Month: November 2019

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is quarterback Wyatt Jones. In his final football game on Friday night, Jones threw for two touchdowns as Orange defeated Chapel Hill 30-6 at Auman Stadium. Jones was one of 21 seniors honored before the game. He came out throwing tap passes to wide receivers Zyon Pettiford and Cam White. To conclude the opening drive of the game, White carried around left end for a 17-yard touchdown, his first of the year. Jones also threw to Elliott Woods on a 44-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. Wyatt was joined by classmate Joe Kiger and offensive line coach Eric Stephens for this interview. In his final two games in an Orange football uniform, Jones threw for two touchdowns each in games against Cedar Ridge and Chapel Hill. Kiger had a career-high five receptions against Cedar Ridge. Jones’ athletic career at Orange is far from done. He will spend the winter getting ready for the start of lacrosse season in February. 

It’s official, the whole conference outside of Clemson is bad. Even Wake Forest, who I believed in with all my heart, let me down in Blacksburg. And Louisville, just as I thought you were on the rise, I see your most recent outcome. Anyways, here we go. 

Note: Since Duke did not play a conference game, they do not get analysis for their performance against Notre Dame.

Note 2: For basketball predictions, I’m just going to pick a few games that I find interesting for the upcoming week. 

Virginia

It wasn’t pretty for the Hoos, but a 5 point win over Georgia Tech is a win nonetheless, and they are a win against Virginia Tech away from their first ever ACC Championship game appearance. They have a tune-up game against Liberty next week to prepare for what will inevitably be a tough battle with the Hokies the final week of the season.

Virginia Tech

Like Virginia, the Hokies control their own destiny in their effort for an ACC Championship game appearance. The Tech defense locked down Wake Forest quarterback Jamie Newman, and Deshawn McClease’s two touchdown carries led a dominant rushing attack for the Hokies. It seems like Virginia Tech is finally hitting their groove at the right time. 

Florida State

Didn’t expect to see these guys in the winner’s circle this week, but alas, here they are. The 38-31 win over Boston College is big for Florida State as that likely secured them bowl eligibility with FCS Alabama State up next. Now, the real question for FSU now is who their next head coach will be. If it’s Deion Sanders, I will laugh harder than I have my entire life.

Miami

Miami is good! A dominating victory over what has been a surprisingly solid Louisville team seems to show that with Jarren Williams becoming a better passer day by day, and with tailback Deejay Dallas right there for OC Dan Enos to lean on when things are tough, it seems the Miami offense is good enough to win football games. This is something that wasn’t there for Miami in early season losses to Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia Tech. It’s there now, and Miami is going to be dangerous down the stretch because of it. 

Clemson

After the playoff committee decided to put Clemson at number 5 in their initial rankings, Clmeson decided they had something to prove, and boy did they play like it. With Dabo already not liking Dave Doeren, this was shaping up to be a blowout for a week and the Tigers could have easily beaten NC State much worse than by the 45 point margin they did. Clemson is really good, and State is really bad, that’s all there is to it.

Wake Forest

Sigh, Wake Forest was just asleep all day against Virginia Tech, and in a place that’s as hard to win in as Lane Stadium, if you aren’t on your A game you aren’t going to win. With a game against Clemson next week likely to knock them out of the Top 25, the Wake Forest Orange Bowl dream seems to be slipping away.

Boston College

If only the Eagles defense could be as good as their offense has been, with the most recent negative result coming at home against Florida State. This has been a weird season for a Steve Addazio coached team, hopefully the Eagles can steal a win against either Notre Dame or Pitt and snag a bowl bid. That Kansas loss from early on looks worse and worse by the day. 

Louisville

Defense wins championships, and that is why Louisville won’t be winning any championships this season. Giving up 52 points to Miami, regardless of how highly I think of Miami right now, is embarassing. Javian Hawkins is still super fun to watch though, so at least Louisville had that going for them this past Saturday.

Georgia Tech

Yep, they lost again. That being said, the Jackets are getting better and better every week. They played UVa at Scott Stadium better than anybody else has this season, and I think that speaks to how well Geoff Collins is doing in instilling that drive into these GT players. Tech could have easily just given up after the loss to The Citadel, but they kept fighting, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see the Yellow Jackets get a third win on the season over their last 3 games here. 

NC State

Everybody is injured, all 3 quarterbacks are bad, and the coaching staff has no idea what to do right now. All these things lead to bad football, and I know they were playing Clemson, but they were flat out embarrassed at home. I think Doeren definitely gets at least one more year after this one due to the circumstances he was dealing with, but I don’t exactly blame State fans for being sick of him right now. 

Football Power Rankings1. Clemson, duh.2. Virginia3. Virginia Tech4. Wake Forest5. Miami6. North Carolina7. Pitt8. Louisville9. Florida State10. Boston College11. Duke12. Georgia Tech13. NC State14. Syracuse

Football Predictions

North Carolina at Pitt: North Carolina 31-28

Alabama State at Florida State: Florida State 42-14

Wake Forest at Clemson: Clemson, 49-20

Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech: Virginia Tech, 28-24

Syracuse at Duke: Duke, 30-17

Louisville at NC State: Louisville, 38-27

Last week’s predictions: 3-3

Season total: 19-15

Basketball Power Rankings1. North Carolina2. Duke3. Virginia4. Louisville5. Florida State6. NC State7. Miami8. Syracuse9. Notre Dame10. Pitt11. Georgia Tech12. Virginia Tech13. Boston College14. Clemson15. Wake Forest

Basketball Predictions

Miami at UCF: Miami, 75-70

Colgate at Syracuse: Syracuse, 67-55

Marshall at Notre Dame: Notre Dame, 78-65

West Virginia at Pitt: West Virginia, 82-76

Belmont at Boston College: Belmont, 71-66

Wake Forest at Charlotte: Charlotte, 61-59

A three-game winning streak to end the season wasn’t enough for the Orange football team to make the state playoffs this year.

The Panthers were omitted from the 3A and 3AA state playoff brackets released by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association on Saturday afternoon.

Orange’s final MaxPreps ranking was #68.

Of Orange’s five wins, three of them came against teams ranked among the bottom eleven of 3A football (there are 109 football teams in 3A). The Panthers didn’t beat any teams that made the state playoffs.

Judging from the final 3A brackets, Orange appeared to have been the fourth team left out of the field. E.E. Smith, ranked #65, was the last team to get in. Ranked one spot ahead of Orange was Walter Williams, who the Panthers defeated 21-13 in Hillsborough on September 13.

In the end, Orange only played two nonconference teams that made the playoffs. Riverside, who finished 8-3 and in a three-way tie for 2nd in the Triangle 8 Conference, received a 9-seed in the 4A tournament.

South Granville, who held off Orange 20-15 on September 6, won the championship of the Northern Carolina 2A/1A Conference and also ended up 8-3. The Vikings will be in the 2AA State Tournament and opens with North Lenoir in Creedmoor.

R.J. Reynolds, who defeated Orange 47-24 in the season opener, missed the 4A state playoffs, which has 48 teams. The Demons finished 3-8.

After making the state playoffs for seven straight seasons from 2011-17, the Panthers will watch the postseason from home for the second year in a row.

At the end of Friday night’s 30-6 win over Chapel Hill, the Orange coaches planned to have practice on Monday despite their playoff future being murky, at best. On Saturday, that practice was canceled at plans were made to collect equipment on Tuesday.

“I’m proud of how, after a disappointing season last year for a variety of reasons, this group of seniors kind of got everybody together and refocused them during the offseason,” Orange Coach Van Smith said on Friday night. “We didn’t get as many wins as we wanted. But most of the losses we had were were in the games and competitive and had our chances. If a couple of things go our way, a turnover here or there…a penalty here or there…a lot of those game could have turned out different. I think finishing near .500 was a big improvement from one year to the next.”

The two teams who received the Big 8 Conference’s two automatic bids each have home games this Friday night. Southern Durham, who won its first Big 8 Conference Championship since 2014 after going 7-0 in the league, will host Gray’s Creek. The Spartans received a 3-seed in the 3AA State Tournament. Gray’s Creek was one of the six teams to make the playoffs from the 4A/3A Patriot Athletic Conference. The Bears finished 7-4, 4-4 in the PAC.

Northern Durham, who ended the year with six consecutive wins, also wound up in the 3AA State Tournament. The Knights received an 8-seed and will host Southern Alamance at Durham County Stadium on Friday night.

Vance County was the final team from he Big 8 to make the playoffs. The Vipers were placed in the 3A State Tournament and received a 9-seed. They will travel to Northern Nash.

Keshawn Thompson: The Campbell Fighting Camels of the Football Championship Subdivision suffered its first Big South Conference loss of the season to #11 Kennesaw State, 38-35, at Barker-Lane Stadium in Buies Creek on Saturday. Thompson, who wasn’t credited for a tackle last week against North Alabama, made a career-high seven tackles against the Owls. A redshirt sophomore, Thompson had five tackles in a season-opening loss to Troy of the Sun Belt Conference. Campbell is 6-3 overall, 3-1 in the Sun Belt Conference. They return to action against Monmouth next Saturday.

Payton Wilson: #4 Clemson defeated N.C. State 55-10 at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh Saturday night. Wilson, a redshirt freshman, left the game with a sprained left shoulder in the 2nd quarter and didn’t return. Wilson had two tackles up to that point. He emerged from the locker room with his left arm in a sling on the sidelines during the 2nd half. After the game, Wolfpack Coach Dave Doeren said he didn’t know how long Wilson would be out. N.C. State has three games remaining, starting with Louisville next Saturday in Raleigh.

Trenton Gill: Against Clemson, Gill had five punts for an average of 52.2 yards per punt. On a brisk night, his longest was 75 yards. Three of the punts were over 50 yards, two were downed inside the 20-yard line and one was a touchback. Gill also had three kickoffs, one of which was a touchback.

Adam Chnupa: The FCS Elon Phoenix’s hopes making the FCS playoffs took a drastic hit on Saturday after losing 31-17 to Maine at Rhodes Stadium in Elon. Chnupa, redshirt freshman, played special teams for Elon, who falls to 4-6, 3-4 in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Rodney Brooks: In CIAA action on Saturday, Fayetteville State defeated Livingston 32-0 at Alumni Memorial Stadium in Salisbury. Brooks, who suited up for Livingstone, had three tackles, including one for a loss. Brooks is classified as a junior, according to the Livingstone website. The Blue Bears haven’t scored in eight quarters and have lost five straight. They’re 4-5 overall, 1-5 in the CIAA. They conclude the season next week against Johnston C. Smith in Salisbury next week.

Chandler Compton: After four years on the Wofford men’s soccer team, Compton’s college career came to an end on Friday night. The Terriers lost to Mercer 3-0 in the opening round of the Southern Conference Tournament at Stone Soccer Stadium in Greenville, S.C. Wofford finished the year 4-13-1. Compton played in two games. He played 17 games in his Wofford career. He scored one goal in 2018 against VMI.

Lionel Reid-Shaw: The college career of Lionel Reid-Shaw also ended on Saturday. Division III Johns Hopkins defeated Dickinson 2-0 in the semifinals of the Centennial Conference Tournament at Franklin & Marshall University in Lancaster, PA. Reid-Shaw scored his only college goal last week in his final home game against Muhlenberg. Reid-Shaw concludes his career with the Red Devils with 67 games played. He started 45 with one goal and one assist. Dickinson ends the year 10-8.

Taylin Jean: The Division II Limestone Saints women’s soccer team defeated North Greenville University 2-1 in the opening round of the Conference Carolinas Tournament on Saturday at Saints Field in Gaffney, S.C. Jean started at goalkeeper for the Saints and earned the win after she made three saves. Limestone, who is a #4 seed in the tournament, will face regular season champion Mount Olive on Thursday in the semifinals.

Brittany Daley: The season of the Division III Greensboro College women’s soccer team ended in the semifinals of the USA South Athletic Conference on Friday. Covenant College defeated Greensboro 3-1 on penalty kicks after the two sides played to a scoreless tie in regulation. Greensboro lost despite outshooting the Scots 22-3 in regulation. As she has done every game this season, Daley started at center back for the Pride. Daley didn’t attempt a penalty during the shootout. Greensboro, which went undefeated in the regular season last year only to lose in the USA South Conference Tournament and were denied a trip to the Division III National Tournament, end the year 13-4-2. Daley, a sophomore, started all 19 games for the Pride.

Bailey Lucas: The Division III Meredith volleyball team had its season come to an end in the USA South Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals on Friday. Maryville defeated Methodist 3-1 in the USA South semifinals at the Grant Center in Danville, VA. Lucas started again for Meredith and finished with 25 assists, eleven digs, and one kill. In the quarterfinals, Meredith defeated William Peace 3-1 at Weatherspoon Gym in Raleigh on Wednesday. Lucas started and had 28 assists, 10 digs and one kill. Meredith ends the year 20-9. Lucas was 2nd on the team this season with 267 assists.

Icez Barnett: The Division II Chowan women’s basketball team had an exhibition game against Gardner-Webb last week. The Running Bulldogs won 69-33. Barnett came off the bench and played three minutes. She grabbed one rebound. The Hawks will officially start its season on Friday against North Georgia in Dahlonega, GA.

Lauren Cates: Wake Tech Community College improved to 2-0 on the season with a 117-24 win over Fayetteville Technical Community College at Reid Ross Gymnasium in Fayetteville on Wednesday night. Cates scored 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field, including 3-of-7 from 3-point range. Cates also had three rebounds, three steals and two assists. On Saturday, the Eagles suffered its first loss of the season to South Carolina-Salkehatchie 58-50. Statistics from that game weren’t immediately available.

On Friday, the Orange men’s basketball team had the official start of basketball season with the Season Tip-Off Celebration at Panther Gymnasium. It included a slam dunk competition, which was won by senior Joey McMullin. Interestingly, there were more converted dunks during the men’s 15-minute scrimmage than there was during the actual slam dunk contest. The event also featured a three-point shootout. The men’s contest was captured by Jerec Thompson, who drained 16 3-pointers in a 1-minute span. The women’s basketball 3-point shootout was won by Aaliyah Harris. The Orange men and women will start their respective seasons on Friday, November 21 at Northern Guilford. The women will start at 6 against the Nighthawks.  The men’s game will follow 15 minutes afterward. The Orange men and women will have its home opener on Tuesday, December 3 against Granville Central. Once again, the women will start at 6 and the men’s game will follow. 

by Tim Hackett

Everything had led to this. All the hard work, the long hours, the grueling drills, the tough losses, they all built up to one more moment: Friday’s regular season finale, which meant one more chance for the Cedar Ridge players to go out and compete after a year without football. One more chance to strap ‘em up with your teammates and play together. One more chance to play spoiler and uproot a conference rival’s strong season. One more chance to prove to others – and themselves – that they belong. 

Instead, Vance County quickly proved why they might be a legitimate force in the 3A playoffs in just the second year of this version of the school. A Viper team that averaged close to 33 points and just shy of 400 yards of offense in the first ten games of the 2019 season easily surpassed both of those lofty marks in their regular season finale, as Vance County (9-2, 5-2 Big 8) dominated its first-ever meeting with Cedar Ridge (1-10, 1-6) 65-6 on Friday night in Henderson. 

The Red Wolves picked up one first down and then punted on their first possession, and once the Vipers got the ball, they swiftly showcased that elite offense that’s helped them dominate nearly every team they’ve played this season save for the two Big 8 teams from Durham. Against this team from Hillsborough, Vance County scored eight touchdowns on eight offensive possessions before taking knees on their final one, and even scored once on a defensive possession, and barely allowed Cedar Ridge to cross midfield until the waning minutes of the game. Quarterback Samein Burwell, who averages more total yards of offense per game individually than Cedar Ridge does as a team, authored one more chapter in the story of his electrifying senior season, throwing for three touchdowns in the first half and eclipsing the 3000 total yard mark with another standout all-around performance.

Noah Terry, one of the conference’s best two-way players, scored four total touchdowns, two on the ground and two through the air. Davonte Evans rushed for two scores. Top wideout Phadol Jordan found the end zone on both sides of the ball, including a 60-yard fumble recovery for six in the first quarter. Burwell hit Jordan for two two-point conversions and hit William Hawkins IV for two more. Even backup quarterback Saimir Best got in on the action, scoring a 32-yard touchdown and a two-point conversion for his first trip to the end zone since Vance County’s fourth game of the season. 

The Vipers players and fans who braved the sub-40-degree temperatures got to see plenty of great plays, but they were never louder than they were late in the first quarter. Phadol Jordan had just put the game beyond any doubt with his fumble recovery to make it 28-0 in the first period, but Vance County kicker Stephanie Melgar added in some history by knocking through the PAT. Vance County’s first made kick of the season was made by the conference’s only regular female player, and the Senior Night crowd gave the soccer veteran some much-deserved appreciation. 

It was always going to be a difficult task for a Cedar Ridge team once again playing without a few regulars to contain a truly elite offense, but the Vipers, also working without a few key players, still showcased a solid defense and didn’t have to worry about poor special teams play on this night. Those latter two phases could be problematic for Vance County once they hit the playoffs, but if the Viper offense plays as close to as well as it played Friday, it’s tough to imagine many teams slowing them down.  

But even in the worst, most lopsided loss in a season full of them, the Cedar Ridge players once again showcased their resolve, tenacity, heart and desire to compete. It’s not easy to look back and say that Vance County was simply a far better team than Cedar Ridge and played like it. It would have been easy for Cedar Ridge, knowing that fact, to just give up or not even try. But try they did. Sure, the Vipers still executed, but that’s a testament to Vance County’s skill level. The manner in which the Cedar Ridge players comported themselves, in this tough game and all throughout this tough season, is a testament to their coaches, their families, and to their own characters. 

And the Red Wolves got to put up a few highlights of their own on the field as well. Zach Holmes completed another fake punt pass. His brother Toby Holmes handled the punting duties in the second half and looked pretty solid. KJ Barnes was Cedar Ridge’s best player in his final football game, turning multiple catches along the line of scrimmage into double-digit gains. Braedon Thompson, like usual, made a bunch of stops, even in the fourth quarter. And once the Red Wolves finally got into the red zone with the running clock winding down, Braxton Mergenthal got to add one final moment to his stellar senior season, running the ball in around right tackle from three yards out for his first career touchdown. One of the guys who helped to lay the foundation for Cedar Ridge’s return to football relevance got one more moment to remember, and on a cold night a long way from home, Cedar Ridge finally had cause to celebrate.

While it’s impossible for a whole season to be played in one night, Orange’s Senior night game against Chapel Hill sure felt like you could.

In an interminable two hours and 57 minutes, the Panthers defeated the Tigers 30-6 at a frigid Auman Stadium in Hillsborough. The Panthers (5-6, 3-3 in the Big 8 Conference) ended the regular season on a three-game winning streak on a bizarre night.

In terms of completion percentage, Orange senior Wyatt Jones had the best night of his career in his final home game. Jones used early tap passes to classmates Zyon Pettiford and Cam White to score on the opening possession. He finished 9-of-15 for 154 yards and two touchdowns.

“We add little wrinkles as the season goes along,” said Orange Coach Van Smith. “(Offensive coordinator) Coach (Marty) Scotten has added it in lately. It was something that worked early and it opened up some other things, too.”

Junior Elliott Woods added 80 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Now Orange will sit back and wait for Saturday when the North Carolina High School Athletic Association releases the brackets for the eight state championship tournaments. Going into Friday night, Orange had a #68 ranking from MaxPreps among 3A teams.

Orange finished the decade 9-0 against Chapel Hill, and its unlikely the two schools will be on each other’s Christmas card lists next month. In an heated battle marred by four separate instances of offsetting unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, the two teams combined for an ungodly 253 yards in penalties and one ejection (that’s not counting the personal foul penalties which offset). That led to a game that proceeded with glacial deliberation, one that nearly stretched past 10 p.m. in front of fans, cheerleaders and band members already bundled up with temperatures barely above freezing.

Fortunately, the Orange students in the “O Zone” were dressed for the occasion since it was deemed “camouflage night,” where the stands looked more appropriate for the Outdoor Channel than the NFL Channel.

That included an aiding the runner penalty in the first quarter when a Chapel Hill lineman yanked running back Tyler Woody up just as he was about to fall to the ground. In the second quarter, Orange’s chain crew got ejected over something someone said to the line judge. Orange Athletic Director Mike McCauley and baseball coach Jason Knapp had to brave the cold to handle the chains the rest of the night.

Orange scored on its first three possessions, then was stymied by Chapel Hill’s defense during the second and third quarters. After White scored his first touchdown of the season on a tap pass from Jones from 17 yards, Orange led 7-0.

Jones hit senior Joe Kiger with a 26-yard pass on a 4th-and-14 to break into the Tiger red zone. Junior Elliott Woods scored a six-yard touchdown on the following play.

After Chapel Hill had a misguided snap during a punt on its next possession, Nigel Slanker kicked his seventh field goal of the season, a 28-yarder to put Orange ahead 17-0 with 10:53 remaining in the second quarter.

Chapel Hill invaded the Orange red zone each of its next three possessions and failed to score. The Tigers were down to the Orange 3-yard line after sophomore Caleb Kelly threw to Kyhili Jones. On the next play, the snap went over Kelly’s head and was recovered by Orange’s Caulin Fansler.

Slanker was forced to punt after consecutive holding penalties against Orange. The Tigers took over from the Panther 38-yard line and drove 34 yards. Then Chapel Hill was hit with a delay of game and a false start. Kelly’s pass on fourth-and-goal from the 5-yard line sailed over Jones’ head.

Late in the first half, the Tigers got another chance when Kelly threw to Cameron Walker, who fumbled at the Orange 8-yard line. It was recovered by senior linebacker Owen Brimmer.

The Tigers had five turnovers. Seniors Zyon Pettiford, Machai Holt and Wyatt Jones all had interceptions in the second half. Another senior, Khaleb Smith, recovered a fumble on Chapel Hill’s final possession.

Tyler Woody scored the Tigers’ only touchdown on a six-yard run late in the third quarter.

Orange put the game away when Woods scored on a two-yard run on the first possession of the fourth quarter.

Jones later hooked up with Woods for a 44-yard touchdown pass. Woods finished the regular season with a team-high 18 receptions.

ORANGE 30, CHAPEL HILL 6

CHP–0 0 6 0-6

ORA–14 3 0 13-30

ORA—Cam White 17 pass from Wyatt Jones (Nigel Slanker kick)

ORA–Elliott Woods 6 run (Slanker kick)

ORA–Slanker 28 FG

CHP–Tyler Woody 6 run (kick failed)

ORA–Woods 2 run (Slanker kick)

ORA—Woods 44 pass from Jones (kick failed)

RUSHING: CHAPEL HILL 24-79 TD (Elijah Ayankoya 5-35, Caleb Kelley 7-21, #20 3-21, Khalil Jones 1-13, Woody 7-7 TD, Luke Roeber 1-(minus 18).

ORANGE—48-234 2 TD (Woods 14-80 2 TD, Omarion Lewis 17-74, Machai Holt 10-55, Joe Kiger 4-16, Courtney Edwards 1-5, Wyatt Jones 2-4)

PASSING: CHAPEL HILL 13-31 136 4 INT (Kelley 13-30 136 3 INT, Ayankoya 0-1 INT)

ORANGE: (Jones 9-15 154 2 TD INT)

RECEIVING: CHAPEL HILL (Jones 6-60, Cameron Kelly 4-34, Milad Aghaiepour 2-13, Roeber 1-11, Cameron Clegg 1-(minus 2))

ORANGE: (Woods 3-56 TD, Pettiford 3-49, White 2-23 TD, Kiger 1-26)

Orange senior defensive end Khaleb Smith played his final game at Auman Stadium on Friday night. He had a fumble recovery in the fourth quarter as the Panthers defeated Chapel Hill 30-6 to finish the season on a three-game winning streak. Smith was second on the team in tackles this season with 57. Entering Friday’s game, he was tied with classmate James McAdoo with 20 tackles for loss. On October 25, Smith made a huge interception to thwart a Northwood drive with the Chargers driving for a touchdown ahead 17-0. The Panthers would go on to win 31-30 in overtime. Smith played offense and defense the past two years. A big influence was Orange defensive line coach Eric Villines, who joined Khaleb on this interview. In a related note, Villines will become a grandfather next week, which will likely impact his ability to watch his beloved Dallas Cowboys. 

The Orange football team ended its regular season with a 30-6 win over Chapel Hill at Auman Stadium on Friday night. Senior wide receiver Zyon Pettiford tied his season-high of three receptions for 49 yards. In his final regular season game, Pettiford also had his first career interception. Orange’s Machai Holt ended his season with 55 rushing yards on ten carries. Holt had 337 rushing yards for eight touchdowns in the regular season. He also had 168 receiving yards for two touchdowns. Among the most memorable moments of Holt’s career will be the interception he had against Northwood two weeks ago, which led to him scoring the game-tying touchdown pass. Holt also scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime. Pettiford and Holt hope to play one more game together when the state playoff brackets are unveiled on Saturday morning.