Southeast Alamance traveled into Hillsborough knowing they would play its first game in program history on Friday night.
What they didn’t know was, by game’s end, they would feel like they had played their entire inaugural season in one night.
The Stallions and the Orange Panthers labored through a textbook definition 0f a choppy game filled with penalties, incomplete passes and players cramping up nearly every other play in the second half. It added up to an interminable three-hours-and-seven minutes. When the proceedings finally ended, Orange limped away with its first win in a season-opener since 2017.
Junior quarterback Hank Nunnery threw four touchdowns, including an 89-yard catch-and-run to Brandon Cummings in the second quarter, to lead Orange past Southeast Alamance 33-20 at Auman Stadium. Orange running back Nate Sorrells rushed for 179 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown with :30 remaining in the third quarter that put away the win.
It’s the first time Orange has had a winning record since the spring pandemic season of March 2021 when they were 3-2 after a win over Cedar Ridge.
“You take wins as they come,” said Orange coach DeVante Pettiford. “Winning is a lot more difficult thing than people understand. You take them how you get them. I’m proud of the team tonight. They fought hard all four quarters. There were some things we had to weather. We kept fighting and we kept bouncing back.”
Playing without starting center Luke Cecil, Orange’s offense was boom or bust. None of Orange’s 16 drives had more than one first down. In lieu of sustained drives, the Panthers relied on explosion plays and a feisty defense that sacked Southeast quarterback Ryan Dodson nine times.
“When we looked at game tape, we knew that Dodson was their guy,” Pettiford said. “Obviously, they have a couple of receivers that they like. But the quarterback was their guy. So my things was we were going to send pressure as much as we could. Dodson is a very tough kid. We hit him all night long and he kept getting back up. He’s tough as nails.”
Sophomore linebacker Jaylen Starks sacked Dodson on the game’s first play to dd adrenaline to an Orange sideline the was already bouncing off the walls. The Panthers started its first drive at the Stallions 35-yard line. On the second play, Nunnery found Cummings for a 30-yard touchdown pass.
Orange’s Garrett Sawyer sacked Dodson on the next Southeast drive, sending the ball to the ground. Orange freshman Tyreek Battle recovered the fumble at the Stallions 37-yard line. After Sorrells rushed for a 32-yard gain to move the ball into the red zone, Nunnery searched for Cummings again. Instead, the pass wound up in Sorrells hands, who ran it into the right corner of the end zone from 15 yards out. Tyler Narold’s extra point put Orange ahead 13-0.
For anyone looking to win bets in the year 2040 across bars in Haw River, the first answer to the trivia question “Who was the first Southeast Alamance player to score a touchdown?” is Tryon Squires. After Antonio Williamson intercepted an Orange pass in the second quarter, Dodson found Squires for a 33-yard touchdown pass. Cruz Nelms’ extra point put the Stallions deficit at 13-7.
Through the early portion of the second quarter, the Panthers offense struggled. Backed up to its 11-yard line, Orange caught lightning in a bottle when Nunnery found Cummings over the middle. Cummings outran the rest of the Southeast defense for an 89-yard touchdown.
“I was running out of gas towards the end,” Cummings said.
“That was a game-changing touchdown,” Pettiford said. “They had a lot of momentum at that time. When he broke that, he was able to increase our lead and get a lot of things in our favor. Brandon does that every day in practice. I’m glad it finally happened on Friday night.”
In the second half, the two teams traded three-and-outs over the first few drives. The Stallions blocked a Narold punt at the Orange 14-yard line. On 4th-and-9, Dodson hit Squires in the right corner of the end zone. Nelms’ extra point reduced Orange’s lead to 20-13.
Once again, Orange found another big play. After a 17-yard run by Jaylan Starks, Nunnery found Crawford Farmer over the middle for a 46-yard touchdown catch.
Southeast narrowed the gap again with a 10-play, 59-yard drive that appeared dead when Dodson threw an incomplete pass on 4th-and-9 from the Orange 11-yard line. But the Panthers were called for a roughing the passer penalty. On the next play, Dodson found Williamson on a 6-yard touchdown pass.
The Stallions were within one score at 27-20, which meant it was time for another Orange big play. This time it was Sorrells, who streaked ahead for 20 yards. After an injury timeout, Sorrells took a toss and outran the field 60 yards for the game’s final score.
In the fourth quarter, sophomores Kayden Bradsher and Hunter Albert each had interceptions for the Panthers. Albert’s pick at the goal line ended the final Southeast drive of the night and ensured Orange’s second straight home win dating back to last season.
ORANGE 33, SOUTHEAST ALAMANCE 20
SA–0 7 13 0-20
OR–13 7 13 0-33
Orange–Brandon Cummings 30 pass from Hank Nunnery (kick blocked)
Orange–Nathan Sorrells 15 pass from Nunnery (Tyler Narold kick)
Southeast Alamance–Tyron Squires 33 pass from Ryan Dodson (Cruz Nelms kick)
Orange–Cummings 89 pass from Nunnery (Narold kick)
Southeast Alamance–Squires 13 pass from Dodson (kick blocked)
Orange–Crawford Farmer 46 pass from Nunnery (Narold kick)
Southeast Alamance–Antonio Williamson 6 pass from Dodson (Nelms kick)
Orange–Sorrells 60 run (kick failed)
RUSHING–SOUTHEAST ALAMANCE 37 carries–30 yards (Daniel Booker 7-37, Jerry Sims 3-11, Trey Van Dusen 1-7, Damonte Corbett 6-0, Treygan Lucas 3-0, Dodson 17-(-25)
ORANGE– 25 carries–183 yards TD (Sorrells 14-179 TD, Jaylan Starks 4-22, DeAndre Brown 3-9, Daylin Ford 1(-2), Nunnery 3-(-25).
PASSING–SOUTHEAST ALAMANCE 15-40 178 yards 3 TD 4 INT (Dodson 15-39 178 yards 3 TD, 4 INT, Van Dusen 0-1)
ORANGE (Nunnery 8-20 201 yards, 4 TD, INT)
RECEIVING: SOUTHEAST ALAMANCE (Sims 6-38, Squires 5-110 2 TD, Williamson 2-21 TD, Corbett 1-5)
ORANGE: (Cummings 3-129 2 TD, Farmer 2-49 TD, Sorrells 2-18 TD, Kayden Bradsher 1-5