Month: March 2021

Chandler Zirkle is a man of his word.

Last season, Zirkle vowed to his seniors that if they reached the state playoffs, he would dye his hair blond. Since there was no finish to the 2020 season, that vow went resolved.

Until Monday night. Orange completed a perfect conference season with a win at Vance Charter in Henderson.

So as he led Orange out on the field for its state playoff game against Terry Sanford on Monday night, Zirkle’s red roots had given way to a bright yellow.

“The hair stays under the hat for a majority of the game,” Zirkle said. “A lot of this year has been building off a lot of the success of last year. And a lot of success that these senior have had. So I just went ahead and did it.”

On Sunday night, Zirkle used Splat hair dye over a 25-minute process to turn his hair a shade of bright yellow that would make Ric Flair proud.

“I recommend Splat,” Zirkle said.

After holding up his end of the bargain, his team held up theirs.

Orange scored ten goals in the opening quarter and went on to defeat Terry Sanford 17-1 in the opening round of the 3A/2A/1A North Carolina High School Athletic Association State Playoffs at Auman Stadium on Monday night. The Panthers advanced to the second round, where they will face Northwood on Wednesday in Hillsborough.

Senior Ryan Merrill, Orange’s leading scorer, finished with four goals and an assist, all in the first quarter. Sophomore Joe Cady registered three goals and two assists, while freshman Connor Kruse had a goal and an assist.

Since lacrosse was established as a sport at Orange in 2008, it’s the first time ever than Orange won a home playoff game. The Panthers’ previous postseason wins came at South Brunswick in 2015 and Northside-Jacksonville in 2019.

It was also Orange’s first state playoff win in any sport since May 2019, when the softball team edged Jacksonville in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs.

Of course, that’s a misleading statistic since spring sports across North Carolina didn’t have any playoffs because of the pandemic. If there had been, chances are the lacrosse team would have had a postseason win after storming out to a 6-0 start with victories over J.H. Rose, Heritage, Carrboro and Eastern Alamance.

Terry Sanford (2-9), seeded #15 and coached by Casey Holbrook, completed its first season as a team. They started 2020 with three matches before the pandemic shut down everything.

Orange scored eight goals in the opening ten minutes to quickly end any hopes of a Bulldog upset. Merrill scored the first goal off a bounce shot just 92 seconds into the game. Merrill assisted on the next goal scored by Tigh Metheney. Freshman Connor Kruse got free for a goal with 8:38 remaining in the first quarter.

Cady’s first goal was assisted by fellow sophomore Jake Wimsatt. Senior Cy Horner got his only goal with 3:16 left in the first quarter off an assist from Leif Mahaney. Duncan Grant tallied his first goal unassisted to put Orange ahead 8-0.

In the second quarter, Wimsatt opened the scoring to put Orange ahead 11-0. Junior Brantly Porterfield notched consecutive goals, each assisted by Cady.

Josh Cowan scored his first varsity goal in the third quarter off an assist from Tigh Metheny. Sophomore Andrew Harris and Josh Crabtree got the final Orange goals.

In the fourth quarter, Terry Sanford freshman Logan Constandse scored the first playoff goal in school history. Constandse led Terry Sanford with 20 goals on the year.

Orange will now aim to reach the third round of the state playoffs for the first time in program history. To do it, they’ll have to beat a Northwood team that romped past the Panthers 17-6 only eight days ago, Orange’s most lopsided loss of the year.

Across Orange County on Monday night, East Chapel Hill defeated Cedar Ridge 19-9 at Dave Thaden Stadium. The Wildcats, champions of Conference 10, charged out to a 7-2 lead against the Red Wolves in the first meeting of the year between the two teams.

It was the final game in the Cedar Ridge careers of Matt Miller, Grayson Oliver, Ty Corbin, Toby Holmes, Dov Bearmann, and goalkeeper Aiden Kehoe. The Red Wolves, who finished second in Conference 10, end the year 5-4. It’s Cedar Ridge’s best mark to conclude a year since 2017, when they won the 3A/2A/1A Eastern Regional Championship and faced Weddington for the State Championship at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.

The Orange lacrosse team won in the opening round of the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs on Monday night, defeating Terry Sanford 17-1. It was a big night for sophomores Joe Cady and Jake Wimsatt. Cady came away with five points, including a hat trick. Cady’s goal in the third period put Orange ahead 15-0. He also assisted on two goals by Brantly Porterfield in the second period. Wimsatt won every face off that he took in the game and scored a goal to open the second quarter. Wimsatt also assisted on Cady’s opening goal in the first quarter. Next up for Orange will be Northwood, who defeated the Panthers 17-6 on March 8. Wednesday’s game will be at Auman Stadium and will be the first time that Orange has ever hosted a second round playoff game.

Late in Monday’s win, a player wearing #40 for Orange found his way into the game. On the broadcast, Hillsboroughsports.com play-by-play man Jeff Hamlin didn’t have a #40 in his roster, so the player was dubbed “The Midnight Rider” on the broadcast. This was based off an angle from 1987 NWA Wrestling featuring Dusty Rhodes. In the aftermath of Monday’s game, the identity of the Midnight Rider was unveiled as Bryce Graham, who joined us for this interview. The revelation of the Midnight Rider in 2021 was much more sensical than the 1987 version.

Just days before the corona-versary, there was a reminder of what it was like to live again.

It came at Auman Stadium in the waning moments of the Orange lacrosse team’s thrilling comeback against stingy Chapel Hill, who led 9-4 with 8:54.

In a span of seven minutes and 25 seconds, Orange scored four goals, as many as they had scored in the first three quarters against the Tigers. With Orange in possession on a man advantage, the crowd rose to its feet at Auman Stadium and started to applaud as the Panthers tried to tie the game.

Orange mustered two shots, both of which missed Chapel Hill goalkeeper William Gunderson. The Tigers held on to win 9-8.

Ordinarily, that would have ended the night on a dour note. But not this night.

The Orange crowd, many of whom parents of players who wondered if they would be a season at all, stood and applauded some more. They savored a moment after a desolate, isolated year where moments of true emotion gave way to living in a vacuum.

Coming up tonight, the Orange men’s lacrosse team will look to make another memorable moment when it hosts its first state playoff game since 2017. The Panthers, who clinched the Conference 9 Championship on March 4, will face Terry Sanford in the opening round of the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs.

Since the program started in 2008, Orange has never won a state playoff game at home. There have been two playoff wins on the road, most recently at Northside-Jacksonville in 2019.

Cedar Ridge also made the field of 32. The Red Wolves will travel to face East Chapel Hill, the champions of Conference 10, at Dave Thaden Stadium. The Red Wolves’ regular season ended with a valiant effort in a 7-3 loss to Chapel Hill at Culton-Peerman Stadium on Thursday.

Orange received a #2 seed in the bracket released on Saturday morning. The winner of Orange/Sanford will face either Northwood or Swansboro on Wednesday. Last Monday, Northwood hammered Orange 17-6 in Pittsboro, the Panthers’ most lopsided loss of the season.

That’s what made the Chapel Hill comeback so important for Orange coach Chandler Zirkle, now in his fourth season. After being drubbed by the Chargers, Zirkle wanted to see if his team could stand toe-to-toe against one of the traditional powers in North Carolina lacrosse.

“I know a lot of the Chapel Hill players and they’re a really good team,” Zirkle said. “We have a really young team with nine seniors who are really talented. Then we have a bunch of freshmen and sophomores who didn’t get to play a junior varsity season. They’re really having to play with us right now at a really have level. Just getting back to this point was really good.”

Of interest for Orange against Terry Sanford is who will be goalkeeper? Last week, Zirkle convinced Chase Hawkins to come out of a self-imposed retirement. Hawkins, who earned the win in net against Northside-Jacksonville two years ago, played admirably against Chapel Hill before getting injured in the third quarter. Malachi Bolton had to finish the game.

Cedar Ridge was tied 3-3 with Chapel Hill at halftime on Thursday night. The Red Wolves leading scorer, junior Roman Oguntoyinbo, scored two goals and assisted on a tally by Holden Neal. But Chapel Hill’s 10-man ride proved to be too much for the Red Wolves to overcome in the second half.

Red Wolves goalkeeper Aiden Kehoe kept the Tigers scoreless in the first quarter, even though Chapel Hill dominated possession.

Cedar Ridge received an #11 seed. The winner of East-Cedar Ridge will face either Jacksonville or Vance Charter. Last week, the Red Wolves defeated Vance Charter on its Senior Night, which clinched 2nd place in Conference 9.

Monday’s game against East Chapel Hill will be Cedar Ridge’s first postseason appearance since 2018, when the Red Wolves traveled to J.H. Rose.

“My guys busted their butts out there,” said Red Wolves Coach Patrick Kavanaugh after the Chapel Hill game on Thursday. “Aiden played a heck of a game. That was one of the best defensive performances we’ve had in the last four or five years. We’ve had some pretty good defensive performances, but we were excellent against Chapel Hill. We can be proud of that. We’ve got some skill, but we got worn down. Nothing we saw from them surprised us. They played to their strengths.”

Braden Homsey: Now a junior for the Ferrum College wrestling team, Homsey competed in the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Championships at Xtreme Arena in Coralville, Iowa on Friday. Wrestling at 197 pounds, Homsey opened with a 16-1 technical fall victory over Greensboro College’s Khalil Belk. In the round of 16, Homsey dominated Scott Anderson of Elmhurst 12-2. In the quarterfinals, Cody Baldridge edged Homsey 3-2. In the consolation round, Logan Hagerbaumer of Millikin University defeated Homsey 13-9. Ferrum’s schedule was greatly impacted by the pandemic with only two dual matches. On February 6, Homsey won his senior night match against Shenandoah via forfeit. Homsey ended the year 6-2.

Adam Chnupa: After nearly upsetting the #1 ranked team in the Football Championship Subdivision on March 6, the Elon football team had a disappointing 38-14 loss to Richmond at Rhodes Stadium on Saturday. Chnupa had a tackle for the Phoenix, who fell to 1-3, 0-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Bryse Wilson: In his second spring training outing for the Atlanta Braves, Wilson threw three innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates last Tuesday at CoolToday Park in Sarasota, FL. He surrendered two runs, both earned, on four hits. Wilson struck out four and walked one in a no decision. Pittsburgh took a 10-1 win.

Phillip Berger: The winningest pitcher in Cedar Ridge history started for Division III William Peace in a 3-2 loss to Brevard in the second game of a doubleheader on Friday. He faced 18 batters over four innings with six strikeouts. He surrendered two runs off four hits in a no decision. Peace is 8-7 at will open play in the USA South Athletic Conference against Pfeiffer on Thursday.

Cooper Porter: The former Orange High utility man continues to play for the Pensacola State Pirates. In a doubleheader against Delgado Community College on March 6, Porter went 1-for-4 in a 9-2 loss for the Pirates. Porter started at 2nd base in the nightcap, which Pensacola won 2-1. Porter went 0-for-2. Porter has played in six games for Pensacola State.

Mia Davidson: Ole Miss took both games against #23 Mississippi State at the Ole Miss Softball Complex in Oxford, Mississippi over the weekend. In the Rebels 4-1 win on Sunday, Davidson went 2-for-3. On Saturday, where Ole Miss won 6-0, Davidson went 0-2.

Montana Davidson: Montana started both games at third base for Mississippi State against Ole Miss. She went hitless on both days. The Bulldogs are 15-7, 0-2 in the Southeastern Conference.

Tori Dalehite: The UNC Greensboro softball team opened Southern Conference action by taking the series against the College of Charleston at UNC Greensboro Softball Stadium over the weekend. Dalehite was a pinch runner in the opening game of Saturday’s doubleheader, a 9-1 Spartan victory. UNCG has now won 10 of its last 11.

Grace Andrews: Once again, Andrews faced her former Orange High teammate Jaden Hurdle when Andrews’ Catawba Valley Community College Red Hawks faced Patrick Henry Community College at Highland Recreation Center in Hickory on Sunday. Catawba Valley swept the doubleheader. In the second game, Andrews drilled a two-run homer to left center in the second inning, her fourth dinger of the year. Andrews opened the game with a sacrifice fly RBI to score leadoff batter Ashlyn Parsons. Andrews went 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs and two runs scored in a 17-8 win. The Red Hawks also took the opener 6-5, where Andrews went 0-for-3, r-3, but she knocked in Parons on another sacrifice fly in the 5th inning to put the Red Hawks ahead 3-2.

On Saturday, Catawba Valley swept Surry County Community College 5-1 and 11-3 in six innings in Hickory. In the opener, Andrews went 2-for-3 with an RBI in the third inning. Andrews also doubled in the first inning. In the nightcap, Andrews finished 2-for-3 with an RBI. In the first inning, Andrews singled to third to score Alleigh Himes. After she reached on a fielder’s choice in the third inning, Andrews scored on an error. In the fifth, Andrews singled to left. Catawba Valley has won six in a row and is 12-5 overall, 5-2 in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association.

Jaden Hurdle: Hurdle started at first base for Patrick Henry Community College in the opener against Catawba Valley on Sunday.

Dylan Boyer: The Division II Queen’s University men’s lacrosse team dominated Mars Hill 20-12 at Mears Stadium in Mars Hill on Saturday. Boyer assisted on three goals for the Royals, who have beaten the Lions five straight times. Boyer also had two shots, both on net. Queens improves to 3-2, 3-0 in the South Atlantic Conference.

We’re honored to welcome Bernard Thomas’ photography to Hillsboroughsports.com. You’ve seen Bernard Thomas before on TV, even if you don’t know it. Bernard could be seen in the background of hundreds of basketball and football games with local college and high school teams for teams under Mike Krzyzewski, Dean Smith, Roy Williams and Herb Sendek. His work with the Durham Herald-Sun won awards for decades and he is kind enough to donate some of his time for Friday’s game with Chapel Hill and Cedar Ridge.

DURHAM–One good throwback deserves another.

Last year, Northern coach John Hammett, after losing starting quarterback Kyle Barnhill against Southern Durham, installed a wishbone offense in time for its game against Orange. With converted wide receiver Caleb Steele at quarterback, Northern piled up a season-high 285 rushing yards on an unsuspecting Panther defense in a 31-14 victory in Hillsborough.

Fast forward 18 months. Coming off a 20-0 loss to Southern Durham last week in its season-opener, Orange learned Monday that starting quarterback Nigel Slanker would miss the Northern game with a back injury.

Orange coach Van Smith and his assistant decided it was time for a crash course in the wishbone. Senior Jayce Hodges, who ran the offense as quarterback at Stanford Middle School, would be the conductor.

Part of the reason for the change was to simplify things. The previous week against Southern Durham, the Panthers lost 36 yards in botched shotgun snaps that went over Slanker’s head. Orange finished with a paltry 65 yards total offense.

On Friday night, Orange’s step back to basics led to the end of its two-game losing streak against Northern Durham.

Elliott Woods scored the Panthers’ only touchdown as Orange (1-1) defeated Northern Durham 7-6 at Durham County Memorial Stadium. Darius Satterfield’s extra point was the margin of victory.

The Panthers, who compiled 25 rushing yards and four first downs against Southern, had 112 rushing yards and ten first downs against the Knights. In the final Big 8 conference game between the two teams, it was Orange’s third win at Durham County Stadium over Northern (1-2) in its last four visits.

“We just wanted to get the quarterback under center,” Orange Coach Van Smith said. “We had so many snap issues last week. It was a good idea by (offensive coordinator) Marty Scotten and the assistants because we didn’t have a single fumble on a quarterback-center exchange tonight. Jace knew the plays we were running. It was just a minor adjustment to run the same plays under center instead of from shotgun.”

Northern’s only touchdown came on its opening drive. After Orange attempted an onside kick that was recovered by the Knights’ Joshua Rogers, Northern drove 52 yards on eight plays. Barnhill hit Caleb Steele for a 12-yard touchdown pass, but Orange’s Trey Grizzle blocked the extra point wide left.

For the remainder of the game, Orange’s defense held Northern to 100 yards and five first downs. Perhaps better put, it was a combination of Orange’s defense and the wishbone keeping Northern off the field.

The Panthers chewed up plenty of clock and scored its only touchdown midway through the second quarter. Hodges, who attempted three passes all night, found Woods on a 4th-and-10 for a 12-yard gain to push the ball into the red zone. After fullback Jackson Wood rumbled up the middle for 15 yards, Woods scored off a fullback dive. Satterfield’s extra point was the final one of the game.

Northern’s first two drives in the second half ended without first downs. After Orange failed to convert a 4th-and-3 at midfield, it appeared that Orange cornerback J.J. Torres stripped the ball from Northern running back Jaylon Chestnut, and linebacker Connor Ray recovered. But the officials ruled Chestnut down. Orange ended the drive anyway when Hodges tackled Northern’s Bryant Jones on a 3rd-and-8 for a one-yard gain, followed by a Barnhill incompletion after being pressured by Will Torian.

During a punt before its final drive, Northern committed a costly personal foul penalty that put the ball back at its own 26-yard line, its worst starting field position of the game. Grizzle sacked Barnhill, who shook it off and found Chestnut two plays later for a first down.

Steele, who didn’t touch the ball for the meat of the game after his touchdown, finally made a grab to cross the 50-yard line. On 2nd-and-15, Wood pressured Barnhill into a hasty throw that was nearly picked off by Woods. Orange thought they had won the game with 26 seconds remaining when Ray knocked down a pass intended for Steele, but was whistled for pass interference.

On first-and-10 at the Orange 22-yard line, Wood batted the ball down in front of Barnhill. On second down, Woods knocked Barnhill down from behind for another incompletion. With 4.2 seconds remaining, Barnhill’s desperation heave was knocked down by Hodges and Torres in the end zone, leading to an well-earned Orange celebration.

“Our players felt confident because they kept thinking the only thing stopping us was ourselves,” Smith said. “It’s good when these players have that confidence in themselves and each other.”

ORANGE 7, NORTHERN 6

N–6 0 0 0-6

O-0 7 0 0-7

NORTHERN–Caleb Steele 12 pass from Kyle Barnhill (kick failed)

ORANGE-Elliott Woods 3 run (Darius Satterfield kick)

RUSHING-ORANGE 43-112 (Woods 16-35 TD, Jackson Wood 5-34, J.J. Torres 9-30, Nate Hecht 5-18, Eric Brooks 1-5, Jayce Hodges 2-(-15)

NORTHERN DURHAM 18-46 (Jaylon Chestnut 6-28, Bryant Jones 7-25, Jancarlos Alberto 2-9, Barnhill 3-(-16)

PASSING: ORANGE (Hodges 3-3 35 yards) NORTHERN DURHAM (Barnhill 16-29 106 yards TD)

RECEIVING: ORANGE (Trey Grizzle 1-15, Woods 1-12, Wood 1-8)

NORTHERN DURHAM (JONES 6-24, Chestnut 5-23, Steele 3-39 TD, Chris Kujawa 2-20)

Orange quarterback Jayce Hodges had a week. On Monday, he walked into practice and agreed to start taking snaps at starting quarterback after first-stringer Nigel Slanker was injured against Southern Durham. Hodges engineered a new-look wishbone offense for Orange, a team that had only 25 yards rushing against Southern last week. With Hodges at quarterback on Friday night, Orange had 112 rushing yards as Orange defeated Northern 7-6 at Durham County Stadium. Hodges also completed all three of his passes for 35 yards. Orange senior cornerback Eric Brooks had several big defensive plays that helped hold Northern to 100 yards total offense after the Knights’ first drive of the game. Trey Grizzle had two big sacks, as well as a 15-yard catch in the first quarter, so he was Orange’s leading receiver. It was a high note for these three seniors who have had their final year at Orange cut short because of the pandemic.

The rivalry between Orange and Northern Durham breeds on Thursday night junior varsity games, where the Knights and the Panthers have dueled for the Big 8 Championship for years. Then when those JV players move to the higher level, the hostilities carry over to Friday night. In a grueling battle of attrition on Friday night, the Panthers defeated the Knights 7-6 at Durham County Stadium. Wingback and linebacker Elliott Woods led Orange with 47 scrimmage yards and the only Orange touchdown. Defensive end Nate Hecht had four carries for 18 yards, while Brendon Worsham had two big sacks of Northern quarterback Kyle Barnhill. Hecht and Worsham played junior varsity last season for Orange and lost to Northern last season, so the taste of victory was extra sweet on Friday night in the final Big 8 Conference game between the two rivals before realignment goes into effect this summer.