Jeff Hamlin

In another time, the Orange men’s basketball team would have its greatest player in school history and its best rim protector in generations back for their junior seasons.

But that’s not the time we’re in.

Coleman Cloer, who scored 1,035 points over 46 career Orange games, transferred to Caldwell Academy over the summer to play his junior season after he collected offers from North Carolina, Illinois and Georgetown. Another rising junior, Mason Robinson, left for Greensboro Country Day, though he was still a regular at Orange volleyball games through the late summer until it was time to start basketball practice.

Orange’s explosiveness has been naturally diminished, but their expectations aren’t.

“I haven’t seen enough of the conference to judge where I think where I think we should be,” Britt said. “But in our minds, the conference still runs through Orange High School.”

Junior Kai Wade scored 31 points as Orange quickly erased a halftime deficit to defeat Voyager Academy 75-64 in the Voyager Academy Tip-Off Classic at Panther Gymnasium in Hillsborough on Friday night to open the season. Senior Michael Clark, who has played on varsity on and off since his freshman year, added a career-high 23 points as Orange won its season-opener for the fifth time in seven years.

Alex Wilder led the Vikings with 15 points. Center McKinley Hemsley added 14, but was limited to one field goal in the second half. Voyager took a 41-33 lead into the locker room on the strength of eighth 3-pointers in the first half. After intermission, the Vikings were limited to three field goals from downtown.

“Kai and Mike did exactly what I expect out of them,” Britt said. “In the first half, our defense wasn’t what it was during the preseason. But we’re going to play quality defense. We should have a three-headed monster on offense.”

Voyager, coming off a loss to Durham Academy, had played four games dating back to November 6. They were more cohesive than the Panthers early, rushing out to a 17-7 lead behind two 3-pointers from Wilder. Orange finished the first quarter with a 13-3 run that was triggered by Wade, who drilled a 3-pointer to pull the Panthers into the first tie of the game. Wade delivered one of his patented strip-and-steals late in the frame for a lay-in to pull Orange ahead 20-18.

The Vikings immediately erased their deficit with five 3-pointers in the second quarter. Darin Jones opened with a trey. Hemsley scored seven of his 12 points in the second quarter while Orange was limited to only one field goal over a span of five minutes. Voyager built an 11-point lead before Clark scored two late field goals to trip the Viking advantage to 41-33 at halftime.

Wade and Sneed alternated between defending Voyager’s top scorer Manny Pullium, who averaged 16.8 points per game. On Friday, he was held to nine, his lowest output of the season.

From the time Xandrell Pennix stole the ball away from Pullium to open the second half leading to a pull-up jumper from Wade, the Panthers dominated the second half. Orange limited the Vikings to seven points in the third quarter. After a miss by Hemsley, Wade fed Clark for a lay-in while drawing a foul on Pullium. Clark stole the ball on the subsequent possession and Freddy Sneed scored off a lay-in following an offensive rebound from Jalen Crayton.

After Wilder scored on a sharp arching shot that banked high off the glass to boost the Voyager lead to 43-40, Wade sank two free throws. Following a foul on Hemsley on a rebound, Clark scored off a stick back to give the Panthers a 44-43, advantage, its first lead since it was 20-18.

Pullium scored off a lay-in to put the Vikings ahead, but Wade got the bounce on a jumper with 3:10 left in the third quarter that vaulted the Panthers ahead for the rest of the way.

Orange will continue play in the Voyager Academy Tip-Off Classic when they face Riverside at Voyager Academy tonight. Action starts at 6:30.

As the Orange Middle School football team gathered to receive its second consecutive OPAC Football Championship trophy in front of parents and fans, their athletic director reminded them of the importance of celebrating success quietly.

It was just as well. During the proceeding 90 minutes, the Chargers defense was as calm as a bomb.

Orange Middle forced five turnovers and held the Northern Raiders to ten yards total offense for a 22-0 victory in the Orange Person Athletic Conference championship game at Auman Stadium on Wednesday night. It was the Chargers 2nd straight OPAC title. They finished the season with a 9-0 record.

There was more than just the allure of a championship that provided incentive for the Chargers. Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Payton Wilson, who played at OMS when it was known as Stanford Middle School, sent in a video wishing the team good luck in the lead up to the game. Playing under the bright lights of Auman Stadium as opposed to their middle school stadium down the hill from Orange High, the Chargers marched up together as a team and into the stadium to face their biggest out-of-town rival.

It was Northern Middle who came closest to beating the Chargers during the regular season, scoring 20 points in a September matchup in Roxboro. It took a last minute touchdown from Orange’s Cam Royster and a 2-point run by Robbins to secure the win.

On Wednesday night, the Orange defense made sure no late heroics would be required to beat the Raiders this time. Northern was shutout for the first time all season and contained to four first downs.

“This was the best team I’ve ever coached,” said Orange Middle head coach Jamie Bailey. “Our defense has shut down teams all year long. Our defense line was the most important thing. They were dominant all year long. The defensive line is what makes the defense, man. If you can get pressure and create chaos, you get turnovers, that makes a big difference.”

Ayden DeVore, Amir Johnson, Jakia Rawles and Asher DeVore all recorded tackles for loss for the Chargers in the opening 16 minutes.

The first half was a battle of field position where Orange steadily gained control, though they endured a few missed scoring opportunities. Chargers running back Wilbert Torain had a 25-yard touchdown run called back because of a holding penalty on Orange’s first play from scrimmage.

Brayden Robbins, playing as a defensive back, recovered a long pass thrown across the field by Northern quarterback Kasen Evans that was ruled a lateral and, thus, a fumble. Following the change of possession, Robbins ran the ball on offense to the Raiders 6-yard line on a 12-yard run, Northern’s Jamir McClain stepped in front of a screen pass for an interception where Robbins raced him down from behind for a touchdown-saving tackle with 1:47 remaining in the first quarter.

“Brayden is tough,” Bailey said. “Brayden is a man.”

On the very next play, the Chargers won the ball back when Rawles recovered a fumble created off an edge rush by Ayden Devore.

To open the second quarter, the Chargers Asher DeVore and Amir Johnson teamed up to sack Evans on a 4th-and-13, which led to Orange’s first touchdown. Robbins took off around right end for a 26-yard gain on a designed keeper to penetrate the Raiders red zone. On a second-and-goal, Robbins scooped it to Cam Royster on a shovel pass for a touchdown with 5:04 remaining in the first half. Robbins turned the left corner on a keeper to dance in the end zone on the 2-point conversion.

The Raiders had its only sustained drive of the night on their next series. It started when running back Daelyn Washington ran for 12 yards. Later, Washington would convert a 4th-and-2 by a whisker, but Evans was sacked by Johnson on the next play. On 4th down, Evans threw long to Kazorian Thorpe, who was wide open. But Charger defensive back Jakob Silinski got over to batter the pass away to end the drive.

“Silinski is a guy who has been playing offense all year long,” Bailey said. “Tonight, we decided to play him at cornerback. He’s been begging me to play cornerback. So we took him off offense so he could focus on defense. He had a heckuva game.”

The Chargers defense dominated the second half. After the Raiders drove to the Chargers 31-yard line, Amir Johnson wrestled the ball away from Evans. The loose ball was scooped up by Ayden DeVore, who ran 23 yards for a defensive touchdown. Robbins scored the 2-point conversion to vault the Chargers to a 16-0 lead with 2:52 remaining in the third quarter.

Royster ended the third quarter with an interception of an Evans pass.

Orange went into ball control mode to open the fourth quarter with Johnson getting the main share of the carries out of the I-formation. After Johnson ran for eleven yards, Asher DeVore took a handoff from the fullback position and broke free around right guard for a 28-yard touchdown run.

Torain sacked Evans on the next Raiders drive, jarring the ball free. Jamyrie Thompson recovered the loose ball.

The Raiders had another chance to score on its final drive when McClain threw the ball on a trick play to Evans, but once again Silinski batted the ball free, a perfect cap to a perfect defensive night.

Best of all for Orange Middle, many of the players who asserted themselves defensively were seventh graders who are set to return with a third consecutive OPAC Championship on their minds for 2025.

But that can wait. On Wednesday night, it was all about celebrating properly.

“It means everything,” Bailey said. “Just trying to get football back going in Orange County. That way, we can feed it to the high schools and get them going again. I’m proud of this team, but I’m not surprised. I knew we were going to have a good team and we proved that. This is my favorite team I’ve ever coached.”

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“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.