From the time Jaylin Starks and Malykahi Justice teamed to sack Southeast Alamance quarterback Ryan Dodson on the first play from scrimmage of the season, Orange’s defense has been the heart of the team.
Even though they lack size compared to its rivals from Alamance County, the Panthers were still able to shut out Walter Williams on the second half on September 21, along with causing headaches for Western Alamance and veteran quarterback Erik Kuehnel in the conference opener in Elon.
In the battle for the Victory Bell at Red Wolves Stadium on Friday night, Orange’s defense created offense, which led to its 12th straight win in the series with its crosstown rival.
Garrett Sawyer and Taylor Narold both scored off interception returns for a touchdown, while the Orange defense held the Red Wolves to one yard of total offense as Orange pulled away for a 43-0 victory.
Narold finished with three interceptions on the night.
The Red Wolves defense kept the Orange offense at bay for much of the first half. Narold’s 42-yard touchdown pass to Kayden Bradsher in the opening quarter was the only Orange offensive score for nearly the entire half.
“Kayden makes plays,” said Orange coach DeVante Pettiford. “It’s something special about his determination and how hard he works.”
Orange had three empty trips to the red zone in the second quarter. After Narold found Bradsher in the 4-yard line, Cedar Ridge’s Mason Cates made a touchdown-saving tackle. Narold misfired on 4th-and-goal off a strong pass rush from Graylon Collins, forcing a turnover on downs with 11:05 remaining in the first half.
“I thought our defense played really well tonight,” said Cedar Ridge head coach Brent Bailey. “We forced two turnovers. They put us in position to be successful. Hats off to our defense, for sure.”
Ja’ki McDaniels and Deandre Brown teamed to tackle Cates in the end zone on the subsequent Cedar Ridge drive for Orange’s second safety of the season. Off the free kick, Hank Nunnery returned as the Panther quarterback after sitting out last week’s game against Williams. Nonetheless, Cedar Ridge came up with two big stops in the red zone.
Leading 9-0, Orange chewed up over five minutes of the clock during a 10-play drive that penetrated all the way to the Red Wolves 2-yard line. On 3rd-and-goal, a solid Cedar Ridge pass rush forced an interception by Jordan Oliva with 5:55 remaining in the third quarter.
After Orange forced a three-and-out, the Panthers drove 33 yards to the Red Wolf 1-yard line after Nunnery found Bradsher for a 25-yard gain. Oliva saved a touchdown when he dragged down Bradsher shy of the goal line. On 2nd-and-goal, Joe Garbee recovered a fumble in the end zone off a botched snap.
“We’re together,” Bailey said. “That was one thing that I heard was a problem last year. We’re together and we can hang our hat on that. Also, we fight. Like tonight, even when the score got out of hand a little bit, I thought we stayed the course and played hard. So that’s what I’m most proud of is we never stop playing.”
It appeared the Red Wolves would be behind 9-0 at the half, but Orange came up with a tsunami of 20 points in a span of 1:31. It started when Sawyer picked off screen pass and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown.
“That just got us going,” Pettiford said. “That was a big energizer play by a big player on our team.”
After a quick 3-and-out by the Red Wolves, Nunnery hit Brandon Cummings for an 80-yard touchdown pass with 29.9 remaining. A missed extra point kept Orange’s lead at 22-0.
“Hank wasn’t the starter coming in, but he took advantage of his opportunities,” Pettiford said. “He started heating up. I was very proud of Hank. He did a good job for us.”
Narold aimed the subsequent kickoff as a sky kick along the left sideline. McDaniels raced in front of a Red Wolves to recover it. Two plays later Nunnery throwing to Kingston Purefoy-Farrington, who tapped danced into the right corner of the end zone to vault Orange ahead 29-0.
In the second half, Narold returned an interception 42 yards, then kicked the extra point. Jaylen Starks added an 11-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Starks also had seven tackles on defense for Orange. DeAndre Brown paced the Panthers with eight tackles.