Jeff Hamlin

Cedar Ridge and Orange women’s soccer scored so many goals on Monday night, they may as well have enacted rules from the old Major Indoor Soccer League, put up walls around the goals and sidelines, allowing rebounds to turn the game into human pinball and be done with it.

Sophomore Kate Finnegan scored a career-high four goals as Cedar Ridge outscored Northwood 9-6 in its home opener at Red Wolves Stadium. Cedar Ridge (1-1) also received two goals from Fleury Nicholson, who has started her senior season strong.

Nicholson has played varsity at Cedar Ridge since her freshman year. She enters her senior season with 42 career goals and 18 assists.

Alex Tong added a goal for the Red Wolves. Ava Smith, who just finished basketball season, added her first goal at the varsity level. Junior Peyton Decker also scored her first varsity goal.

Cedar Ridge bounced back from a season-opening loss to Riverside at Linny Wrenn Stadium in Durham last week.

Junior Ellamarie Perel had some crucial saves late to earn her first win of the season.

Just two games into the season, Finnegan already has five goals. The Red Wolves are scheduled to face Durham School of the Arts at Red Wolves Stadium on Wednesday night. They will face Southern Nash on Saturday.

This season, Cedar Ridge will go without its leading scorer from 2024. Katie Paulakonis, who scored 43 goals last season, committed to Division I Bellarmine last fall. Paulakonis, who was on the sidelines rooting on her teammates Monday night, recently underwent a medical procedure and didn’t want to risk further injury before she starts her college career in August. Paulakonis’ 43 goals is a single-season school record.

Orange 9, Durham School of the Arts 3: In the heart of downtown Durham, Orange forward Caroline Cathey scored four goals and racked up nine points in a dominant win over Durham School of the Arts.

Sullivan Gaddy, another senior, added two goals and two assists as Orange took its lid lifter over the Bulldogs. Gaddy scored the opener off an assist from Cathey in the 11th minute on an assist from Cathey. Two minutes later, Cathey notched her first goal.

Less than a minute later, Gaddy notch her second goal off a pass from Lucy Mignosa. Then Mignosa added her first goal of the season off a pass from Emma Edwards.

In the 22nd minute, Evelyn Gover scored off a pass from Gaddy as Orange led 5-3 at halftime.

Cora Bailey scored the opening goal of the second half in the 45h minute. Cathey scored separate goals in the 47th and 49th minutes, the ladder assisted by Cora Beth Bailey.

With 15;00 remaining, Cathey scored her fourth goal on an assist from Gaddy. Cathey, a senior, had her first four-goal game. Last year, she had a hat trick in a 6-0 win over Durham School of the Arts in Hillsborough. She also had a hat trick in a 10-1 win over Southern Alamance in 2024.

Last year, Gaddy had seven multi-goal games. It’s the second straight year she scored two goals against DSA. Last year, Gaddy scored 20 goals as Orange finished 9-6-2 overall, 6-4-2 in the Central Conference.

Right away, Orange will face a crucial conference contest this week. On Wednesday, the Lady Panthers are scheduled to face Eastern Alamance in Hillsborough. Last year, the Eagles split the season series with Orange. The Lady Panthers defeated Eastern Alamance 4-3 in Hillsborough behind two goals from Gaddy, along with tallies from Cathey and Bailey. Eastern Alamance would gain revenge, beating Orange 3-2 in Mebane in the regular season finale.

Eastern Alamance would defeat Orange 4-1 in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs behind a hat trick from junior Abby Brinker.

The game against Eastern Alamance on Wednesday may fall victim to rain, which is in the forecast.

The Lady Panthers will host Carrboro in Hillsborough on Friday night.

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There are plenty of new faces for Orange softball as they start the new season.

First-year coach Emily Pearce got power up and down her lineup to win her first game against an eight-time state champion.

Junior Katie Carden slammed two home runs while Allie Carden added another dinger as the Lady Panthers hammered South Granville 10-1 in Creedmoor on Wednesday night. In her first varsity game, freshman Kylee Allen also homered as the Lady Panthers accomplished the rare feat of beating the Lady Vikings.

South Granville has won eight straight conference championships and 51 consecutive conference games, stretching back to its days as a 2A team.

Even Orange’s 2017 3A State Championship team, featuring Mia Davidson and Carden’s cousin Jayden Hurdle, lost to South Granville.

Pearce, who was raised around a softball powerhouse at Alexander Central, was posed with the dilemma of replacing three-year starting pitcher Caden Robinson, who graduated last year. Sophomore Addison Guentensberger stepped in and allowed just three hits in a complete game victory, striking out three.

South Granville’s Chaleigh Currin struck out 12 over seven innings.

Katie Carden finished 4-for-4 with six RBIs. She immediately struck for a RBI single to drive in Hayleigh Hammond, who stole second after walking in the first inning. The Vikings’ Tiatana Bates drove in Avery Wilson to even the game for the Vikings only run in the bottom of the inning.

The game remain tied going into the fourth inning until Allie Caden stroked a triple to right field. Senior Karley Neighbors lined a single to left field to bring in Carden, starting a string of nine unanswered Orange runs.

Katie Carden’s first home run ignited a four-run fifth inning that put the game out of reach. After leadoff batter Sadie Cecil reached on a single to centerfield, Carden drove one deep to right that landed on a steep hill over the fence. Orange hit back-to-back-to-back home runs with Allie Carden and Allen each hitting dingers to put the Lady Panthers ahead 6-1.

Cecil drove in Guentensberger with an RBI single in the sixth. That led to Katie Carden’s second home run, a three-run blast scoring Cecil and Reese Blank.

Orange’s game against Apex Friendship was canceled on Friday. They’re scheduled to host Southeast Alamance in its home opener on Monday afternoon in Hillsborough.

Cedar Ridge 16, Chapel Hill 1: Junior Mia Best struck out nine as the Red Wolves defeated Chapel Hill 16-1 for its first win of the season on Wednesday at CHHS. Best finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs.

Senior Charlotte Lowry, who started in the circle in Cedar Ridge’s season-opener against Wakefield last week, hit a three-run homer in the third as the Red Wolves finished off the Tigers in six innings. Reagan Simmons, who spent last season at Apex, returned to the Cedar Ridge lineup starting at catcher.

Junior Laci Sykes drove in the opening run in the second inning with a bloop pop-up in the infield that eluded the Chapel Hill infielders. Raegan Remaly, who lined a double to right earlier, scored. Best drove in Sykes and Madeline Galindo-Woodring with a double to right field.

Lowry blew the game wide open with a three-run blast in the third. Simmons and Remaly both reached on errors to start the frame.

Simmons, Rylee Capps and Remaly all drew walks to open the fifth inning. Galindo-Woodring lined a single to right field to bring in Simmons and Capps. Best drove in Remaly with a single that reached the edge of the right field grass.

Senior Kimber Shambley, who has signed with Western Carolina, opened the sixth inning with a double to centerfield. Shambley would later score off an error.

Cedar Ridge will host Eastern Alamance in its Central Conference opener in Hillsborough on Monday night at 6.

ROXBORO–There was nothing unexpected in Orange’s seventh game in 13 months against Person on Friday night.

The players were exceedingly familiar with each other, right down to which player would be matched up on another. They knew their seasons would be on the line because this was the second round of the 3A State Playoffs. Everyone understood there would be an overflow crowd waiting to get in to watch two conference rivals battle in the state playoffs for the first time in modern history.

Indeed, there was a line stretched around Person’s auxiliary entrance 15 minutes before tipoff. The wait for tickets was so long, along with metal detectors at the gate, the crowd didn’t fully settle in until midway through the second quarter.

What was unusual about Friday night was how Person won. It was with defense.

Orange shot just 2-of-15 from 3-point range.

What wasn’t unusual was the play of Lance Clarke, who put in a stellar performance as the Rockets won their biggest battle ever against Orange.

Clarke finished with 20 points to send Person onto the Sweet 16 of the 3A State Playoffs with a 56-53 win. The Rockets (27-2) claimed its 14th straight win and will host White Oak on Tuesday night. It was the Rockets third win over the Panthers in February.

Orange ends the season 19-9. Junior guard Kai Wade paced the Panthers with 18 points.

It’s Person’s first trip to the third round of the state playoffs since 2012, when they were a 4A team playing in the old PAC-6 Conference.

Orange suffered its worst shooting performance since the fifth-place game of the South Granville Holiday Invitational in Creedmoor, where they went 2-of-16 against Cedar Valley (Utah) on December 31. Even that performance comes with an asterisk because Cedar Valley had won its previous two games in the tournament. The only reason they played Orange in the fifth-place game was because they had a catch a flight back to Eagle Mountain, Utah and needed to play early in order to fit in a third game on its east coast trip.

Kai Wade drilled a 3-pointer for the game’s opening field goal. Clarke immediately galloped down the floor to the basket, scored on a lay-in and was fouled by Orange senior Michael Clark. The Rockets scored 12 in a row playing stiff defense, including Clarke stripping the ball away from Freddy Sneed for a lay-in to put Person ahead 12-3, leading to an Orange timeout. The Panthers went over four minutes without a point and played catchup the rest of the night.

To make matters tougher for Orange, they lost Clark to three fouls in the first quarter. Clark scored the game-winning 3-point play with :36.7 remaining to beat C.B. Aycock on Tuesday night.

Yet Person’s fortunes from downtown weren’t any better. The Rockets were 1-of-15 from 3-point range. Kyan Lunsford made Person’s only 3-pointer midway through the second quarter to give Person its largest lead at 25-11.

Orange had sprung a big comeback before in Roxboro. In its 67-65 win on January 9, the Panthers shot 12-of-15 from the field in the 3rd quarter to erase a 28-9 Person lead, including 6-of-9 from 3-point range. While the shots weren’t falling on Friday, the Panthers still made a rally and had a chance to tie twice in the final two minutes.

Kai Wade started a run with his patented pull-up jumper from 15-feet early in the fourth quarter. Then Sneed stripped the ball away from Person guard Quante Bowman and slammed it down, his final points as a Panther. Clark made a theft off a pass and with a chance to cut Person’s lead to three points, Sneed was called for a charge, taken by Bowman.

Clark came alive in his final quarter as a Panther. He scored a 3-point play to cut Person’s lead to 44-40 with 6:09 remaining.

Just as he did during the Central Conference Tournament last week, Lunsford came through in crucial moments. He scored an old-school 3-point play, then on a lay-in following a steal by Clarke.

With Person leading 50-44, Wade got a uncontested lay-in off a steal for a lay-up. Then Clark picked off a pass and scored on a lay-in. Clarke took a pass and sank a jumper in the paint to extend the Person lead to 52-48.

Wade drained Orange’s only 3-pointer of the second half to cut it to 52-51. The Rockets missed a lay-up on its next trip and Orange had a chance to take the lead with :44 left, but the Panthers missed from deep. Bowman got the rebound to trigger a transition basket, which ended with Clarke finding Lunsford to put the Rockets up by three. Orange missed another 3-pointer, resulting in a lay-in by Clarke with :19 left.

Clark scored on a short jumper with :10.3 left, reducing Person’s lead to 56-53. On the subsequent inbounds pass, Person’s Tae Winstead dropped the ball out of bounds. With another chance to tie, a shot fell short for Orange and the Rockets ran out the clock.

A remorseful Orange locker room was emotional afterwards following a successful season Despite losing its top scorer in Coleman Cloer, who transferred to Caldwell Academy, and center Mason Robinson, who left for Greensboro Day School, the Panthers won 19 games, including road wins at Chapel Hill and Person.

In the end, seniors Xandrell Pennix, Michael Clark, Freddy Sneed, Ethan Ellis, Jamari McDaniel, Conrad Graham, Barrett Liner and Ian Wilson just wanted one more shot to go down against a Person team that beat Orange three times in February by a combined margin of six points.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is junior swimmer Piper White. Last month, White won two Central Regional individual titles at the championships held at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. White won the 50 yard freestyle title at 25.04 seconds, keeping that event within the Panther family. The previous four years, Katie Belle Sikes of Orange had won the 50 free. White added the 100 yard freestyle regional championship to her resume, finishing at 54.33 seconds. At the Central Conference Championships at the Orange County Sportsplex in Hillsborough on January 25, White won the 50 yard free title at 26.51 seconds. She also won the 100 yard freestyle championship. White would go on to take the bronze medal at the 3A State Championships in the 50 yard freestyle. White also won the conference championship in the 200 yard medley relay with teammates Addison Moore, Zoe Jones and Ainsley Rasinske. They finished at 2:02.68. White also took a conference championship in the 400 yard freestyle relay with Jones, Moore and Rasinske, closing at 4;09.98. White has won three state championships in relay races. She teamed with Sikes, Riley White and Jones to take the 200 yard medley and 400 yard freestyle in 2024. White helped Orange finish 2nd in the conference championships this year and has been a member of won two team conference titles in 2023 and 2024.

Orange Panther of the Week: Piper White

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is junior swimmer Piper White. Last month, White won two Central Regional individual titles at the championships held at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. White won the 50 yard freestyle title at 25.04 seconds, keeping that event within the Panther family.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior wrestling Ryan Rakouskas. This week, Rakouskas ended his grappling career at the State Wrestling Championships at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro. Last month, Rakouskas won the 150-pound Mideast Regional Wrestling Championship. At the state championships, Rakouskas pinned Eligah Brown of West Charlotte in the opening round in 46 seconds. Rakouskas would go on to pin Brock Smith of Jacksonville. Rakouskas concluded the year 49-8 after reaching the state championships for the second time in his career. He finished his wrestling career with 147 career wins, fifth all-time in school history. Earlier this winter, Rakouskas earned his 100th career pinfall victory. Rakouskas is a part of a senior class that changed the balance of power in local wrestling circles. In his junior year, Rakouskas was a part of Cedar Ridge’s first regular season wrestling championship as a 3A team in wrestling, finishing undefeated in conference action. That included its first-ever win over Orange. This year, Cedar Ridge won at Orange for the first time. Rakouskas won the 150-pound Central Conference championship in 2024 and 2025 at Williams High School in Burlington. On Friday, Rakouskas started his third season playing on the Cedar Ridge lacrosse team, where he is a long-stick midfielder.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Ryan Rakouskas

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior wrestling Ryan Rakouskas. This week, Rakouskas ended his grappling career at the State Wrestling Championships at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro. Last month, Rakouskas won the 150-pound Mideast Regional Wrestling Championship.

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The season ended last week for the Cedar Ridge men’s basketball team, but they took steps forward this year. In November, they ended a 16-game road winning streak when they defeated Seaforth 59-50 in Pittsboro. It was the first road win for the Red Wolves’ men’s basketball team since February 3, 2023. Senior Braeden Wilbourn scored 16 points, 13 in the second half. In just his third varsity game, Tripp Beasley scored 15 points. Later that week, the Red Wolves won another road game over Durham School of the Arts at Sykes Gymnasium. Cedar Ridge surpassed its win total from all of last season on December 11 when they defeated Eno River Academy at Red Wolves Gymnasium in Hillsborough. Wilbourn scored 20 points against the Bobcats while Beasley added 15 points. Cedar Ridge coach Mike Jones found some important front line players like junior center Jack Kelsey and forward Kevin Ntim. On January 28, Cedar Ridge defeated Southern Alamance 52-43 in Graham, it’s first Central Conference road win in nearly two years. Kelsey and sophomore guard Jordan Jacobson scored 16 points for the Red Wolves against the Patriots. Cedar Ridge defeated Northern Durham 61-57 in Hillsborough on December 13. As Wilbourn will graduate in June, the Red Wolves will look to build around Beasley, Jacobson, Ntim and Kelsey for next season and beyond.

Cedar Ridge men’s basketball’s Braeden Wilbourn & Tripp Beasley discuss win over SEAFORTH

The season ended last week for the Cedar Ridge men’s basketball team, but they took steps forward this year. In November, they ended a 16-game road winning streak when they defeated Seaforth 59-50 in Pittsboro. It was the first road win for the Red Wolves’ men’s basketball team since February 3, 2023.

The Orange lacrosse team may have lost the highest scorer in school history, but their expectations aren’t any lower for this season. After winning the 3A/2A/1A Eastern Regional championship, the Panthers have opened this season 2-0 with dominant victories over Southeast Alamance and Northern Guilford. On Tuesday, Owen Wimstt had a hat trick while Dylan Herndon scored two goals as the Orange dominated the Stallions in Haw River in the season-opener. Luke Nevius and Luke Stitz each recorded three points while Jackson Eakes added two goals. Overall, 13 different Panthers scored goals. Eakes handled duties as the faceoff circle, winning eight draws. Ryder Fesperman also had eight faceoff wins. In Orange’s home opener on Wednesday night, the Panthers defeated Northern Guilford 11-3. Jay Parker scored four goals while Brett Clark added three goals. Orange lost plenty on the defensive end with the graduations of Sascha Van Praag and Alden Cathey. Andrew Jouannet came up big on the defensive end against the Nighthawks. Holden Ray forced a takeaway and Aidan Monteith also had takeaways. Goalkeeper Jackson Runkle had seven saves. Orange has won four consecutive conference championships under head coach Chandler Zirkle. Next week, the Panthers will open conference play against Walter Williams at Auman Stadium in Hillsborough.

Orange lacrosse’s Holden Ray, Aidan Monteith & Drew Jouannet discuss 2-0 start to season

The Orange lacrosse team may have lost the highest scorer in school history, but their expectations aren’t any lower for this season. After winning the 3A/2A/1A Eastern Regional championship, the Panthers have opened this season 2-0 with dominant victories over Southeast Alamance and Northern Guilford.