As a former defensive lineman at Virginia Union, it should come as no surprise that Orange football coach DeVante Pettiford has a build like an elephant.
And a memory like one, too.
In the 2021, he was an assistant under head coach Van Jones when Chapel Hill pulled a stunning 22-21 comeback victory when kicker Noah Westrom booted through a 40-yard field goal as time expired. It gave Chapel Hill a share of the Big 8 Championship, cost Orange a winning season and ended Orange’s 10-game winning streak against the Tigers.
It was such a classic game that Jones said he wasn’t even mad about being on the losing end. It was one of the rare times where Jones and he assistants were on different pages.
On Friday night, Orange returned to Culton-Peerman Stadium and came away with possibly its biggest triumph in nearly four years.
Senior running back Ja’ki McDaniels rushed for a career-high 131 yards and scored three touchdowns as the Panthers held on during a chaotic final minute to defeat the Tigers 20-13. It was Orange’s first win over Chapel Hill since 2019.
Chapel Hill’s Josh Roberson made a final attempt to score a game-tying touchdown in the waning seconds, but was tackled after a 14-yard gain at the 7-yard line by senior linebacker Jayden Medley, who made big plays throughout the night. The clock stopped with :2.5 seconds remaining after Chapel Hill got the first down, but time ran out while the Tigers were still trying to line up for its next play.
It was the first time that Orange won a game decided by seven points or less since they upset Northern Durham 7-6 on March 12, 2021, the Panthers’ last football game inside Durham County Stadium.
“My emotions go back to before I was head coach, Pettiford said. “They kicked a field goal with three seconds left to beat us in 2020, the COVID year. We haven’t beaten them ever since. This has all been building. To finally put this together with these boys, the hard work they’ve put in…”
McDaniels was a linebacker in 2023 and didn’t have a carry all season. He came away with Orange’s first 100-yard rushing game since Nate Sorrells against Cedar Ridge last year.
“He came to me and said he wanted to be a running back,” Pettiford said. “I can make it happen. We saw it today. I’m proud of everybody, but especially Ja’ki.”
Chapel Hill lost starting quarterback Jonah Berman late in the first quarter when he was stripped of the ball on a sack by Orange linebacker DeAndre Brown. Starting running back Josh Roberson was pressed into quarterback duties, which relegated the Tigers offensive play calling to mainly quarterback draws, keepers and short passes the rest of the game.
Orange was without sophomore wide receiver Kayden Bradsher, who was injured in practice last week. Bradsher is also a starter as a defensive back.
After registering a paltry 20 yards rushing against Southeast Alamance in its season-opener, McDaniels served notice immediately that Friday night would be different when he peeled off a 54-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage. Deandre Brown continued the 86-yard drive with a 27-yard gain down to the Tigers’ 5-yard line. McDaniels would scored his first varsity touchdown with a scamper over the middle. The extra points was blocked.
Chapel Hill converted an early 4th down when Berman ran a sneak up the middle to the Orange 40-yard line. Berman found Tyler Olario for a 16-yard pickup. The Tigers faced a 4th-and-1 from the Orange 18-yard line, but Nahjour Kenion blew up the play and sacked Berman on a keeper for a loss.
Roberson was forced to play quarterback after Berman’s injury, but Medley picked off his first pass and returned it 74 yards to the Tiger 15-yard line. Chapel Hill’s Duece Geer thwarted the Orange drive when he intercepted a pass from quarterback Hank Nunnery in the end zone.
The Tigers drove to the Orange 38-yard line after Roberson rolled off a 21-yard run, but Medley pounced on a fumble following a botched exchange between Roberson and Tyler Jackson on a jet sweep.
Orange made the Chapel Hill turnovers hurt. As Orange faced a 3rd-and-2 at its own 46-yard line, the Tigers jumped offside. Nunnery found freshman Owen Phillips for 25 yards and tacked a roughing the passer penalty onto it. On a fourth-and-goal from the Tiger 5-yard line, Nunnery was flushed out of the pocket by linebacker Justin Albouy and found McDaniels along the near sideline for a touchdown. McDaniels broke a tackle attempt by James Lunsford for a two-point run to put Orange ahead 14-0 to conclude an 11-play, 62-yard drive.
Roberson broke free for a 51-yard touchdown run to open the second half. The extra points by Mattheus Hobler reduced Orange’s lead to 14-7.
In the fourth quarter, McDaniels got free for a 28-yard gain to move to the Tiger 21-yard line. As Orange got down to the Tiger-14, Chapel Hill recovered a fumble. Three plays later, Jaydin Klieforth pounced on a Chapel Hill fumble, the Tigers third turnover.
McDaniels immediately made the Tigers pay when he scored on a 21-yard run to put Orange ahead 20-7.
Chapel Hill put together its longest sustained drive of the night, a 10-play, 85-yard drive. Roberson ran it in from two yard out, but the extra point missed wide left.
On the game’s final possession, Chapel Hill got the ball back at its own 29-yard line. Roberson hooked up with Olario for 19 yards, but after Roberson’s long run, time ran out on the Tigers.
ORANGE 20, CHAPEL HILL 14
ORA–6 8 0 6–20
CH–0 0 7 7-14
ORA–Ja’ki McDaniels 3 run (kick blocked)
ORA-McDaniels 5 pass from Hank Nunnery (McDaniels run)
CH–Josh Roberson 51 run (Mattheus Hobler kick)
ORA-McDaniels 2 run (run failed)
CH–Roberson 2 run (kick failed)
RUSHING–ORANGE 33-188 2TD (McDaniels 20-131 2 TD, Deandre Brown 9-53, Kingston Purefoy-Farrington 2-14, team 1-(-3), Nunnery 1-(-7).
CHAPEL HILL: 35-232 (Roberson 23-201 2 TD, Tyler Jackson 9-46, team 3-(-15))
PASSING–ORANGE (Nunnery 5-9 66 yds TD, INT) CHAPEL HILL 9-16, 77 yards (Jonah Berman 4-6 24 yards, Robertson 5-10 INT 53 yards)
RECEIVING–ORANGE (Owen Phillips 1-25, Garrett Sawyer 1-19, Hunter Albert 1-9, Hunter Frazier 1-7, McDaniels 1-5 TD) CHAPEL HILL (Tyler Olario 3-46, Nathan Kenyon 3-27, Nik Demas 1-3, Ethan Smith 1-4, Tyler Jackson 1-(-2))
Congratulations Panthers!!!