Month: October 2021

For more of Jacques photos from college and high school sports, go to jacquesonthesidelines.com.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is junior running back Ronald Cooper. On Thursday, Cooper ran for a career-high 141 yards and two touchdowns on just nine carries as the Panthers defeated Person 26-14 at Auman Stadium. On Cooper’s first carry of the game, he ran around right end for a 41-yard touchdown. Late in the second quarter, Cooper scored on an 11-yard score for the final touchdown for Orange that would carry them to its second victory of the year. Cooper had a great all-around game. As a linebacker, he and Jackson Wood teamed to hold up Person quarterback Cole Garrett on a 4th-and-3 from the Person 41-yard line late in the first quarter. It led to Coopers’s first touchdown run. On the season, Cooper has four tackles for loss on defense and 20 tackles overall. Cooper, who has gained the nickname RoKu from Hillsboroughsports.com colorman Derryl Britt, will return to action on Friday night when Orange faces Northwood in Pittsboro. You can hear the game on Hillsboroughsports.com starting at 6:55 live from Chatham County.

The Orange volleyball team won its final regular season match of the season against Eastern Alamance in Mebane on Thursday night. The Lady Panthers prevailed 3-1 on scores of 25-16, 23-25, 25-17 and 25-10. It was the final regular season match for Orange seniors Avery Miller, Ella Van Tiem and Aubri Wright. In the final set, Miller had six kills. Van Tiem finished with five kills in the fourth set, alone. Van Tiem led Orange with 117 kills this season going into the Eastern Alamance game. She also was fourth on the team with 119 digs. Miller registered 98 kills, which was third on the squad. She also had 105 digs as Orange finished the regular season 9-8, good enough for fourth place in a very difficult Central Carolina Conference. Wright was third on the team with 127 digs going into the Eastern Alamance game. She also had five aces. Orange will now prepare for the inaugural Central Carolina Conference tournament. The Lady Panthers will play at home on Monday night at 6 PM against either Eastern Alamance or Western Alamance. The winner will face Cedar Ridge in the semifinals on Tuesday.

The Cedar Ridge junior varsity football team defeated South Granville 32-7 on Thursday night at Red Wolves Stadium. It was Cedar Ridge’s first home win of the season. The Red Wolves jumped out to a 12-0 lead wit 7:01 remaining in the first half off a touchdown run by Tyler Fields. To start the second half, Cedar Ridge’s Mason Cates took a punt and returned it 70 yards for a touchdown. The Red Wolves got a defensive touchdown from sophomore Angus Pritchard, who scooped up a fumble and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown. Fields had a 30 yard touchdown run to put the Red Wolves ahead 32-0. It was a strong night for junior Matt Turner, who is this week’s Cedar Ridge Defensive Player of the Week. The Red Wolves will return home next week to face Williams. It will be senior night as well as Homecoming. This was also the first win for Cedar Ridge head football coach Torrean Hinton where he didn’t receive a Gatorade bath afterwards. Cedar Ridge will meet Williams next Thursday.

Women’s Golf: Last year, one of the Durham sisters qualified for the 3A Central Regionals in women’s golf. This year, they both did.

In the final Central Carolina Conference meet of the season, Sarah and Samantha Durham both reached the regional round at Mill Creek Golf Club in Mebane. In an 18-hole event, Sarah finished with a 108 and wound up in sixth place overall in the conference. Samantha Durham finished 11th for the season.

In addition, Cedar Ridge’s Olivia Aitkin also qualified for the Central Regionals. Aitkin is a three-sport athlete at Cedar Ridge. She has also won a conference championship for the Cedar Ridge softball team, and has also advanced to regionals in swimming.

During a regular match at Mill Creek on October 11, Samantha Durham was Orange’s leading competitor, shooting a 56 over nine holes. Sarah Durham shot a 59. Shannon Dorsi, Kayla Pope and Lucia Goodinez also competed for Orange.

The regionals will take place on Tuesday at Greensboro National Golf Club and will be hosted by Western Alamance.

Men’s Soccer: Orange 1, Cedar Ridge 1

The final leg of the Hillsborough Derby wound up going the distance on Monday night. Orange and Cedar Ridge finished in a 1-1 tie after two, 10-minute overtime periods.

After a scoreless first half, the Red Wolves got the opening goal when junior midfielder Evan Sredzienski won a dual at midfield and sent a crossing pass across the box that was headed in by co-Captain Jorge Salazar with 29:19 remaining.

Only two minutes later, Orange’s Darius Corbett notched the equalizer on a penalty kick. The Panthers drew the penalty when junior Tyler Mann was tripped in the box.

Both teams had changes to get the advantage over the final 25 minutes. Cedar Ridge goalkeeper Benjamin Weaver made several big saves in the overtime periods. Salazar nearly scored another goal off a header in the initial overtime session, which was saved by Orange junior goalkeeper Connor McMurtry.

On Wednesday night, Orange defeated Person 4-2 in Roxboro. The Panthers are 6-11-1 overall, 3-6-1 in the CCC.

The Red Wolves had a game against Eastern Alamance delayed on Wednesday night. It will be rescheduled. Cedar Ridge is 6-10-1 overall, 5-3-1 in the CCC. The Red Wolves will journey to Western Alamance on Monday.

Women’s Tennis: Cedar Ridge 5, Western Alamance 1:

In its final Central Carolina Conference of the season, Cedar Ridge defeated Western Alamance 5-1 in Elon. Sophomore Cameron Mayhew earned a victory at #1 singles, winning 6-4, 7-5. In her last regular season match, senior co-Captain Hannah Shinnick won at #3 singles 7-5, 6-2. Another senior co-Captain, Olivia Kelly, captured a victory at #5 singles 6-3, 6-3.

Freshman Ella Caltabianco won at #4 singles 7-5, 6-1.

Cedar Ridge freshman Adeline Cummings wrapped up the day with a 6-2, 6-4 victory at #6 singles.

With the Central Carolina Conference Tournament slated to start at noon on Friday at Burlington Tennis Courts, the coaches opted not to play doubles since Cedar Ridge clinched the match.

The Red Wolves conclude the regular season with a 6-7 overall record, 5-5 in the CCC.

Orange 9, J.F. Webb 0

On Tuesday, the Orange women’s tennis team journeyed to Oxford, where they defeated the Warriors in its final non conference dual match of the season.

Senior Tea Jones, sophomore Erin Sollars, sophomore Isabelle Lynn, junior Madelyn Horn, and sophomore Zoe Vantubbrgh all claimed wins for Orange in single-set, eight-game matches.

In doubles, Lynn teamed with Isabel Jones for a victory at #1 doubles. Katelyn Van Mater, who is now a three-sport athlete at Orange, teamed with Sydney Rogers for a victory at #2 doubles.

The following day, Orange defeated Person 8-0. The Lady Panthers ended the regular season with a 15-4 overall record. It’s widely believed among some longtime Orange High observers that the 15 wins are a school record. Orange finished 7-3 in the CCC and is in contention for a wildcard birth in the 3A State Dual Playoffs.

This week’s Orange Defensive Player of the Week is senior linebacker Jackson Wood. Last week in Orange’s 26-14 win over Person, Wood had ten tackles, tied with Kameron Harshaw for the team lead. Wood had four tackles for loss, including a huge stop on Person quarterback Cole Garrett on 4th-and-3 from the Person 41-yard line in the first quarter. On the next play, Orange running back Ronald Cooper scored a touchdown. This season, Wood is second on the team with 43 tackles. He is third on the squad with ten tackles for loss. In addition to playing football, Wood is a fan away from the gridiron. He is a staunch fan of the Virginia Tech Hokies and has had the honor of being in Blacksburg to watch the famed “Enter Sandman” entrance inside Lane Stadium. On Friday night, Wood and the rest of the Orange Panthers will travel to a familiar place: Charger Stadium. The Panthers will face Northwood. The last two games between the Panthers and the Chargers have been nailbiters. Orange won in overtime in the fall of 2019, while Northwood held off Orange by a field goal last year in Pittsboro. This is the second straight year where Wood has been honored as the Defensive Player of the Game. He earned the same accolade in a win over Cedar Ridge last year.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior tennis player Chloe Patz. On September 27, Patz won her #2 singles match against Northwood 1-6, 6-2, 10-8. The Red Wolves went on to win the dual match 5-4 against the Chargers, who tied for the Central Carolina Conference regular season championship with Williams. On Monday, Patz defeated Williams’ Haven Amick 6-0, 6-2 at #2 singles, which was Senior Day for the Red Wolves. It was Patz’s second win against Williams this year. Patz, co-Captain Olivia Kelly, Hannah Wallace, and Hannah Shinnick where honored during their last regular season match. Cedar Ridge has battled with the best teams in the Central Carolina Conference this season. Patz started the season with a 8-1 victory over Aloha Horton of Person in a 7-2 Cedar Ridge win. She will also be one of Cedar Ridge’s representatives for the Central Carolina Conference tournament, which starts Friday at noon at the Burlington Tennis Center. The Red Wolves will wrap up the regular season on Thursday with a road trip to Elon to face Western Alamance. Cedar Ridge will try to even its conference record to 5-5.

Photo by Aidan Jensen

The completion of the Orange women’s tennis team’s regular season came to an end in the peaceful, rural quiet of Roxboro on Tuesday afternoon.

But the success of the Lady Panthers has been anything but meek.

After beating Person 7-0 in the regular season finale, the Lady Panthers finished the regular season 15-4. That’s the most amount of wins for the team, according to records that date back to 2009. It’s quite possible that the 15 wins are a school record, according to former head coach Andy Brown. Orange finished third in the Central Carolina Conference with a 7-3 record, which means the Lady Panthers could receive a wildcard spot in the upcoming 3A Dual Team State Playoffs, where 32 teams will comprise the field. Orange has more total victories than anyone in the CCC.

The Central Carolina Conference is guaranteed two automatic playoff spots, which will go to Northwood and Walter Williams. Any available wildcard spots would be based on overall record.

Last week, Orange had its signature win of the season when they defeated co-CCC champion Northwood 5-4 at Orange High Tennis Courts. It was a signature moment for senior Jera Hargrove, who started at #1 singles as a freshman and a sophomore. Last spring, Hargrove focused on track & field while tennis season unfolded during the spring because of the pandemic.

Against the Chargers, Hargrove won her match at #2 singles over Julia Earnshaw 6-4, 6-2. As the entire dual match came down to the doubles long after the sun went down, Hargrove joined sophomore Erin Sollars to defeat Erin Lippers and Ryan Tinervin 8-2. Orange wrapped up the victory when the #3 doubles team of Tea Jones and Shannon Sollars defeated Kendall Leberge and Kaylee Fisher 8-4.

Earlier in the day, Erin and Shannon Sollars won their singles matches at #5 and #6, respectively, to split the six singles matches.

“I couldn’t be more proud of this team,” Webb said on Twitter following the Person win on Tuesday night. “I think it’s been a very exciting season. We had some great additions to the team that has made us stronger. But I also think the girls worked hard every day. They’re improving every day. Some of them had goals to accomplish this year.”

One of them was Jones, a senior who started sparingly last spring. This year, Jones started the season with nine straight victories in singles matches. That included a three-set victory over Cedar Ridge on September 7 at Red Wolves Tennis Courts.

Part of what made Orange a better program this season was record participation. There were 23 players who filled Webb’s roster.

“All the girls that we have this year have a lot of confidence,” Webb said. “They believe in themselves. Against Cedar Ridge (on September 7), we had our #2 player lose the first set, come back and win the second set, then won the 10-point break. Tea did the same thing. So we’re winning close matches. That’s something that, in the past, has been a challenge for us. Winning the close matches has made a big difference.”

They also had long nights on the courts. In its CCC opener against Western Alamance in Elon, nightfall descended after a three-hour match that wasn’t decided until Orange’s #3 doubles team of Jinkie Andrews and Erin Sollars won 6-5. Earlier in the night, Andrews won her #3 singles match 5-7, 6-4, 10-6, which was one of two matches that went three sets on the night.

Orange and Cedar Ridge will participate in the Central Carolina Conference Tournament at the Burlington Tennis Center on Friday. The tournament will determine who will make the 3A Mideast Regionals, which will also be held in Burlington later this month.