Jeff Hamlin

Ever notice the term “putting up video game numbers” is almost exclusively used in context of offense?

Whether its MLB ’16, FIFA, Madden 2016 or NHL ’16, it’s offense that people gravitate towards. Regardless of what sport you enjoy, you can bet there has been some rule change over the years to benefit the offense. And almost never one to help the defense. Whether it’s lowering the pitcher’s mound in baseball before the 1969 season, the NBA adding the 3-point line after mergining with the American Basketball Association or the myriad of rules instituted by Gary Bettman on the ice, the defense hardly ever gets a bone tossed its way.

Of course, it’s a long way to professional sports from where the Orange Panthers are now, but it doesn’t make their defensive accomplishments this year any less remarkable.

Orange is 12-0 and won the Big 8 Championship. That’s despite having a giveaway/takeaway turnover ratio of -5 during the regular season. The Panthers made six turnovers in its August 26th 21-13 over Northern and basically stayed in the turnover hole all season. And it didn’t matter.

Why? Defense.

They’ve given up 82 yards per game. They’ve yielded four touchdowns the whole season (Northern scored 13 points against Orange, but six of those came off a fumble return for a touchdown). On September 16th, Western Guilford scored a garbage time touchdown with 8:34 remaining in the fourth quarter.

It’s the only points Orange has given up in the second half all year.

On and on it goes. The Panthers have outscored opponents 179-12 in the second half.  10 of Orange’s 12 opponents have been held under 100 yards total offense, including Wilson Fike in Friday night’s 1st round 3A playoff game.

The Golden Demons had 92 yards, which by current standards isn’t a bad number. It’s the fifth-highest amount of yardage Orange has allowed this season. (Western Guilford’s 243 is the highest. Southern Durham had 123).

Linebacker Payton Wilson has made 106 tackles, 13 sacks and 39 tackles for loss. The defensive line of Stone Edwards, Noah Rogers and Ryan Sellers have their own personal competition to see who will have the most sacks by season’s end. Right now, Sellers is in the lead with 15, while Edwards has 13 and Rogers with 11. However, Rogers does have the most tackles for loss among the trio with 27.

Perhaps most impressive of all is Orange’s 24 consecutive quarters without giving up a touchdown, which ended Friday night when Fike quarterback Jaelynn Melton scored on a 40-yard zone read in the 2nd quarter.

To put that streak in proper context, Orange went six full games without giving up a touchdown. That’s half a regular season.

Of course, these numbers are easy to outline now because the Panthers will face the most dangerous offense yet in Havelock this Friday in the 2nd round of the 3A playoffs at Auman Stadium.

The 11-1 Rams average 42 points per game out of its spread offense run by quarterback Corey Cooper.

In 20 years, however, fans of Orange football can look back at the Big 8 Conference champions and talk about how the team put up video game numbers.

But not in the way it’s usually meant.

On this week’s edition of the Prep Sports Tonight podcast, we’re joined by Orange defensive end Stone Edwards. After Friday night’s victory over Fike, Stone has 61 tackles, 21 tackles for loss and 13 sacks. But there’s more to Stone than just football. There’s his educational background, where he took college classes taught by his parents at UNC when he was barely a teenager. Also joining the podcast is safety Keshawn Thompson, who was honored with the Extra Effort Award from WRAL television earlier this year. This show was taped on Thursday afternoon, the day before Orange’s victory over Fike.

The Prep Sports Tonight podcast is presented by Occoneechee Golf Club. Learn how you can give the golfer in your family the gift of a trip to Occoneechee Golf Course in Hillsborough this Christmas by going to their website, which can be found here.

To listen to the Orange-Fike game, go to Jeff Hamlin on Facebook. The link is there. Sorry for the confusion!

The Orange Panthers lost its season opener on Tuesday night to Leesville Road 76-65. Connor Crabtree had 28 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field. The Panthers seek its first win of the season on Saturday at Millsbrook High School against Rolesville. Tipoff is at 12:30.

Orange Coach Greg Motley Discusses Loss to Leesville Road

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For nearly 20 years, Greg Motley has had to focus on coaching one team at Orange.

This year will be unique because he’ll be coaching two teams. The one he has now, and the one who he’ll have at the beginning of 2017. If not sooner.

The Orange team that took the floor on Tuesday night in the HighSchoolOT.com season tipoff against Leesville Road had ten players. Of those, eight played. Three of those were freshman who would be playing on the junior varsity under normal circumstances.

These aren’t normal circumstances. Orange is without Ryan Sellers, Devondrez Moore, Jackson Schmid, and possibly two other players who are still playing football. If Orange makes a deep run in the playoffs, those players may not see the hardwood until after Christmas.

Motley has known this for over a month and prepared accordingly for Tuesday night. To paraphrase the infamous words of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at the height of the Iraq war, Motley went into the game with the army he had, not the army he might have wanted.

Orange almost won anyway.

Leading 59-58 with 3:58 remaining, the Panthers, which played with a six-man rotation,  got tired down the stretch trying to defend Leesville Road’s three-guard lineup. The Pride finished the game on a 18-8 run to defeat Orange 76-66.

Leesville Road advanced to Saturday’s championship game against Riverside. Orange will face Roseville Saturday at 12:30.

As expected, Orange was led by its two leading scorers from last season. Connor Crabtree, who signed with UNC-Asheville last week, had 28 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field. Center Logan Vosburg finished with 14 points and eleven rebounds. In his first varsity game, Mitch Portman had 13 points while freshman Joey McMullin had ten.

The Pride was led by Jalen Benjamin’s 25 points while D.J. Horne added 19.

Orange led 27-21 with 4:21 remaining in the first half behind Crabtree’s 12 first half points. But Leesville Road finished the half on a 11-1 run to take a 31-28 lead.

The lack of depth along Orange’s first line led to the Pride getting 19 offensive rebounds, leading to 68 field goal attempts compared to Orange’s 41. The Panthers had one offensive rebound. Vosburg had little help on the boards. He grabbed eleven rebounds, while the rest of the team had eleven combined.

The Pride’s pressure defense forced 23 Orange turnovers while LRHS committed only seven.

After Saturday, the Panthers play its first home game on Tuesday, November 29th against East Chapel Hill. It will be a varsity doubleheader, starting with the girls game at 5:30.

It’s impossible to have a defense that’s yielded only three touchdowns all season without a good secondary. That’s what Orange safety Keshawn Thompson has delivered to the team this season. Thompson is not only excellent in coverage, but he’s a threat at the line of scrimmage to blitz. Thompson has made 17 tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. He was also named the Extra Effort Award Winner from WRAL’s Tom Suiter last month.

Orange Panther of the Week: Keshawn Thompson

Keshawn Thompson has been the anchor of the Orange secondary during its undefeated romp through the regular season. The senior safety has made 17 tackles for loss, two interception and two fumble recoveries this season. This video featured appearances by Kendall Whitted and Payton Wilson after Orange defeated Oxford Webb in its regular season finale.

The Orange Panthers has received the #2 Mideast Seed in the 3A state playoffs and will face 6-5 WIlson Fike from the Big East Conference.

The bracket can be found here.

It’s the first time that Orange has been in the 3-A bracket. For the past three years, the Panthers have been in the 3-AA playoffs. In 2013 and 2014, the Panthers made it to the 3rd round. Each time, the Panthers lost to eventual state champions: Southern Durham (2013) and Northern Guilford (2014)

The irony of being in the “smaller” playoff is Orange will likely face tougher competition, at least if you trust the Associated Press High School Football Polls.

Of the top ten teams ranked in 3A football, seven will compete in the 3A playoff. In fact, Orange may face Havelock, ranked 5th in the state, in the 2nd round.

Orange is #3 in the state. Also in the 3-A playoffs: Lenoir Hibriten, ranked #1 in the state; Southern Nash, who earned the #1 Mideast seed (#2 in the state); West Craven (#4); Havelock (#5); Rocky Mount (#7); and Canton Pisgah (#9).

The seeding was changed this year by the NCHSAA to reduce the possibility of conference opponents facing each other in the opening rounds of the playoffs. Teams were divided into Mideast and East and were matched up against each other. Orange received the #2 seed in the Mideast behind Southern Nash. Each squad finished 11-0. Southern Nash received the tiebreaker advantage because they were higher ranked on MaxPreps.

The 3-A State Championship game will be held on December 16th or 17th at a location to be determined.

All Orange playoff games can be heard here on HillsboroughSports.com

After receiving offers from Appalachian State, Lehigh and several other Division I schools, Orange forward Connor Crabtree officially signed with UNC-Asheville on Tuesday. He talked about his aspirations for the upcoming season and the future.

Connor Crabtree Talks Signing with UNC-Asheville

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It was Signing Day for many local athletes on Wednesday. Orange center Logan Vosburg signed with Roanoke College in front of Coach Greg Motley, parents and students in Jim King Gymnasium. Logan discussed with HillsboroughSports.com why he chose the school located in Salem, Virginia, and his goals for his senior year.

Orange Center Logan Vosburg Discusses Signing with Roanoke

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This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is cross country runner Elizabeth Zarzar. The senior finished third in the 3-A Mideast Regional Cross Country meet at Northwood High School last Saturday with a time of 20:05. That followed a third place finish at the Big 8 Conference Championships at Chapel Hill High School. It was a strong meet for the Big 8 Conference, as eight of the top ten runners were from Big 8 schools. Cedar Ridge’s Julie Averette finished 8th. Elizabeth also competes in indoor and outdoor track under Cedar Ridge track coach Larry Faucette. Her personal best in the 800 meters is 2:40.20.

On Saturday afternoon, Elizabeth, Averett and fellow Cedar Ridge Red Wolf Ian Elliott will compete in the 3-A State Championship meet at the Ivey M. Redmond Sports Complex in Kernersville.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week : Elizabeth Zarzar

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