Month: October 2021

Cedar Ridge looked every bit the #1 seed in the Eastern Region in its volleyball playoff opener on Saturday. The Red Wolves defeated #32 South Brunswick 3-0 on scores of 25-8, 25-8 and 25-12 on Saturday afternoon at Red Wolves Gymnasium. Cedar Ridge scored the opening five points of the first set, then started the second set on a 6-0 run. Junior libero Grace Young led the Red Wolves with 15 digs. Melissa Benkowitz had five kills, eight digs and two aces as the Red Wolves improved to 26-2 on the season. It was Cedar Ridge’s second state playoff win in nine months. Last January, Cedar Ridge defeated Union Pines in an 32-team state playoff. This year, with pandemic precautions relaxed, the Red Wolves are in a 64-team tournament. Cedar Ridge has advanced to the round of 32 and will face South Johnston on Tuesday at Red Wolves Gymnasium.

Photo by Marc Reidel:

Bailey Lucas: The Division III Meredith College volleyball team honored senior and former Orange star Bailey Lucas during a tri-match at Weatherspoon Gym in Raleigh on Saturday. The Avenging Angels won both matches to extend its winning streak to nine, a season-long. Meredith defeated Pfeiffer 3-0 on scores of 25-16, 25-20 and 25-15. Lucas started and had a game-high 17 assists along with two digs and one ace. Meredith also swept Greensboro 3-0 on scores of 25-21, 25-17 and 25-21. Lucas had 19 assists with seven digs and an ace. Meredith also won two matches over Salem last week. On Tuesday, Meredith defeated the Spirits 3-0 on scores of 25-13, 25-18 and 25-16 at Varsity Gym in Winston-Salem. Lucas led the Angels with 17 assists, one ace and six digs. On Thursday, Meredith swept Salem again in Raleigh. Lucas finished with eleven assists and seven digs. The Angels are 18-6 overall, 12-2 in the USA South Athletic Conference.

Joey McMullin: The Sandhills Community College men’s basketball team was named the preseason #1 team in Division III of the National Junior College Athletic Association media poll. The Flyers continued to prepare for the upcoming season with a 105-64 win over Blue Light College in a scrimmage in Pinehurst on Wednesday. McMullin lead the Flyers with 14 points. He also tied for the team lead with nine rebounds. Sandhills will start the regular season against Lenoir Community College in Kinston on November 3.

Trenton Gill: Miami defeated #18 N.C. State 31-30 at Hard Rock Stadium in Coral Gables, FL on Saturday night. Gill had six punts for an average of 49.2 yards per boot for the Wolfpack. His longest was 59 yards, one of three punts that went over 50 yards. Three punts were downed inside the 20-yard line. Of Gill’s seven kickoffs, six were touchbacks.

Keshawn Thompson: For the third time this year, former Orange High linebacker Keshawn Thompson led Campbell in tackles in a game. Thompson registered 12 tackles, but #11 Kennesaw State routed the Camels 30-7 at Barker-Lane Stadium in Buies Creek. Thompson leads Campbell in tackles with 41 on the season. The Camels are 3-4 overall, 2-2 in the Big South Conference. They will travel to Charleston Southern next Saturday. Thompson has started all seven Campbell games.

Adam Chnupa: The Elon football team defeated New Hampshire 24-10 at Rhodes Stadium on Saturday. Chnupa entered the game as a reserve defensive back and assisted on a tackle. Elon has now won three in a row and is 4-3 overall, 3-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Phoenix will travel to James Madison next Saturday.

Kayla Hodges: Hodges made two more starts for the Elon women’s soccer team in a couple of marathon games last week. On Sunday, Elon defeated Northeastern 2-1 in overtime at Parson Field in Brookline, MA. Hodges played all 93 minutes before Kenney Jones scored the golden goal in overtime. On Thursday, the Phoenix played to a scoreless tie against William & Mary at Albert-Daly Field in Williamsburg, VA. Hodges fired one shot and played all 110 minutes. Elon is 7-5-2, 2-2-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association. Elon will host #23 Hofstra on Sunday at Rudd Field.

Emerson Talley: Talley started Lenoir-Rhyne’s game against Newberry at the Smith Road Complex on Saturday. Newberry came away with a 1-0 win in double overtime. Talley played 36 minutes. Last Sunday, Lenoir-Rhyne defeated Tusculum 5-0 at Pioneer Field in Greenville, TN. Talley came off the bench and played 13 minutes. The Bears, in the Division II South Atlantic Conference, are 9-3-2, 7-2-1 in the SAC.

Taylin Jean: The Division II Limestone women’s soccer team shut out Tusculum 4-0 at Saints Field in Gaffney, SC on Wednesday. Former Cedar Ridge goalkeeper Taylin Jean entered the game in the second half and preserved the clean sheet for the Saints, making one save. Limestone is 9-3-1, 5-3-1 in the SAC.

Brittany Daley: The Division III Greensboro College women’s soccer team played to a 1-1 tie against Mary Baldwin University at Pride Field in Greensboro on Wednesday. Daley played all 110 minutes for the Pride. Greensboro is 4-9-3 overall, 2-4-2 in the USA South Athletic Conference. Daley will be honored on Senior Day on Sunday when Greensboro hosts North Carolina Wesleyan.

Jordan Rogers: The Division III William Peace women’s soccer team lost in heartbreaking fashion on Saturday. Salem College scored in the final minute of the second overtime to defeat the Pacers 3-2 at Varsity Field in Winston-Salem. Rogers, a former Orange Panthers, started for the Pacers and played all 110 minutes. She fired one shot. On Wednesday, Peace played Pfeiffer to a 1-1 tie in Misenheimer. Once again, Rogers started and played all 110 minutes. Peace is now 4-6-3 overall, 2-4-2 in the USA South Athletic Conference.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior Olivia Aitkin. Olivia won this award in her sophomore year for swimming when she qualified for the 3A Mideast Regionals. This time, she earns it for golf. Aitkin qualified for the 3A Central Regional Golf Championship after the conclusion of the regular season at Mill Creek Golf Club in Mebane. But Aitkin’s best sport is softball, where she is the starting centerfielder for the Red Wolves. Recently, Aitkin announced her commitment to play at Amherst College in Massachusetts. Last season, Aiken was the starting centerfielder for the Red Wolves. She hit .404 with 19 hits. She was third on the team with 20 RBIs as the Red Wolves finished 9-5 in a tough Big 8 Conference. At Amherst, Olivia will study Law Jurisprudence and Social Thought. But first, she will complete her final season of softball at Cedar Ridge alongside fellow seniors Takia Nichols, Ava Lowry and Lexi Bonin. The CCC will have new powerhouse teams Eastern Alamance and Western Alamance, which will make the competition as deep as any league in the state.

The opening round of the state volleyball playoffs on Saturday also includes several milestones, both locally and statewide.

It will be the first state playoff competition administered by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association where the brackets are configured based on the new ratings percentage index. Before the pandemic, the NCHSAA seeded the playoffs based on a formula dictated by MaxPreps rankings.

The first RPI rankings, released last month, made it clear the Central Carolina Conference was the top league in the 3A East region. Nothing has changed since then.

Cedar Ridge, the CCC regular season and tournament champions, finished #1 in the 3A East Region. The Red Wolves will open with South Brunswick (4-13) this afternoon at Red Wolves Gymnasium at 2 o’clock. The Cougars, who play in the 4A/3A Mideastern Conference, earned the #32 seed in the 3A East because they finished the highest among the three 3A teams in their league (North Brunswick wound up 2-12 and West Brunswick went 0-14).

It will be the second time in 2021 that Cedar Ridge has hosted a state playoff game. In January, the Red Wolves defeated Union Pines in the opening round of a 3A State Playoff where the field was reduced to 32 teams. Eventual 3A State Champion D.H. Conley eliminated the Red Wolves two nights later in Greenville in four sets.

In the final RPI standings, the CCC had four of the top nine teams in the 3A East region. In addition to Cedar Ridge, Northwood finished #3, Person #4 and Orange #9. Eastern Alamance, who will travel to Person this afternoon, wound up #14.

Meanwhile, Orange will host a state volleyball playoff game for the first time since 2012 this afternoon. The Lady Panthers will welcome West Johnston (12-5), who finished in a three-way tie for 2nd place with C.B. Aycock and South Johnston in the Quad County Conference. Earlier this week, Orange rallied from two sets down to defeat Western Alamance in the opening round of the CCC Tournament before falling to Cedar Ridge in the semifinals.

Orange (10-9) will clinch its third straight winning season with a victory over the Wildcats. If Orange wins, the Lady Panthers will face either 3rd-seeded Wilson Hunt, the champions of the Quad County Conference, or 30th seeded Triton in the 2nd round.

A big reason why Orange received a high RPI ranking was its strength of schedule. The Lady Panthers’ opponents win percentage was .670. The only team in the 3A East region with a higher figure was Cedar Ridge with .672. The Red Wolves didn’t surpass Orange in that category until the final of the CCC Tournament, where the Red Wolves swept Person.

Playing the strongest schedule imaginable was precisely what Cedar Ridge coach Fiona Cunningham aimed for at the beginning of the season. After its loss to Conley, Cunningham immediately scheduled a home-and-home series with the Vikings, which included the Red Wolves avenging its loss in August. And they did it in Greenville.

Cedar Ridge won six nonconference games against teams that won its respective league championships: twice against Carrboro (champions of the Northern Lakes Conference), D.H. Conley (tied for 1st in the Big East), J.H. Rose (tied with Conley), Pinecrest (a 4A team that won the Sandhills Confernece) and Chapel Hill (another 4A team that went undefeated in the DAC-VII).

If the Red Wolves win its opening round game today, they will host either #16 West Carteret or #17 South Johnston on Tuesday at Red Wolves Gymnasium.

The 3rd round is scheduled for Thursday.

The last time Cedar Ridge won 24 games in a regular season, they hosted the 3A Eastern Regional Championship game in 2015. Asheboro defeated the Red Wolves in four sets.

BURLINGTON–The only good news for Orange football coming out of Friday night is that they’ll never have to face Alijah Richmond again.

Richmond scored four touchdowns against Orange as Walter Williams defeated Orange 43-7 at Kernodle Field on Friday night in the second matchup between the two teams in 2021. Williams (5-4) will face Person next week in Roxboro. If the Bulldogs win, they will clinch its first winning season since 2013.

Williams is now assured of the 2nd automatic spot in the Central Carolina Conference for the upcoming 3A State Playoffs. On Friday night, Eastern Alamance defeated Northwood 38-0 in Mebane, which took the Chargers out of contention for surpassing the Bulldogs.

Richmond has scored eight touchdowns against the Panthers this year. On September 24, he scored four touchdowns in a 28-0 Bulldogs win at Auman Stadium in Hillsborough. On Friday, he finished with 150 yards rushing, just two short of his season-high of 152 set last week in a double overtime win over Western Alamance.

Friday night’s game, which counts as a nonconference game, was scheduled by Orange (2-7) in August to replace a spot vacated by Cedar Ridge, which didn’t field a varsity team this season.

It was another anemic offensive night for Orange, which was limited to 37 yards total offense. The Panthers almost went the entire game without picking up a first down on its own accord (there were four first downs via Williams’ penalties). Orange’s only bright spot offensively came after linebacker Jackson Wood somehow swiped a pitchout from Williams’ backup quarterback Dan Mahan to running back Kylel Richmond and rumbled all the way to the Williams 30-yard line.

Backup quarterback Ty Walker threw to Wynston Brown for a 30-yard touchdown with 2:01 remaining. That was Orange’s only first down of the night.

It was the sixth time this year that Orange was held under 150 yards total offense. Last week, the Panthers could only muster 90 yards and two first downs at Northwood.

“We’re playing against one of the best defenses in the county,” said Orange coach Van Smith. “They’re big and strong up front. They handled us on both sides of the ball really. Their offense has so many weapons all over the place. They can spread you out and still run it between the tackles.”

Four weeks ago, Williams mainly kept the ball on the ground to wear Orange down in Hillsborough. On Friday, quarterback Jaelen Brown threw for 153 yards and was more eager to run out of the backfield.

Williams’ scored touchdowns on its opening two drives. The Bulldogs went 57 yards on just four plays on its first series. Brown scrambled up the middle for a 12-yard touchdown, his first rushing score of the year, to start the rout.

After Orange went three-and-out on its first possession, Williams didn’t even face a 2nd down leading to its second touchdown. Brown hit leading receiver Isayah Ramsey for gains of 13 and 12 yards, leading to Richmond’s first touchdown run from one yard out.

Orange made a goal line stand at the end of the first quarter. Williams had a 4th-and-goal at the Orange 1-yard line, but Richmond was held out of the end zone by Wood and linebacker Ronald Cooper.

The second quarter scoring was dictated by, of all people, Williams’ defensive tackle Sam Rhodes. As Orange punted out of its own end zone to start the second quarter, the ball went off the foot of the punter straight up in the air. Rhodes won a scramble for the loose ball like he was Anthony Davis positioning for a errant jump shot, then staggered two yards into the end zone for a touchdown.

On the subsequent Orange drive, Rhodes sacked Panthers quarterback Jared Weaver for a safety to put Williams ahead 22-0.

Richmond scored the rest of the Williams’ touchdowns on runs of 26, five and five yards.

Orange will conclude its season against Eastern Alamance next Friday in Hillsborough. The Eagles have won six in a row.

“We’re going to go out and enjoy the last time we’ll get together as a team,” Smith said. “It will be the last time we get to come out under those Friday night lights and hear the roar of the crowd.”

WILLIAMS 43, ORANGE 7

ORA—0 0 0 7-7

WIL—14 15 14 0-43

WIL–Jaelean Brown 12 run (Brick Bowen kick)

WIL–Alijah Richmond 1 run (Bowen kick)

WIL–Sam Rhodes 2 punt return (kick failed)

WIL–safety, Orange quarterback tackled in end zone

WIL–Richmond 26 run (Bowen kick)

WIL–Richmond 5 run (Bowen kick)

WIL–Rihcmond 5 run (Bowen kick)

ORA–Wynston Brown 30 pass from Ty Walker (Darius Satterfield kick)

RUSHING

ORANGE: 20-(-6)(Ronald Cooper 2-8, Nate Sorrells 5-0, Jackson Wood 1-0, Jared Weaver 7-(-1), Amare Morgan 5-(-13)

WILLIAMS: 34-222 5 TD(Alijah Richmond 18-150 4 TD, Brown 8-63 TD, Kylel Richmond 6-19, team 1-(-4), Dan Mahan 1-(-6))

PASSING: ORANGE (Weaver 4-11 13 yards INT, Ty Walker 1-1 30 TD)

WILLIAMS: (Brown 13-19 153, Mahan 1-1 17)

RECEIVING: ORANGE (Sorrells 4-13, Brown 1-30 TD)

WILLIAMS: (Isayah Ramsey 4-44, Clifton Davis 3-47, Grayson Loy 2-26, Dejuan Shoffner 2-22, Cam’Ron Jones 1-13, Demari Allen 1-15, Coleman Mahan 1-11)

In soccer, it’s referred to as the double.

it happens when a team wins its regular season championship, then follows by winning the league’s domestic club cup tournament.

Not only has Cedar Ridge accomplished the volleyball equivalent of the double, but they will now go down as the winningest team in school history.

A double for any program is quite an achievement. Since August, the term “win states” has been tossed around the Cedar Ridge program as commonly as most pronouns.

The goal now is the treble. Then again, it always has been.

On Wednesday night, Cedar Ridge won the Central Carolina Conference Tournament championship with a 3-0 sweep of Person at Red Wolves Gymnasium. It was the third time this year the Red Wolves (25-2) swept the Rockets, who upset Northwood on Tuesday in the semifinals at Charger Gymnasium.

The Red Wolves won on scores of 25-17, 25-12 and 25-13.

Once again, the White Cross mafia led the way for Cedar Ridge. Junior Cameron Lloyd finished with 15 kills and 12 digs. Junior setter Julie Altieri, who grew up playing with and against Lloyd, Grace Young and Cameron Lanier in the White Cross Recreation League and elsewhere, finished with 31 assists, 12 digs and four aces. Young, another junior who has committed to play at UNC Asheville, led the Red Wolves with 21 digs.

Cedar Ridge surpassed the 2015 team for the most wins in one season. The 2015 Red Wolves finished 24-4, won the Big 8 Championship (there was no conference tournament) and reached the Eastern Regional championship game, where they fell to Asheboro.

Regardless of how the 3A State Playoffs turn out, the Red Wolves will be remembered as a team that dominated a deep league. Cedar Ridge finished 14-0 against Central Carolina Conference teams and dropped only three sets out of 42.

On September 23, Cedar Ridge swept Person in Roxboro, known as one of the loudest gyms in the area. On that day, the closest the Rockets came to winning a set came in the 2nd when they amassed 22 points. Some observers thought the return of Person outside hitters Karter Hawkins and Delaney Glover would lead to a tighter match in the tournament championship, but the Rockets only led once, and that was when Hawkins scored a kill in the opening set to give Person a 2-1 lead. There were only two ties, both in the opening set, as well.

The Red Wolves went on a 7-2 run, which included two aces by Lloyd and another by Lanier, to take a 9-3 lead in the first set. Lloyd had six kills in the frame. This was the only set where Person made a serious run late after Hawkins and Glover had consecutive kills to reduce its deficit to 17-15. Then Altieri set up finishes by Lanier and Melissa Benkowitz to trigger four consecutive Red Wolves points. Lanier wrapped up the set with a block at the net to turn away a Person attack.

Cedar Ridge’s depth overwhelmed the Rockets in the second set. Six different Red Wolves recorded kills, including another six by Lloyd and two each from Lanier and sophomore Addie Reid. Leading 6-5, Cedar Ridge went on a 9-0 run to take control of the set. Reed had two kills during that span, while Julie Altieri had a flash kill off an assist from Young. Person reeled off five straight points to cut the Wolves’ lead to 15-10, but Reed came up with a block of a Glover kill that landed just inside the Person end line to silence the threat. Lloyd had an unassisted kill for the 25th point.

The third set was all Red Wolves. Cedar Ridge roared out to a 7-0 lead after Altieri had consecutive aces and kills from Lanier, Lloyd and Anaya Carter. The longest rally of the match occurred with Cedar Ridge leading 20-10. It ended when a ball bounced off Altieri’s fist, directly to Young’s hand and sent across by Benkowitz. Lloyd wound up with the kill. Lanier finished off match point for the Red Wolves third championship in two years.

This week Orange Panther of the Week is a shared honor between two sisters. Sophomore Erin Sollars and freshman Shannon Sollars both accomplished big things over the past week for the Orange women’s tennis team. Last Friday, Erin teamed with Jera Hargrove in the Central Carolina Conference Tournament at the Burlington Tennis Center. Together, Sollars and Hargrove defeated a team from Walter Williams 6-2, 6-1 to reach the Mideast Regionals. Also in the CCC Tournament, Shannon Sollars teamed with Tea Jones to defeat a team from Northwood 6-0, 6-2, then won their final match over a tandem from Williams 6-3, 6-2. It will be the first time that both the Sollars sisters will play in the regionals. On Wednesday, both of the Sollars sisters won as Orange defeated Fike 5-3 in the opening round of the 3A State Dual Team Tennis Playoffs. It was the first time ever that Orange won a match in the State Dual Team Playoffs. On top of that, Orange became the first public school to defeat the Golden Demons this year. Erin Sollars won her match at #5 singles 6-2, 6-3. Shannon Sollars won her match at #6 singles 6-0, 6-2. Erin Sollars teamed with Hargrove to win at #2 doubles 8-1 and wrap up the victory for Orange. Orange will travel to Fayetteville to face Cape Fear in the 2nd round of the 3A State Tournament on Tuesday. The Mideast Regionals start Friday at the Burlington Tennis Center.

The Cedar Ridge volleyball team is now the winningest volleyball team in school history. The Red Wolves won the Central Carolina Conference tournament championship on Wednesday night, defeating Person 3-0 by scores of 25-17, 25-12 and 25-13. It was the 25th win of the season for Cedar Ridge, breaking the previous record of 24 by the 2015 team. Junior Cameron Lloyd had 15 kills to add to her team-leading total of 227. Lloyd also finished with 12 digs. Junior setter Julie Altieri had 31 assists, 12 digs, four aces, two kills and a block. Junior Cameron Lanier finished with six kills and four blocks. With the win, Cedar Ridge added a tournament championship to its CCC regular season title. They completed a truly dominant run through the Central Carolina Conference, which had four teams earn first-round home games for the 3A State Playoffs. The Red Wolves went 14-0 against CCC opponents this season, winning 42 sets and dropping only three. Cedar Ridge is the #1 seed in the 3A East Region for the State Playoffs. They will open against South Brunswick at Red Wolves Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon at 2 PM.