Month: March 2021

Joey Berini: The former Orange High shortstop had his first college base hit for #11 East Carolina in its 11-10 win over North Carolina at Clarke-LeClair Field in Greenville on Tuesday night. Berini pinch-hit for Zach Agnos to lead off the 7th inning, when the Tar Heels were ahead 10-6. Berini reached on a single to left field. He advanced to second on a wild pitch with two out, but the inning ended after a flyout to centerfield. The Pirates rallied with five runs in the 8th and 9th innings to improve to 18-5.

Cooper Porter: On Saturday, Porter had the biggest day of his young college career in Pensacola State Junior College’s 15-5 win over Chipola College. Porter went 2-for-3 with 5 RBIs with a home run in the second game of a doubleheader. Chipola won the opening game 10-5. Porter went 1-for-3 in the opener. Last Thursday, Pensacola State defeated Chipola 8-4, where Porter went 1-for-4. Pensacola State Junior College’s baseball team defeated Tallahassee Community College 6-2 on Tuesday. Porter went 1-for-3 for the Pirates. He has increased his batting average to .250 and is now on a four-game hitting streak. Pensacola State is 14-13 overall, 4-2 in the Panhandle Conference.

Bailey Lucas: The Division III Meredith volleyball team split a doubleheader against Greensboro College on Saturday. Inside Hanes Gym in Greensboro, the Avenging Angels won the first match in five sets 25-22, 20-25, 25-21, 18-25, 16-14. Lucas started and finished with 31 assists, three kills and 12 digs. Greensboro won the final match 3-1 on scores of 25-19, 25-17, 25-27 and 25-23. Lucas also started the second match for the Avenging Angels and registered two kills, 19 assists and four digs. Meredith is 5-4 overall, 3-2 in the USA South Athletic Conference. They host Methodist on Saturday in its final two home matches of the regular season.

Grace Andrews: Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute swept a doubleheader from Catawba Valley Community College on Tuesday in Lenoir. Caldwell took the first game 5-1 and captured the nightcap 7-2. Playing shortstop for Catawba, Andrews went 2-for-3 with a walk in the opener. In the nightcap, Andrews finished 1-for-4 with a run scored. Andrews, who extended her hitting streak to five games, leads Catawba Valley with a .486 batting average. She also leads the team with 35 hits. Catawba Valley is 15-7. Caldwell Community College now leads Catawba Valley by two games for first place in the Western Division of Region 10 in the National Junior College Athletic Association.

Ivy Garner: Garner spent her freshman year at Cedar Ridge, where she was a part of the Red Wolves’ tennis and soccer teams. She transferred to Eno River Academy at the beginning of the 2018 academic year. Garner hasn’t played high school sports since, but has played with the North Carolina Courage’s U-17 team. Garner recently announced her commitment to play at N.C. State.

Kayla Hodges: Wake Forest defeated Elon 3-0 in women’s soccer on Sunday at Spry Stadium in Winston-Salem. Hodges, who was named the Colonial Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Week last week, had one of nine shots fired by the Phoenix. On Thursday, South Carolina defeated the Phoenix 3-0 at Rudd Field. Hodges started as a wingback. The Phoenix are 2-3 overall, 1-1 in the CAA. Elon will travel to the College of Charleston on Saturday.

Brittany Daley: The Division III Greensboro College women’s soccer program shut out Meredith 1-0 on Saturday at Meredith Athletic Field in Raleigh. Former Cedar Ridge center back Brittany Daley helped Pride goalkeeper Lauren Rodriguez secure the shutout as Greensboro improved to 4-1-1 in the USA South Athletic Conference. This was also the regular season finale for Greensboro. The Pride will host one of the USA South Division semifinals on Saturday.

Jordan Rogers: Methodist defeated Division III William Peace women’s soccer team on March 24. Rogers, who graduated from Orange, started at wingback for the Pacers. Peace is 3-5 overall, 2-4 in the USA South Athletic Conference. The Pacers wrap up the regular season against Mary Baldwin University on Friday. If Rogers plays, it will be her 40th game for Peace.

Ever since pitcher Rivers Andrews’ graduated from Cedar Ridge in 2018, the softball’s team best defense has been a strong offense.

After a lapse against Orange, the vintage Red Wolves offense was back in living burgundy and grey at East Chapel Hill Monday afternoon.

The Red Wolves piled up a whopping 22 hits, keyed by two home runs from senior shortstop Ava Lowry, in an 18-5 win over the Wildcats at East Chapel Hill Softball Stadium. It was Cedar Ridge’s five straight victory over the Wildcats and its third consecutive win at East Chapel Hill.

Lowry, junior Takia Nichols and senior catcher ShiLi Quade each had four hits for the Red Wolves, who are 2-2 in the Big 8 Conference. Cedar Ridge had ten extra base hits. Nichols and Alexandria Matthews each had two doubles.

Sophomore Hayley King earned her second win of the season inside the circle for the Red Wolves. King threw two shutout innings. She surrendered one hit with one strikeout before Matthews threw the final three innings.

Cedar Ridge is the two-time defending Big 8 Champions, but they started 1-2 after a wild 17-16 loss to Northwood in eight innings in Pittsboro on March 17. In that game, the Red Wolves trailed 11-4 going into the fifth inning, only to tie the game with seven runs in the fifth inning. Cedar Ridge scored five in the top of the seventh to take a 14-12 lead, and actually had the Chargers down to its last out before Zoe Hatsidakis doubled home Carlee Harris for the game-tying run.

With only the first seven games being counted in the Big 8 Conference standings, it’s fair to say Cedar Ridge’s playoff fortunes were on the line against East Chapel Hill on Monday.

“I think it was hard for us at first today,” Lowry said. “Just trying to adjust to the slower pitching and just trying to get our confidence back from the Orange game. But for the most part, we came out strong.”

Quade opened the scoring with a line drive to center, then stole second and took third base on a throwing error. Nichols’ earned her first RBI of the day with a groundout to pitcher Helena Harrison, which allowed Quade to score.

The Red Wolves broke the game open with five runs in the second inning. Marlee Rakouskas drew a leadoff walk, leading to Matthews doubling on a ground ball to left, leading to Rakouskas scoring from first. After Quade was hit by a pitch, Nichols double to left, bringing in Matthews. Lowry then launched a three-run homer over the white, plastic, four-foot wall at East Softballs stadium to put the Red Wolves ahead 6-0, and that was just the beginning.

In the third, Matthews, Anaya Carter and Quade loaded the bases with consecutive singles. Nichols doubled with a liner to center to clear the bases. Lowry took a 1-0 fastball over the centerfield plastic to extend Cedar Ridge’s lead to 11-0.

Nichols wound up 4-for-5 with six RBIs and four runs scored, including two doubles. Quade finished 4-for-4 with five runs scored, including a double and a triple. Matthews came away 3-for-4 with two runs scored with two doubles. Junior Olivia Aitkin was 2-for-5.

East Chapel Hill Sydney Lang was 1-for-2 with a two-run home run in the third inning.

Through four games, Nichols is hitting .750 with eleven RBIs. She has two home runs, even though she’s been walked in five of her 17 plate appearances.

Lowry increased her average to .538, which includes going 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs in the Northwood loss. Her two home runs on Monday were the first of her high school career.

The Red Wolves will be off for the rest of spring break. They will return to action against Southern Durham next Tuesday in Hillsborough, which may be tentative since the Spartans have already canceled a game against Orange this week.

While the first week of the season was disappointing, Cedar Ridge isn’t folding its hand regarding making the playoffs for a fourth straight season.

“I think we can still play Northwood again and win,” Lowry said. “I think our upcoming games are ones we can win.

Cedar Ridge shortstop Ava Lowry helped bring the power back for the Red Wolves softball team on Monday afternoon. Lowry hit two home runs, finished 4-for-5 at the plate and finished with six RBIs as Cedar Ridge defeated East Chapel Hill 18-5 at Wildcat Softball Stadium. The Red Wolves laced 22 hits against the Wildcats. Lowry has committed to play softball at North Carolina Wesleyan, where she is looking at a career in athletic training. While Lowry’s final year as a Cedar Ridge softball player will be cut short, she’s making the most of it so far. She’s hitting .538 with seven hits and ten RBIs. Against Northwood, Lowry went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and a double. Cedar Ridge will get the rest of the week off and prepare for Northern Durham next Tuesday in the first game after spring break. The Red Wolves are 2-2 in the Big 8 Conference.

Two Orange lacrosse seniors responsible for the most successful season in school history have been honored accordingly.

Orange longstick midfielder Duncan Grant has been named the Conference 9 Player of the Year. Grant’s classmate, Ryan Merrill, was named the Conference 9 co-Offensive Player of the Year. Merrill shared the award with Cedar Ridge’s Roman Oguntoyinbo.

Grant is Orange’s first-ever Conference Player of the Year.

Orange sophomore Jake Wimsatt was named the Conference 9 co-Defensive Player of the Year. Wimsatt shared the honor with Cedar Ridge long stick midfielder Dov Bearmann.

The Panthers, who captured the Conference 9 Championship, had eight players make first-team All-Conference 9. In addition to Grant, Merrill and Wimsatt, also honored were freshman midfielder Connor Kruse, senior attacker Caleb Davis, midfielder Cy Horner, senior Leif Mahaney, and defenseman Griffin Metheny.

Orange’s nine seniors were responsible for the deepest run in school history. The Panthers reached the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 3A/2A/1A State Quarterfinals, upsetting Northwood in the second round. Last Monday, Orange lost to eventual Eastern Regional Champion East Chapel Hill at Auman Stadium, but the Panthers led late in the third quarter. Orange’s Conference 9 Championship was the school’s first outright conference title in any sport since February 2019.

“This was a great year for our conference,” said Orange Lacrosse Coach Chandler Zirkle. “There were many deserving players as voted on by our conference coaches.”

Grant scored 15 goals and three assists, including a vital hat trick in the win over Northwood, which came only one week after the Chargers romped past the Panthers by eleven goals. Grant was second on the team with 49 ground balls and led the squad with 32 takeaways.

Merrill led Orange with 29 goals and 15 assists. He scored six goals in a 10-6 win over Cedar Ridge on February 24, which essentially ensured the conference championship. Merrill had a hat trick in the victory over Northwood and was the go-to option on offense throughout the year. Merrill added four goals against East Chapel Hill in the state playoffs, his final game at Orange. He also assisted on two goals against the Wildcats.

“Roman Oguntoyinbo and Ryan Merril both had exceptional years scoring the ball for both Cedar Ridge and Orange,” Zirkle said. “Roman lead the conference in scoring during the regular season while Ryan Merrill was the leading scorer on the conferences top team who often came out mid way through games to give JV players the chance to play.”

Davis, a senior attacker, was second on the team with 22 goals and 20 assists. He finished with five points against Northwood, including a hat trick. He finished with seven points against Vance Charter School in Henderson on March 4, which officially secured the Conference 9 title for the Panthers. Davis also scored seven points in a 19-7 win over Carrboro on March 2.

Horner scored Orange’s opening goal against East Chapel Hill last Monday. He ended the year with five goals and nine assists. He scored four points against Carrboro, and assisted on Connor Kruse’s game-winning goal against Northwood.

Speaking of Kruse, he was one of only two freshman to make the All-Conference 9 first-team. Kruse, who played at Stanford Middle School last year, finished third on the squad with 19 goals. He also had 32 points. Kruse had three hat tricks, including two in back-to-back games against Northern Durham and Carrboro. Kruse was a regular feature on Orange’s top unit in the state playoffs and figures to be a prominent player for years to come.

Mahaney ended the year with 44 ground balls, third on the team. He was also a reliable defensive midfielder with 12 takeaways, tied with Davis for second-highest on the team behind Grant.

Metheny was a strong long stick defenseman for an Orange team that allowed five goals or less four times. As Orange struggled struggled throughout the year to find a steady goalkeeper because of injuries and football defections, Metheny was one of the pillars of the Panthers’ defense.

Wimsatt was Orange’s face-off ace. In the regular season, Wimsatt won 71% of his face-offs, with 81 victories in all. He controlled the face-off circle against East Chapel Hill, where he won a majority of his attempts. Wimsatt led Orange with 86 ground balls. He also developed into a scoring threat at the year wore on, ending the season with eleven goals.

Sophomore Braden Hunt and senior Tristan Watson were named honorable mention All-Conference.

Marvin Jones: A former Cedar Ridge track and field star, Jones finished second for North Carolina Central at the Raleigh Relays at N.C. State University on Saturday. Jones had a jump of 2.05 meters in the high jump. Virginia’s Brenton Foster captured the high jump championship. It was Jones’ first event since the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships in February 2020, where he came in 3rd in the high jump. Jones’ personal best is 2.10 meters.

Bryse Wilson: Wilson was optioned by the Atlanta Braves to an alternate training site on Friday. The move came after Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said the Braves wouldn’t use a fifth starter for the first few weeks of the season. Wilson was in contention to be the fifth man in the rotation. So far in spring training, Wilson is 2-0 with a 1.98 ERA in four appearances with three starts. He has struck out nine batters in 13.2 innings.

Landon Riley: The Liberty baseball team won its 13th straight game with a 5-2 win over Bellarmine on Friday. Riley threw one-and-two-third innings, once again not allowing a run. He walked one and struck out one. Liberty’s winning streak ended with an 8-7 loss to the Knights on Saturday, but the Flames captured the series with a 5-1 victory on Sunday at Knights Field in Louisville, KY. Liberty will make another trip to the Triangle on Tuesday. They face Duke at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Joey Berini: #8 East Carolina defeated Elon 15-0 at Latham Park on Friday. Berini came in as a reserve shortstop and went 0-for-2. The Pirates are 17-5.

Phillip Berger: Berger took a no decision as Division III William Peace defeated Averett University 4-3 at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary on Saturday. Berger worked seven innings and surrendered ten hits, but only two runs. He struck out five and walked two. This season, Berger is 2-2 with a 3.82 ERA in eight appearances. The Pacers have won four in a row after sweeping the weekend series from Averett.

Mia Davidson: Davidson is now eighth in career home runs in Southeastern Conference history. On Sunday, Davidson hit a solo homer in the sixth inning against #12 Arkansas, giving her 60 career dingers. Davidson is already the all-time home run hitter in Mississippi State history. Arkansas swept the weekend series against Mississippi State. On Saturday, Arkansas held off the Bulldogs 8-7. where Davidson hit another home run. She went 0-for-3 in a 2-0 loss on Friday. Through 29 games, Davidson is hitting .337 with eight home runs and 20 RBIs. She’s tied for the team lead with 30 hits and leads the squad with seven doubles.

Montana Davidson: Montana started all three games against the Razorbacks at third base. She went 1-for-4 on Saturday. Montana has started all 28 games for Mississippi State and is hitting .287.

Jaden Hurdle: Patrick Henry Community College’s softball team swept a doubleheader against Surry Community College in Dobson on Friday. Hurdle went a combined 5-for-7 with four RBIS and four runs scored. In the second game, Hurdle drilled a 2-run homer in the Patriots’ 15-10 win. Hurdle finished the day 3-for-5 with four RBIs and three runs scored. She also doubled. Hurdle even pitched one inning, where she surrendered three runs (two earned) off two hits. She walked one and struck out one.

In the opening game, PHCC won 10-3. Hurdle finished 2-for-2 with one run scored and two walks. Patrick Henry is in 3rd place in Region 10’s West Division with a 4-4 conference record. The Patriots are 8-10 overall. Hurdle is hitting .447 with 21 hits, both the second-best marks on the team. Hurdle leads the Patriots with eleven extra base hits. She also has three home runs and 15 RBIs.

Grace Andrews: The Catawba Valley Community College softball team’s weekend series against Caldwell Community College was postponed by rain. It will be played today. Last Wednesday, the Red Hawks swept a doubleheader from the Montreat JV on scores of 11-0 and 9-0 in Hickory. In the opener, Andrews had an RBI single and finished 1-for-3 with a run scored. In the nightcap, Andrews also went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. In Division II of Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association, Andrew is tied for 3rd with 25 RBIs. She’s seventh with a .492 batting average. Andrews also has four RBIs. The Red Hawks are tied with Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute for 1st place in Region 10’s Western Division with a 6-2 record.

Adam Chnupa: #20 Richmond defeated Elon 31-17 at Robins Stadium on Saturday in Colonial Athletic Association football action. Chnupa finished with a tackle for the Phoenix, who are 1-5 overall, 0-4 in the CAA.

Dylan Boyer: The former Orange High midfielder played as a reserve for the Division II Queen’s College men’s lacrosse team last week. Queen’s defeated Coker University 12-8 at Queen’s Sports Complex in Charlotte. On Saturday, the Royals defeated Tusculum University 12-8 to improve to 5-3 overall, 5-1 in the South Atlantic Conference.

Jaylin Jones: The Division III Pfeiffer men’s lacrosse team drilled Averett 26-3 at Campbell Stadium in Danville, VA on Saturday. Jones scooped up a ground ball for the Falcons, who have won five in a row and are 6-1 overall, 3-0 in the USA South Athletic Conference.

After the Cedar Ridge men’s lacrosse team made its return to the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs for the first time since 2018, three Red Wolves shared Conference 9 Player of the Year awards.

In addition, six Red Wolves were named to the All-Conference 9 first-team.

Cedar Ridge’s leading scorer, Roman Oguntoyinbo, was named the co-Conference 9 Offensive Player of the Year. Senior Aiden Kehoe was named the co-Conference 9 Goalkeeper of the Year, while senior long stick midfielder Dov Bearmann was honored as co-Conference 9 Defensive Player of the Year.

Oguntoyinbo, Kehoe and Bearmann were named All-Conference 9. Joining them on the first team was Cedar Ridge junior defenseman Kellan Hepditch, senior midfielder Matt Miller, and sophomore defenseman Gavin Vukmer.

“I am thrilled with the recognition of all of them,” said Cedar Ridge lacrosse Coach Patrick Kavanaugh. “It was a tough year to get through, but they showed persistence and we ended up having a decent year despite the obstacles to practices and not having the numbers we normally have.”

Oguntoyinbo, a junior attacker, had a career-high 26 goals and 32 assists. His 58 points led the Red Wolves. Oguntoyinbo’s tallied ten points in a game twice, both against Vance Charter School. On February 22 in Hillsborough, Oguntoyinbo scored four goals and dished out six assists in a 16-1 win. In Henderson, Oguntoyinbo fired a season-high 12 shots on goal. He scored six goals against the Knights, and tallied four assists as the Red Wolves won 13-3 to sew up second place in the Big 8.

Oguntoyinbo had five hat tricks. In Cedar Ridge’s only game against Orange on February 24, he factored in on every goal. Oguntoyinbo had three goals and three assists. He added three goals and six assists in a 14-0 win over Roxboro Community School in Roxboro on March 4.

Kehoe shared co-Conference 9 Goalkeeper of the Year with Kole Walker of Roxboro Community. He made a season-high 16 saves against Chapel Hill on March 11 at Culton-Peerman Stadium. Even though Chapel Hill held the ball most of the first quarter, they didn’t score largely because of Kehoe’s work in the net.

Kehoe earned four shutout wins in 2021, including three straight against Northern Durham, Roxboro Community and Vance County (he played 24 minutes in each of those games, sharing time with Joshua Taylor in net).

“I remember the first practice of the season where Coach (Kavanaugh) said if we could get ten games in, that would be good,” Kehoe said after the Chapel Hill game. “In general, I think we can be pretty happy with how many games we played. I wish we could have played Orange at our place, but that didn’t happen. But I’m happy with how many played.”

Kehoe has played lacrosse since fourth grade, when he started with the Durham Blues of the Rival Lacrosse League. “That’s where I learned I was the quarterback,” Kehoe said. “I talk a lot. I’m loud. I try to talk my defense through everything.”

Bearmann shared the co-Defensive Player of the Year honor with Jake Wimsatt of Orange. Bearmann led the Red Wolves with 46 ground balls and six takeaways. Bearmann had a season-high eight ground balls and two takeaways against Vance Charter on February 22. Against Roxboro Community on March 4, he finished with seven ground balls.

Hepditch wound up with five takeaways, second on the team. He also wound up with 16 ground balls, including six against Vance Charter on March 9 in Hillsborough.

Miller completed the season with 13 goals and four assists. He had two hat tricks, starting in the season-opener against Walter Williams on January 29 in Burlington. In Cedar Ridge’s first win of the season against Northern Durham on March 1, Miller added three more goals. He had a pair of four-point games, against Vance Charter School on March 9 and against East Chapel Hill in the opening round of the state playoffs on March 15.

In nine games, Vukmer had 19 ground balls. Possibly his best game came against Chapel Hill, where he scooped up five ground balls as the Red Wolves held the Tigers to three goals in the first half.

Backup goalkeeper Josh Taylor and midfielder James Clayton were named honorable mention All-Conference.

Cedar Ridge finished 5-4 overall this season, 2nd in Conference 9 with a 3-1 mark. Its was their best finish in conference play since 2017, when they captured the 3A/2A/1A Eastern Regional Championship and faced Weddington for the state title at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.

PHOTO BY SIMON BARBRE

PITTSBORO: Anyone who ever said a kicker isn’t a football player never saw Aidan Laros.

On a muggy night where the turf at Charger Stadium was in tatters after months of rain and night after night of games from five different sports, it was Laros who scored all the points for the Northwood Chargers, who defeated Orange 10-7.

Northwood defeated Orange in Pittsboro for the first time since the two teams became Big 8 Conference rivals in 2013. The Panthers had won three straight in Charger Stadium.

Northwood now owns the tiebreaker over Orange and Chapel Hill for the second and final automatic playoff spot in the Big 8 Conference. The Chargers haven’t seen the postseason since 2017.

Orange’s two-game winning streak was snapped, a period where the Panthers frequently gambled on 4th downs and opened the Northern Durham win with an onside kick. Some of those gambles have resulted in boxcars. Against Northwood, Orange rolled snake eyes.

Leading 7-0 on its opening drive of the second half, Orange running back Elliott Woods gained eleven yards on a 3-and-13. Facing a 4th-and-two, Orange coach Van Smith opted to go for it at his own 28-yard line.

“I was playing to win,” Smith said. “We talked about that during this short, COVID season. We’re just happy to be playing football. Everything we do, we’re going to be playing to win. We’re going to be taking chances.”

Initially, quarterback Jayce Hodges tried a hard count to get Northwood offside. When that didn’t work, he gave the ball to fullback Nate Hecht, who was held to one yard by Northwood defensive linemen Michael Anthony and Christopher Poston.

After Northwood’s defensive stand, Laros easily kicked a 29-yard field goal to cut its deficit to 7-3. On the subsequent kickoff, Laros directed it to the Northwood sideline. It appeared the ball went out of bounds, but the official ruled it touched an Orange player before it went over the boundary, which forced the Panthers to start the drive at its own 6-yard line.

The Panthers went backwards and Darius Satterfield had to punt two feet in front of the goalposts. Northwood took over at the Orange 17-yard line. After junior running back Jalen Paige ran for 12 yards, Laros took a handoff from backup quarterback Cam Entrekin, cut to the inside off a block from George Gilson and crossed the goal line for the game’s only offensive touchdown.

Orange’s only points came from its defense with 4:18 remaining in the first half. Senior linebacker Elliott Woods picked off a Northwood pass and returned it 31 yards for a touchdown. Satterfield’s extra point gave Orange a 7-0 lead going into halftime.

The Panthers squandered an impressive defensive performance. Of Northwood’s five first half drives, four ended without a first down. Orange started its first two possessions in Charger real estate, but came up with nothing. Orange’s first possession ended off a dropped pass on a 4th-and-six. Later in the first quarter, J.J. Torres picked off a pass and returned it 29 yards to the Northwood 23-yard line. In the midst of muck and mud, Satterfield lined up for a 37-yard field goal, which was easily swatted away by Poston.

With Northwood running the power-I formation and Orange’s recent transition into the double wing, the game had all the makings of a defense struggle. Sure enough, Northwood won despite not completing a pass. As was the case in its 7-6 win over Chapel Hill, Laros made the biggest plays in the end. He finished with 35 yards rushing, as well as making several tackles as a linebacker.

After falling behind 10-7, Orange got life early in the fourth quarter when wingback Eric Brooks raced around right end for a 37-yard gain before junior cornerback Jack Vain saved a touchdown. After consecutive incompletions, Satterfield attempted a 31-yard field goal that crossed the left upright. The official nearest the ball initially signaled the attempt was good, only to change the call after his colleague across the way signaled no good.

Orange got the ball to midfield after a roughing the passer penalty. Faced with a 4th-and-3, Hodges kept the ball around end and appeared to have room to get the first down, but was knocked flat up his back by Chargers’ linebacker Kentrell Edwards.

Orange will now prepare for crosstown rival Cedar Ridge next Thursday. It will be the Red Wolves’ first visit to Auman Stadium since 2015.

“I can sit back and kick myself in the butt tonight (about the 4th-and-2 call),” Smith said. “I can not sleep and regret it all week long until the next football game. I’m not going to do that at all. I play the game to win. That’s what I’ve told my team to do. That’s what I’ve told my coaches to do. And that’s what we’ve been doing all along.”

NORTHWOOD 10, ORANGE 7

ORA-0 7 0 0–7

NWS-0 0 10 0-10

ORANGE-Elliott Woods 31 interception return (Darius Satterfield kick)

NORTHWOOD-Aidan Laros 29 FG

NORTHWOOD-Laros 2 run (Laros kick)

RUSHING: ORANGE 38-144 (Eric Brooks 8-59, Woods 11-39, Nate Sorrells 4-16, J.J. Torres 5-10, Nate Hecht 6-8, Jayce Hodges 2-7, Jackson Wood 2-5)

NORTHWOOD 38-128 (Jalen Paige 12-59, Laros 10-35 TD, Hue Jacobs 6-19, William Lake 3-7, Kirk Haddix 4-5, Cam Entrekin 1-4, Ryan Hillard 1-1, team 1-(-2))

PASSING: ORANGE (Hodges 2-7 41 yards)

NORTHWOOD (Haddix 0-2 2 INT)

RECEIVING: ORANGE (Sorrells 1-24, Wood 1-17)