Month: October 2024

I celebrated a birthday last week. The fact it pops up in the middle of high school football season only serves as a reminder of how long I’ve been covering local sports.

Around 2004, I vowed that if I didn’t get a college play-by-play job in football, I would stop doing high school sports and do something else.

My favorite cliche isn’t “The more things change, the more they stay the same” for nothing.

In the 1990s, there was a school mired in a three-year winless streak that was easily the 98-pound weakling of Durham County.

That was Jordan High School. After having winless seasons in 1995 and 1996, they had a conference championship team by 2000.

Now, the Falcons may be the best team in the city under Antonio King, who was the Cedar Ridge head coach in 2019.

For three decades, the shining beacon of high school football was Northern Durham. Not just in Durham, but the entire state.

They won 17 consecutive conference championships, went 24 years without losing to another team from the city of Durham and went 21 years without losing consecutive games. In the fall of 1990, Northern lost to Person at home.

They didn’t lose another conference game the rest of the decade.

Fast forward to September 2024 when Vance County stormed out to a 22-0 lead against Northern Durham. The Knights lost their starting quarterback due to injury and the game was stopped before regulation ended.

If you would have told me back in 1999 that in 25 years, there would even be a remote possibility of Northern not having enough football participation, I would have told you there was a better chance of opera being the most popular music taste among teenagers in 2024.

The point is nothing lasts forever in high school football.

Cedar Ridge football lost to Orange 54-0 on Friday night. Most likely, the Red Wolves will finish with a second straight winless season.

But they aren’t winless because of the players who are on the field. They’re winless because of the players who are not on the field, but could be.

At a time when football, as a whole, has never been more safe to play, it’s harder to find players willing to try the sport because of safety concerns. Last year, for the first time in school history, Orange didn’t field a junior varsity team.

Fortunately, the Stanback Middle School Bulldogs have fielded more players this year which will hopefully lead to healthier participation numbers in the future for the Red Wolves.

Cedar Ridge coach Brent Bailey remains dedicated to the cause. Even down late in the fourth quarter against Orange, Bailey gave defensive back Matthew Asay a chest bump after picking off a pass thrown by Orange quarterback Kyse Devore.

Bailey drives in 90 minutes from Clayton each morning to start practice at 7AM because he wants to make Cedar Ridge football great. He has organized midnight practices in July and set up media day at Radius Pizza, which included Orange, in August because he wants to see football flourish in Hillsborough.

And so do I. No sport bands as many people together during successful times than football.

I saw Devon Moore rush for over 6,000 yards and 42 touchdowns at Cedar Ridge from 2002-2005 at Cedar Ridge. Then he graduated and won two FCS National Championships at Appalachian State. For a long time, the Red Wolves dominated Hillsborough under the direction of head coaches Lou Geary and Joe Kilby.

What does triumph look like once it emerges from a deep abyss?

It looks like FirstBank Stadium in Nashville on Saturday night.

The Vanderbilt Commodores, the only private school in the SEC, beat #1 Alabama for the first time since 1984. Clark Lea, the Commdores head coach, knew when he accepted the job in 2001 of the challenges he faced. He played at Vanderbilt.

But he persisted and beat the #1 team in the country.

Afterwards, he told sportswriter Matt Fortuna “There’s an inevitability to success when you stay in the fight.”

Cedar Ridge football can have a Vanderbilt moment.

They just have to stay in the fight.

From the moment Orange ran the Philly Special on the first play from scrimmage on Friday night, the Panthers dominated their crosstown rivals in the Battle of Hillsborough.

Orange junior Kyse Devore, in just his third start, threw for four touchdowns as rushed for another as the Panthers retained the Victory Bell with a 54-0 victory over Cedar Ridge during Homecoming at Auman Stadium. Orange captured its first home victory since they defeated Montgomery Central on September 8, 2023.

It was a night of milestones for the Panthers. For starters, Orange offensive lineman Kayshawn Farrington and Marshea Byrd were crowned Homecoming King and Queen. It was also the anniversary of the dedication of Auman Stadium, named for Glen Auman, who coached Hillsboro High School football to consecutive conference championships in 1959 and 1960.

In between the first and second quarters, Orange High’s 1969 3A State Championship Men’s Basketball team was honored. Last spring, the surviving members gathered for a daylong celebration at Orange High’s Auditorium, where they received championship rings 55 years after winning the title at Durham’s Sykes Gymnasium.

Cedar Ridge was without its top skill player, running back Isaiah Craig, who had consecutive 100-yard running games to open the year against East Chapel Hill and Northwest Halifax. The Red Wolves finished with five yards total offense and had to use quarterback Thomas McDermott on keepers for its few positive bursts of offense.

“It was a much-needed win,” said Orange coach DeVante Pettiford. “We’re in the closing stretch with three games left. If we win two of these last three, we stand a good chance of getting into the playoffs. Hopefully, this lights a fire under us and gets us rolling.”

Devore, whose younger brothers Ayden and Asher play at Orange Middle School, was pressed into emergency duty at quarterback three weeks ago after senior Hank Nunnery was injured late in the first quarter at Montgomery Central. It’s been a trial by fire. His opening two starts were against Western Alamance and Walter Williams, possibly the best two teams in the Central Conference.

On Friday night, Devore spread the wealth, delivering four touchdowns passes to four different players. He now has seven touchdown passes over the last six quarters.

“Kyse has a lot of confidence behind him,” Pettiford said. “It’s not just showing up on Friday. He’s putting the time in every week. He’s working hard at practice. He’s watched over four-and-a-half hours of practice over the past two weeks. The success you’re seeing is coming from the time he’s spent preparing.”

The first quarter dragged on amidst a flurry of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on both teams. There were four penalties on the first three plays from scrimmage, but Orange broke the slog on its opening possession when Devore handed the ball to Kingston Purefoy-Farrington, who dropped it off to Hunter Albert, who flipped it back to Devote and aired it out for Kayden Bradsher for a 38-yard gain. On the next play, Devore found Purefoy-Farrington for a 39-yard touchdown.

The Panthers scored on all of its drives in the first half. On its second series, Ja’ki McDaniels returned after missing two games with an injury suffered at Montgomery Central and ripped off a 21-yard run. On the next play, freshman Owen Phillips hauled in a 32-yard touchdown pass. The extra point from Will Cooper gave Orange a 13-0 lead.

Devore called his own number after Bradsher moved the ball into the red zone with a 20-yard gain. Devore scored his first varsity touchdown on a 2-yard carry.

Orange’s offense, defense and special teams all scored in the first quarter. After the Panthers’ defense forced a Red Wolf punt, Bradsher picked up a great block from Ty’lieq Jones and raced 79 yards for a touchdown with 3:04 remaining in the first quarter.

On the next Red Wolf drive, Hunter Albert picked off a pass and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown. Albert later scored on offense, catching a 42 yard pass from Devote to open the second quarter.

McDaniels would add a 39-yard touchdown pass from Devore to end the first half.

The second half was played with a running clock of 10-minute quarters. Orange senior Deandre Brown scored the only points of the fourth quarter on a six-yard run.

Cedar Ridge’s Matthew Asay had an interception in the second half.

ORANGE 54, CEDAR RIDGE 0

CR–0   0    0   0-0

ORA–34  14  0   6-54

ORA–Kingston Purfoy-Farrington 39 pass from Kyse Devore (kick blocked)

ORA–Owen Phillips 16 pass from Devore (Will Cooper kick)

ORA–Devote 2 run (Cooper kick)

ORA–Kayden Bradsher 79 punt return (Cooper kick)

ORA–Hunter Albert 15 interception return (Cooper kick)

ORA–Albert 42 pass from Devore (Cooper kick)

ORA–Ja’ki McDaniels 39 pass from Devore (Cooper kick)

ORA–Deandre Brown 6 run (kick failed)

RUSHING–CEDAR RIDGE (Thomas McDermott 11-10, Mason Hughes 1-1, Jordan Oliva 3-(-3), team 3-(-13).

ORANGE: Bradsher 2-21, McDaniels 1-20, Devore 3-18 TD, Brown 1-6 TD.

PASSING: CEDAR RIDGE (McDermott 3-12 7 yards, INT)

ORANGE (Devore 6-11 195 yards 4 TD, INT)

RECEIVING: CEDAR RIDGE (Gavin Stone 1-9, Olivia 1-1, Hughes 1-(-1))

ORANGE: (Albert 2-47 TD, Purefoy-Farrington 1-39 TD, McDaniels 1-39 TD, Bradsher 1-38, Phillips 1-36 TD)

Go to @bwillgfx on Instagram for more photographs for Braeden Wilbourn.

The Cedar Ridge volleyball team is one win away from tying for the Central Conference regular season championship. On Wednesday night, the Red Wolves swept Western Alamance on Wednesday night, which knocked the Warriors out of a tie for first in the Central Conference. Cedar Ridge is now tied with Orange for first place in the league. The Red Wolves will travel to Williams on Tuesday night for its final conference game of the regular season. Red Wolf libero Sydnee Tapper leads the team with 326 digs in her first season as a starter. She also has 24 aces. Junior Ellamarie Perel is third on the team with 109 kills. On September 19 in a dramatic 3-2 win over Person, Perel played on the back row and had a career-high 13 digs. Sophomore Calla Lundberg has 35 kills this season. Lundberg had five kills against Person. In decisive wins, Cedar Ridge has developed unique celebrations on the bench. Tapper, Lunberg and Perel showed off some of them during this video. Cedar Ridge will face Granville Central in its final regular season home game on Monday night. Following the contest against Williams, the Red Wolves will travel to Roxboro Community School on Wednesday night to end the regular season. The Central Conference Tournament will start on October 14.

Cedar Ridge volleyball’s Ellamarie Perel, Sydnee Tapper & Calla Lundberg talk various celebrations

The Cedar Ridge volleyball team is one win away from tying for the Central Conference regular season championship. On Wednesday night, the Red Wolves swept Western Alamance on Wednesday night, which knocked the Warriors out of a tie for first in the Central Conference.

An unexpectedly long layoff for the Orange men’s soccer team finally ended with a decisive win over Eastern Alamance on Wednesday at the John Kirby Sports Complex in Mebane.

The Panthers won 7-0 behind goals from seven different players. Orange improved to 8-3. They remain in second place in the Central Conference with a 3-1 mark.

It had been nine days between games for the Panthers, which is almost unheard of as September bridges into October. Games against Southern Alamance and Northern Durham were postponed or (in the case of Northern Durham) cancelled because of rain over the past two weeks.

Yurem Tapia Mendez notched his third straight game with a goal with a tally in the first half. Mendez now has 12 goals and one assist on the season.

Senior Issac Gallegos assisted on two goals.

Brendan McDonald, Logan Edwards, Angel Chavez, John Gomez Tercero, Daniel Romero Toledo and Chris Lopez each scored goals for the Panthers.

Kace McAuley, Carson Condon, Chavez and Toledo each had assists.

Durvin Lopez Abarca and Hector Garrido each played 40 minutes as the Orange goalkeeper. Abarca made one save.

Orange will travel to Western Alamance on Monday night at Primm Stadium in Elon. The Warriors are ahead of the Panthers by one game for first place in the Central Conference.

Southern Alamance 2, Cedar Ridge 1: Southern Alamance’s Curtis Evans scored off a corner kick with 2:53 remaining in regulation to lead the Patriots over the Red Wolves on Thursday night at Red Wolf Stadium. Brian Reyes assisted on the goal. It was Southern Alamance’s first win of the season. They’re now 1-10, The Red Wolves fall to 3-6-2 overall, 2-3 in the Central Conference. Cedar Ridge will host Person on Monday night in Hillsborough.

Photo from Binghamton University 

Lottie Scully: The former Orange Panther was named the American East Setter of the Week. Last week, Scully had 38 assists in a win over the University of Albany as the Bearcats won its American East Conference opener at the Events Center in Vestal, NY. On September 29, Scully had 56 assists in a 3-1 win over Long Island University. It was the most assists by any American East player this year. Scully also had 13 digs in the win over LIU. Binghamton is 11-5 overall, 1-0 in the American East. The Bearcats will face UMBC and Bryant in matches this weekend.

Cameron Lloyd: Bucknell is off to the best start in team history after sweeping a four-match homestand to open Patriot League play. On September 28, the Bison swept Lafayette (25-16, 25-22, 25-18) at Davis Gymnasium in Lewis, PA. Lloyd finished with eleven kills and nine digs. On Sunday, Bucknell defeated in-state rival Lehigh 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-16). Lloyd had 14 kills, eleven digs and two blocks. Bucknell is 10-1 overall, 4-0 in the Patriot League. They will face American University and Navy this weekend.

Cameron Lanier: Elon has won three straight Coastal Athletic Association matches. Last weekend, they swept a two-match series from UNC Wilmington at Trask Coliseum in Wilmington. Lanier had eight kills and three digs in the Phoenix’s sweep of the Seahawks (25-18, 25-21, 25-23) on September 28. The following day, Elon swept UNCW again (25-23, 25-16, 25-23). Lanier led the Phoenix with 14 kills, two digs and a block. On Thursday, Elon swept Hampton at Holland Hall (25-15, 25-19, 25-18). Once again, Lanier led the Elon with ten kills.

Julie Altieri: Salisbury swept Marymount (VA) (25-14, 25-11, 25-19) at the Maggs Physical Activities Center in Maryland on Wednesday. Altieri had 27 assists, eight kills and five digs. The Gulls were supposed to compete in a tri-match in Gettysburg, PA last weekend, but it was canceled because of Helene. This weekend, Salisbury will face Christopher Newport and Scranton in Maryland. The Gulls are 12-2 overall.

Melissa Benkowitz: Last Saturday, Franklin & Marshall defeated Muhlenburg 3-2 (19-25, 27-25, 20-25, 25-17, 15-11) in its Centennial Conference opener in Allentown, PA. Benkowitz had five kills, four aces, eleven digs and three assists. On Thursday, William Patterson defeated the Diplomats 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-21). Berkowitz had three kills and seven digs. Franklin & Marshall is 12-3 overall, 1-0 in the Centennial Conference. They will travel to Chesterown, MD to face Washington College on Saturday.

Grace Young: The Division III Greensboro Pride have won four in a row in the USA South Conference. On Wednesday, the Pride defeated Brevard College 3-0 at Hanes Gymnasium (25-16, 25-12, 25-9). Young, a sophomore had five digs. Last Saturday, the Pride swept Meredith College at Weatherspoon Gymnasium in Raleigh (25-14, 30-28, 25-22). Young had seven digs. On September 25, Greensboro defeated Pfeiffer University 3-1 (25-21, 26-24, 22-25, 25-17) at Merner Gym in Misenheimer.  Young finished with 13 digs and an ace. On September 21, the Pride swept Mary Baldwin in Greensboro. Young had two digs and an ace. Greensboro is 11-5 overall, 4-2 in the USA South. They will North Carolina Wesleyan in Rocky Mount on Saturday.

Allie Wilkerson: Last Saturday, Averett University swept two matches at Pfeiffer University. The Cougars defeated North Carolina Wesleyan 3-1 (25-19, 26-24, 22-25, 25-16) at Merner Gym. Wilkerson, the older sister of current Orange middle blocker Ava Wilkerson, finished with seven kills and two digs. Later in the day, the Cougars defeated Pfeiffer 3-2 (22-25, 25-22, 16-25, 25-22, 15-10) Wilkerson finished with eight kills, two digs and an ace. On September 25, the Cougars defeated Ferrum 3-1 (25-11, 25-16, 23-25, 25-14) at Swartz Gymnasium in Ferrum, VA. Wilkerson finished with six kills one dig. Averett is 7-10 overall, 2-2 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The Cougars will host Shenandoah University and Eastern Mennonite University at the Stuart James Grant Center in Danville, VA this weekend.

Anaya Carter: On September 24, Augusta defeated Division II UNC Pembroke 3-2 at Lumbee Guarantee Bank Court (23-25, 20-25, 25-22, 25-20, 15-13). Carter played one set. The Braves had a match against Converse in Spartanburg, S.C. postponed because of Hurricane Helene. On Tuesday, UNCP defeated Barton 3-1 at Wilson Gymnasium in Wilson (25-19, 26-28, 25-17, 25-22). The Braves will face Mount Olive and Erskine in Pembroke this weekend.