Month: August 2023

This week’s Orange Panther of the week is senior wide receiver Brandon Cummings. The Defensive Player of the Week is junior linebacker DeAndre Brown. Plus, we’re also honoring junior Ja’Ki McDnaiels as part of our spring spotlight series. On Friday night, Cummings had a career-high 130 yards receiving in Orange’s 33-20 win over Southeast Alamance. Cummings scored Orange’s first touchdown of the season on a 30-yard reception on the first drive of the game. In the second quarter, Cummings broke free for an 89-yard touchdown catch-and-run which put Orange ahead 20-7. It was the first touchdowns of his varsity career. Brown was part of an exuberant Orange defense, which had seven sacks against the Stallions. Brown led the team with 15 tackles, including one sack. Brown is part of a young Orange defense that includes freshman Tyreek Battle, sophomore Jaylan Starks and junior Garrett Sawyer. Last spring, Ja’Ki McDaniels qualified for the 3A State Outdoor Track and Field Championships. In 2022, McDaniels scored Orange’s first touchdown of the season against South Granville. The efforts of Cummings, Brown and McDaniels were a big reason why the Panthers won its first season opener since 2017. Tonight, the Panthers will face longtime rival Chapel Hill at Auman Stadium. The Panthers will look to end a three-game losing streak to the Tigers.

Orange Panther of the Week: Brandon Cummings; Defensive Player: DeAndre Brown & Ja’Ki McDaniels

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Is this Orange volleyball’s time?

In the past ten years, Cedar Ridge, Chapel Hill, East Chapel Hill and Carrboro have all won conference championships in volleyball. Orange has been the odd team out.

The Lady Panthers have teetered on the edge of a championship before. For four straight years in the mid-2000s, Orange finished in second place as a 2A team. The problem was Cardinal Gibbons was a 2A team, too, and they finished ahead of the Lady Panthers each time.

Kelly Young was a player on those Orange teams. When she became Orange head coach in 2018, she took aim at Chapel Hill, the top dogs of the Big 8 Conference, where the Lady Panthers resided at the time.

Orange would beat Chapel Hill during the pandemic season of 2020. Cedar Ridge, however, had the firepower to become the most successful volleyball team in Hillsborough history, winning three straight conference championships and the 2021 3A State title. Last year, Orange was the only team from the CCC to take a set from the Red Wolves, but it didn’t stop Cedar Ridge from winning another league crown and reaching the Eastern Regional Championship match for the second straight year.

Plenty has changed across the CCC since then, including at Orange. Young stepped down as head coach and is now an assistant at Eno River Academy. Hope Heverly, who served three years as Person head coach from 2012-2014, returned to the high school ranks last week.

After a fifth-place finish at the East Chapel Hill Invitational, the Lady Panthers finished off an undefeated week with a 3-1 victory over Falls Lake in Creedmoor on Thursday night. The Firebirds came into the match ranked as the #1 team in the 1A East RPI rankings, but Orange handed them its first loss of the season.

This week, Orange completed a swing of six matches in six days (all of them away from Hillsborough) with three road wins over Seaforth, East Chapel Hill and Falls Lake. Orange defeated the Wildcats on Wednesday night 3-0 on scores of 25-17, 25-12 and 25-15. Senior Ella Wimsatt finished with 14 kills and 16 digs. Wimsatt emerged from Wednesday night with 101 kills on the young season, a team-high. Sophomore Aubrey Jordan finished with 12 kills and four digs.

Sophomore Katie Silcott, who has taken over setting duties after the graduation of Caitlin Carden, finished with 33 assists and nine digs. Senior libero Sadye Porter, who missed last season, led the Lady Panthers with 19 digs.

“Sadye’s presence is definitely seen out there,” Heverly said. “She covers a lot of court for such a little girl.”

Only the third set was competitive with East springing out to a 7-3 lead. With Panther junior Abby Silinski serving, Orange erased its deficit with a 7-2 run. Wimsatt had three kills in the spurt, while Jordan added two more and Silinki dropped in an ace that landed on the backline. The Lady Panthers ran off seven straight points starting with a Wimsatt kill off an assist from Silcott. Mariah Poole had a block while Wimsatt delivered an ace to put the Panthers ahead 16-10.

“I was a little bit nervous tonight,” Heverly said. “The girls had played all weekend and didn’t get any time to rest. But the girls came out strong and I think they learned a lot from this weekend about coming together as a team. This week, I feel we’ve seen an improvement in team cohesiveness than last week, our first week.”

Overall, five different players had kills in the final set, including five from Wimsatt. Sophomore Ava Wilkerson finished with six for the game. Poole scored match point to earn Orange’s second sweep of the Wildcats this season.

“Our setters are doing a good job in spreading out the sets more to give the outside hitters an option,” Heverly said. “All of the hitters are stepping up, instead of just are outside hitters.”

Next Tuesday, the Lady Panthers will begin the CCC slate with an important road trip to Western Alamance, who is currently ranked higher in the RPI rankings than any other CCC team. The Warriors will be a wildcard in a league turned upside down by graduations and coaching departures.

The looming question as the conference slate begins for Orange is whether this is finally the time they can rise above everyone for their first conference title.

Our first Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week for the 2023-2024 academic year is senior men’s soccer midfielder Iliah Babchenko. Last week, Babchenko scored a goal in Cedar Ridge’s 4-2 win over Eno River Academy at Red Wolves Stadium. It was the first-ever matchup between the two teams. Babchenko also assisted on a goal against the Bobcats. In its first road trip of the season, Cedar Ridge defeated Voyager Academy 4-1 in Durham. Babchenko scored on a penalty kick. The son of Ukrainian parents who immigrated to the United States in the early 2000s, Babchenko has played at the varsity level for four years. He endured the pandemic that curtailed much of his freshman year. Cedar Ridge is 3-0-1, its best start since 2009, at the very least. On Wednesday night, the Red Wolves played Northwood to a 1-1 tie. Babchenko nearly made the 3A State Playoffs in his sophomore year, but the Red Wolves were the last team out of the field of 64. This season, Cedar Ridge’s goal is to make the postseason for the first time since 2016. Babchenko has been a vocal leader, during training and on the pitch during games, throughout the early stages of this 2023 season.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Iliah Babchenko

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Winning at East Chapel Hill is starting to become a habit for the Orange volleyball team. On Wednesday night, the Lady Panthers played its fourth game in five days inside Wildcats Gymnasium. Orange swept East Chapel Hill 3-0 on scores of 25-17, 25-12 and 25-15. Orange senior Ella Wimsatt had 14 kills and 16 digs as the Lady Panthers improved to 4-3. Sophomore Aubrey Jordan finished with 12 kills and four digs. Senior setter Katie Silcott finished with 33 assists. Senior libero Sadye Porter led Orange with 19 digs. Junior Abby Sillinski finished with seven digs. The Lady Panthers had a 7-1 spurt to take control of the first set, which included three kills by Jordan. Orange took a 23-13 lead with a 6-0 run late in the first set. Wimsatt wrapped up the first set with a kill assisted by Silcott. Sophomore Ava Wilkerson finished with six kills, an ace and a block. The Lady Panthers have two more games before its first conference matchup. On Thursday night, Orange will travel to Creedmoor to plays Falls Lake. Next week, the Lady Panthers travel to Durham to face Jordan. On Tuesday, Orange will play at Western Alamance to start its Central Carolina Conference slate. All told, Orange has played six straight games away from home. By the time they return home next Thursday, that number will be eight.

Orange volleyball’s Sadye Porter and Abby Sillinski discuss win over East Chapel Hill

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Men’s soccer: Orange 1, Carrboro 1: It looked as if the Orange men’s soccer team would suffer its second straight loss before a senior came up big in the waning seconds at Carrboro.

Ryker Stein scored his first goal of the season with 54 seconds remaining in regulation to help the Panthers escape with a 1-1 tie against the Jaguars on Wednesday night.

With just over a minute remaining, Stein was fouled 50 yards from net. On the subsequent free kick, the ball hopped into the penalty area off the shoulder of Orange’s Yurem Tapia Mendez. Stein turned on the rebound with a cross swing off his right foot that bounced into the lower left corner of the net for the equalizer.

Carrboro took the lead off a corner kick with 25:52 remaining in the second half.

It was the first time that Orange tied Carrboro since  2018, when the two teams played to a 2-2 deadlock in 2017. The two teams last met in 2019, when the Jaguars defeated the Panthers 8-2 inside Jaguars Stadium.

Orange (1-1-1) will travel to WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary on Saturday morning for the North Carolina Soccer Coaches Association Kick-off Classic. The Panthers will face Pinecrest at 11AM.

Cedar Ridge 1, Northwood 1: Cedar Ridge ended a three-game losing streak at Northwood with a 1-1 tie against the Chargers in Pittsboro on Monday night.

Junior Dominic McNerney scored the Red Wolves’ only goal off an assist by Rudy Fuentes. McNerney, a co-Captain, has had either an assist or a goal in each of Cedar Ridge’s four games thus far.

Goalkeeper Erik Galunas made six saves to preserve the tie. The Red Wolves remain undefeated at 3-0-1 and will return to Chatham County to face Seaforth on Monday night. It will be the final game of Cedar Ridge’s four-game road trip.

Women’s Tennis: Orange 9, Southeast Alamance 0: In the first-ever matchup between the Lady Panthers and the Stallions on the tennis courts, Orange emerged with its third win of the season. The Lady Panthers improved to 3-1 on the season.

Durham School of the Arts 5, Orange 4: On Tuesday night, the Bulldogs handed Orange its first loss of the season with victories in four of the six singles matches.

For Orange, junior Shannon Sollars remained undefeated on the season. Sollars defeated Lucia Harrington 6-2, 6-1 at #2 singles. Later in the night, Sollars teamed with her sister Erin to win at #1 doubles over Harrington and Giselle Cowden 8-3.

Orange senior Mikayla Davis won at #3 singles over Sadie Miller 6-4, 6-4. Davis teamed with Molly Kruse to win at #2 doubles 6-4.

DSA’s Avonell O’Keefe and Ruby Free clinched the match for the Bulldogs, beating Ellie Wilson and Violet Shaw 8-4. The Lady Panthers will return to action on Thursday (today) against former Central Carolina Conference rival Northwood.

Summer hibernation is over. At last.

One of the things I envy about the young is many of them still look forward to summer. I haven’t for a very long time. Give me the fall for the cooler weather, the football and the sun setting earlier.

But mostly for the football.

As we start the 2023-2024 academic year on Hillsboroughsports.com, the Central Carolina Conference is different. Northwood has returned to 2A and is now in the Mid-Carolina Conference. The only sport where the Chargers are still a conference rival to Cedar Ridge and Orange is men’s lacrosse. Southern Alamance has taken the Chargers’ place, which makes the CCC a lethal conference in football, baseball and softball. In fact, the last four 3A Eastern Regional champions in softball are now in the CCC. It will be an interesting spring.

And a fascinating fall on the gridiron. With Williams, Eastern Alamance, Southern Alamance and Western Alamance, one of those teams may be on the outside looking in when the football state playoffs begin.

As for volleyball, Orange and Cedar Ridge spent the opening week playing tough teams left and right. Cedar Ridge is the three-time defending conference champions. Orange, needless to say, would love to break that streak. The two teams’ first meeting will be on September 5 at Cedar Ridge.

We’re bringing back the Magnificent 7 this season, a weekly column honoring the seven best performances of the week in no particular order.

1. Illah Babchenko, Sr. The Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team is 3-0 for the first time since 2009, at the very least. Babchenko, a co-Captain, had a strong opening week. He scored the game-winning goal in the Red Wolves victory over Eno River Academy on August 14. Babchenko scored on a penalty kick in the Red Wolves 4-1 win at Voyager Academy on August 17. Cedar Ridge defeated Vance County in Henderson on Monday night.
2. Brandon Cummings, Sr. It was a night of big plays for the Orange football team in its 33-20 win over Southeast Alamance on Friday night. Cummings scored the first touchdown of the year for the Panthers after he hauled in a 30-yard touchdown pass from Hank Nunnery. Cumming scored on an 89-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter. Cummings finished with three catches for 129 yards and two touchdowns in the Panthers first win in a season-opener since 2017.
3. Graylinn Serge, Sr. Despite finishing the week 1-2, the Cedar Ridge volleyball team nearly knocked off the defending 4A State Champions on the road. Serge, who has played regularly the past two years, had a team-high 15 kills in the season-opening win over Eno River Academy. Against Millbrook, Serge had eleven kills. She also leads the team with ten aces.
4. Shannon Sollars, Jr. Shannon won all four of her matches during the opening week of the season. She teamed with her sister, Erin, to win the deciding doubles match in the Orange women’s tennis team’s 5-4 victory at Riverside on Thursday night in Durham. Shannon also won her singles match against the Pirates 6-2, 6-2. Erin and Shannon Sollars qualified for the state championships in doubles last year.
5. Ella Wimsatt, Sr. The Orange volleyball team played six matches in four days to start the season. Wimsatt led Orange with 12 kills in a season-opening win over Jordan. She had a season-high 19 kills against Southwest Randolph at the East Chapel Hill Invitational on Saturday morning. Through the first six games, Wimsatt has 87 kills.
6. Traver Bruhns, Sr. The Orange men’s soccer team defeated Durham School of the Arts 2-1 in its season opener on Thursday. Bruins scored the opening goal of the season for the Panthers. He assisted on the game-winning goal by Emmanuel Mil Cruz off a free kick in the second half. Orange beat a DSA team that won 14 games in 2022.
7. Cameron Mayhew, Sr. The Cedar Ridge women’s tennis team defeated Voyager Academy for its first win of the season last Thursday. Mayhew won at #1 singles over Katelyn Hutson 6-3, 6-1. Mayhew also teamed with Adeline Cummings to win at #1 doubles 6-0. Mayhew’s brother, Josh, moved in at Belmont-Abbey after graduating from Cedar Ridge in June.

It is now 30 straight home wins for the Cedar Ridge volleyball team. On Monday night, the Red Wolves defeated East Chapel Hill 3-1 on scores of 25-19, 25-19, 22-25 and 25-9. Senior Grayling Serge finished with 15 kills, 12 digs and four aces. Fellow senior Addie Reid had nine kills, nine digs and two blocks as the Red Wolves improved to 2-2. As usual, the Red Wolves are playing a rigorous, unforgiving nonconfernce slate. Last week, Cedar Ridge journeyed to Raleigh to face the defending 4A State Champions, the Millbrook Wildcats. Cedar Ridge led two-sets-to-one before the Wildcats came back to win the match in five sets. On Saturday, Chapel Hill defeated Cedar Ridge 3-0. For a team that lost the most accomplished senior class, in any sport, in school history, the Red Wolves continue to improve with new varsity players like Ellie Woolson and Caroline Park. Against the Wildcats, Cedar Ridge received nine kills from sophomore Claire Hargett, who played as a freshman at the varsity level in 2022. Cedar Ridge will have another stiff nonconference test on Wednesday night when they face Carrboro at Jaguars Gymnasium.  The Red Wolves, who have won three consecutive conference championships, will start its Central Carolina Conference campaign against Person on Tuesday at Red Wolves Gymnasium. Cedar Ridge will travel to Southern Alamance next Thursday.

Cedar Ridge volleyball’s Graylinn Serge and Addie Reid discuss win over East Chapel Hill

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