As part of a season-long tribute to the hit Netflix show “Stranger Things,” the Cedar Ridge marching band played Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” during halftime on Friday night.
The Red Wolves football program has been through an upside-down of its own the last few years. They had gone 1,050 days without a varsity win after not fielding a team in 2021 due to a lack of players. (There was a junior varsity team).
Call it fate. Call it karma. Call it good coincidence. But on the night that Cedar Ridge started its tribute to “Stranger Things,” the Red Wolves football team ended its losing streak at, well, eleven.
Junior linebacker James Este Wittinger and defensive lineman Sam Hughes grabbed East Chapel Hill running back Tyonne Hicks in the end zone for a safety with 3:53 remaining to notch the game-winning points as Cedar Ridge defeated East Chapel Hill 8-6 at Cedar Ridge Stadium.
Earlier in the second half, Este Wittinger scored the Red Wolves only touchdown on a 3-yard run. The subsequent two-point conversion failed to keep things tied 6-6.
It was Cedar Ridge’s first varsity football win since October 11, 2019, when K.J. Barnes scored on a two-point conversion with 4:00 remaining after a touchdown run by Isaiah McCambry.
Torrean Hinton was the head coach of the Red Wolves for both wins. For the Chapel Hill victory three years ago, he was the interim coach after Antonio King gave notice on the first day of August practice to become an assistant at North Carolina Central.
Hinton left Cedar Ridge after the Red Wolves hired Corey Lea as its head coach in February 2020. Lea left after 16 months to return to Riverside, paving the way for Hinton to return as permanent head coach last year.
Instead of savoring a win, Hinton was more focused on trying to make victories more common instead of waiting hundreds of days for the next one.
“I feel good that’s now over,” Hinton said. “The game didn’t go as we planned it to go, but sometimes you get a win and that’s the most important thing. I’m happy the kids are happy. They’re very excited about it. To get a varsity win isn’t easy. So the fact that we did come out and get one, that’s why we play.”
The game had other quirks. East Chapel Hill assistant coach Louis Tedder Sr. was coaching against his own son, Louis, Jr. to the truest since of the term. Tedder Sr., who was a member of Cedar Ridge’s staff last season when they fielded a junior varsity team in 2021, joined the staff of new East Chapel Hill head coach Larry Stroud last winter.
Louis Tedder Jr. is an offensive and defensive lineman for Cedar Ridge who is also a heavyweight on Scott Metcalf’s wrestling team.
“I told Louis this week in practice that I couldn’t send him home without a win,” Hinton said. “If he had lost, I know his father wouldn’t have let him hear the end of it.”
On Friday night, the Red Wolves trailed right from the start. Hicks scored on East Chapel Hill’s first drive on a 49-yard end sweep with 9:38 remaining in the first quarter. The Red Wolves’ defense allowed only two more first downs the rest of the game.
The Red Wolves offense, behind 55 yards rushing from junior running back Tyler Fields, looked like a long-distance golfer most of the game: they had no problems driving with a rough short game. The Red Wolves had four drives penetrate the East Chapel Hill 45-yard line in the first half and came away with nothing.
Of Cedar Ridge’s first five possessions, three ended in turnovers.
On the other hand, Cedar Ridge’s defense allowed just 87 yards after Hicks’ touchdown run. On the final play of the first half, East Chapel Hill quarterback Christopher Creamer hit Owen Stout, who briefly broke out in the open before he was tackled by senior safety Matt Turner.
To open the third quarter, Tedder made a big stop on defense to force a Wildcat punt. That led to a steady Cedar Ridge drive, where they kept running up that road, running up that hill, running up that building to the tune of 68 yards on ten plays. After running back Justin Harsett rushed for ten yards, Este Wittinger busted free for 15 yards. Fields reeled off a ten-yard gain to get the ball into the red zone. Este Wittinger scored on a 3-yard run with 3:39 remaining.
The remaining five East Chapel Hill drives all ended in turnovers. Hartsell, also a defensive back, had back-to-back interceptions, the final one on the second play of the fourth quarter for a 41-yard return.
Though the subsequent Cedar Ridge drive stalled out at the Wildcat 20-yard line, the Red Wolves were winning the field position battle. Turner recovered a botched snap inside the East Chapel Hill 12-yard line midway through the final quarter.
The Wildcats held its ground as Cedar Ridge couldn’t move the ball on the subsequent four plays. East started its next series from its 13-yard line, but the Red Wolves defense was fresher. Este Wittinger wrestled down Hicks for a 2-yard loss. After Creamer was sacked, Hicks took a handoff in the end zone where he ran into traffic. Este Wittiner and Hughes tackled Hicks behind the line of scrimmage to put the Red Wolves ahead 8-6.
Fittingly, junior Mason Cates, who played on the junior varsity team last year, sewed up the win with an interception on the Wildcats’ final drive.
CEDAR RIDGE 8, EAST CHAPEL HILL 6
ECH–6 0 0 0-6
CR–0 0 6 2-8
ECH–Tyonne Hicks 49 run (kick failed)
CR–James Este Wittinger 3 run (pass failed)
CR–Safety, Hicks tackled in end zone
RUSHING–EAST CHAPEL HILL 19-40 TD (Hicks 16-60 TD, Charlie George 1-5, Christopher Creamer 1(-8), team 1-(-17)
CEDAR RIDGE (Tyler Fields 19-55, Mason Cates, 2-20, Justin Harsell 1-20, Keyshawn Mangum 1-(-1), Tom Crawford 3-(-3))
PASSING: EAST CHAPEL HILL: (Creamer 5-19 97 yds 3 INT)
CEDAR RIDGE: (Crawford 4-10 31 yds)
RECEIVING: EAST CHAPEL HILL (George 3-76, Owen Stout 1-15, Daniel Cruz 1-7)
CEDAR RIDGE (Hayden Kirk 3-11, Cates 1-20)