the Wolfpack during a ceremony at Orange High gymnasium. Porter has been the ultimate utility man for the Panthers from the time he started as a freshman. He’s played 3rd base, left field, centerfield, catcher, and pitcher. Last year, he was Orange’s 2nd day starter in the rotation, he went 3-0 with a 2.21 ERA in 12 appearances. He also earned two saves. At the plate, Porter hit .355 with 22 hits. He was second on the team with 28 RBIs. Porter has spoken with an Orange High graduate, Brad Debo, about possibly attending N.C. State. He will play under Coach Elliott Avent in Raleigh. But first, Porter hopes to help Orange to its first Big 8 Conference Championship since 2015. 

Joey Berini was the Big 8 Conference Player of the Year in 2018. His performance with Orange and his summer travel team, the Cubs, led to him signing with East Carolina University during a ceremony at Orange High Gymnasium on Thursday afternoon. Berini has been a starter at shortstop for Orange since his freshman season, when he helped the Panthers make an improbable run to the 3rd round of the 3A State Playoffs. Last year, led Orange in five offensive categories, including a .541 batting average, 35 runs scored, 33 hits, 26 RBIs, 12 doubles and four RBIs as Orange finished 14-6 and claimed an automatic spot in the state playoffs. Berini has a career batting average of .383 with 79 career hits and he ventures into his senior season with Orange. As a sophomore, Berini hit .369 with 24 hits and 16 RBIs. 

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.

The Cedar Ridge women’s cross country team was the only local representatives at the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s 3A State Championship meet at Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville on November 2.

Unlike last year, the Cedar Ridge women didn’t qualify as a team. Instead, three Red Wolf runners reached the state meet based on their individual finishes at the Mideast Regional Championships at Northwood High School on October 26.

Junior Anne Morrell finishes with the fastest time among Cedar Ridge runners with a time of 19:41.50, good enough for 35th place. Last year, Morrell ran the same course at 20:11.33.

The other two Cedar Ridge runners also improved from their times at the Redmon Complex from 2018.

Sophomore Zoe Wade came in 74th at 20:35.61. Last year, Wade finished 101st with a time of 21:37.10.

Wade’s classmate, Ruby Lapham, finished 84th with a time of 20:50.28. In 2018, Lapham came in 113th at 21:50.78.

All three runners had personal bests times.

The state championships completed a grueling postseason stretch that started with the Big 8 Conference Championships, which was held on October 19 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. Morrell finished tenth in the Big 8 Championships, the highest among runners outside of Chapel Hill.

Morrell won a sprint to the finish line to edge East Chapel Hill’s Sara Oren for a spot in top ten. Senior Allison Musty finished 15th and joined Morrell on the All-Big 8 Conference team.

“Allison had a great race,” said Cedar Ridge women’s coach Paul Lockwood. “This was her type of race. The weather’s cooler. It’s nice out. You can’t always have nice weather. Anne had a great day and ran really well.”

In addition, Lockwood was voted as the Big 8 Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year. Lockwood, who is in his second year, led the Cedar Ridge women to three dual match victories this year. Cedar Ridge also captured the Greensboro Cross Country Invitational race at Hagan State Park on September 28.

“It all goes back to the kids,” Lockwood said. “If I can’t have them, I don’t have anything. They’re awesome. I enjoy being around them. They work hard and I enjoy being around that.”

In addition to Morrell and Musty, Wade finished 16th at 20:36.60. Right behind her was teammate Ariadna Solis, who finished 17th. Junior Jill Myler came in 18th.

The top Orange finisher in the women’s race was junior Ava Zinn, who crossed the finish line 28th with a time of 21:56.70.

In the men’s race, Cedar Ridge senior Noah Draughon finished 17th with a time of 17:47.30. The Red Wolves Drew Gillespie came in 28th at 18:12.80.

Orange senior Bennett Flemming finished 24th at 18:09.50.

At the Mideast Regionals, the Cedar Ridge women’s team finished 5th among 15 teams. Morrell came in 12th at 20:16.14. Last year at the regionals, Morrell finished 19th at 20:26.21. Wade came in 24th, while Musty finished 28th.

Orange’s Zinn came in 49th at 22:43.13. Senior Hailey Bullard, in her final race, finished 58th.

In the men’s race, Orange’s Flemming was the highest finisher among Hillsborough runners, finishing 32nd.

Levi Draughon came in 34th for Cedar Ridge. Noah Draughon finished 42nd.

The celebratory Gatorade Shower celebration dates back to 1984 when the New York Giants doused head coach Bill Parcells after following a victory over Washington.

That means the celebration is so dated, it’s doubtful that Orange women’s tennis coach Justin Webb was born the first time Harry Carson doused his boss 39 years ago. And it’s a certainty none of Webb’s players were around to see it, especially his top singles player, sophomore Jera Hargrove

On September 23, when Orange defeated Cedar Ridge 5-4 at Red Wolves Tennis Courts, it led to the first Gatorade Shower celebration in Orange women’s tennis history.

And a Ice Dump to that for Coach pic.twitter.com/l0z8Lig95c— OHSPantherTennis (@OrangeHSTennis) September 23, 2019

It was Orange’s first win over Cedar Ridge in women’s tennis since the Red Wolves joined the Big 8 Conference in 2013.

The match also continue a series of great matches between Hargraves and Cedar Ridge’s top singles player, senior Olivia Ward. It would carry over to the Mideast Regionals in October, but on this day Hargrove defeated Ward 6-2, 6-7 (5-7) and 10-4 in the #1 single match.

“It makes me feel really good. Olivia beat me both times my freshman year,” Hargrove said. “She beat me the previous time we played this season.”

In a summer where Coco Gauff became the sport’s newest sensation after making a run to the fourth round of Wimbledon, Hargrove watched from afar with admiration. Hargrove is exactly two days older than Gauff.

“Hopefully one day that can be me,” Hargrove said. “She’s a prodigy and she’s the same age as me. I was born March 11 and she was born March 13.”

Orange won four of the six singles matches. In addition to Hargrove, junior Emma Williamson, Lindsey Jouannet and Halle Boroski all claimed wins. In fact, Boroski had her own three set match against Cedar Ridge senior Karen Alvarez, which ended 6-2, 5-7 and 14-12 (10-point tiebreaker).

With Orange leading 4-2, the dual match came down to three doubles matches. Ward and Nora Sauers reduce Orange’s lead to 4-3 with a tight 8-6 win at #3 doubles. Cedar Ridge’s Brianna Cellini and Mary-Hunter Millet won 8-4 to even the match.

Jouannet and Sydney Allison clinched the match for Orange with an 8-2 victory at #3 doubles, leading to a joyous ride back to the other end of Hillsborough.

But first, Webb got doused.

Jouannet won two matches on the day.

“I think we were just ready to finally beat our rival,” Jouannet said. “It’s been a long time. A lot of the seniors helped pump us up, too, to get us ready and get the win.”

It would turn out to be a strong season for the Orange women’s tennis team overall. The Panthers finished with its first winning record since 2013, at least. After the Cedar Ridge win, the Lady Panthers edged Person 5-4. They ended the year 11-8 after beating J.F. Webb, Northern Durham and Roxboro Community School to end the dual team match season.

Hargrove would go on to qualify for the 3A Mideast Regionals, where she reached the second round. Once again, she would face Ward, a story you’ll read more about in the coming days.

The Orange men’s basketball team is eleven days away from starting its season against Northern Guilford in Greensboro. Over the weekend, the Panthers started its exhibition slate with a jamboree at West Johnston High School in Benson. The Panthers have an array of outside shooters this year, including Jerec Thompson and J.J. Thompson. Center Nigel Slanker started practicing with the squad on Tuesday after football season officially ended. Enjoy some highlights from Orange’s scrimmage at West Johnston from Thompson Team Films.com right here!

The fall sports season for Hillsborough middle schools ended with two local team appearing in the Orange-Person Athletic Conference Championship games.

On October 30, Southern Middle School led Stanford 14-0 in the OPAC Football Championship game in Roxboro. The game was stopped a few minutes into the third quarter after Stanford linebacker Jeremy Morrow suffered a concussion following a hard hit. According to Kelly Snow of PersonCountySportsNow.com, one of Southern’s assistant coaches is an ER nurse who treated Morrow immediately. After staying at Duke Children’s Hospital for one night, Morrow was released and returned home. Stanford ends the year 5-3.

On the same day, the Gravelly Hill football team defeated the Stanback Bulldogs 16-6 to conclude its season. Maliky Poole opened the scoring with a 20-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Derick Yanko. On the subsequent 2-point conversion, Yanko scored to push the Grizzlies lead to 8-0.

Gravelly’s other touchdown came when Yanko threw to Mason Cates. Yanko added another 2-point run on the point after.

Running back Tyler Fields had a strong all-around game for the Grizzlies. He had several strong runs on offense and made big tackles on defense as a linebacker.

In addition to his touchdown, Cates had an interception, a fumble recovery and several big tackles on defense. Christian Moore also had a solid day for the Grizzlies to conclude the season at 3-4.

Boy’s Soccer: The Gravelly Hill boys soccer team claimed its 3rd straight OPAC Northern Division championship when they defeated Phillips 5-1. Nathan Sorrells had a hat trick for the Grizzlies, while Konnor Johnson and Carson Condon each scored for the Grizzlies. Smith Middle School defeated the Grizzlies for the OPAC Championship.

Also in the final week of October, the Stanback Bulldogs defeated Stanford 4-0 to conclude its season. It was a special night for the Stanback 8th graders who won its final home game. The Bulldogs were coached by J.P. Joubert and Mary-Kathryn Scheppegrell.

Kevin Wright: In Sunday’s Alumni Update, we didn’t include Kevin Wright’s latest game because he was erroneously reported as having not played during North Carolina Wesleyan’s game against Huntingdon on Saturday. In fact, Wright did play as Wesleyan won 23-7 at Samford Stadium in Montgomery, AL. Wright was credited with three tackles as the Battling Bishops improved to 5-4 overall, 4-2 in the USA South Athletic Conference. Wesleyan will conclude its season against Maryville on Senior Day in Rocky Mount on Saturday.

Finally, last week during a column I wrote regarding the Chapel Hill-Orange rivalry, I mentioned that Orange High School never received a golden football from the National Football League despite the fact that 1993 Orange graduate Alvis Whitted had played in Super Bowl XXXVII for the Oakland Raiders against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That was incorrect. In fact, Orange did receive a gold football from the NFL in 2016 for the 50th anniversary of the Super Bowl and is, in fact, in the trophy case outside the Orange High Gymnasium. I apologize to the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell for the error.

Speaking of which, Whitted is now the wide receivers coach for the Green Bay Packers. Whitted left Colorado State last year and joined the Packers over the summer. He actually started he coaching career at Orange before reaching the college ranks.