Month: October 2022

There’s been plenty of changes to Orange football over the past year, but the Victory Bell will stay exactly where it’s been.

In a rivalry game postponed twice over the past month for weather-related reasons, the Panthers used a huge all-around game from junior running back Nate Sorrells to defeat Cedar Ridge 50-0 at Auman Stadium on Monday night.

The Panthers (2-7, 1-4 in the Central Carolina Conference) won its first home game of the season on Senior Night, where ten players won their final game at Auman Stadium. Among them was senior linebacker Jabari Albright, who earned time at running back in the second half and rushed for a career-high 92 yards and a touchdown.

The first varsity football game between the two crosstown rivals proved to be another frustrating night for the Red Wolves (1-8, 0-5), who gave the Panthers a tough junior varsity game last season when that was the only football team Cedar Ridge fielded. On Monday, the Red Wolves were held to 88 yard total offense and four first downs.

With the win, Orange retained the victory bell, awarded to the winner of the rivalry game which started 20 years ago when Cedar Ridge opened.

It was a night of firsts for Orange. Albright scored his first varsity touchdown, but it was senior safety DeAndre Jones who broke the game open. With nine seconds remaining in the first quarter, Cedar Ridge was in the midst of its best drive of the game when Jones intercepted a pass and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown. Sorrells run on the 2-point conversion put the Panthers ahead 14-0.

After Orange’s defense opened the contest with a 3-and-out against the Red Wolves’ offense, Orange opened with a 8-play, 43-yard drive where Sorrells had runs of eight, seven and 19 yards. On 3rd-and-goal, freshman Jaylen Starks notched his first touchdown of the season for the opening score.

Early in the second quarter, Sorrells jump started a drive with a 16-yard gain on first down, followed by an 11-yard pass from Nunnery to senior Shaun Beasley to cross midfield. After Nunnery flipped a tap pass to senior A’mare Morgan for a 19-yard pickup around right end, Sorrells scored his first touchdown with a three-yard run.

On the next Orange drive, Sorrells found senior Wynston Brown on a halfback option for an 84-yard touchdown pass, the longest play from scrimmage for the Panthers this season. To end the first half, Orange defensive back Xandrell Pinnix picked off a pass, his first interception of the season.

Orange opened the second half with Sorrells scoring on a 62-yard run, just moments after he had a 18-yard carry on the first play from scrimmage in the half.

In the fourth quarter, Morgan recovered a fumble in Red Wolf real estate. That set up Albright’s first touchdown run of five yards, his first touchdown of his varsity career.

On its final drive, Albright broke free and scored on a 35-yard touchdown run. DeAndre Brown added the two-point conversion for the final points of the night.

Cedar Ridge entered the game just three days after playing Walter Williams in Hillsborough on its senior night. Junior running back Tyler Fields had 58 yards rushing to lead the Red Wolves offense. The Red Wolves, who defeated East Chapel Hill in August, will face the Wildcats again at Dave Thaden Stadium on Friday night to close the season.

Orange, who had last Friday off, will travel to Eastern Alamance on Friday night to conclude the season. The Eagles have already clinched the CCC Championship after beating Northwood last Friday.

ORANGE 50, CEDAR RIDGE 0

CR–0 0 0 0-0

OR–14 14 6 16-50

ORANGE: Jaylen Starks 4 run (pass failed)

ORANGE: DeAndre Jones 75 interception return (Nate Sorrells run)

ORANGE: Nate Sorrells 3 run (run failed)

ORANGE: Wynston Brown 84 pass from Sorrells (Sorrells run)

ORANGE: Sorrells 62 run (run failed)

ORANGE: Jabari Albright 15 run (DeAndre Brown run)

ORANGE: Albright 35 run (D. Brown run)

RUSHING: CEDAR RIDGE 32-59: (Tyler Fields 14-58, Tom Crawford 7-25, James Este Wittinger 4-15, Rayshawn Page 1-(-5), Mason Cates 2-(-8), Keyshawn Mangum 2-(-12), team 2-(-14))

ORANGE: 26-311 4 TD (Sorrells (13-201 2 TD, Albright 4-92 2 TD, D. Brown 5-20, Starks 1-4 TD, W. Brown 1-2, Ty Walker 1-(-2), Hank Nunnery 1-(-6).

PASSING: CEDAR RIDGE (Crawford 2-8 27 yds 2 INT)

ORANGE: 6-12 156 yds TD (Nunnery 5-9 69 yds, Sorrells 1-1 84 yds TD, Walker 0-2)

RECEIVING: CEDAR RIDGE (Mangum 2-27)

ORANGE: (W.Brown 2-86 TD, A’mare Morgan 2-22, Crawford Farmer 1-37, Shaun Beasley 1-11)

The Orange football team grabbed its first home win of the season and retained the victory bell in the process. The Panthers defeated Cedar Ridge 50-0 for its first Central Carolina Conference win of the season. On a night where ten seniors were honored, junior Nate Sorrells led the Panthers with a career-high 201 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Sorrells broke the game open with his arm off a 84-yard touchdown pass to senior Wynston Brown, who scored on the longest play of his career. Linebacker Jabari Albright got some touches in the second half as a running back and had a career-high 92 yards rushing with two touchdowns. Senior A’mare Morgan made several vital defensive plays to help the Panthers with its second shutout of the season. Orange has defeated Cedar Ridge nine straight times and helped coach Devantae’ Pettiford earn his second career win. Orange will wrap up its season on Friday night with a trip to defending CCC Champion, Eastern Alamance. 

The Cedar Ridge Red Wolves volleyball team has advanced to the 2nd round of the 3A State Playoffs. On Saturday, the Red Wolves defeated Richlands 3-0 in the opening round. It was the third win of the week for Cedar Ridge. On Wednesday, the Red Wolves defeated crosstown rival Orange 3-0 in the Central Carolina Conference Tournament match. Against the Lady Panthers, senior Cameron Lloyd had eleven kills. Without setter Julie Altieri in the lineup, freshman Mia Marty stepped in as setter and finished with 14 assists. Graylin Serge also had a strong game for the Red Wolves acting as the libero amidst lineup changes. The victory over Orange was the 39th consecutive victory by Cedar Ridge over a league opponent. It was the seventh championship won by Cedar Ridge’s senior class of Lloyd, Cameron Lanier, Julie Altieri, Anaya Carter, Grace Young, Melissa Benkowitz, Lauren Cecil and Isabelle Sheppard. On Tuesday night, Cedar Ridge will face Orange in the 2nd round of the state playoffs at Red Wolves Gymnasium. The winner advances to the round of 16. 

The joyride that has been the Class of 2023 Cedar Ridge volleyball team is entering its final days.

Regardless of whether the end comes on Tuesday in the second round of the state playoffs against Orange, on November 8 in the 3A State Championship match at Reynolds Coliseum or somewhere in between, there’s no disputing the numbers continue to add up for the most accomplished group of Cedar Ridge athletes in the 20-year history of the school.

On Saturday, Cedar Ridge rolled past Richlands 3-0 in the opening round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 3A State Playoffs. The Red Wolves (22-1), the defending 3A State Champions, are the #2 seed in the east region. They advanced to face crosstown rival Orange in the second round on Tuesday night in Red Wolves Gymnasium.

It was the 80th win for Cedar RIdge’s senior class of Cameron Lloyd, Cameron Lanier, Julie Altieri, Anaya Carter, Grace Young, Melissa Benkowitz, Lauren Cecil and Isabelle Sheppard. Lloyd, Lanier, Altieri and Carter all played for the Red Wolves on the varsity as freshman. Young, Benkowitz, Sheppard and Cecil joined the varsity as sophomores (Benkowitz transferred from East Chapel Hill).

The Red Wolves used superior serving to easily take the victory. In the opening set, Young had eight aces and eight digs. Lloyd, who is second in school history for most career aces behind only Altieri, finished with five aces and nine digs, which led the team.

For the third straight game, Altieri was out. The Red Wolves went with freshman Mia Marty as setter in the opening two sets. Marty finished with eight assists, a lower total than usual simply because there weren’t many rallies.

Freshman Claire Hargett led the Red Wolves with five kills. Benkowitz added four while Lanier had three kills and three blocks.

Cedar Ridge has now won 22 consecutive matches and 66 of its last 67 sets. Its only loss of the season came against J.H. Rose, who is the #1 seed in the east region. On Saturday, the Rampants rolled past South Brunswick in the opening round to set up a matchup against C.B. Aycock on Tuesday night.

After winning all six of its state playoff matches last year, Cedar Ridge’s senior class has won nine state playoff matches. Asha Barnes, who graduated from Cedar Ridge in 2016, was a member of teams that won 13 sate playoff matches during her four years. In her senior year, the Red Wolves hosted the 2015 3A Eastern Regional championship match, which Asheboro captured 3-1.

Altieri holds the school record in assists and aces. She is the only player in Cedar Ridge history with over 200 aces. She also has 1,921 assists.

The remarkable thing about Cedar Ridge’s various record holders is they all were robbed of 10-15 games in the 2020-2021, which was limited to ten games because of the pandemic. The Red Wolves had 24 matches in 2019-2020 and 33 last year. With a standard length regular season, Lloyd could have become the first player in school history with 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs.

Going into Saturday, Lloyd’s listed statistics on MaxPreps was 990 kills and 728 digs. Based on records kept on MaxPreps, the all-time digs record in Cedar Ridge history belongs to Lindsay Thompson, who finished with 745.

When they face Orange on Tuesday, the Red Wolves will go for its 40th consecutive win over a conference opponent. In what may be a good omen for Orange, the Lady Panthers were the last team from the Central Carolina Conference to defeat the Red Wolves. They won 3-2 on October 18, 2019.

Cedar Ridge has won 25 consecutive home matches.

In one afternoon, the Orange volleyball team ensured its most successful season in 14 years, set up a fourth battle against its crosstown archival and did something that the Lady Panther program hasn’t accomplished in a decade.

That’s a lot to absorb in a short amount of time. Then again, too many things going on at once has been the theme of Orange’s season.

On Saturday afternoon, Orange swept Wilson Fike 3-0 on scores of 25-14, 25-17 and 25-22 at Panthers’ Gymnasium in the opening round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 3A State Playoffs. The Lady Panthers (19-10), the #15 seed that finished second in the Central Carolina Conference, advanced to the second round to face Cedar Ridge on Tuesday night at Red Wolves Gymnasium.

After Cedar Ridge swept the regular season series from Orange, the Red Wolves defeated the Lady Panthers 3-1 in the Central Carolina Conference Tournament championship match last Wednesday. While Orange lost, they did end Cedar Ridge’s 62-set winning streak after taking the third frame.

Last year, Orange defeated West Johnston in the opening round of the state playoffs. It’s the first time since 2011-2012 that the Lady Panthers have won state playoff matches in consecutive years.

The irony of Orange’s most successful season in 14 years is that, for much of the summer, no one was sure who would lead the program once August rolled around.

Coach Kelly Young wasn’t planning on returning for a fifth season. At the end of the 2021-22 academic year, Young left Orange to teach at Eno River Academy. Originally, she wanted to join the Bobcats’ staff as an assistant coach.

“My husband and I want to expand our family,” Young said during an interview at the beginning of the year. “I love coaching but it gets tough to start choosing between your kids and your school babies.”

Young worked Orange’s summer camp in July thinking it would be her final duties with the program that she played in during the late 2000s. Yet finding a successor to Young became harder and harder as the season approached.

“(Orange Athletic Director Mike) McCauley came up to me and said ‘It’s either going to be you or me,'” Young said. “I was like “OK.” So (assistant coach) Rachel (Nash) said ‘If you do it, I’ll do it one more year.’ We have so much good talent, we couldn’t let them go without and coach. These are my girls.”

It’s a team of diverse personalities and experience. Outside hitter Allie Wilkerson (who has committed to Division III Averett University), middle blocker Erin Jordan-Cornell, setter Caitlin Carden and libero Lilly Jones have played alongside starters learning on the job all year. Freshman Aubrey Jordan, who is second on the team in kills, has been a regular starter. Setter Katie Silcott, another freshman, gets regular playing time amid a rotation that goes 12-players deep.

As Orange volleyball prepares for transition in various ways, some of the seniors have embraced being mentors for the younger players. In the case of Jordan-Cornell, she proudly embraces the role of being “a mama bear.”

In another sense, so has Wilkerson. Her 6-foot-2 younger sister, Ava, is another freshman who plays routinely.

“All of the seniors are leaders in their own way,” Young said. “We only named three captains this year, but honestly all of the seniors bring something different to the table. They’re all so different in their personalities, it’s a nice mesh. Erin is like a mama bear. Allie is like your cheerleader. Kaitlin is more reserved. Cameryn (Stewart) is your super encouraging one. She’s super positive. Ashlyn Hoffman is the feisty one. Ashlyn Davis is a cheerer. Lily Smith is a little sarcastic. They’re all fun.”

While Orange trailed Cedar Ridge by two sets last week in the conference tournament championship match, the Lady Panthers’ victory in the third set felt like a breakthrough. For starters, Orange nearly won the opening set in its first matchup against the Red Wolves on September 6. They had four set points against the Red Wolves before finally falling 30-28. Cedar Ridge took the third set 25-23. It was easily the Red Wolves’ closest match in conference play.

Most outside observers would give Orange a puncher’s chance to defeat the defending 3A State Champions on Tuesday night and end the run of the most accomplished senior class in Red Wolves’ team history, regardless of sport.

But it’s now a chance that the Lady Panthers have given themselves.

Gabriel Schmid’s preparation for the CCC individual conference championship didn’t start with his first victory of the fall cross country season at the Early Bird Challenge in August.

It began long before that.

After Schmid finished 2nd in the 3A State Track and Field Championships in the 3,200 meters in Greensboro last May, he started an intense summer program that included a trip to Brevard’s long-distance running camp, which included many trips across the Piscah Forest across the North Carolina mountains. Schmid also journeyed to West Virginia for a Ragnar race, which gathers half-marathon runners from across the country.

All of that led to Schmid becoming an individual conference cross country champion while also leading the Orange men’s cross country team to its second consecutive league title.

On Wednesday afternoon at Lake Cammack Cross Country Course in Burlington, Schmid completed the 5,000-meter course in 16:37.42. He finished 47 seconds ahead of the runner-up, Northwood’s Christian Glick, who crossed the finish line at 17:25.14.

Orange junior Alden Cathey came in third at 17:39.66, which propelled the Panthers to the conference championship. Orange finished with 27 points, while Northwood finished second at 38 points. Cedar Ridge, behind senior Roman Morrell, came in third in the team standings at 81 points.

Schmid’s championship was his fourth victory of the season and his sixth top five finish of the season. Last season, Schmid finished third in the conference championship meet. Walter Williams Ryan Montondo captured the CCC crown, while Orange’s Spencer Hampton came in second.

Orange’s men’s conference championship comes after they won the 3A Mideast Regional championship in 2021, its best showing in the event ever.

Orange freshman Lucas Van Mater finished fifth. Sophomore Peter Musser came in seventh, while sophomore Cyrus Neal came in 11th. Myles Hermyn, another Orange freshman, came in 18th.

Cedar Ridge’s Morrell finished in sixth place, while Red Wolves freshman Henry Alexander came in 12th. Freshman Ryan Matthews crossed the finish line 17th, while sophomore Edgar Ibarra was 20th.

It was a day for underclassmen in the CCC Women’s Cross Country Championships. Cedar Ridge sophomore Naomi Dyreng finished in second place at 22:08.39. Only Eastern Alamance sophomore Catherine Parker came in ahead of Dyreng. Parker’s time was 21:15.76 to take the individual title.

Cedar Ridge sophomore Abigail Klaitman finished in third place at 22:39.18.

Even though Orange didn’t have a runner in the top five, the Lady Panthers finished second in the women’s team standings. The Lady Panthers wound up with 63 points. Eastern Alamance took the conference championship with 52 points. Cedar Ridge had 64 points, just one behind Orange.

Orange’s top individual finisher was Grace Pell, a junior who competed in track and field last spring. Pell crossed the finish line at 23:50.16. The Lady Panthers’ Evelyn Gover, a freshman, came in tenth at 23:52.11. The Lady Panthers Sophia Schultz came in 12th at 24:02.25. Orange Junior Kassi Scarantino, who was a member of the Lady Panthers’ women’s soccer team last spring, finished 13th.

Orange and Cedar Ridge will now move on to the 3A Mideast Regional Championships, which will be held at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. That was the exact location of Schmid’s season-opening victory in August, as well as the location of the 2019 Big 8 Conference Cross Country championships. The regionals will be held on October 29. Orange and Cedar Ridge have qualified for regionals after their finishes in the conference championships.

The 3A State Championships will be held at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville. Last year, the Orange men’s team finished 3rd in the state, its best-ever showing at the 3A level.

Cedar Ridge volleyball’s famed senior class has claimed its seventh championship, but the Red Wolves’ youth played an instrumental factor in its latest title.

Of course, there were the usual suspects for Cedar Ridge, like Cameron Lloyd, Melissa Benkowitz and Cameron Lanier, all of whom racked up kills in a 3-1 win over Orange in the Central Carolina Conference Tournament Championship match at Red Wolves Gymnasium on Wednesday night. There were also two freshmen, Claire Hargett and Mia Marty, who found themselves in prominent positions in the Red Wolves 39th consecutive win over a conference opponent.

Cedar Ridge extended several of its school records against Orange, but not every streak survived.

Orange won the third set 25-17, ending Cedar Ridge’s streak of 62 consecutive victorious sets. To put that in perspective, Cedar Ridge (21-1) lost the final set of its season opener against J.H. Rose on August 18, then won via sweep in its other 19 regular season matches, plus its first tilt of the postseason against Walter Williams in the CCC Tournament semifinals.

The Red Wolves recovered to comfortably take the fourth set 25-17 to claim its second consecutive CCC Tournament title. It was Cedar Ridge’s seventh straight win over its crosstown rivals.

But after 21 consecutive wins, the Red Wolves did face adversity before they venture into the 3A State Tournament to defend their state championship. They played both games in the conference tournament without leading setter Julie Altieri, the all-time school leader in assists and aces.

So what did head coach Fiona Cunningham tell the team after they lost a set for the first time in over two months?

“Things I don’t want to repeat,” Cunningham said. “Orange did phenomenal that set. That was the team that they knew they could be. And we knew they could be that good and we got to see that. I told my girls that Orange was playing great. I also told them that we needed to play smarter and that we needed not to give away the game.”

Marty, who spent this season on Cedar Ridge’s undefeated junior varsity squad, had 14 assists in only her second varsity game. Without Altieri, the Red Wolves went with a setter-by- committee. Grace Young, usually the Red Wolves libero, started at setter and finished with 12 assists. Junior Graylinn Serge served as libero.

Lloyd, who has surpassed 1,000 kills for her career, finished with 12 kills. Hargett, a regular rotation player during her freshman year, tied her season-high with ten kills, matching the output she had against Walter Williams on September 14.

Orange (18-10) senior Allie Wilkerson had nine kills while her younger sister Ava Wilkerson finished with five kills and five blocks. Senior Caitlin Carden had 20 assists, one ace and one kill.

Ava Wilkerson, a 6-2 freshman, sparked Orange’s 10-0 spurt in the third set with a block on an attack by Cedar Ridge’s Addie Reid. On the next point, Orange senior Erin Jordan-Cornell had another block to put the Lady Panthers ahead 16-11, sending the visiting bench into jubilation and forcing Cunningham to call a timeout.

Ava Wilkerson and Jordan-Cornell each had back-to-back kills to continue the momentum. Junior Ella Wimsatt, who leads the Lady Panthers in kills, spiked home a point for Orange’s 23rd point. The Red Wolves sent the subsequent two attacks into the net, ending its streak of 62 victorious sets.

The two previous sets weren’t nearly as dramatic. In the opening frame, Cedar Ridge quickly pulled away after they jumped out to an 8-3 lead. Senior Cameron Lanier had consecutive aces to put the Red Wolves ahead 15-6. Lanier would spike home set point off an assist from Marty.

Cedar Ridge claimed the second set 25-10. After an attack by senior Anaya Carter, the Red Wolves reeled off ten of the next 13 points. During that spree, Benkowitz had two aces, a kill and a block to put the Red Wolves ahead 17-8. Three kills by Lloyd helped Cedar Ridge finished the set on a 8-1 run.

After dropping the third set, Cedar Ridge started the fourth set scoring nine of the first 12 points. After an opening kill by Reid, Carter had a block and a kill on back-to-back plays. Hargett scored match point off an assist from Young.

It was a day that started at 9:20AM. It didn’t end 11:20PM.

In all, the Orange women’s tennis team drove to Kill Devil Hills for a journey that added up to 480 miles roundtrip. Once it was all said and done, the lasting feeling was satisfaction, along with the urgent need for a leg stretch.

Behind four singles wins, the Orange women’s tennis team defeated First Flight 5-2 to win in the opening round of the 3A State Dual Team Playoffs. Orange extended its school-record with 19 wins in a season. For the first time ever, the Lady Panthers tennis team has won matches in the state dual team playoffs in back-to-back seasons.

Orange, the co-champions of the Central Carolina Conference, defeated the co-champions of the Northeast Coastal Conference. The Nighthawks (10-2) shared the title with Holmes, a 2A team, with a 7-1 mark.

“It was a good match,” said Orange women’s tennis coach Justin Webb just after he parked the team bus at Orange High Tennis Courts late Wednesday night. “I thought both teams competed extremely hard. It was really interesting conditions.”

Orange advances to the Round of 16, where they will face Fike in Wilson next Tuesday. The Golden Demons, the Quad County Conference champions, defeated Croatan in the opening round on Tuesday.

Last season, Orange knocked off Fike for its first-ever win in the state dual team playoffs.

Webb and his players knew that the fall chill that’s permeated the Triangle this week would extend all the way to the east. When they finally got off the bus following a four-hour ride, they were greeted with wind gusts of 20 miles per hour that were imposing and constantly changing, but expected considering they were along the coast.

“It was very cold and windy,” Webb said. “It’s was pretty difficult conditions, but both teams had to deal with it. First Flight was very scrappy. They didn’t get us much. They were a very tough team and definitely didn’t make it easy on us. I’m sure the wind is something they’re used to, but we’re not.”

Even though Orange is a senior-laden team, the postseason was new for many of them. Of the seven starters who saw action on Wednesday, only two played in last year’s playoff victory over Fike.

“They were excited,” Webb said. “I felt when they were warming up and throughout the whole trip, they were excited about going to the beach. But they had a mission and a goal, and that was to win. I think they believed that if we were going to travel four hours, we’re doing to compete and we’re going to make it worth it.”

Orange never trailed in the match after senior Sydney Rogers extended her singles winning streak with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Chloe Rose at #4 singles. Rogers, the placekicker for the Orange football team, is 15-0 this season.

Senior Isabel Jones, a teammate of Rogers on the Orange women’s soccer team, put the Lady Panthers ahead 2-0 after a three-set victory over Stella Matzgannis, one of two singles matches to go the limit. Jones prevailed 4-6, 6-4, 10-8 (10-point tiebreaker). Lady Panthers’ junior Makayla Davis defeated sophomore Olivia Lillington 6-3, 6-3 at #3 singles, giving Orange a 3-0 lead. Davis has 23 wins overall in 2022.

In the final match of singles play, Orange sophomore Shannon Sollars defeated Heather Snyder, one of two senior starters for the Nighthawks, 7-5, 6-2. Sollars, who qualified for the 3A Mideast Regionals in doubles play with her older sister Erin, has won 13 singles matches in 2022.

The only doubles match to be completed clinched the match for Orange. Senior Katelyn Van Mater, who is a three-sport athlete, teamed with Jones to defeat Maura Trivette and Matzgannis 8-6.

Sophomore Annalise Snyder won the #1 singles match for First Flight. In the other three set match, Trivette held off Orange senior Madelyn Horn 6-4, 0-6, 12-10.

The victory added to a growing list of unprecedented accomplishments continues to grow. After winning its first conference championship in tennis earlier this month, Orange will try to reach the state quarterfinals next week.

The only women’s tennis team to ever reach the 3A State Quarterfinals in Hillsborough high history is the 2016 Cedar Ridge Red Wolves.