STEM–Stem, North Carolina has been good to DeVante’ Pettiord.
It was where he won his first game in his senior year as an Orange football player in 2010. 12 years later, it was where he won his first game as a head coach.
Though Orange’s 45-0 win over Granville Central was the polar opposite of dramatic, there were tears in Pettiford’s eyes as his first win as a head coach quickly became apparent. It was a milestone moment for him, his assistants and many of his players.
Afterwards, defensive assistant Erick Villines dumped a cup of water over Pettiford’s head, which would have to do in place of the obligatory Gatorade bath. The team presented Pettiford with a commemorative game ball for his first win.
“It feels amazing,” Pettiford said. “I’ve seen these guys bust their butts, show up every day and go to work. They had a tough three games, but it all came together tonight. It was exactly what this team needed. We work hard everyday. We just needed to taste something good. Hopefully, it just gets keep rolling.”
It was a career night for several players. Sophomore quarterback Hank Nunnery threw for five touchdowns, a career-high. Running back Nathan Sorrells rushed for a personal best 157 yards and scored three touchdowns. Wide receiver Shaun Beasley made caught three touchdowns and finished with 103 yards receiving, his second straight 100-yard receiving game.
The Orange defense, led by returning senior linebacker Jabari Albright, held Granville Central to 55 yards total offense and two first downs. Senior Amare Morgan had a strong night on both sides of the ball. As a linebacker, Morgan had two tackles for loss. On offense, Morgan took a slip screen pass from Nunnery and dashed 33 yards down the Orange sideline for his first career touchdown.
“This is a team that, when we play with confidence, we’re pretty good,” Pettiford said. “Our issue is when something goes wrong, how do we respond? We do respond and we keep fighting, but we still take the hit and play bad for about five minutes. If we can start withstanding the blow better and being more resilient, that’s what will get us back on track.”
Orange scored touchdowns on each of its first five possessions and finished with season-best 498 yards. From the time that Sorrells took the opening handoff of the game for 21 yards, Orange wasn’t seriously challenged. After Beasley took an end around for 44 yards around left tackle, Sorrells scored on a three-yard carry up the middle. Sydney Rogers’ extra point put Orange ahead 7-0.
After a botched punt attempt by Granville Central, Orange inherited its second possession at the Central 20-yard line. Nunnery threw a tap pass to Sorrells for a seven-yard score.
Orange needed only one play to strike for its third score. Nunnery hit Beasley down the middle for a 55-yard score, Beasley’s second touchdown of the season to increase Orange’s lead to 19-0.
On the fourth Panther possession, Nunnery hit Beasley for 26 yards, then found Morgan for the screen pass and a 33-yard touchdown.
To open the second quarter, Nunnery hit Beasley again, this time for a 31-yard touchdown. Senior wide receiver Wynston Brown, who scored last week against Burlington Cummings, added another touchdown with a 25 yard touchdown catch in the left corner of the end zone.
The second half, which was played with a running clock, opened with Orange’s most lengthy drive of the night. After Sorrells started with a 16-yard carry, DeAndre Brown rumbled up the middle for a 21-yard gain. After a holding penalty deep in Granville Central territory, Sorrells scored his third touchdown of the game on a 24-yard run.
“This is definitely a memorable moment,” Pettiford said. “It was special seeing these guys win. It ain’t even about me. It’s about these guys that show up everyday and put the work in.”
It was Orange’s first road win since beating Northern Durham at Durham County Stadium in March 12, 2021.
The Panthers (1-3) start Central Carolina Conference play against Western Alamance on Friday night at Auman Stadium.
“We have a tough conference,” Pettiford said. “It’s full of good teams. Hopefully, we hit the ground running and we’re trying to get hot at the right time.”
ORANGE 45, GRANVILLE CENTRAL 0
ORA–25 13 7 0-45
GCN–0 0 0 0-0
ORA–Nathan Sorrells 3 run (Sydney Rogers kick)
ORA–Sorrells 7 pass from Hank Nunnery (kick blocked)
ORA–Shaun Beasley 55 pass from Nunnery (run failed)
ORA–Amare Morgan 33 pass from Nunnery (kick blocked)
ORA–Beasley 31 pass from Nunnery (run failed)
ORA–Wynston Brown 25 pass from Nunnery (Rogers kick)
ORA–Sorrells 24 run (Rogers kick)
RUSHING–ORANGE 23-295 yards 2 TD (Sorrells 9-157 2 TD, Jabari Albright 5-59, Beasley 1-44, Jaylan Starks 1-21, Deandre Brown 4-17, Nunnery 1-0, team 1-(-1), Brown 1-(-2))
GRANVILLE CENTRAL 21-(-11 yards): (Jamar Starter 5-10, Tashad Kearney 9-5, Uzias Cid-Sanchez 2-4, Fletcher Harvey 1-4, James Thorppe 1-(-4), Luke Sharon 3-(-30))
PASSING: ORANGE 10-13 203 yards 5 TD (Nunnery 9-12 196 yards 5 TD, Ty Walker 1-1 7 yards) GRANVILLE CENTRAL (Sharon 5-18 64 yards)
RECEIVING: ORANGE (Beasley 4-112 2 TD, Brown 2-32 TD, Sorrells 2-13 TD, Morgan 1-33 TD, Brandon Cummings 1-13)
GRANVILLE CENTRAL (James Thorpe 2-56, Kearney 2-10, Alex Terry 1-(-2))