Month: August 2024

HAW RIVER–An optimistic observer will walk away from Orange football’s season opener proud of two things.

Its defense, which threw Southeast Alamance off rhythm in the final three quarters. And the breakout performance from senior wide receiver Kingston Purefoy-Farrington, which gave Orange a fighting change in its first-ever trip to Southeast Alamance.

But opening night football games are synonymous with mistakes, and Orange made the biggest ones on Friday night.

Southeast Alamance’s Bubba Sims recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown with :19.6 remaining in the first half, shredding the momentum the Panthers had built in the latter parts of the second quarter. Orange flailed offensively for the remainder of the game, committing five turnovers in a 31-17 loss.

The Stallions’ scored 14 points off turnovers. Sophomore Drew Easter picked off a soft screen pass by Orange quarterback Hank Nunnery and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown with :58 remaining in the first quarter to put Southeast Alamance ahead 21-0.

The Stallions offense only produced 55 yards in the final three quarters.

Meanwhile, Purefoy-Farrington finished with 217 yards receiving and two touchdowns, which gave the Panthers a fighting chance despite a dismal first quarter. Purefoy-Farrington, who regularly competes in the 100 yard dash in track & field, had the first multi-touchdown game of his career.

“He’s the guy,” said Orange coach DeVante Pettiford. “We want to feed him the rock. He’s worked hard. He’s been waiting for his moment. His number got called and he answered.”

Through the course of any game, there are some mistakes that you don’t stop paying for. Orange’s cardinal miscue came late in the first half after a stellar 55-yard punt from the Stallions’ Cruz Nelms, which pinned the Panthers back to its own 2-yard line with :19.6 left.

At that point, Orange had momentum. Purefoy-Farrington hauled in a 89-yard touchdown pass off a go pattern from Hank Nunnery to cut the Stallions lead to 24-14. Orange linebackers DeAndre Brown followed with a sack of Stallions’ quarterback Ryan Dodson, leading to Nelms’ punt.

With the Stallions limited to one timeout, Orange opted to go from the shotgun out of its own end zone when they should have been trying to run out the clock and get to halftime. Instead, Nunnery fumbled the snap and Sims fell on the ball in the end zone.

“What happened down there is on the coaches,” Pettiford said afterwards. “That’s on the coaches.”

Fielding just its second varsity team with nine seniors, the Stallions moved like a veteran unit in rhythm offensively behind quarterback Landon Dodson, who shared time behind center with his cousin Ryan. Landon engineered a flawless opening drive of 55 yards over seven plays that ended with a six-yard touchdown run by Daniel Bunker. Nelms’ extra point put the Stallions ahead 7-0 and they were just getting going.

Orange went three-and-out in its opening possession. A penalty backed the Stallions up to its own 14-yard line, but they responded with three big plays. Backup running back D.J. Callis opened with a 23-yard run. Landon Dodson found his cousin for a 33-yard pass. Callis hit another one, this time for 37 yards and a touchdown.

Easter’s interception with :58 seconds remaining put the Stallions ahead 21-0, but that’s when Purefoy-Farrington went to work.

On the first play of the second quarter, Nunnery chucked a lateral across to senior Garett Sawyer, who is a relief pitcher for Orange baseball. Sawyer uncorked a fastball to Purefoy-Farrington, who outran the secondary for a 76-yard touchdown.

The Stallions responded with a run-heavy drive where Bunker started with a 15-yard carry, but couldn’t summon much else. After Mason Farmer sacked Dodson on 3rd-and-10, Nelms drilled a 37-yard field goal to increase the Stallions lead to 24-7. It turned out to be Southeast Alamance’s final offensive points.

On a third-and-nine in the shadow of its own goalposts, Nunnery hit Purefoy-Farrington in stride for an 89-yard touchdown pass. it appeared that free safety Josh Gant had an angle to run down Purefoy-Farrington, but the wide receiver turned on the afterburners and left him with no chance.

The difference in the end was the ground game. The Stallions rushed for 118 yards while Orange was held to 13. Nunnery was sacked four times.

“The beginning of the game was first-game jitters,” Pettiford said. “They’re isn’t anything we did to finish this game that we didn’t do in the first quarter. We executed better later in the game. The defense played lights out. I just think we start too slow. If we can play well from the first whistle, we’ll be in a lot better position. I’m proud of what I saw tonight. We did a lot of good things tonight that we weren’t successful at doing in years past.”

SOUTHEAST ALAMANCE 31, ORANGE 14

ORA—0     14   0   0-14

SEA—21     10   0    0-31

SEA–Daniel Bunker 6 run (Cruz Nelms kick)

SEA–D.J. Callis 37 run (Nelms kick)

SEA–Drew Easter 49 interception return (Nelms kick)

ORA–Kingston Purefoy-Farrington 76 pass from Garrett Sawyer (Carson Tucker kick)

SEA–Nelms 37 FG

ORA–Purefoy-Farrington 89 pass from Hank Nunnery (Tucker kick)

SEA–Bubba Sims fumble recovery in the end zone (Nelms kick)

RUSHING: ORANGE 27-13 yards (Ja’Ki McDaniels 18-34, Purefoy-Farrington 1-5, DeAndre Brown 3-1, team 1-(-7), Nunnery 4-(-20).

SOUTHEAST ALAMANCE: 30-126 yards (Bunker 11-66 TD, Callis 7-61 TD, Ryan Dodson 3-3, Aiden Pak 1-1, Landon Dodson 1-(-4), Sims 1-(-4) Marquis Burnette 1-(-5).

PASSING: ORANGE 10-25 2 TD, 4 INT 232 yards (Nunnery 9-24, 146 yards, TD, 4 INT; Sawyer 1-1 76, TD)

SOUTHEAST ALAMANCE: 7-19 78 (L. Dodson 6-18 73, R. Dodson 1-1 5)

RECEIVING: ORANGE (Purefoy-Farrington 5-217 2 TD, McDaniels 4-11, Kayden Bradsher 1-4)

SOUTHEAST ALAMANCE (R. Dodson 2-37, Sims 2-8, Easter 1-24, Josh Gant 1-5, Damonte Corbett 1-4)

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Our first Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week for the 2024-2025 academic year is senior women’s cross country runner Naomi Dyreng. Last week, Dyreng finished fourth in a field of over 300 runners at the Pace Yourself Early Bird Challenge at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. Dyreng was the 2023 Central Conference Cross Country champion and went on to win a regional championship in the 3,200 meters last spring in outdoor track and field. It was her third regional championship in track & field. Dyreng has also qualified for the 3A State Cross Country championships each of the past two years. Earlier this week, Dyreng finished first at the Eno River Academy Invitational in Hillsborough, leading the Cedar Ridge women’s team to a first place finish. Dyreng has been one of the most accomplished runners in Cedar Ridge history. Dyreng has trained with former Orange High cross country runner Gabriel Schmid, who won back-to-back 3A State Men’s cross country championships. As Dyreng starts her senior year on Monday, she says her goal is to help Cedar Ridge women’s cross country as a team. Last year, the Red Wolves finished second in the Central Conference. After this fall, Dyreng will prepare for outdoor track & field next March.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Naomi Dyreng

Our first Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week for the 2024-2025 academic year is senior women’s cross country runner Naomi Dyreng. Last week, Dyreng finished fourth in a field of over 300 runners at the Pace Yourself Early Bird Challenge at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.

Cedar Ridge 3, North Carolina School of Science & Math 0: Just 24 hours removed from its first five set match in years, Cedar Ridge bounced back with its first road win of the season in Durham on Thursday night.

Claire Hargett finished with eleven kills and 16 digs while junior Kayla Stoll added seven kills and four blocks as the Red Wolves (2-1) defeated the North Carolina School of Science and Math inside Unicorns Gymnasium. Cedar Ridge’s serving provided eight aces as the Red Wolves won its final game before its Central Conference opener at Person on Tuesday.

Tied 4-4 in the opening set, Cedar Ridge went on a 9-2 run to take a lead it would not relinquish. Hargett started the spurt with a mighty swing for her first kill, followed by a block of the Unicorns’ Megan Cherry. NCSSM’s Cornelia Okonkwo scored from the middle of the floor to cut the Cedar Ridge lead to 9-6, but Hargett and Mia Marty scored off attacks, followed by an ace from Marty. Stoll’s ended the set with her second block of the frame as Cedar Ridge won 25-14.

In the second set, NCSSM led 12-10 after the Red Wolves were called for a double hit. Cedar Ridge erased its deficit with a 5-1 run, starting when the Unicorns were called for a lift. Stoll delivered an ace to give the Red Wolves a 13-12 lead. With the score even at 15-15, Marty scored off a feed from Ellie Miller, starting a 6-2 Red Wolf run. Stoll added her third block while Ellamarie Perel notched her second kill of the set. Marty delivered an ace on set point.

Stoll had two kills as Cedar Ridge jumped out to a 6-1 lead to begin the third set. Junior Emory Williams delivered an ace while Hargett had consecutive kills off assists from Marty. The Unicorns would get as close as 15-12, but Cedar Ridge scored the final ten points of the match. Stoll slammed down match point as the Red Wolves won 25-12.

East Chapel Hill 3, Cedar Ridge 2: The first five set match for Cedar Ridge since 2019 saw the East Chapel Hill Wildcats close out the fourth set on a 11-1 run to even the match, then dominate the fifth set for its first road win of the year.

Hargett finished with 14 kills and ten digs as the Red Wolves suffered its first loss of the season. Perel had nine kills.

East Chapel Hill fought off two set points in the opening frame to win it in overtime. Hargett delivered a spike to put the Red Wolves ahead 24-22. East’s Lucy Murphy and Margaret Jewell had consecutive kills to tie the match. Stoll scored to five Cedar Ridge a 25-24 lead, but a return by the Red Wolves went into the net. Jewell delivered an ace to give the Wildcats the set 28-26.

Cedar Ridge won the second set despite falling behind 4-0 early and trailing as much as 8-2. Five different Red Wolves notched kills, including three each from Hargett and Perel. Williams, who changed to libero in the second set, served an ace to start a 7-0 Red Wolf spree, capped by a kill from Stoll to put Cedar Ridge ahed 24-21. A serve by the Wildcats’ Ruth Ann Soccerorso went long, leveling the match at 1-1.

Cedar Ridge won the third set 25-23, a frame that had eight ties and three lead changes. Cedar Ridge took control with the score at 15-15 when Calla Lundberg tipped one over off a feed from Marty, followed by an ace from Stoll. Charlotte Lowry added a kill to put the Red Wolves ahead 18-15. The set was even at 23-23 when the Red Wolves won a long rally that included Perel making three digs. The point ended with Stoll scoring off a block. Stoll scored off an unassisted kill to give Cedar Ridge the set 25-23.

The fourth set was even 15-15 when the Wildcats went on a 10-1 run, led by consecutive aces from Murphy. Giselle Barrett and Austin Harris has back-to-back kills to start momentum that Cedar Ridge couldn’t stop again.

East continued rolling in the fifth set, scoring the first six points. An ace from Soccorso led to Cedar Ridge head coach Latacha De Oliveira calling timeout. That did little to help as East built an 11-3 lead behind an attack from Murphy from Avery Ellis. Austin Harris scored match point as East captured the set 15-7.

The last time Cedar Ridge played a five-set match, it was against Orange on October 8, 2019 inside Red Wolves Gymnasium.

Just two weeks into the season and there has been early adversity for the Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team. Their top goal scorer from last year, Dominic McNearney, transferred to Western Alamance just a few days before the season opener against Carrboro. It was a crucial blow for a squad that came one win away from the Central Conference championship in 2023. The Red Wolves do return senior midfielder Solomon Hernandez and junior goalkeeper Erik Galunas. Last year, Hernandez scored the game-winning goal when Cedar Ridge stunned Western Alamance 1-0 at Red Wolves Stadium. Hernandez was also a valuable defensive presence throughout the season, including when Cedar Ridge played Western Alamance to a scoreless tie in Elon. In the season opener, Galunas stopped a penalty kick against Carrboro. Last season, Galunas was a huge presence in net as the Red Wolves had its most successful season since 2016. They hosted a state playoff game against Southern Lee. Cedar Ridge will try to get on track on Friday afternoon when they face West Johnston at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. The Red Wolves are 0-2 and are coming off a loss to Vance County in Henderson. Sophomore Niko James has scored two goals so far this season, including one against the Vipers earlier this week.

Cedar Ridge men’s soccer Erik Galunas & Solomon Hernandez discuss start to the season

Just two weeks into the season and there has been early adversity for the Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team. Their top goal scorer from last year, Dominic McNearney, transferred to Western Alamance just a few days before the season opener against Carrboro.

Orange 5, Durham School of the Arts 3: Five different players netted goals as the Orange men’s soccer team claimed its second home win of the season on Monday night. Senior Isaac Gallegos scored off a penalty kick, his first of the season, as the Panthers improved to 2-1.

Orange led 3-0 at halftime. Junior Yurem Tapia Mendez scored his second goal of the season and finished with six shots on the night. Senior Joseph Lopez added another tally for insurance as the Panthers defeated the Bulldogs for the second straight year. Sophomore Ajali Carter added the first varsity goal of his career as the Panthers bounced back from a 3-0 loss at Southern Durham.

It was the third time this year that Orange played an opponent in the Northern Lakes Conference. Last Monday, in the season opener, Orange defeated Carrboro 1-0 behind a goal from Mendez.

Kace McAuley, who assisted on Mendez’s game-winner last week, added his first goal.

Sophomore goalkeeper Hector Garrido earned his second win, making three saves.

Vance County 3, Cedar Ridge 1: Elmer Mejia-Turcio scored a hat trick for Vance County, who improved to 4-0 with a win in Henderson on Monday night. Jeremy Araujo-Sanisca and Jonathan Barragan Hernandez assisted on the goals for the Vipers, who went 13-11 last year. Vance County avenged a 3-1 loss to the Red Wolves in 2023.

Niko James scored his second goal for Cedar Ridge, who fell to 0-2. Arturo Hernandez assisted on the goal.

Cedar Ridge will face Cape Fear at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary on Friday afternoon at 2PM.

Riverside 2, Orange 0: Amir El-Tanany and Michael Salinas Ordonez each scored in the first half for Riverside, who defeated Orange at Linny Wrenn Stadium in Durham on Wednesday night.

Orange falls to 2-2. Hector Garrido and Durvin Lopez shared time as goalkeeper for Orange. The Panthers will also journey to WakeMed Soccer Park this Saturday afternoon. The Panthers will face West Johnston at 1PM.

There was a quiet change inside Red Wolves Gymnasium to start this volleyball season on Monday night.

All of the players who played on Cedar Ridge’s 2021 3A State Championship are gone now. The core of the group graduated in 2023, a unit that brought home three consecutive conference championships. Their coach, Fiona Cunningham, existed with them for an assistant job at North Carolina Central. She’s now at East Carolina.

Addie Reid, Rachel Alverson, Natasha Buchler-Fosado, Graylinn Serge and Ellie Woolson added the 2023 Central Conference Tournament championship, at Orange High no less, before they turned their tassels in June.

Now, a generation that played junior varsity and at Stanback Middle School while Cameron Lloyd, Cameron Lanier, Julie Altieri, Melissa Benkowitz, Grace Young and Anaya Carter set a legacy of domination have their turn to carry Cedar Ridge volleyball into the future and forge their own path.

On Monday night, they got off to a good start.

Junior outside hitter Claire Hargett, the only returning starter, finished with 20 kills as the Red Wolves defeated Jordan 3-1 on scores of 25-9, 25-17, 22-25 and 25-17. In her first varsity start, libero Sydnee Tapper finished with 20 digs.

Junior setter Mia Marty finished with 14 assists, eight kills and eleven digs for the Red Wolves  (1-0), who shut down the lights during the pregame introductions as public address announcer Jon Franklin read off the starting lineups and the only lights in the building came from the cell phones of the Cedar Ridge student section.

Ellamarie Perel finished with five kills and six digs. Hargett and Perel were voted co-Captains earlier this month to lead a young team.

“The players have confidence in Ellamarie and Claire,” said Cedar Ridge head coach Latacha De Oliveira, who started her second year. “They see a lot of leadership in them. So we expect big things out of both of them.”

Cedar Ridge didn’t lack for attackers against the Falcons (1-3). Seven different players registered kills in the opening set as the Red Wolves seized control with a 8-3 run, capped by an ace from Tapper and a kill from Stoll assisted by Ellie Miller. Perel closed out the set with an unassisted kill.

Cedar Ridge has six juniors on its roster.

“We have mostly juniors,” De Oliveira said. “We pulled (sophomore) Alex Engel up from junior varsity at the last minute. She played through some nerves but did a good job. Overall, most of our players are either juniors or seniors.”

Jordan led for most of the third set behind four kills from junior Tamari Hill.

Cedar Ridge never trailed in the fourth set, jumping out to a 5-1 lead behind an ace from Emory Williams, who shares time with Tapper as libero. Perel and Stoll had kills on consecutive points, which triggered a 5-1 Red Wolf run that continued following another ace from Tapper that landed in the heart of the Jordan floor, leading to a Falcon timeout.

A spike from Madi Hill closed the Falcon deficit to 19-16, but Hargett closed out the match with five kills in the fourth set. Following a kill by Stoll set up by Miller, Marty delivered an ace on match point.

It was a positive first step in a new chapter for Cedar Ridge volleyball. They once stood in the shadows of giants, and now they seek to return the Red Wolves back to the top of the Central Conference. Hargett, who led the team with 333 kills in 2023, figures to be the leader.

“Claire isn’t new to this,” De Oliveira said. “She led us last year in several different areas. But having her and Kayla (Stoll) as starters, they were both with us last year. It makes a big difference. They have the confidence, they have the experience. They played in some big games.”