Month: September 2023

ELON–In 2000, when Florida State was at the peak of its powers winning nine straight ACC Championships, Bobby Bowden said “We already play in the toughest conference. The Florida Conference.”

He was referring to annual nonconference battles against Miami and Florida, who was still coached by Steve Spurrier.

While Orange High won six conference championships across the fall, winter and spring last academic year, and Cedar Ridge had numerous individual athletes make strong runs towards state crowns, football has been it’s own entity since the formation of the Central Carolina Conference in 2022.

It has been the Alamance Conference and it won’t be any different this year.

Though Western Alamance handed Orange a 27-9 loss at Primm Stadium on Friday night, the Panthers asked no quarter and gave none. They held Western Alamance quarterback Evan Kuehnel to a season-low 132 yards passing. Kuehnel started the season throwing for 491 yards in a loss to perennial power Reidsville.

Behind a strong pass rush, the Panthers defense forced six three-and-outs against a normally potent Warriors offense. However, Western’s defense directly generated points. Senior safety Josh Long had two interception returns for touchdowns. The Warriors (4-1, 1-0 in the CCC) also forced an Orange fumble for a safety late in the first half. All told, Western Alamance’s defense scored 16 points.

“That score says 27-9, but anybody watching knows our defense gave up two touchdowns tonight,” said Orange coach DeVante Pettiford. “This is an Alamance County powerhouse, a big, strong team. Bigger and faster than us and that’s a testament of this defense. But there’s three phases to football: offense, defense and special teams. I think we’re doing good on the defensive end, but we’ve got to pick up the others.”

It was a frustrating offensive night on both sidelines. Orange (2-2, 0-1 in the CCC) was held to three first downs and 91 yards. Late in the second quarter, punter, placekicker and safety Tyler Narold added “quarterback” to his resume, replacing starter Hank Nunnery after Orange failed to generate a first down in the opening 20 minutes.

Kuehnel, in his third year as starting quarterback, found top receiver James Newton twice on the Warriors first scoring drive. After a 23-yard pickup on the initial play of the Warriors second series, Kuehnel hit Newton again on 3rd-and-10 from the Orange 28-yard line. Senior running back Cam Cottn rushed up the middle for a 4-yard touchdown with 8:31 remaining in the first quarter.

With 5:20 remaining in the frame, Narold pinned the Warriors to the 14-yard line following a 36-yard punt. Kuehnel, also the Western punter, had one go off the side of his foot from the back of the end zone that wound out of bounds at his own 15-yard line. Orange was unable to move forward, but Narold kicked a season-long 34-yard field goal to reduce the Warriors lead to 6-3. The “scoring drive” was negative two yards.

Late in the first quarter, Long picked off a pass by Nunnery and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown. Camden Oliveria’s extra point put the Warriors ahead 13-3.

Orange’s defense put up another stand after Cotton reeled off a 45-yard run, his longest of the night. Oliveria’s 37-yard field goal banged off the bottom of the crossbar with 4:12 remaining in the first half. On the subsequent drive, the Panthers went backwards. An errant snap to Nunnery wound up in the end zone, where running back Nate Sorrells covered it up before Western linebacker Nick McGhee could get to it, leading to a Western safety.

The ensuing free kick led to the best Western drive of the night. Cotton reeled off runs of 15, 7 and nine yards before junior Marquele Harvey scored on a 16-yard juke around right end with 1:41 remaining in the first half.

After Sorrells picked up Orange’s initial first down of the game with a 12-yard carry to open the third quarter, the Panthers’ drive fizzled after two penalties. With 4:28 remaining, Narold’s pass slipped through Crawford Farmer’s hands and was picked off by Long, who streaked up the left sideline 45 yards for his second touchdown.

Nunnery returned at quarterback in the third quarter and generated the Panthers only touchdown. He hit Ja’Ki McDaniels for a 44-yard pass to the Warriors 13-yard line. After the Warriors were called for a defensive holding penalty, DeAndre Brown bolted forward for a four-yard touchdown run, his first of the season.

“I’m beyond proud of those guys,” Pettiford said. “It shows progress. We’re getting better. Last year, (Western Alamance) won 38-3. Tonight’s we got it down to 27 points. It’s just making progress.”

WESTERN ALAMANCE 27, ORANGE 9

WA–13     8       6   0-27

OR–3       0       0    6-9

WA–Cam Cotton 3 run (kick blocked)

OR–Tyler Narold 34 FG

WA–Josh Long 32 interception return (Camden Oliveria kick)

WA–Safety, Nate Sorrells tackled in end zone

WA–Marquelle Harvey 16 run (pass failed)

WA–Long 45 interception return (kick failed)

OR–DeAndre Brown 4 run (kick failed)

RUSHING: ORANGE (Sorrells 22-33, Brown 2-5 TD, Jaylen Starks 2-(-2), Kayden Bradsher 1-(-6), team 1-(-14).

WESTERN ALAMANCE (Cam Cotton 13-94 TD, Marquelle Harvey 2-28 TD, Collin Moylan 2-6, Kuehnel 3(-4), Ethan Oakley 1-(-6) James Newton 1-(-6),

PASSING: ORANGE 5-26 73 yards 2 INT (Hank Narold 5-19 73 yards INT, Narold 0-7 INT).

WESTERN ALAMANCE 10-31 132 (Kuehnel 10-29 132, Oakley 0-2)

RECEIVING: ORANGE (Ja’Ki McDaniels 1-44, Brandon Cummings 1-16, Kayden Bradsher 1-7, Crawford Farmer 1-4, Sorrells 1-2)

WESTERN ALAMANCE: (Newton 5-61, Jacob Miles 2-49, Long 2-8, William Clinkscales 1-14)

Cedar Ridge 6, Western Alamance 1: The Cedar Ridge women’s tennis team remained undefeated in the Central Carolina Conference with a victory over the Warriors at Red Wolves Tennis Courts on Monday. Annabeth Lundberg captured two matches for the Red Wolves. Lundberg defeated Abigail Simpson at #6 singles 6-1, 6-4. In the only doubles match of the day, Lundberg teamed with Raven Mowles-Airing to defeat Mia Sodano and Abigail Stimpson 6-4.

Senior Cameron Mayhew captured the #1 singles match over Amelia Weaver 6-1, 6-2. The closest match of the day was at #2 singles, where Red Wolves junior Ella Caltabiano defeated Reagan Williams in a match that had two tiebreakers. Caltabiano won the opening set 6-4, but Williams evened things with a 7-6 win in the second set. Williams won the tiebreaker 7-0. In the third set, Caltabiano won 7-6, taking the 10-point tiebreaker 10-8.

Cedar Ridge junior Adeline Cummings defeated Hensley Gasaway 6-1, 6-2 at #3 singles. Sarah McLaughlin won the only match of the day for the Warriors, beating Mowles-Airing 6-3, 6-2. Cedar Ridge senior Catherine Ballenger knocked off Soadno at #5 singles 6-3, 6-0 to clinch the match.

Walter Williams 7, Cedar Ridge 2: In a showdown of the only two undefeated teams in league play from the Central Carolina Conference, Walter Williams defeated the Red Wolves in Burlington.

Mayhew took the opening singles match for Cedar Ridge, beating sophomore Abigail Brown 6-3, 6-1. The Bulldogs took four of the remaining five singles matches, starting with Jaden Wilson beating Caltabiano 6-1, 6-1. Williams freshman Lindley Over knocked off Cummings 6-3, 6-2. Gracie Hartle defeated Mowles-Airing 7-5, 6-2.

Cedar Ridge’s Ballenger kept the Red Wolves alive with a three-set victory over Lauren Taylor, 6-3, 1-6, 10-7 (10-point tiebreaker). Williams Grace Gabrielli won over Cedar Ridge’s Lundberg 6-2, 6-3.

Williams put the match away in the opening doubles tilt when Brown and Wilson defeated Mayhew and Cummings 8-5. At #2 doubles, Oler and Lauren Turner defeated Ballenger and Caltabiano 8-3. Williams completed a sweep of the doubles matches when Hartle and Gabrielli knocked off Mowles-Airing and Lundberg 8-1.

Cedar Ridge had its four match winning streak come to an end. The Red Wolves are 5-3 overall, 3-1 in the CCC. Williams improves to 5-0 overall, 5-0 in league play,

Mayhew is now 7-1 in singles matches this year. Overall, she has won eleven matches, counting her 4-2 record with doubles partner Adeline Cummings. Last week, Cummings and Mayhew teamed to defeat Orange’s Erinn and Shannon Sollars. It was the first match that the Sollars sisters have lost this year.

Ballenger has captured eight wins for Cedar Ridge this year. She has a 5-3 singles record.

On Thursday night, Cedar Ridge defeated Seaforth High in Pittsboro. Results from the match weren’t available at press time. The Red Wolves are 6-3 overall. They will return to action on Wednesday with a road trip to Person. On Thursday, they will travel to East Chapel Hill.

Orange 7, Roxboro Community School 0: Orange freshman Ellie Wilson won a three-set match in her first singles match as the Lady Panthers rolled past the Bulldogs in Hillsborough on Tuesday.

Playing at #4 singles, Wilson defeated Elizabeth Ess 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 10-8 in a 10-point tiebreaker. The rest of the matches were dominance by Orange’s seniors. Erinn Sollars defeated Olivia Ess 6-1, 6-4. Shannon Sollars won at #2 singles over Aurora Bettendorf 6-0, 6-1. Makayla Davis, who won three matches last week in dual matches against Cedar Ridge and Person, defeated Olivia Goddard 6-2, 6-2.

Sophomore Molly Kruse won over Rachel Green 7-6 (7-1), 6-2. Sophomore Kyla Mehl completed an Orange sweep of singles matches with a victory over Kirklyn Owen 6-1, 6-1.

Erinn and Shannon Sollars won the only doubles match. They defeated Olivia Ess and Goodard 8-1.

So far this year, Erin Sollars has won ten matches for Orange. The Sollars sisters are 6-1 in doubles play. Shanon Sollars has won 13 overall matches, including a 7-1 record in singles action.

On Thursday, Orange won its first-ever conference match at Southern Alamance in Graham 9-0. Results of the match weren’t available at press time. The Lady Panthers are 7-3 overall, 3-2 in the CCC.

Just like that, we’re a month into high school sports season.

Why does one month of summer feel like three months? Maybe it’s the inactivity.

One thing that isn’t inactive is the Orange volleyball team. The Lady Panthers are currently #2 in the 3A East RPI rankings. Stop me if this sounds familiar, but the only team ahead of Orange in the RPI rankings is J.H. Rose, the defending regional champions who defeated Cedar Ridge last year for a trip to Raleigh and the 3A State Championship match. Orange is not only winning, but they’re dominant. On Wednesday night, the Lady Panthers swept Roxboro Community School for their 23rd consecutive set victory. Orange is alone atop the Central Carolina Conference.

The Cedar Ridge women’s tennis team could wind up making this a memorable final season for head coach Steve Mayhew. While the Red Wolves lost to Walter Williams on Wednesday night in a match that determined first place in the CCC, Cedar Ridge is still in second place. They haven’t reached the 3A State Dual Team playoff since 2016, when they won the Big 8 Conference championship. Cedar Ridge certainly has the depth to make a run at Williams in the rematch next month in Hillsborough.

The Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team is also trying to reach the 3A State Playoffs for the first time in seven years. The Red Wolves took another step on Wednesday night with a victory over Orange in the opening leg of the Hillsborough Derby. Cedar Ridge has already surpassed its win total from last season. Next week, the Red Wolves will travel to Eastern Alamance, then host Western Alamance at Red Wolves Stadium.

Let’s look at the Magnificent Seven for the week of September 3-9th. The seven best performances by Cedar Ridge and Orange in no particular order.

1. Kayden Bradsher, Orange, Fres: Scored three touchdowns in the Orange football team’s 22-0 win over Montgomery Central on Friday night. Bradsher had a career-high six receptions for 58 yards. He scored the first touchdown of his varsity career on a 12-yard run to conclude the Panthers first possession of the night against the Timberwolves.
2. Ella Caltabiano, Cedar Ridge, Sr.: Won three matches in a big week for Red Wolves women’s tennis. Cedar Ridge defeated Orange for the first time since 2019. Caltabiano teamed with Catherine Ballenger to clinch the match against Orange at #2 doubles. Against Eno River Academy on September 7, Caltabiano defeated Rebecca Kelly at #2 singles 8-2. Later, she teamed with Ballenger to defeat Rebecca Kirby and Chiara Menolascino 8-1.
3. Katie Silcott, Orange, Soph.: The Orange volleyball team is off to its best start ever as a 3A team. Silcott, a setter, had 46 assists in a win over Cedar Ridge that ended the Red Wolves 42-game conference winning streak. Two night later, Silcott had 35 assists and eight digs in a sweep of Person. The next night, Silcott had 41 assists, nine digs and three aces in a sweep of Roxboro Community School.
4. Alejandro Macero-Ramos, Cedar Ridge, Jr.: Scored two goals for the Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team in a 5-0 win over Person. Macero-Ramos helped Cedar Ridge tie its win total from all of last season with their fifth victory of 2023.
5. Makayla Davis, Orange, Sr.: Davis won her singles match for the Orange women’s tennis against Cedar Ridge against Adeline Cummings 10-7. She also captured her doubles match against the Red Wolves, teaming with Kyla Mehl to win 9-8, taking the tiebreaker 7-6. Two days later, Davis won her singles match against Person 10-0.
6. Rachel Alverson, Cedar Ridge, Sr: Recorded 28 assists, six digs and three aces for the Cedar Ridge volleyball team in a win over Eastern Alamance on September 7. Against Orange, Alverson had 25 assists, two aces and four digs. Alverson leads the team in assists.
7. Jayden Medley, Orange, Sr.: Racked up seven tackles for Orange against Montgomery Central. Medley also had a fumble recovery against the Timberwolves on their second series of the game. Medley finished with a sack as Orange notched its first shutout of the season.

Photo Courtesy of USA Today

Trenton Gill: To start his second season with the Chicago Bears, Gill found himself busy in the season opener against the Green Bay Packers at Solider Field. The Packers defeated the Bears 38-20. Gill averaged 53 yards on four punts. His longest was 54. One punt was downed inside the 20-yard line. The Bears will travel to Raymond James Stadium to face Tampa Bay this Sunday.

Bryse Wilson: The Milwaukee Brewers remain in first place in the National League Central. On Wednesday, Wilson threw two-and-two-thirds innings against the Miami Marlins at Miller Park. Wilson allowed only two hits with one walk and no runs. He struck out two. The Marlins defeated the Brewers 2-0. On Saturday, Wilson threw a shutout inning in a 9-2 win over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. On Friday, Wilson threw another shutout inning as the Brewers defeated the Yankees 8-2. He allowed only one walk. Currently, Wilson is 6-0 with a 2.72 ERA with three saves and 58 strikeouts over 70 innings. As of Thursday night, the Brewers lead the Chicago Cubs by four-and-a-half games in the National League Central.

Payton Wilson: Once again, Wilson was the leading tackler for N.C. State in its 45-24 loss to #10 Notre Dame at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh on Saturday. Wilson had 14 tackles, including one-half of a tackle for a loss. In a play that went viral, Wilson chased down a Notre Dame ballcarrier. He was measured running 23.7 miles per hour on GPS, the fastest on record for a Wolfpack player in a game. Wilson is 7th in FBS with 12 tackles per game. N.C. State will host VMI on Saturday.

Darius Satterfield: Elizabeth City State defeated St. Augustine’s 13-0 in the 26th annual Down East Viking Football Classic at the Rocky Mount Sports Complex on Saturday. Satterfield averaged 33.3 yards per punt on three punts. One was downed inside the 20-yard line. Satterfield also converted an extra point. The Vikings are 1-1.

Ivy Garner: The Liberty women’s soccer team has opened 8-0. Garner scored the game-winning goal for the Flames in a 2-1 win over Longwood on August 31 in Farmville, VA. Garner scored in the 50th minute off an assist from Allison Hansford. On Thursday night, the Flames defeated Appalachian State 2-0 at Osborne Stadium in Lynchburg, VA. Garner scored a goal in the 60th minute for the Flames. It was her only shot on goal. Liberty defeated Marshall 2-0 on September 10. Garner assisted on the second goal, scored in the 79th minute by Rachel DeRuby. Liberty defeated West Virginia 3-1 on September 3. Garner assisted on the game-winning goal by Saydie Holland in the 86th minute. Garner fired two shots, one on net.

Emerson Talley: The Division II Lenoir-Rhyne women’s soccer team played to a 1-1 tie against Florida Tech at Rick Stottler Field in Melbourne, FL. Talley started and played all ninety minutes, getting off two shots. On September 9, the Bears defeated Tusculum 3-0 at the Moretz Sports Athletic Complex to kick off play in the South Atlantic Conference. Talley had two shots on goal in 71 minutes of action. Lenior-Rhyne is undefeated at 2-0-3 and will travel to Limestone on Saturday.

Grace Young: In a mid-week game, Georgia Southern defeated UNC Asheville 3-0 on scores of 25-12, 25-10 and 25-15. Young played in all three sets and had three digs. UNC Asheville will head to Greensboro this weekend to face Charlotte and UNC Greensboro in a UNC Greensboro tri-match on Saturday starting at noon. The Bulldogs are 5-6.

Anaya Carter: The Division II UNC Pembroke volleyball team dropped a hard-fought five set match against Lenoir-Rhyne at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court (25-9, 19-25, 19-25, 25-16, 15-9). Carter played in all five sets and had seven digs with one ace. The Braves are 4-5. They will host Chowan and Winston-Salem State during a tri-match in Pembroke on Saturday.

Julie Altieri: Division III Salisbury volleyball swept Washington (MD) on Tuesday. Altieri played in two sets and finished with 12 assists, four kills and one dig. Salisbury is 6-1 and will host a tri-match with Gettysburg and William Smith this weekend.

The Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team defeated Orange 2-1 in the Hillsborough Derby on Wednesday night at Red Wolves Stadium. Junior Dominic McNerney scored a memorable goal with 14:33 remaining in regulation from 22 yards away off a pass from Abazar Babiker. Jonam Juarez scored the opening goal with 1:39 remaining in the first half off a corner kick. With eleven games remaining, Cedar Ridge has already surpassed their win total from all of last season. They’re 6-1-2 overall and in sole possession of third place in the Central Carolina Conference with a 2-0-1 record. The victory over the crosstown rivals ended a three-game winless streak against the Panthers. Sophomore goalkeeper Erik Galunas made eight saves and nearly had a clean sheet. On Monday, Galunas didn’t allow a goal in a scoreless tie against Southern Alamance in Graham. Cedar Ridge stands in good position to be in the state playoffs for the first time since 2016, but there’s still work to do. The Red Wolves will return to action against Eastern Alamance on Monday night in Mebane. The Red Wolves will return home to face Western Alamance, the 2021 3A State Champions, on Wednesday at Red Wolves Stadium.

Cedar Ridge’s Dominic McNerney, Jonam Juarez & Erik Galunas talk Hillsborough Derby win vs. Orange

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Dominic McNerney became a fan of soccer watching Chelsea FC play in England’s Premier League.

As he absorbed a pass up the left sideline from teammate Abazar Babiker on Wednesday night, he may have had visions of Mason Mount, a modern legend  for the Blues who helped them win the UEFA Champions League in 2021.

As McNerney roared up the left flank, there was one Orange defender who had an angle on him. McNerney had little choice but to blast away from 22 yards.

Searing like a rocket, the ball latched into the right corner of the net like it had eyes.

McNerney, who has waited three years to beat his crosstown rival, ran out on the track to celebrate in front of the Cedar Ridge students for the greatest goal he ever scored. Many of his teammates joined him.

He didn’t know it at the time, but McNerney gorgeous tally with 14:33 remaining in regulation would turn out to be the game-winner in Cedar Ridge’s 2-1 win over Orange at Red Wolves Stadium in the opening leg of the Hillsborough Derby on Wednesday night. It was Cedar Ridge’s first victory over the Panthers since September 15, 2022, when they won 4-1 at Red Wolves Stadium.

Jonam Juarez notched the opening goal for the Red Wolves with 1:39 remaining in the first half. Off a corner kick from senior Illah Babchenko, the ball went into the six-yard box where several Panthers tried to clear it. Juarez blocked the clearance and chipped it into the net from along the near post for his fourth goal of the season.

It was a resounding rebound for the Red Wolves, who were 48 hours removed from a disappointing scoreless draw against Southern Alamance in Graham. After the tie, Cedar Ridge coach Chauncey Brummell and his assistants had a lengthy postgame huddle with his team about focus, among other subjects.

Did his team’s focus meet the threshold Brummell wanted against Orange?

“Not in the first half,” Brummell said. “The first half we didn’t play as well as I would like to. Bu after that we pick it up and turned it on.”

Of course, McNerney’s goal in the second half made things seem a lot better for Cedar Ridge.

“That goal was….whew,” Brummell said about McNerney’s third goal of the season. “He had one against Eno River this year that might have been better. He brings great leadership. He’s a great leader. He was talking to the boys before the game. And he’s fun to be around. He’s just a flashy player. I don’t like flash, but he brings a lot of flash. You had to be here to see that second goal. It should be on ESPN or something.”

Cedar Ridge sophomore goalkeeper Erik Galunas made eight saves and nearly had his second consecutive clean sheet, but Orange senior Travel Bruhns scored with 1:31 remaining off an assist from Emmanuel Mil Cruz to cut the Red Wolves lead in half. Orange was bidding for another late attack for the equalizer in the waning seconds, but Babiker had a key clearance to midfield that ran out the clock.

“Right now, we’re just lacking focus,” said Orange coach Palmer Bowman. Orange goalkeeper Finn Kelly had ten saves.

With the victory, Cedar Ridge has already surpassed its win total from last season. The Red Wolves (6-1-2) were 5-15-1 last year, 3-9 in the Central Carolina Conference. Cedar Ridge is 2-0-1 in the CCC and in sole possession of third place. Walter Williams and Western Alamance are tied for first at 2-0.

Cedar Ridge hasn’t been to the 3A State Playoffs since 2016. While they haven’t clinched a playoff spot, they have ended a three-game winless streak against Orange.

“That’s special,” Brummell said. “We didn’t take care of business against them last year. Palmer did a great job with his team last year. He lost a lot of players from last year. He’s in that rebuilding stage. My team is young, but they’re fun to watch if they can bring everything together. But they really wanted to win this game.”

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is sophomore outside volleyball hitter Claire Hargett. In her second year on the varsity, Hargett is currently second on the team with 96 kills. She’s also second on the team with 120 digs. In the Red Wolves conference opener against Person on August 29, Hargett had 14 kills and 15 digs as the Red Wolves swept the Rockets. Two days later, Hargett had her strongest game of the year at Southern Alamance. She registered 13 kills and a season-high 19 digs as the Red Wolves defeated the Patriots 3-0. Among Hargett’s digs was one that saved the first set when she scooped it off the nest on a set point for the Patriots. Hargett’s dig led the Red Wolves to a point and they would ultimately take the set. Last year, Hargett played on the varsity as a freshman, where she learned from an array of Cedar Ridge seniors that captured the 2021 3A State Championship. This year, Hargett has a season-high 19 kills against Carrboro on August 23. She matched that with 19 kills against Southern Alamance. Hargett has double-digit kills in eight of Cedar Ridge’s eleven matches.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Claire Hargett

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