Jeff Hamlin

Going into his team’s third game of the season, Cedar Ridge coach Clay Jones wanted a better start and more poised play from a team that lost 57 points per game due to graduation last season.

Mission accomplished, at least on Friday night.

Khalil Barnett scored 22 points as the Red Wolves used a 17-0 run bridging the first and second quarters to pull away from Carrboro 65-36 for its first win of the season.

Colby Cashaw added 15 points for the Red Wolves, who lost to Riverside and Person to open the season.

Carrboro had a 7-6 lead with 1:25 remaining in the first quarter when Cashaw sparked the game-deciding run with a three-point play. Cashaw was the only player in double-figures in Tuesday’s 68-49 loss to Riverside, scoring 16 points.

For a Cedar Ridge team with nine juniors, two freshman and two seniors, they need as much scoring punch as possible. They also have plenty of players learning on the job.

Coach Clay Jones used freshman Mekai Collins and juniors Khalil Barnett and Dmonte Kinney at point guard during various times in the game.

“Mekai was our point guard all summer long during our camps. He’s familiar with our system,” said Jones. “He’s a very coachable young man and does a great job.”

Jones expects veteran Khalil Hill, who didn’t play on Friday night, to fill that role starting with Monday’s game against Graham.

Jonathan Oswald also saw time at part guard.

“We’re still a work in progress,” said Jones. “We’re still trying to figure out if we can play two big men with three guards. Do we go four out with one in with some wing guys? I wish we had hit a few more jump shots tonight, but we did a good jump getting in the paint tonight getting rebounds. Colby did a great job in the paint.”

Carrboro (0-5) was led by Jared Porter and That Htoo, each with ten points.

Cedar Ridge plays three game in five days next week, starting with Graham on Monday night at 7:30, the final game of a tripleheader.

Not only have the Cedar Ridge girls basketball team earned its first win of the season, but they knocked off a previously undefeated squad to do it.

Carrie Davis scored 16 points, including three 3-pointers, as the Red Wolves defeated Carrboro 62-47 on Friday night at Red Wolves Gymnasium.

Davis canned a three-pointer in the waning seconds of the first half to give the Red Wolves a 25-18 lead going into the locker room. The Red Wolves full-court pressure stymied the Jaguars into 27 turnovers.

Yolanda Simpson added 14 points for the Red Wolves (1-2), while Miracle Page added eleven.

Davis scored eight points in the third quarter, 13 in the second half as Carrboro quickly fell behind by double digits early in the third quarter and never recovered.

Grace Nanney led Carrboro with 19 points. Deja Tucker added 14.

It was an impressive result for Cedar Ridge considering Carrboro opened the season 4-0 with wins against cross-district rivals Chapel Hill (42-34) and East Chapel Hill (62-47).

Cedar Ridge came in 0-2 after losses to Person and Riverside. But coach Felton Page didn’t feel his team was lacking in the openin games.

“We haven’t been playing that badly,” said Page. “We haven’t capitalized on turnovers. We missed a lot of free throws and we still have things to improve on. Carrie got hot and that helped out tremendously.”

The Red Wolves return to action at home on Monday against Graham. Tipoff is at 5:30 in a tripleheader that begins with the JV boys game at 4.

“I think we’re coming along with our full court press,” said Page. “They were probably surprised about that. Right now, that’s our m.o. We’re still young and we have to fight somehow.”

CARRBORO–Deja Tucker 14, Brooke Fields 2, Grace Nanney 19, Myasia Jarrett 5, Cameron Farrah 7.

CEDAR RIDGE–Grace Davies 7, Yolanda Simpson 14, Miracle Page 11, Carrie Davis 16, Madison Wardlow 4, Natalie Garay 2, Taylia Jean 4, Jasmine Lee 2, Jacori Walton 1.

After the Orange Panthers had its first undefeated regular season in 38 years, a dozen players were honored on the All-Big 8 Conference team on Tuesday.

Cedar Ridge, which finished its first winning season since 2010, had six players make all confernece. That included kicker Trent Gill, who was the only player in Hillsborough to make all conference in two different fall sports. Gill was also honored in soccer.

Orange Linebacker Payton Wilson was named Big 8 Defensive Player of the Year. Wilson also led Orange with 16 touchdowns (five punt returns, six rushing, four receiving and an interception return). On the same day Wilson received honors from the Big 8 Conference, he received scholarship offers from Virginia Tech and Wisconsin.

Orange junior running back Marvante Beasley earned all confernece honors. He rushed for 1,040 yards and scored 13 touchdowns. Beasley’s breakthrough performance came against Southern Durham, where he rushed for a career-high 193 yards and two touchdowns.

To no one’s surprise, Orange’s entire starting linebacker corps made all conference. The Panthers defense gave up only 59 points in 13 games this season, holding 10 of its 13 opponents to under 100 yards.

Jordan Farrington, a two year starter, made 74 tackles and 13 sacks. It was his 2nd straight all-conference appearance. Farrington made eleven tackles, two for losses, against Southern Durham.

Devondrez Moore, who started playing basketball this week for Orange, made 18 tackles for loss. Moore, who transferred to Orange for his senior season from Northern Durham, had a fumble return for a touchdown against Chapel Hill.

The Big 8 All Conference team wouldn’t have been complete if all three of Orange’s defensive linemen weren’t on it. Sure enough, Stone Edwards, Ryan Sellers and Noah Rogers all made the squad.

The trio had a season-long competition to see who would end the year with the most sacks. In the end, Sellers captured the crown with 15, while Edwards had 13 and Rogers tallied 11.

In Orange’s final four games, Rogers also played left tackle on an offensive line that was in a constant state of flux from the initial scrimmage against South Granville in mid-August.

Antother stallwart on the Orange defense was safety Keshawn Thompson, who was honored with the WRAL Extra Effort Award in October. Thompson, who has a 4.2 GPA, ended the year with seven pass deflections.

Thompson’s classmate Alex Long made the team, leading the team with 17 pass deflections. Long’s interception return for a touchdown was the game-winning score in the Panthers 14-0 victory over Riverside on September 5th.

Also making all-conference from the Panthers’ offensive line was right tackle Shea Hoffman. The 6-2 senior had several position changes during the course of the year before settling in at tackle and paving the way for the Panthers to rush for 3,037 yards under head coach Pat Moser’s double-wing offense.

There were several players making their debut on the All-Conference teams. Running back Ryan Puckett, who also played linebacker, was named to the squad. Puckett scored two touchdowns against Northern Durham in a 21-13 Orange victory on August 26th. It was Orange’s closest win of the season.

Wide receiver Cody Evans also made all-conference. Evans led Orange with 364 receiving yards on 15 catches. He had a 51-yard touchdown reception in a playoff victory over Wilson Fike.

In addition to Gill for Cedar Ridge, senior running back London Saunders was named to the squad. Saunders led the Red Wolves with 635 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns.

Among other Red Wolves who made the team:

* Linebacker Montae Kee, who led Cedar Ridge in tackles with 88.

* Offensive lineman Austin Holmes.

* Offensive lineman Zach Berry, who was also named to the all-conference team last spring as a goalkeeper in lacrosse.

* Interior lineman Nate Lewis.

Orange quarterback Jackson Schmid and safety Rodney Brooks were named honorable mention. Cedar Ridge cornerback Kevin Wright and linebacker Seth Baldwin were also honorable mention.

A strong year of volleyball in the Big 8 Conference ended with Chapel Hill playing for the 3A State Championship, just a year after Cedar Ridge played for the Eastern Regional Championship.

On Wednesday morning, Orange’s Jordan Lloyd, Macy Hughes and Bailey Lucas were named to the All-Big 8 Conference Squad.

Two mainstays for Cedar Ridge were also named to the All Conference team. Seniors Lindsay Thompson and Meg Anderson were honored by the league.

Lloyd, who committed to Division II Brevard University two weeks ago, led Orange with 146 kills and 302 digs. By her own admission, the highlight of her senior year was on September 27th when Orange defeated Cedar Ridge for the first time since September 5th, 2012. In that victory, Lloyd had eight kills, 25 digs and an assist.

Lloyd, the daughter of Joel and Sherry Lloyd, began playing volleyball in elementary school in her home community of White Cross.

Hughes, the daughter of Dave and Andrea Hughes, finished 2nd on the squad with 135 kills. She was also 2nd on the team with 36 aces. She had a season-high 12 kills against Cedar Ridge in a 3-1 loss on September 1st. On September 13th against Southern Durham, she had six aces.

Lucas, a junior, was 2nd on the team with a ,204 hit percentage. She finished the year with 57 kills, 21 aces, 94 digs, and a team-high 274 assists.

Orange finished 2nd in the Big 8 at 8-4.

For Cedar Ridge, Thompson became the 2nd player to be honored by the Big 8 Conference in as many days for a fall sport. Her sister, Leah, was named to the Big 8 Girls Tennis squad after the Red Wolves captured the conference championship.

Lindsay Thompson, the daughter of Mason and Beth, led the team with 30 aces and 311 digs. Anderson, another senior, was 2nd on the squad with 155 kills. She also had 238 digs.

Making honorable mention for Orange were junior Julia Fish and senior Mileah Shriner. Cedar Ridge’s Kayla Robinette and Alexis Dumain also made honorable mention.

Chapel Hill’s Shea Golden was named Big 8 Player of the Year. Golden led the Tigers through a remarkable run to the 3-A Eastern Regional Championship. CHHS defeated Northern Nash, Cleveland, C.B. Aycock, West Cartaret and Triton en route to the 3-A state championship match at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh. Cox Mill swept the Tigers for the state crown.

The coach of the year honor was split between three coaches: Chapel Hill’s Lee Fields (in his first season), Northwood’s Steven Thomas and Webb’s Ellis Crews.

With the return of four players to the lineup after the sudden conclusion of football season, the Orange boys basketball team found its footing with two victories over the course of 48 hours.

The Panthers defeated Southern Alamance 76-58 in Mebane on Wednesday night behind 30 points from Connor Crabtree. Senior Logan Vosburg added 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, along with 13 rebounds.

This week marked the varsity debuts of Ryan Sellers, Devondrez Moore, Eli Haitchcock, and Kendall Whitted, all of whom reported directly to basketball practice on Monday after Orange’s football season ended last week against Havelock. Senior Keshawn Thompson, who came off the bench last season, also is back.

Despite the return of upperclassmen, freshman Joey McMullin continued a strong start to his Orange career. In only his third game, McMullin finished with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting on the field, including 3-of-4 from three point range.

With the win over the Patriots, Orange evened its record to 2-2. The opening two losses came two weeks ago during the HighSchoolOt.com Season Tip-Off at Millbrook High School, where the Panthers played with only ten players, three of whom were freshman.

Orange returns to Millbrook on Saturday to face the Wildcats in the 3rd Annual Millbrook Winter Showcase. Tipoff is at 6PM in Raleigh.

A second consecutive Big 8 Individual Conference Championship was more than enough for Cedar Ridge’s Ian Elliott to be named the Big 8 Male Runner of the Year on Wednesday.

Elliott, a senior, earned the honor for the second consecutive year. He finished first in three separate events this year, including the Big 8 Championship at Chapel Hill High School. His time of 16:42.28 edged out Chapel Hill’s Ryan Combs by eight seconds.

On top of that, he ran while the temperature was 89-degrees—in mid October.

“It was a lot grittier this year,” said Elliott, who won the 2015 Big 8 championship at Pittsboro’s Northwood High. “I feel like I’m good running in the heat. We put in a lot of miles during the summer. Although I knew this would feel awful, it’s just running.”

Elliott also set his personal best time of 16:30 at the Adidas XC Challenge at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.

Through plenty of success during his high school years, Elliott doesn’t see cross country in his immediate future.

“I’m not looking to run competitively in college,” said Elliott. “I’d love to stay in shape and run for a club. Maybe run a “Fun Run 5K.” Maybe take a race every now and then just to see where I’m at. I think after this upcoming track season, I’ll be done with competitive running.”

Two Orange runners earned at-large spots: Andrew Sollars, who had the highest finish for the Panthers in the Big 8 Championships, and Sam Rasinske.

On the girls side, Cedar Ridge’s Elizabeth Zarzar was named to the All-Conference team following a third place finish at the Big 8 Championships. Last month, Zarzar was honored with the WRAL Extra Effort Award.

“I was proud of my run that day, especially because of the heat,” said Zarzar. “I didn’t get my personal record. My time was still a lot better than I thought it was.”

Like Elliott, Zarzar runs indoor and outdoor track. Last spring, she finished 3rd in the Big 8 Conference in the 3200 meters. She also finished 3rd in the region in the same event.

Also making the All-Big 8 Conference from Cedar Ridge was Julie Averette, who finished eighth in the 3A Mideast Regionals with a time of 20:31.

For Orange, Adalyn Fleming made All-Big 8. Flemming, who started basketball season with Orange on Tuesday in a season-opening victory over East Chapel Hill, finished first in Orange’s opening home meet on September 7th against Burlington Williams. After finishing 11th in the Big 8 Championships, she came in 13th at the Mideast Regionals.

Earning At-large sports for Orange in girls cross country was Ava Heffernan.

Cedar Ridge’s senior co-captains Tess Johnson and Leah Thompson, sophomore Kate Millner and freshman Olivia Ward were named to the Big 8 All Conference team on Wednesday.

Orange Coach Andy Brown was honored as Big 8 Coach of the Year. Brown, who hinted at retirement during October’s Big 8 Tournament, led the Panthers to a 6-6 record after the Panthers went 1-12 in 2015.

Johnson, who attended Governor’s School in Raleigh during the summer, was the top singles player for a Cedar Ridge team that captured its first conference championship in school history. She also qualified for regionals for the second consecutive year.

The Red Wolves went 19-2, 12-0 in the Big 8. Johnson and Ward were also the top doubles team, which went 7-4 during the season.

Thompson finished 14-2 as a singles player. She also qualified for the 3A Mideast Regional in doubles with Alana Lutz.

Millner teamed with Senera Sauers to win the Big 8 Doubles Championship at Orange High Tennis Courts. The duo defeated teammates Thompson and Lutz 8-2.

Ward, the daughter of Person High tennis coach Lynn Ward, also qualified for regionals after going 14-4. She played #2 singles as a freshman.

The Orange doubles team of Ashley Tilley and Natalie Darveaux were also named to the All-Big 8 team. Tilley and Darveaux finished fourth in the Big 8 Doubles Tournament and qualified for regionals.

Chapel Hill’s Gabby Kmiec was named the Big 8 Player of the Year. Southern Durham earned the Sportsmanship Award.

The Orange Panthers undefeated run through the Big 8 Conference has resulted in honors for its top defensive player and its outgoing head coach.

One day after receiving his 11th scholarship offer from Virginia Tech, Orange junior linebacker Payton Wilson has been named the Big 8 Defensive Player of the Year.

Additionally, Orange Coach Pat Moser earned Big 8 Coach of the Year honors in an email released by conference officials Wednesday morning.

Wilson, who has also received offers from UNC, N.C. State, Duke, Penn State, Appalachian State, East Carolina, Maryland, Wake Forest, Virginia, and Vanderbilt, led the Panthers defense with 127 tackles, 39 tackles for loss. He also registered 13 sacks, second only to Ryan Sellers’ total of 15.

Wilson also had five punt returns for touchdowns. He didn’t start returning punts until the 3rd week of the season, when he scored on the first punt return he ever had in a varsity game against Riverside. In Orange’s 49-7 win over Southern Durham, Wilson broke the game open with two punt return touchdowns.

While the Big 8 doesn’t name players for specific positions, Wilson could have just as likely earned an all-conference spot on offense, as well. Playing wingback and wide receiver, Wilson finished with 756 rushing yards, as well as 13 receptions for 305 yards. He had a total of 16 touchdowns (six rushing, four receiving, five punt returns and an interception return against Cedar Ridge).

This was Wilson’s first full season at the varsity level. He suffered a broken ankle on the first day of practice during his sophomore season, forcing him to sit out eight games.

Moser guided the Panthers to its 5th consecutive 10-win season, which ended Friday in the 2nd round of the 3-A state playoffs. Dating back to Orange’s opening in 1963, the school had only one 10-win season before Moser joined the Panthers in 2008.

The Panthers had its first undefeated regular season since 1978 behind a defense that yielded just five touchdowns in a 12-1 season. Going into its final game of the season against Havelock, Orange held 10 of its 12 opponents to under 100 yards total offense. Even in defeat against the Rams, Orange held Havelock to a season-low 14 points on 293 yards.

Moser, who announced plans to retire before the end of the season, ends his career at Orange with a record of 58-26. He guided Orange to two consecutive Big 8 Championships (in 2015, Orange was awarded the outright championship after Southern Durham forfeited its last game due to use of an ineligible player). In 2014, he guided Orange to a 13-2 season, the most wins in a season in school history.