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There aren’t many secrets about the success Cedar Ridge Men’s Basketball has sustained in the early stages of the 2019-20 season: as Mekai Collins goes, so go the Red Wolves. 

Locked in a tight contest between two desperate one-win teams that flashed tenacity and desire throughout and staring down a seventh-straight loss, the Red Wolves needed their star senior to deliver. A season-high 25 points, including a near-flawless day from the foul line, half a dozen assists, a few steals, and some masterful clock wasting later, deliver he did. A year removed from a season where the Red Wolves managed just one win in 24 tries, a 10-0 Cedar Ridge run late in the fourth quarter sealed off the second Red Wolves victory in eight tries this year, as Cedar Ridge (2-6, 0-1 Big 1) fended off a gutsy Durham School of the Arts (1-7) Bulldog team 56-47 on Tuesday night in Hillsborough. 

This was an odd game from the get-go. Both starting fives came out to the floor as usual, and KJ Barnes was ready for the opening tip to come at any moment, but the referees sent both teams back to their huddles because DSA, unbeknownst to anyone, had gotten new jerseys within the last week and failed to update their online rosters – only about a quarter of the Bulldog roster was actually wearing the numbers they had been assigned preseason. Once the confusion was cleared, the Bulldogs came out strong, knocking down a pair of threes and celebrating in front of the Cedar Ridge fans en route to a 14-10 first quarter advantage. But Cedar Ridge flipped the script in the second, limiting the Bulldogs to only five points in the period and establishing a 23-19 halftime edge. 

The previous night, Cedar Ridge kept within striking distance of Chapel Hill for most of the contest but never could complete the comeback against the Tigers’ tough defense. On this night, the Red Wolves became the instigators – DSA’s Justin Glover hit a 3 early in the fourth to get the Bulldogs to within 41-39, but Cedar Ridge locked it down from there for their 56-47 victory. 

A very young DSA team showed plenty of reasons why they could be loads better than last year’s four-win side, but the Bulldogs couldn’t string together enough offensive possessions to come back. Guard Josh Pope kept DSA in the contest almost single-handedly early with nine of his team’s 19 first-half points, but once Glover and DSA standout Isajah Deburgo woke up after halftime the Bulldogs looked loads better. Deburgo and Glover, DSA’s two most reliable scorers this year, combined for 23 points on five made threes, but 16 of those points came after the break, and by then, Collins and Cedar Ridge had built up a lead DSA couldn’t crack. 

Collins was the driving force in the victory for Cedar Ridge, but, like usual, he got some contributions from Cedar Ridge’s deep stable of options. Andrew Altieri and Grayson Ramos each hit critical threes in the second half. Derrick Smith was a force on the offensive glass, cleaning up misses and securing putbacks all evening as part of his ten-point outing. And Barnes, who didn’t record a point and ended up fouling out, still played a huge role by securing a couple of key defensive boards in the fourth to help Cedar Ridge bleed the clock. 

Next up for the Red Wolves is a date with undefeated South Granville, which is fresh off an impressive win over Orange on the other side of Hillsborough on Tuesday. But for now, a year after even one win was far from a sure thing, the Cedar Ridge men can enjoy what was a hard-fought second victory of this year. 

For the Cedar Ridge women, Tuesday’s tilt against DSA represented a prime chance to bounce back from Monday night’s setback against Chapel Hill. The Bulldog women at 4-3 were frankly the most successful of the four teams on display Tuesday – no other team had more than one win on the year – but DSA had been far from convincing even in their wins and were without their best player, Precious Ogboko, a sophomore center averaging 20 points and 11 rebounds per game but didn’t even make the trip to Hillsborough. 

But still without Tori Dalehite and Isabella Flynt, and now without starting center Caitlin Lloyd, Cedar Ridge was playing shorthanded as well. Even still, the Red Wolves started out much better than they did against the Tigers, hitting a couple of foul shots to pull to within 16-10 early in the second. But then Lindsay Suitt got hot. With Ogboko out, the true freshman guard Suitt emerged as the leader of a super young DSA team that sports only one senior, erupting for a career-high 25 points to lead the Bulldogs to what turned into a comfortable 49-33 victory over Cedar Ridge. 

On the other side, Cedar Ridge looked improved offensively, albeit against an inferior defense than Chapel Hill’s, and shot 58% from the line, much better than usual, to keep the score close for much of the contest. Most significantly, Takia Nichols delivered the game of her young Cedar Ridge career. Starting in place of Lloyd, the sophomore center notched 10 points, all in the second half, and secured 11 rebounds, including five on the offensive end, for her first career double-double. The Red Wolves’ losing streak has hit 11, but they’ll have their best chance at their first win this year when a winless South Granville team that just got waxed by Orange comes to town on Thursday.

By Tim Hackett

Orange lost the opening tip of the 2019-20 season, allowing Research Triangle a chance at the game’s first points. But the Panthers’ defense forced a quick turnover, and Machai Holt sprung a streaking Joey McMullin with a skip pass for a layup and the opening salvo seconds in. 

And that was just the beginning. Sweltering half-court defense. Countless turnovers. About a dozen three-pointers. One huge second-half run. 38 Joey McMullin points. All that added up to an 80-62 Orange (1-0) victory over the Research Triangle Raptors (3-1) in the Panthers’ season opener – an 18-point margin of victory that rarely seemed that secure. 

In truth, for a few minutes in the first quarter it seemed like the Panthers were primed for a blowout. It was a 3A vs. 1A matchup in this makeshift meeting following the cancellation of Orange’s scheduled opener on Friday, but dismissing Research Triangle as “just a 1A team” would have been rash – this was a Raptors team fresh off a 23-win season, and one that had started 2019 with three more wins, all by an average of nearly 30 points a game. But even still, Orange nearly ran the Raptors off the floor in the first period – McMullin and Jason Franklin combined to hit threes on four straight Panther possessions to balloon the early edge out to 16-2, allowing Derryl Britt the chance to swap out all five of his floor players at once, hockey style, to test out some of his other pieces. The Raptors had barely been able to cross half court against Orange’s starters, and they found more success against the reserves, but the hosts had still built a 25-12 lead after one period. 

Both teams showcased tenacious, unrelenting pressure defense, and, more impressively, maintained that pressure for almost the entire game. Orange worked in a three-quarter-court press most of the evening, and Research Triangle often countered with a half-court press once the second quarter began. That led to countless rushed passes, intercepted passes, and straight up bad passes from both sides, but once a team was able to get down the floor, they were both able to finish with relative ease. Orange kept the visitors at arm’s length, however, and held a 44-27 lead as the teams headed to halftime. 

Orange had controlled the game throughout, but the Raptors had hung around. It seemed that Orange was searching for one more solid run to put them ahead for good – but they couldn’t find it. Instead, the Raptors cranked up the pressure even further, and converted seemingly every Orange turnover into a bucket, and Raptor shots that didn’t fall in the first half started to roll in. Barry Marrow hit shots from inside. Eli Griffith hit shots from out. Elliott Klappenbach dominated both boards en route to a 20-point day. And the Raptors closed the third quarter on a 17-7 run to shrink the Panther lead down to 57-51 with one period left. 

The flashy, frenetic Orange offense was the highlight of the first half, but, at this moment, truly tested in the contest for the first time, the Panther defense locked in, restricting the Raptors to just two field goals for the entire final period – and the second came on a layup as the final buzzer sounded. On the other side, Jacob Thompson hit a pair of threes, Tucker Miller hit a handful of free throws, and McMullin hit just about every shot he attempted as part of a career-high 38-point outburst, and Orange walked away with an 80-62 win. 

It had been 280 days since Orange closed the 2018-19 season with a lopsided loss to Southern. But interestingly for a team with no seniors last year, this year’s Orange team looks quite a bit different. Of course, there’s no more Mekai Collins, who headed back to Cedar Ridge to finish where he started, and Zyon Pettiford was conspicuously absent from the preseason roster. But Orange clearly has some pieces in place to improve on a 10-18 season last year, especially when most baseline stats painted the Panthers as a better-than-average team in spite of that worse-than-average record. Thompson and Franklin showed some poise and some handles as the primary ball carriers. Kendrell Brooks and Jacobi Harris combined for 13 crucial points off the bench in different roles with Holt in foul trouble most of the night. And then, of course, there’s McMullin, who was nearly perfect from the line and beyond the arc in the best performance of his career. For now, the Panthers can be pleased with their offensive performance against a team that looks poised to produce at the 1A level again – but they’ll know that without their defensive performance, Monday night’s result might have looked quite a bit different. 

by Tim Hackett

Everything had led to this. All the hard work, the long hours, the grueling drills, the tough losses, they all built up to one more moment: Friday’s regular season finale, which meant one more chance for the Cedar Ridge players to go out and compete after a year without football. One more chance to strap ‘em up with your teammates and play together. One more chance to play spoiler and uproot a conference rival’s strong season. One more chance to prove to others – and themselves – that they belong. 

Instead, Vance County quickly proved why they might be a legitimate force in the 3A playoffs in just the second year of this version of the school. A Viper team that averaged close to 33 points and just shy of 400 yards of offense in the first ten games of the 2019 season easily surpassed both of those lofty marks in their regular season finale, as Vance County (9-2, 5-2 Big 8) dominated its first-ever meeting with Cedar Ridge (1-10, 1-6) 65-6 on Friday night in Henderson. 

The Red Wolves picked up one first down and then punted on their first possession, and once the Vipers got the ball, they swiftly showcased that elite offense that’s helped them dominate nearly every team they’ve played this season save for the two Big 8 teams from Durham. Against this team from Hillsborough, Vance County scored eight touchdowns on eight offensive possessions before taking knees on their final one, and even scored once on a defensive possession, and barely allowed Cedar Ridge to cross midfield until the waning minutes of the game. Quarterback Samein Burwell, who averages more total yards of offense per game individually than Cedar Ridge does as a team, authored one more chapter in the story of his electrifying senior season, throwing for three touchdowns in the first half and eclipsing the 3000 total yard mark with another standout all-around performance.

Noah Terry, one of the conference’s best two-way players, scored four total touchdowns, two on the ground and two through the air. Davonte Evans rushed for two scores. Top wideout Phadol Jordan found the end zone on both sides of the ball, including a 60-yard fumble recovery for six in the first quarter. Burwell hit Jordan for two two-point conversions and hit William Hawkins IV for two more. Even backup quarterback Saimir Best got in on the action, scoring a 32-yard touchdown and a two-point conversion for his first trip to the end zone since Vance County’s fourth game of the season. 

The Vipers players and fans who braved the sub-40-degree temperatures got to see plenty of great plays, but they were never louder than they were late in the first quarter. Phadol Jordan had just put the game beyond any doubt with his fumble recovery to make it 28-0 in the first period, but Vance County kicker Stephanie Melgar added in some history by knocking through the PAT. Vance County’s first made kick of the season was made by the conference’s only regular female player, and the Senior Night crowd gave the soccer veteran some much-deserved appreciation. 

It was always going to be a difficult task for a Cedar Ridge team once again playing without a few regulars to contain a truly elite offense, but the Vipers, also working without a few key players, still showcased a solid defense and didn’t have to worry about poor special teams play on this night. Those latter two phases could be problematic for Vance County once they hit the playoffs, but if the Viper offense plays as close to as well as it played Friday, it’s tough to imagine many teams slowing them down.  

But even in the worst, most lopsided loss in a season full of them, the Cedar Ridge players once again showcased their resolve, tenacity, heart and desire to compete. It’s not easy to look back and say that Vance County was simply a far better team than Cedar Ridge and played like it. It would have been easy for Cedar Ridge, knowing that fact, to just give up or not even try. But try they did. Sure, the Vipers still executed, but that’s a testament to Vance County’s skill level. The manner in which the Cedar Ridge players comported themselves, in this tough game and all throughout this tough season, is a testament to their coaches, their families, and to their own characters. 

And the Red Wolves got to put up a few highlights of their own on the field as well. Zach Holmes completed another fake punt pass. His brother Toby Holmes handled the punting duties in the second half and looked pretty solid. KJ Barnes was Cedar Ridge’s best player in his final football game, turning multiple catches along the line of scrimmage into double-digit gains. Braedon Thompson, like usual, made a bunch of stops, even in the fourth quarter. And once the Red Wolves finally got into the red zone with the running clock winding down, Braxton Mergenthal got to add one final moment to his stellar senior season, running the ball in around right tackle from three yards out for his first career touchdown. One of the guys who helped to lay the foundation for Cedar Ridge’s return to football relevance got one more moment to remember, and on a cold night a long way from home, Cedar Ridge finally had cause to celebrate.

by Curran Campbell

In this week’s edition of the ramble, I think I finally have an idea of what the true pecking order in the coastal is. Let’s find out together next week when it turns out I actually have it all wrong again! Also, we will have basketball power rankings and predictions but only for conference games. There will also be no basketball analysis until football season is over.

Note: Since neither Clemson nor Virginia Tech played conference games this past weekend, I will not have analysis on them.

Wake Forest

Pure dominance over an inferior opponent is what the Demon Deacons displayed last Saturday against the Wolfpack in a 44-10 victory. The Wake defense took advantage of a freshman QB in Leary much like they did with Sam Howell earlier this season, and Wake continues their quest towards an Orange Bowl bid.

Boston College

AJ Dillon is the best tailback in the conference, and his performance led the Eagles to a 58-27 annihilation of Syracuse. 691 total yards of offense, with 496 of those coming on the ground from the likes of Dillon and David Bailey is generally a good formula for success.

Miami

The Miami defense was dominant in a 27-10 rivalry victory over Florida State, and I think Miami finally has the QB situation ironed out with Jarren Williams cementing his role as the starter. His play has been huge in Miami’s resurgence and will be critical for the Canes success down the stretch.

Pittsburgh

Not much to say here, Pitt did enough to beat a god awful Georgia Tech team 20-10, and they will go into the bye week looking to improve before playing a solid North Carolina team next Thursday night.

Virginia

Bryce. Perkins. I think that says enough about UVa’s performance in a 38-31 win over in Chapel Hill. UVa is now the clear favorite to win the coastal division. Assuming they win out going into the final week of the season, it’ll be a Commonwealth Clash for the ages that would theoretically decide the coastal.

NC State

State has played 3 quarterbacks so far this season, and they have all been bad with all 3, the most recent dumpster fire performance coming from Devin Leary. Leary went 17-45 for 149 yards to go along with a touchdown and two picks. That kind of play is unacceptable and with all the talent on that NC State roster, you have to think if they just had a QB they could be competing at the same level as Wake. Alas, they don’t have a QB.

Syracuse

Syracuse’s most recent performance was enough to get defensive coordinator Brian Ward fired a year after he was nominated for the Broyles Award. Simply put, when you lose 57-28 and give up nearly 700 total yards to Boston College, some sort of change has to be made, and Ward was the sacrificial lamb.

Florida State

After the 27-10 loss to Miami, FSU pulled the plug on the Willie Taggart era. I never thought that Taggart was the right hire for Florida State in the first place, that being said, Florida State never gave him enough of a chance. Let’s see how the Seminoles ruin their next coach!

North Carolina

The 38-31 loss to UVa killed the Tar Heels chances at a coastal crown, but the Heels still have a ton left to play for. With 3 games left in the season, the Heels need 2 more wins to go to a bowl game. They have 1 pretty much guaranteed with the Mercer game, but how will the Heels steal one on the road at Pitt, or win what is always a tough game at Carter-Finley stadium. Logic would indicate that the Heels shouldn’t have a problem against this NC State team in a few weeks, but we all know that logic doesn’t exist in that football game outside of 2015 when that dominant Carolina team just took care of business easily. Every other time, it’s a grinder of a football game, so it will be a tough, but very much doable climb for the Heels to go bowling for the first time since 2016.

Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech is bad, their players on offense still don’t suit the system that Geoff Collins is trying to run. A 20-10 loss to Pitt is a pretty solid result for GT as they continue a massive overhaul in Atlanta.

Football Power Rankings

1. Clemson

2. Wake Forest

3. Virginia

4. Virginia Tech

5. Louisville

6. North Carolina

7. Pitt

8. Miami

9. Duke

10. Florida State

11. Boston College

12. NC State

13. Georgia Tech

14. Syracuse

Football Predictions

Florida State at Boston College (-1.5): Boston College, 38-28

Georgia Tech at Virginia (-15): Virginia, 48-20

Wake Forest (-2.5) at Virginia Tech: Wake Forest, 31-27

Louisville at Miami (-6.5): Louisville, 35-24

Clemson (-31.5) at NC State: Clemson, 52-10

Notre Dame (-8) at Duke: Notre Dame, 21-17

Last week’s predictions: 3-3

Season Total: 16-12

Basketball Power Rankings

1. North Carolina

2. Duke

3. Virginia

4. Louisville

5. NC State

6. Florida State

7. Syracuse

8. Miami

9. Notre Dame

10. Pitt

11. Clemson

12. Georgia Tech

13. Virginia Tech

14. Boston College

15. Wake Forest

Basketball Predictions

Louisville at Miami: Louisville, 73-69

Virginia Tech at Clemson: Clemson, 64-58

Georgia Tech at NC State: NC State, 83-70

Notre Dame at North Carolina: North Carolina, 87-72

Wake Forest at Boston College: Boston College, 61-55

Florida State at Pitt: Pitt, 81-75

Virginia at Syracuse: Syracuse, 65-62

By Curran Campbell

We had another week of coastal chaos, and another week of football teams performing at levels of derp never seen before by mankind. We also have our third team so far this season to hit the bottom of the power rankings, keep reading and find out who has become the worst of the worst.

Miami

Miami took advantage of too many Pitt mistakes and busted out the turnover chain 3 times in a gross 16-12 victory over the Panthers. The Miami offense continues to be absolutely dreadful, as they only put up a measly 208 yard of total offense. That being said, they did enough to win and that’s all that matters at the end of the day.

Louisville

Tailback Javian Hawkins and quarterback Micale Cunningham combined for 233 yards rushing as Louisville took 28-21 victory over Virginia. The scoreboard would indicate a close game but the Cardinal ground attack was just too much to handle for the Hoos, and Louisville completely dominated the second half of play.

Clemson

Clemson beat Boston College 59-7. That is all.

Florida State

Florida State started running away with it early, and a couple of garbage time touchdowns made it look way closer than it really was as the Noles took care of Syracuse 35-17. Cam Akers continues to look like one of the top 3 tailbacks in the conference along with Clemson’s Travis Etienne and Louisville’s Javian Hawkins as he put up 144 yards and 4 touchdowns on the ground.

North Carolina

Carolina kind of played like garbage against Duke if we are going to be honest. They did their very best to make sure the Victory Bell stayed in Durham for a fourth straight year, but as most of you probably know already, it’s back in Chapel Hill. The Heels barely, and I mean barely held on for a 20-17 victory as the Tar Heel defense really did play their best game of the season and Chazz Surratt made the big play with 14 seconds left with the interception on the Deon Jackson jump pass when it really mattered. We will have a lot more to say about this game in the Duke section of this ramble.

Pitt

So far this season, Pitt has had a habit of playing the same level of football as their opponent. Playing up to Penn State and UCF, while playing down to the likes of Duke, Syracuse, Delaware, and now Miami in a 16-12 loss. Kenny Pickett was dreadful, going 18-32 for only 146 yards and throwing it to the wrong colored jersey twice. The Pitt defense was good, as it has been all season, but if that offense doesn’t clean it up, they’re going to continue to struggle down the stretch.

Virginia

Virginia on the road is bad. Virginia at home is good. Unfortunately, we were stuck with road Virginia on Saturday as they dropped this one to Louisville 28-21. UVa is now 1-3 on the road and it’s not going to get any easier as they have to travel to Chapel Hill next week. Until UVa can figure out how to win on the road, they will not be the team they are capable of being. Which in my opinion, is a 9 win season with a coastal crown. So far, they’re underperforming.

Boston College

I am sorry that you guys had to lose 59-7 to Clemson. That is all.

Syracuse

Syracuse football continues to disappoint me in new ways every single week. This time with a 35-17 loss to another bad team, this time it was Florida State. The offensive line is still dreadful, surrendering 7 sacks, and quarterback Tommy DeVito isn’t getting any better as the season progresses. DeVito has been lauded as the QB of the future for the Orange and his performance has been so bad that the Orange are now prowling the transfer market looking for another quarterback. A report from Chris Carlson of syracuse.com indicates that former North Carolina quarterback Cade Fortin will be taking an official visit to Syracuse this week. Take with that what you will.

Duke

Duke lost the Battle for the Victory Bell for the first time since 2015. A 20-17 loss in a game you had every opportunity to win stings, and really all the blame can be put on two guys. Those being quarterback Quentin Harris and offensive coordinator Zac Roper. First up to be grilled, Quentin Harris. On the surface, 22-39 for 229 yards with one touchdown and one pick isn’t terrible. That being said, the interception came on a wide open throw that Harris simply missed deep in Carolina territory, taking at least 3 points away from the Blue Devils. Outside of the interception, Harris missed quite a few crucial 3rd down throws that could have kept the ball moving for Duke and avoided having to put together a final drive in the first place. Now Zac Roper, you’re going to be remembered for this mistake for a long, long time. Who in the right mind calls a jump pass at the 2 yard line with your tailback throwing it? If you want to throw the ball there, you run a fade route to one of your receivers who the Carolina corners had been struggling with the whole game. But for whatever reason, Roper took a class at the Larry Fedora School For Coaches That Get Too Cute Near The Goal Line, and went with the jump pass by the tailback. Yikes.

Power Rankings

1. Clemson, duh.
2. Wake Forest
3. North Carolina
4. Virginia Tech
5. Louisville
6. Virginia
7. Florida State
8. Pitt
9. Duke
10. Boston College
11. NC State
12. Miami
13. Georgia Tech
14. Syracuse

Predictions

NC State at Wake Forest: Wake Forest, 35-24

Boston College at Syracuse: Syracuse, 21-20

Virginia Tech at Notre Dame: Notre Dame, 38-17

Miami at Florida State: Florida State, 34-10

Wofford at Clemson: Clemson, 100-0

Pitt at Georgia Tech: Pitt, 45-24

Virginia at North Carolina: North Carolina, 31-28

Last week’s predictions: 4-1

Season total: 13-9

A season ago, the Clayton High School volleyball team finished the year with 15 wins, got to the final of the Greater Neuse Conference tournament where they lost to conference rival Cleveland, made the 3A state playoffs as a #14 seed, hosted the #19 seed in the first round – and lost in straight sets.

Now, one year later, the Comets found themselves in familiar territory. Clayton finished the year with 15 wins, got to the final of the conference tournament where they lost to rival Cleveland, made the 3A state playoffs as a #14 seed, and hosted the #19 seed in the first round – but this year, the end result was a little different.

On the other side of the floor, the Orange High School volleyball team had been in the playoffs for the past four years, but the Panthers hadn’t been able to push past the first round since 2015, when Orange got all the way to the third round as a 21-seed. A couple of key wins late in 2019 ensured the Panthers would be playoff participants again, giving second-year head coach Kelly Young a second chance to guide the Panthers deep into the postseason.

On Saturday afternoon, the #19 seed Orange Panthers (16-8) took a long trip south to Johnston County and battled the Clayton Comets (15-10) every step of the way, but Clayton’s depth on the outside and talent at the service line helped lift the Comets to a straight-sets win (25-22, 25-20, 29-27) over Orange, ending the Panthers’ season in the first round for the fourth straight year.

Orange got out to a quick early lead on the road in the first set, but Clayton tied the score at six apiece and then went a big run to open up a 17-12 lead. Young called a timeout and her team responded, battling back to within 19-18, which prompted a matching timeout from first-year Clayton head coach David Nicholson. That timeout had a similar effect for the Comets, which pulled away for a 25-22 win.

Orange again struck for an early 4-1 lead in set two, but Clayton, needing some offense, once again found it through Kayla Burbage, a 6’2 junior middle hitter with long arms and a cannon of a swing. She missed nearly all of September and it’s fair to wonder how much better Clayton’s seed would’ve been had she played the entire season, but she certainly came to play Saturday. A player that averages 4.87 kills per set with a hitting clip of .360 and that kind of height is a potential star at any level, and she was a matchup nightmare for Orange Saturday. The Panthers did well to limit top Clayton outside Maya Gray, who averages 3 kills per set herself, but Burbage’s big arm helped stake the Comets to a 20-13 edge. The Panthers were able to claw back into the set, but the deficit was too large to overcome – Clayton won 25-20 for a 2-0 set advantage.

Unlike the first two sets, in the third, it was Clayton that grabbed an early lead. But, also unlike the first two sets, the Comets never held a big lead. Instead, Orange, knowing its season was on the line, fought every step of the way, fending off match points at 24-23 and 26-25, and even having a chance to take the set themselves at 27-26. But on their third match point, the Comets forced Orange into a tough defensive situation, and the Panthers overpassed the ball right in the center of the net – and there, of course, waiting to spike it down was Burbage to lift Clayton to a 29-27 victory and a straight-sets win.

Clayton played to its strengths perfectly in this match. A Comet team that, incredibly, averages more than twice as many service aces as it does errors served well all day Saturday, and with top outside Gray stopped up, the Comets found offense from other sources, including Ella Callahan, a freshman outside who tallied at least 15 points serving and attacking after she had appeared in just six sets all season prior to Saturday.

But Orange truthfully played a very strong game as well, producing an effort that would have been more than good enough to beat a lesser team that doesn’t have the ability to go on service runs like Clayton does. The Comets slowed down top Panther outside Avery Miller, but the patented Panther right-side attack from Lottie Scully and especially Ella Van Tiem worked excellently. Emma Vosburg and Devyn Norman both had their moments in the middle, offensively and defensively. Senior Emma Clements has been resurgent lately in this season, and she had a solid final game overall as a Panthers. Scully and Kaitlyn Werden split the setter duties well, both serving well and facilitating clean offense. And libero Brooke Fryar was back there to keep things about as clean as usual. But on this day, all of those good efforts were simply not good enough, and the Panthers quickly packed up their things and hopped on the bus back to Hillsborough to reflect on another strong season of volleyball at Orange.

By Curran Campbell

Well, this week in ACC football was a complete derpfest as nobody played well and that led to a lot of upsets, as well as for everybody in the ACC Coastal to have a transitive property win over everybody else in the division. Essentially, everybody is bad.

Pitt

Congratulations Pitt, you are the latest team to take advantage of Syracuse’s sheer incompetence offensively. The Pitt secondary showed some struggles with some of the Orange’s big time receivers, but their pass rush going up against the worst offensive line in college football was ultimately enough for a 27-20 Panthers victory.

Clemson

Travis Etienne is the best running back in college football. His 192 yards on 14 carries pretty much sums up the day that the Tigers had offensively. Going in to Louisville is never easy, but Clemson certainly made it look so in their 45-10 drubbing of the Cardinals.

Boston College

It’s not an NC State-Boston College game if the Eagles don’t suddenly play their best game of the season. AJ Dillon was a beast as usual, and the BC defense took advantage of NC State’s QBs going a combined 19/43 through the air. The Eagles won 45-24 and NC State just continues to look bad.

Georgia Tech

Folks, Georgia Tech actually won a football game. 28-21 in OT over Miami. Somehow managing to actually score 28 points against what I thought was a decent Miami defense. Jordan Mason had a great game on the ground and punter Pressly Harvin threw for a 41 yard touchdown on a fake kick. Gimmick plays like that are how bad teams win football games, and that’s exactly what the Yellow Jackets did.

Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech did just enough to not screw up against North Carolina in the 6OT game at Lane Stadium. With Hendon Hooker injured, and Ryan Willis bad, the Hokies went to 3rd stringer Quincy Patterson at QB in the 3rd quarter. Patterson didn’t show much as a passer, but what he could do was run the ball right down North Carolina’s throat. That and some help from some missed field goals by the Tar Heels leads to VT winning 43-41, and leaves me thinking that VT might actually be good as they improve to 5-2.

Virginia

Bryce Perkins seemed to have a similar approach at QB on Saturday as Virginia Tech’s Quincy Patterson. Perkins couldn’t do anything through the air, so he decided he would just run for 3 touchdowns instead, leading the way in the Hoos 48-14 domination of Duke. It was a nice bounceback for UVa after a bad loss at Miami, and the Cavaliers still have just as much a chance at winning the coastal as anyone not named Miami or Georgia Tech.

Wake Forest

The Deacs did just enough to beat Florida State in Winston-Salem, as has been the story for Dave Clawson’s bunch all season. A 22-20 victory over the Seminoles should look better than it does, but Wake scoring 15 of those on field goals makes me worry about the rest of their season. Nonetheless, Wake regains their spot is the clear number 2 team in the conference behind Clemson.

Syracuse

Syracuse really only has one problem. However, that problem is having the worst offensive line in the country. The Orange have allowed 35 sacks so far this season and allowed 9 in the 27-20 loss to Pitt. Unless that reverses in the coming weeks for Syracuse, it’s not going to get any better for them.

Louisville

I’m sorry that you guys were stuck playing Clemson this week, you lost 45-10 and that’s okay. Just reset and move on to the next one and you’ll be alright Louisville.

NC State

“Hey, coach Doeren, when are you going to start Devin Leary.” I’m sure this has been said by every State fan on the planet, but Leary only went 15-33 passing. I realize that he threw for 3 touchdowns, but that kind of completion percentage, if sustained, is not going to lead to many good results. Having 2 quarterbacks really means that you have no quarterbacks, and when your defense surrenders 45 points to a team almost exclusively running the ball, it really doesn’t matter who plays QB. The Pack lost 45-24, and should really just start prepping for North Carolina now. We all know it’s the only game they care about at this point in what has been a complete failure of a season for the Wolfpack thus far.

Miami

Congratulations Miami! You are now the worst team in the ACC after a 28-21 loss to Georgia Tech! How does it feel? You don’t have a QB, your defense isn’t what it was, and I hope you’re enjoying Manny Diaz. This is what happens when you get rid of Mark Richt. Richt was the best coach at Miami since Butch Davis and Miami is paying the price for getting rid of him.

North Carolina

When Carolina beat VT in Frank Beamer’s last game at Lane, they must have made a deal to never win there again. The Heels did enough to win but some bad breaks and questionable play calling near the end by OC Phil Longo led to VT escaping with a 43-41 win in overtime. Tar Heel fans really have no reason to worry about the rest of the season, as their toughest games are now all behind them, but this one stings. I fully expect the Heels to play their best football down the stretch in these last 5 games.

Duke

Quentin Harris, get better. That’s 2 weeks in a row that Harris has been the reason for a Duke loss. I have said multiple times that Duke will go as far as Harris can take them, and to this point, that seems like it won’t be very far. Virginia is good, but not beat Duke 48-14 good.

Florida State

Willie Taggart can go ahead and start packing his bags. Cam Akers is the only player on this team worth watching and the rest of the offense is just incompetent. They really lost 22-20 to Wake Forest when their defense forced 5 field goals instead of touchdowns and the offense never took advantage. The talent is there, the coaching is not for the Seminoles.

Power Rankings

1. Clemson, duh.
2. Wake Forest
3. Pitt
4. Virginia
5. North Carolina
6. Virginia Tech
7. Florida State
8. Louisville
9. Duke
10. Boston College
11. NC State
12. Syracuse
13. Georgia Tech
14. Miami

Predictions

Miami at Pitt: Pitt, 30-17

Syracuse at Florida State: Florida State, 24-13

Virginia at Louisville: Louisville, 35-24

Duke at North Carolina: North Carolina, 31-28

Boston College at Clemson: Clemson, 45-20

Last week’s predictions: 4-3

Season total: 9-8

by John Franklin

My middle school baseball coach always told me, “Everyone loves a winner” or “Everyone at the game has a good time when you’re winning”.

Coach, you got that right.

If you came to last Friday night’s varsity football game at Cedar Ridge Stadium, a good time was had by all during the Red Wolves’ 20-19 victory over Chapel Hill – especially when you break a winless drought of 785 days.

I seriously hate talking about myself, but have to explain.

During the game, outside of the normal announcements of plays, yardage, ball spot, penalties, etc. – I have incorporated something that is becoming a new trend. In the vast collection of music files on my laptop, I also have a batch of …. Sound Effects.

What!? Sound effects? Seriously!? – ABSOLUTELY! I’m not playing them all game long, just a few clips here and there for fun, and even some drama. With many of these clips – My inner pro wrestling fan comes out.

To start each game, I go back to circa 1997 when the faction known as the nWo (or New World Order) Wolfpac would come out to the song, “Don’t Turn Your Back on the Wolfpac”.

To the pure football fans, I’m certain you’re thinking I’m turning the game into a circus. But in reality, it’s something I’ve embraced to make the game more fun. The response I got from the Red Wolf faithful is that they’re embracing it too. For example, when Isiah McCambry emphatically charges 15 yards for a first down or Will Berger completes a long pass to a receiver to acquire a first down, or any play that results in a first down, cue up the 16-time World Heavyweight Champion, “Nature Boy” Ric Flair and his signature cry of “WHOO!!!”

I procured this simple two-second clip, and it’s caught on. Every time Cedar Ridge tallies a first down, I’ll strike up “Naitch”. The great thing about this, the Red Wolf fans respond with their own rendition of “WHOO!!!!” every time I cue up a trio of Ric Flairs. Then again, it caught on with the opposing fans too. Last season during the JV game and in this year’s varsity game against Chapel Hill, the Tiger fans would mock the Wolf Pack from their section by returning the Ric Flairs in their condescending way.

Afterwards, I’ll play something that they’re not expecting. “Oh YEAH!” I’ve played another legend in “Macho Man” Randy Savage; cartoon legend Daffy Duck with his traditional laugh; and even went to hip-hop legend Flavor Flav and his traditional “Yeah, Boyee!!” For big time rushes, you may even hear another hall of famer in Michael Hegstrand (you know him better as Road Warrior Hawk) in his trademark saying, “What a Rush!”, or the Roadrunner “MEEP MEEP”.

Oddly enough, the Pack will say these same things in response.

For the dramatic effect, I use a clip that makes Jeff Hamlin happy. The AC/DC tenor bell. That’s right, the big BONG you hear at the beginning of “Hell’s Bells” is my go to sound when rallying up the crowd on 3rd and 4th down defensive plays. This is reminiscent of 3rd & 4th down plays at UNC and Appalachian State that uses the same sound.

When a penalty flag appears upon a play, and no one knows who it’s against, I’ll play the familiar “Doink Doink” that’s synonymous with the Law & Order franchise. It definitely gets people’s attention as to who’s moving forward or backwards.

But when the Red Wolves cross into the end zone for a touchdown or conversion, kick a successful field goal, score a safety, or win the game, I’ll sound the horn. This comes from the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes, whose goal horn is tied into the late Warren Zevon’s hit song, “Werewolves of London”.

Again, I’m not trying to make sporting events into farces, but sporting events were made to be fun. All that I’m trying to do is add to a very fun atmosphere. When growing up in Marion and attending games at McDowell, we didn’t have these effects. Despite very vocal, if not rabid, fans, we would create our own effects and traditions.

Which reminds me. If you’ve come to volleyball matches inside Cedar Ridge Arena, you may have heard some of the aforementioned sounds. The students have also become very extemporaneous in their enthusiasm as it has assisted the Lady Wolves to their best season since 2015. It all started with a Cedar Ridge student shouting “OH YEAH!” (In similarity to the Kool-Aid Man), when an opposing team would serve or receive a serve.

It’s been fun this season on New Grady Brown School Drive, and I’m certain more fun is coming down the road. I for one am glad to come along for the rid

Story by Tim Hackett

It was a matchup between two teams that are among the top 20 seeds in HighSchoolOT’s first 3A volleyball playoff projections. It was a matchup between two teams that are among the top 20 teams in MaxPreps’ adjusted rankings. It was a matchup between two rival schools that have practically split the head-to-head series over the last dozen years. It was a matchup in front of a packed house of fans sporting the colors of their chosen side, with a little extra added for the sake of the rivalry – black shirts with “Beat Orange” on one side of the gym, white shirts with “Beat The Ridge” on the other. And the second installment of Orange vs. Cedar Ridge 2019, volleyball edition, lived up to the billing on Tuesday night in Hillsborough. 

“With a rival team there’s usually high emotion. There’s a bigger fan group, and so there’s more noise and you can kind of become nervy,” Cedar Ridge head coach Anna Seethaler said. “The mentality of this game was just ‘This ball. Next ball. Let’s get this ball. How about this ball?’ So just a one point at a time mentality rather than ‘Let’s win in five.’” 

The Red Wolves would need a serious comeback to even have a chance to win in five on this day, but their bounce-back efforts fell short: after splitting four tight sets with their cross-town rival, Orange (12-6, 7-3 Big 8) dominated in the fifth, fending off Cedar Ridge (15-4, 7-3) in a five-set affair. After Cedar Ridge took the first meeting between the two in five sets at Orange a month ago, Tuesday’s win brings Orange even with Cedar Ridge at third place in the strong Big 8 Conference, and adds another high-quality win to the Panthers’ ledger.

“Once we got into a rhythm we really showed up together and…well, it sucks to lose,” Seethaler said with an honest chuckle. “I mean, they’re a good team, and they showed up tonight.” 

The gameplan that has proved successful for Kelly Young’s Panthers all season was evident again in the first two sets Tuesday: serve and pass well, cycle setters and set up offense from the middle and the right side. Seethaler says it isn’t necessarily harder to coach or defend a team that attacks from the right side as much as Orange does – “it’s the same as an outside, just on the opposite side of the court,” she quipped – but that didn’t help Cedar Ridge slow down Lottie Scully, who was strong in the second set especially in leading Orange to identical 25-21 victories in the first two frames.

Defensively, Orange did well to limit top Cedar Ridge outside Cameron Lloyd, but she can only be contained for so long – as the tight third set wore on, she finally broke out, delivering three kills over four points to vault the Red Wolves into a 23-22 edge. With Orange on match point just moments later, Cameron Lanier delivered a middle kill and Julie Altieri dropped in back-to-back service aces to give the home team the 26-24 win. Altieri sent the first serve of the fourth set long, but that was the only time Cedar Ridge trailed – a Scully ace brought Orange to within 19-17, but solid serving from Haley Cothran and Lanier helped Cedar Ridge to a comprehensive 25-19 victory. 

Orange had played well in the first two sets, but Cedar Ridge had fully flipped the momentum – and the atmosphere – in the gym. But not for long. The Panthers’ level of play increased at the same rate as the “This is our house!” chants from their fans on the left side of the gym increased – Orange won the first four points of the fifth set and won nine of the first ten overall before Lloyd finally got the Red Wolves settled with a kill. But by then, it was too late: Seethaler had to burn both of her timeouts, and the Panthers’ lead in the first-to-15 sprint was much too great for the Red Wolves to overcome. Avery Miller provided a rare left side kill to put Orange up match point, but Cedar Ridge persisted through a Lloyd kill and a Lanier ace. But then, with the chants from the white-clad visiting contingent loud as ever, chaos struck: Lanier served at Orange libero Brooke Fryar, a common strategy despite her solid passing, again. Fryar’s return went back over the net but the only person who could make a play was Lanier, hustling in from the service line – her diving bump pass attempt sailed out of play, and Orange had sealed a five-set upset win over their longtime rivals with a 15-9 victory in set five. 

It’s looking likely that both of these teams will make an appearance in the 3A volleyball playoffs in 2019, but there aren’t many more chances for either side to prove it deserves a higher seed than they are currently projected to hold. Cedar Ridge only has four regular season matches left, including one at home next week against a strong East Chapel Hill side, while Orange still has the two-time conference champ Chapel Hill among its final five contests. A loss almost certainly wouldn’t knock either Hillsborough team out of the postseason, but those games might serve as the final chance for them to turn some heads – if nothing else, Tuesday’s match proved both schools belong in the conversation for best in the conference, even though the 2019 season split won’t help to prove which school is the best in the city.

By Curran Campbell

Six weeks have passed in the ACC football season, and I still don’t know who’s good and who’s bad. In a week of only 4 conference games, two of which were some of the most #goacc games I’ve ever seen, I’ll attempt to analyze what went down for the winners and losers this past Saturday.

Louisville

Scott Satterfield can coach a football team, that we know so far. He has turned the team that Bobby Petrino attempted to run into a ditch and made them competitive in every game. The Cards look like they have finally figured out their quarterback situation, albeit in an unfortunate way. Week 1 starter Jawon Pass has missed three straight for the ‘Ville and Malik Cunningham has seized the opportunity. In a thrilling 41-39 victory over a struggling Boston College, Cunningham went 13/18 for 288 yards and a touchdown. If the Cards keep rocking with Cunningham, they very well may be bowling in December.

North Carolina

Not much to say about the Tar Heels this week. They beat a bad Georgia Tech team in relatively easy fashion, 38-22. Sam Howell continues to sling the ball and the tailback tandem of Michael Carter and Javonte Williams provide a jolt in the run game. Carolina has some injuries in the secondary, most notably to safety Myles Wolfolk that has forced younger guys like Don Chapman and Storm Duck to get more action than Jay Bateman had likely hoped to see. However, they’re playing well enough to win, and headed into a bye week, that’s all the Heels needed.

Virginia Tech

I know Va Tech won 42-35 at Miami, but I still have no faith in this team. A 28-0 first half lead disintegrated and Justin Fuente’s seat is still as hot as ever. Like Louisville, Tech has a quarterback it seems now in Hendon Hooker. If Bud Foster can somehow get the Hokie defense to just be mediocre, they can win a few more games, but giving up 45 to Duke and 35 to Miami in back to back weeks doesn’t inspire a whole lot of confidence in the Virginia Tech defense.

Pitt

The Pitt defense forced 6 turnovers against Duke, which is good. They also gave up 27 second half points, which is not nearly as good. Pitt seems to have a problem closing out games at this point in the season, and they can’t expect Kenny Pickett, Maurice Ffrench, and Taysir Mack to bail them out every time. A 33-30 win on the road at Duke is objectively hard to come by, but it seems like the Panthers made it a lot more difficult than they needed to.

Miami

The defense is terrible, the passing game is weak. At least Deejay Dallas is good out of the backfield? Miami lost 42-35 to Va Tech as mentioned earlier, and it shouldn’t have been close. This is more an indicator as to how bad Va Tech is this was a close game. Miami is definitely regretting the “retirement” of Mark Richt about now.

Duke

I said last week that Duke will go as far as Quentin Harris can take them, and good lord was he bad in the 33-30 loss to Pittsburgh. 18/43 for 165 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 picks, and 3 fumbles lost. It was a performance on the level of Jake Delhomme in the NFC Divisional playoffs against the Cardinals in 2009. Not a single team in the country will win with quarterback play like that, and Harris would be the first guy to tell you that.

Boston College

Same story for Boston College as it was last week. No defense whatsoever, the 41-39 loss to Louisville the latest misstep for the Eagles. Starting QB Anthony Brown also went down with an injury in the matchup at Cardinal Stadium. Things looking pretty grim in New England right now.

Georgia Tech

What is there to say about Georgia Tech really. They lost 38-22 at home to North Carolina. Not a good result, but hey, it’s an improvement from the 24-2 loss to Temple. This is a bad team, and I wish there was more I could say. Alas, there is not.

Power Rankings

1. Clemson

2. Wake Forest

3. Virginia

4. Florida State

5. North Carolina

6. Syracuse

7. Pitt

8. Duke

9. Louisville

10. NC State

11. Boston College

12. Virginia Tech

13. Miami

14. Georgia Tech

Predictions

Syracuse at NC State: 20-13, Syracuse

Virginia at Miami: 35-24, Virginia

Georgia Tech at Duke: 38-21, Duke

Florida State at Clemson: 42-17, Clemson

Rhode Island at Virginia Tech: 55-10, Virginia Tech

Louisville at Wake Forest: 33-30, Wake Forest

Last week’s predictions: 2-2

Season total: 2-2