Month: November 2024

“Most humans are never fully present in the now because unconsciously they believe that the next moment must be more important than this one. But then you miss your whole life, which is never not now.”–Echkart Tolle 

From the time he stepped into Cedar Ridge, Quinn Finnegan has lived in the moment.

On the mound. In the outfield. Inside the classroom. At the Barn. Even in the bleachers where he’s a regular for Cedar Ridge sports events, including basketball games where his sister Kate played for the varsity her freshman year.

It all paid off on Wednesday night inside Cedar Ridge’s J-wing. Flanked by his mother Maria, his father Tim, Kate and his younger brother Reese, Finnegan formerly signed with Wagner College based out of Staten Island, New York.

It speaks to Finnegan’s character that his signing ceremony packed the J-Wing with parents, well-wishers, administrators and faithful from the Cedar Ridge and Orange baseball communities, two sides that have had its share of contentious moments. On this night, they gathered as one to speak highly of a senior who has overcome obstacles, both abroad and within, and turned it into a Division I opportunity.

Finnegan, a pitcher with Cedar Ridge’s varsity since his freshman year, is a three-time co-Captain. He has been named All-Central Conference three times. A founding member and President of Cedar Ridge’s DECA Club, Finnegan was inducted into the National Honor Society last year, was the Student Class President his freshman year and has a 4.38 grade point average, 31st in his class.

Finnegan, known as “Q” for short, didn’t get a chance to lead as a middle school student because he lost two full athletic years due to the pandemic. By the time he walked into Cedar Ridge head coach Bryson Massey’s office as a freshman in 2020, he knew what his objective would be: to become a Division I college pitcher.

“I knew he could be a captain the first day he stepped inside of Cedar Ridge,” Massey said. “There was no doubt in my mind as a freshman. There was a reason why I put him on varsity. I knew he had it in him. He was a hard worker. He’s the type of guy who embodies what Cedar Ridge baseball is since I’ve been here and what we’re building.”

When Maria Finnegan was pregnant with Quinn, he was due on December 1. He arrived ten days late. That’s why his uniform number is #11.

Tim and Maria, speaking jointly in front of a crowd for the first time since their wedding vows in 2001, discussed their oldest son’s hard work and dedication.

“It’s so easy to just throw those words around,” Maria Finnegan said. “But it’s another thing to literally live it and see hour-by-hour what that looks like.”

For Quinn, there was school daily from 9AM-to-4PM. In the fall and the spring, he would stay after school for practice and games. After practice, there were workouts at the Barn to train from 90 minutes to two hours. He would come home at around 9PM to stretch, shower, ear and go to bed. He would set the alarm for 3AM so he get up to start working out again.

Six days a week.

And that’s just the physical side.

The mental battle Finnegan has endured emboldens the old saying that it’s darkest before the dawn.

Last year, just before the start of his junior season, Finnegan was on the verge of quitting the sport.

“I was really down on myself,” Finnegan said. “I couldn’t do a single thing right in my mind. Nothing was enough for me. I even hated training each day.”

Finnegan credited sessions with sports psychologist Mike Halpern, along with encouragement from Massey and assistant coach Robert Hege, to regain a mindset that would lead to the best season of his career.

When he was in his cradle, Maria and Tim placed little toys to see if a precursor to his young adult life would take shape. There were basketballs, soccer balls and footballs.

Quinn took a liking to a small, green plastic bat, which Tim carried with him to the podium on Wednesday night.

Ryan O’Keefe, who is the public address announcer for Orange baseball, coached Finnegan for the Hillsborough Youth Athletic Association’s Hawks team ages 8-12 team, where the batters faced a pitching machine.

They went 1-18 his first season.

“Somehow, Quinn decided to stay,” O’Keefe said. “Because he was one of the guys who got it. I really believe when you’re good at T-ball, you’ll be good when you’re 16, too. The best kids on my tee ball team are signing to play in college.

O’Keefe required his players to do well academically and asked them to bring their report cards to practice one day. When he was eight, Finnegan attended Montessori School of Durham, which didn’t submit standard letter grades. Finnegan was frantic and asked his mother to intervene. Finnegan asked his teacher to give a letter grade to submit to O’Keefe.

Hege, who has been Finnegan’s travel coach with the Southern Baseball Academy, is as responsible for his physical development as anyone. Behind his house, Hege runs “The Barn,” a gym that started as a carport where plays worked out. Now, it’s a training facility where players from various schools work out.

Finnegan was among the original members of the Barn, starting when he was in the 7th grade. During winter nights, they had to put plastic around the carport to keep the heat inside. When he isn’t at home or at a Cedar Ridge game, his parents correctly assume he’s at the Barn.

“Quinn was one of the OGs at the Barn,” Hege said. “Now, we have about 20 people constantly there.”

Hege talked with several college coaches during Finnegan’s recruitment. When they asked what type of person Quinn was, Hege would tell them a story about Finnegan’s workouts during the COVID-19 lockdown when kids had to stay home from school. Finnegan would show up at the Barn with matchbox cars to give to Hege’s 3-year-old child to break the boredom of the interminable quarantine.

By the time Finnegan turned 16, Hege allowed him to drive from Cedar Ridge practices to the Barn. In between, they would pick up Hege’s youngest son, Shep, from daycare.

Shep and Quinn quickly grew into a first-name relationship. One day, Hege picked up Shep while Quinn was absent.

“Where’s Quinn?” Shep asked his father. “Are we going to his house? Why didn’t he come get me today? You know he’s a better driver than you are.”

Robbie Liner, Orange High’s junior variety men’s basketball coach who coached Finnegan in baseball and basketball, also spoke during the ceremony.

“Everywhere we went, he had a great time,” Liner said.

During one particularly intense basketball game, Finnegan had some choice words for an official as he walked off the floor. It didn’t escape the attention of Liner or Finnegan’s parents. The following day, Quinn emailed a letter of apology to the entire team and their parents.

“That reaffirmed to me that he had parents that were going to keep him on the right path,” Liner said.

Many of Finnegan’s teammates were at Wednesday’s ceremony. So were Landon Dalehite and Mason Cates, both of whom graduated last June and all played with Finnegan for three years.

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BAILEY–Exactly three months after its season started, Orange men’s soccer ventured into Bailey on Tuesday night.

They have played in 13 different stadiums across ten different towns.

They scored 66 goals and won a school record 16 games.

In the end, the number that Coach Palmer Bowman wanted more than anything else was one.

Just one more practice with a group that had been the most successful in the 37-year history of the team. A group that had overachieved since they kicked off the long campaign on August 12, with a heat advisory in effect, in its first-ever win against Carrboro.

“It was a good group,” Bowman said. “I wanted to keep it rolling after tonight.”

On Tuesday night, fans gathered at Firebirds Stadium wearing earmuffs, sweatshirts and overcoats in 55-degree weather to watch Southern Nash forward Wyatt Earp put the tombstone on Orange’s season.

Earp scored two goals while junior Mario Arredondo scored the game-winning goal with 5:19 remaining in the first half as Southern Nash defeated Orange 4-1 in the second round of the 3A State Playoffs. The Firebirds, the champions of the Big East Conference, will face J.H. Rose in the third round on Thursday night.

Orange, which reached the second round of the playoffs for only the second time in school history, ends the season 16-6.

“They’re fast,” Bowman said as he finished an emotional team meeting. “We turned the ball over a lot and they exploited that really quickly. At time, we were careless with the ball and they’re a quick team. They punished us we were turned it over, especially in the middle of the field.”

From kickoff, the Firebirds established a tempo that was as loud as the colors of their uniforms. A fast, pressing attack made it difficult for Orange to gain any significant possessions in the attacking end of the field. The Firebirds Yair Payola scored off a header just minutes into the game, leaving Orange with an uphill battle the entire night.

The best attempt in the first half for Orange came when Demetrius Holmes outfought a Firebird to win a ball in the box late in the first half. Holmes made the turn and fired from ten yards, but it sailed over the crossbar into the crisp November night.

Orange’s leading scorer, Yurem Tapia Mendez, decided to test Southern goalkeeper Alexis Benitez with an attempt from 45 yards with 1:12 remaining in the first half. Benitez, backpedaling, made the save and immediately launched a counter. Earp took a long throw from Benitez and dribbled to midfield, where he found Arredondo. As he enters the box, Arredondo fired to the low right corner, where the ball skipped past Orange goalkeeper Hector Garrido with :51.9 remaining in the first half.

Any hopes of an Orange comeback were dashed just when it appeared they would cut the lead in half. The Panthers’ Dallas Johnson fired from ten yards with Benitez out of position, but the ball was headed away on the goal line. The Firebirds stroked down the field on a counter, which ended with Earp scoring his first goal as he tucked it safely past Garrido with 24:50 remaining in regulation.

“That was a huge momentum swing,” Bowman said. “It was a total 180. We went from having a chance of our own to letting up and allowing them to get one. It was a two goal swing.”

Earp would score again later in the second half. It was the first time all year that Orange surrendered four goals in a game.

Junior Daniel Romero Toledo scored late for Orange to keep it from being a shutout. Romero ends the year with eight goals.

While the Panthers came up short in trying to reach the 3rd round for the first time in school history, they can move on knowing they were the most successful men’s team in Orange soccer history.

“It’s a testament to this group,” Bowman said. “They work they’ve put in over the years and all the guys who come through the program and imparted stuff on them that have been passed on.”

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is men’s soccer midfielder Joseph Lopez. This season, Lopez has been a co-Captain for the most successful team in the 37-year history of the program. On Saturday night, the Panthers defeated Swansboro 1-0 to win the first home state playoff game in team history. The Panthers also set a school record with its 16th win of the season. Lopez scored one of the most beautiful goals of the year on October 9 against Walter Williams in Burlington. Lopez launched a shot from 27 yards that curled into the net for the game-winning goal in a 1-0 Panther victory. It was the first time that Orange swept a regular season series from Williams in Central Conference play. Lopez scored a goal in the Panthers’ win over Eastern Alamance in Mebane, which tied the school record for most wins in a season. He has four goals and five assists this season. Last year, Lopez scored three goals, including one against Western Alamance. Lopez has been instrumental in helping Orange reach unprecedented heights this season. In his second year on the varsity, Lopez has helped the Panthers reach the playoffs for the third straight season. Lopez will return to action on Tuesday night when Orange faces Southern Nash in the 2nd round of the 3A State Playoffs in Bailey.

Orange Panther of the Week: Joseph Lopez

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is men’s soccer midfielder Joseph Lopez. This season, Lopez has been a co-Captain for the most successful team in the 37-year history of the program. On Saturday night, the Panthers defeated Swansboro 1-0 to win the first home state playoff game in team history.

From the day the season started, the Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team was pressed with adversity. They lost its top player, Dominic McNerney, to Western Alamance, the only team that finished ahead of the Red Wolves in the Central Conference last season. Two weeks ago, Cedar Ridge ended the season on a bright note when they defeated Vance County 3-2. Niko James scored the game-winning goal off a corner kick with 11:45 remaining in regulation. The Red Wolves avenged an earlier loss to the Vipers. All three goals scored by Cedar Ridge were notched by underclassmen. Freshmen Rodrigo Arellano and Alex Rosales also scored as Cedar Ridge roared out to a 2-0 lead. Edber Lopez assisted on the game-winning goal. It was a gratifying final home game for senior Salomon Hernandez, who was an instrumental part of Cedar Ridge’s most successful regular season in recent memory in 2023. This season, Hernandez scored five goals with three assists. James led Cedar Ridge with eleven goals. Rosales added eight goals. Junior Erik Galunas earned a win in the season finale. Cedar Ridge concludes the regular season with an overall record of 7-10-2 with a 5-7 mark in the Central Conference. They will look to build on a strong season from several underclassmen in 2025.

Cedar Ridge men’s soccer senior discuss season-ending win over Vance County

From the day the season started, the Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team was pressed with adversity. They lost its top player, Dominic McNerney, to Western Alamance, the only team that finished ahead of the Red Wolves in the Central Conference last season.

CHAPEL HILL–Even before last Thursday, it had already been a successful season for Stanback volleyball.

The Bulldogs finished 10-3 in the regular season and claimed the Orange Person Athletic Conference Northern Division championship. To make it even sweeter, the Bulldogs defeated crosstown rival Orange Middle to clinch the division title.

Last week, the Bulldogs went to Chapel Hill looking to add some gravy to its season, but the Smith Cyclones came away with its first-ever conference championship in volleyball.

Smith’s Machi Umenlawiri finished with five kills, 14 digs and two aces while Ally Lamb came away with 14 digs and six kills as the Cyclones defeated the Bulldogs in two sets on scores of 25-19, 25-19 in the OPAC Championship match last Thursday. Smith ended the year 8-4.

Stanback’s Lorelei Lowry finished with seven aces for the Bulldogs, who brought a strong contingent from Hillsborough in trying to avenge an earlier loss in the regular season to the Cyclones.

In each set, Umelnlawiri powered Smith to a strong run off her serve to pull the Cyclones ahead. Stanback racked up four straight points off the serve of Lowry to take a 4-2 lead. Kaitlyn Dixon scored a kill that put the Bulldogs ahead 7-4, leading to a Smith timeout. Smith’s Ainsley Stanley served an ace to start a 10-2 Cyclones run that carried them to the set victory. Umenlawiri served up seven consecutive points, including two aces. Lamb had two kills in the run, each assisted by Lenah Diggs. Stanback’s Naviyah Bowes ended the run with a kill assisted by Kaitlyn Dixon, but the Cyclones still led 14-9.

The Bulldogs chipped away at the Smith lead with Leena Frej delivering an ace and a kill from Kaitlyn Lee that reduced the Stanback deficit to 17-14. Lowry delivered two straight aces to cut the Cyclone advantage to 18-17. Umenlawiri delivered consecutive kills to send the Smith fans into a frenzy, stomping the wooden bleachers with each point. Lamb scored set point on a dunk at the net off a ball lofted to the net.

Lowry opened the second set with an ace, followed by a kill from Dixon assisted by Allie Gallina. The final set belonged to Lamb, who delivered an ace to even the set at 2-2. With the score even 7-7, the Cyclones went on a 7-0 run powered by three kills from Lamb.

The Bulldogs reeled off four straight points, including two more aces from Lowry to cut the Cyclone lead to 15-12. Lamb and Umenlawiri had consecutive kills to make it 17-14, which was as close as the Bulldogs would get to taking the lead. Smith’s Caroline Caldwell served an ace, followed by a kill by Lamb. On match point, a return by the Bulldogs went long.

Stanback assistant coach Izzy Shepherd was a member of Cedar Ridge’s 2021 3A State Championship team. During her junior year of November 2020, Cedar Ridge defeated Chapel Hill inside an empty Smith Middle School during the pandemic. It was the first of three straight conference championships for the Red Wolves, who played at Smith because Chapel Hill’s venerable gymnasium was being renovated.

Football: Orange Middle 32, Gravelly Hill 0: The Orange Middle School Chargers completed a perfect regular season with a victory over the Grizzlies. The game was called at halftime because of a lack of daylight.

Wilbert Torain scored a touchdown for the Chargers. So did quarterback Brayden Robbins, wide receiver Cam Royster and Asher Devore. The Chargers also came up with a safety.

Orange Middle’s Hayden Stone, Jaydan Gutierrez, Hayden Stone and Amare Bost each had strong games for the Chargers on defense.

Orange Middle will go for its second consecutive OPAC Championship when they face Northern Middle at Auman Stadium in Hillsborough. The game will take place on Wednesday afternoon at 5PM.

Orange Middle is 8-0.

Photo by Kim Petrides 

The Orange men’s soccer team is happy about winning its first state playoff game ever played on its home soil.

But they’re not content.

As usual, Orange had to fight for everything they earned against Swansboro on Saturday night. They hit a crossbar in regulation and had to hold on late to force overtime after a scoreless regulation.

In the end, their most reliable scorer was the one who cashed in the night’s only goal.

Junior Yurem Tapia Mendez scored on a penalty kick in the opening 10-minute overtime session as the Panthers defeated Swansboro 1-0 in the opening round of the state playoffs. Orange’s Daniel Toledo drew the penalty after he was tripped in the penalty area after a run into Pirate grounds.

On top of winning just the second playoff game in school history, it was Orange’s 16th win this season. That breaks the team record set in 2010 for an Orange squad that finished 15-6 and lost in the opening round of the state playoffs at Western Alamance.

The Panthers, seeded 14th in the Eastern Region, move on to face Southern Nash on Tuesday night. The Firebirds, the champions of the Big East Conference, defeated East Wake in the opening round.

“Some call it fun, I call it stress,” said Orange coach Palmer Bowman, who has led the Panthers to both of its lifetime postseason wins. “It was pretty stressful for me, but we came out on the right end of it.”

Mendez scored his 19th goal on the penalty, which was awarded after Romero moved on from the left side and got fouled on the edge of the box.

It was the eighth clean sheet for sophomore goalkeeper Hector Garrido, who had never played organized soccer before this season. Garrido, who started for the Orange men’s basketball team in its season opener last year against Hillside, opened the season with a victory over Carrboro.

“They’re big and physical,” Bowman said. “They had their share of corner kicks and free kicks. Hector did a good job of coming out and gobbling up a few. He used his size to go out and get the ball. It was a good environment with two good high school teams.”

Orange tread in dangerous grounds going to extra time against Swansboro, a team that had played six overtime games this season. The Pirates, from the Coastal Conference, end the year 11-9-4.

Mendez nearly had a goal in the second half. With 35:32 remaining in regulation, he cut to the right side and hit the crossbar from 27 yards. It was the best opportunity for either team.

Swansboro’s best opportunity came off a corner kick Jeremiah Rodriguez sent in a shot from 20 yards that rolled just wide of the far post.

It was another strong defensive performance from Orange’s experienced back line of Kace McAuley, Dallas Johnson, Eben Petrides and Jay Parker.

“We’re fortunate to have those guys,” Bowman said. “They’re gritty, they’re smart. They give it all they have. They clean up all their mistakes on their end of the field. They just care deeply about the team and each other.”

The first home playoff game in school history brought out the best in Orange fans, who turned away from college football for one night and packed both grandstands. The Panther contingent also lined up along the left sidelines to make their voices heard while bundled up in blankets and sweatshirts.

In Bailey on Tuesday night, Orange will attempt to reach the third round of the state playoffs for the first time ever. While a state playoff win has been elusive, Bowman isn’t ready to stop striving for more.

“It’s great,” Bowman said. “But there’s more to do. I don’t want to celebrate and have this be the end. I want this to be the start of something.”