Cedar Ridge Men’s Lacrosse

For the first time since 2017, the Cedar Ridge lacrosse team has won a game in the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs. On Thursday night, Cedar Ridge dominated Western Alamance 18-5 at Red Wolves Stadium. Cedar Ridge, seeded #7, advanced to face First Flight in Kill Devil Hills on Tuesday night. In what may have been his final game inside Red Wolves Stadium, senior Roman Oguntoyinbo scored a career-high nine goals. With the game tied 1-1 with 8:22 remaining in the first quarter, Oguntoyimbo scored five goals during a 10-0 Cedar Ridge run that took all suspense out of the game. Senior Alex Castro scored all five of his goals in the first half. Castro finished with six points on the night. Oguntoyinbo came away with eleven points as the Red Wolves defeated the Warriors for the third time this season. Cedar Ridge advances to the Round of 16. Junior Billy Power added two goals and an assist, while Mason Lynde and Jim Trost also scored goals for Cedar Ridge. The Red Wolves will face the Nighthawks on Tuesday night. The winner advances to the state quarterfinals. Cedar Ridge is one of three teams from the Central Carolina Conference remaining in the state playoffs. 

On the home side of Red Wolves Stadium, there are two signs that honor each of Cedar Ridge’s lacrosse teams that reached the Final Four of the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs.

Every name of the 2015 Eastern Regional Championship squad is printed in the school’s burgundy colors along a white backdrop. Coached by Patrick Kavanaugh, they will forever be the first lacrosse team in Hillsborough history to play in the 3A/2A/1A State Championship game.

Going into Thursday night, they were also the last Cedar Ridge lacrosse team to win a game in the state playoffs. That fact was something that didn’t escape the attention of the 12 Red Wolves seniors on the current Cedar Ridge lacrosse team, all of whom stuck together when their sophomore season ended after just three games due to COVID-19. Last year, playing in stadiums left mostly empty due to COVID-19 protocols, the Red Wolves lost in the opening round of the state playoffs to East Chapel Hill at Dave Thaden Stadium.

The bottom line for seniors Roman Oguntoyinbo, Alex Castro, James Clayton, Josh Taylor, Holden Neal, Erickson Thole, Harrison Neal, Robert Gross, Aidan Dumain and Kellan Hepditch was that their careers wouldn’t be complete without a state playoff win.

It was that purpose that produced Cedar Ridge’s most complete performance of the season on Thursday night.

Roman Oguntoyinbo had a career-high nine goals as the Red Wolves crushed Western Alamance 18-5 at Red Wolves Stadium in the 2nd round of the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs. Castro added five goals as Cedar Ridge, seeded 7th, advanced to face First Flight in Kill Devil Hills on Tuesday. The Nighthawks, seeded #2, rolled past J.H. Rose 11-3 on Thursday night.

Knowing it was likely their final game at Red Wolves Stadium, all of the Cedar Ridge seniors got in on the act. Taylor started as goalkeeper in the first half before being replaced by freshman Leo Oguntoyinbo in the second half, as is the usual routine established by first-year head coach Cole Churchill. Clayton assisted on five goals, including the opener by Castro 2:21 into the game. Trost scored the final goal of the night, which just happened to be the first of his career, sending the Cedar Ridge bench into a total frenzy. Trost mimicked the celebration by soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo in the end zone

“I didn’t want to have it end today,” Castro said. “I wasn’t going to let my career end today. I love these boys. I would really be down if this was the last game.”

For the second straight game, Oguntoyinbo re-established his career-high for goals. Last Thursday, he scored seven in a 8-2 win over Carrboro at Jaguars Stadium to conclude the regular season. Oguntoyinbo has 76 goals and 49 assists this season.

“Coming into this game, I knew that even though we had beaten Western twice, that the playoffs are a completely different animal,” Oguntoyinbo said. “We saw it last year when we got knocked out in the first round. For days leading up to this game, that’s all I’ve been thinking about. We knew we couldn’t let this team get an edge at all. So we came in and finished the job early.”

After Western Alamance’s Joey Leupold evened the game with a sidearm shot to force a 1-1 tie with 8:27 remaining int the first quarter, the Red Wolves reeled off ten consecutive goals. Castro notched the game-winning goal off a feed from Trost with 7:03 remaining in the first quarter. In the 10-0 run, Oguntoyinbo scored five goals, two of which were assisted by Clayton. Billy Power also scored and assisted on another Oguntoyinbo marker. To wrap up the first half, Oguntoyinbo sent a centering pass behind the night to Castro, who tucked the ball into the upper-left hand corner give Cedar Ridge an 13-2 halftime lead. Castro scored all five of his goals in the first half.

Mason Lynde also scored in the third quarter for the Red Wolves, which triggered a running clock for the remainder of the second half.

Leupold had a hat trick for the Warriors, who end the season 7-10. Sophomore Evan Kuehnel added the other two Western Alamance goals. Junior Tanner Stout had two assists.

The Cedar Ridge lacrosse team is one step closer to moving on to the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs. On Thursday night, the Red Wolves defeated Western Alamance 18-12 at Red Wolves Stadium. It was another big night for senior attacker Roman Oguntoyinbo, who scored six goals and six assists. Oguntoyinbo now has 45 goals this season and 70 points overall. Junior Billly Power, who transferred to Cedar Ridge in November, also notched six goals as the Red Wolves improved to 10-4 overall, 7-4 in the Mid-Carolina Conference. The Red Wolves are tied for third place in the loss column with Walter Williams after the win over the Warriors. Power has scored 32 goals this season for Cedar Ridge. Senior Alex Castro also had a hat trick and assisted on two goals as the Red Wolves jumped out to a 7-0 lead, keeping the Warriors scoreless for the opening 17:32 of the game. Senior James Clayton had two goals and five assists. Cedar Ridge returns home to face Walter Williams on Tuesday night. With a win, the Red Wolves will clinch third place in the Mid-Carolina Conference, which will help Cedar Ridge reach the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs. Also in this interview, Cedar Ridge players discuss why they play jazz during pregame warmups and postgame, in lieu of the standard AC/DC/Guns n’ Roses rotation. 

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior lacrosse attacker Roman Oguntoyinbo. In 7th grade at Stanback Middle School, Oguntoyinbo was the team manager on the lacrosse team. Now, he’s been the leading scorer for the Cedar Ridge lacrosse team for the past two years. Last week, Oguntoyinbo scored six goals as the Red Wolves defeated Southern Alamance 16-6 at Red Wolves Stadium. The following night, the Red Wolves defeated Western Alamance 8-6 in Elon. Oguntoyinbo had a hat trick. On Friday night, the Red Wolves completed a 3-0 week with a 7-5 win over Williams. Oguntoyinbo finished with two goals and an assist. Oguntoyinbo was the leading scorer for Cedar Ridge last season with 58 points, including 26 goals. Beside Oguntoyinbo, Cedar Ridge reached the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs. Now, Oguntoyinbo’s younger brother, Leo, is goalkeeper for Cedar Ridge under first-year head coach Cole Churchill. Oguntoyinbo is a senior co-Captain of the Red Wolves, who are currently ranked #5 in 3A/2A/1A by MaxPreps. Cedar Ridge will return to action against Northwood next Tuesday at Red Wolves Stadium.

The Cedar Ridge men’s lacrosse team isn’t far away from being undefeated in one of the best conferences in the state.

After a tight loss to crosstown rival Orange, the Red Wolves have responded with three consecutive wins. After beating Eastern Alamance 10-4 at Red Wolves Stadium last Thursday, Cedar Ridge stepped out of Mid-Carolina Conference play to handle Southern Alamance 16-6 in Hillsborough on Monday. Senior Captain Roman Oguntoyinbo scored six goals for the Red Wolves and finished with eight points. Oguntoyinbo scored the opening two goals of the first quarter, the second assisted by junior midfielder Billy Power.

Power finished with a hat trick for the Red Wolves and came away with seven points. Senior Logan Ekholm’s only goal put the Red Wolves ahead 3-1 at the end of the first quarter.

Leo Oguntoyinbo started as the Red Wolves goalkeeper. He finished with five saves. Josh Taylor replaced Leo Oguntoyinbo in the second half and had three saves.

Alex Castro scored two goals for Cedar Ridge. Harrison Neal, Mason Lynde, Holden Neal and Eric Thole also notched goals. Jacob Driver assisted on two goals.

On Tuesday night, Cedar Ridge had a hard fought 8-6 win over Western Alamance at Davis Morton Field in Elon. Power led the Red Wolves with four goals and one assist. Roman Oguntoyinbo had three goals and three assists as Cedar Ridge improved to 3-2 in the Mid-Carolina Conference. Mason Lynde added a goal.

Leo Oguntoyinbo played the second half for the Red Wolves and came up with some huge saves. He earned the win with nine saves. Taylor started in net. Jimmy Orozco had five ground balls for Cedar Ridge, while Kadin Brown and Eric Thole were credited with four ground balls each.

Cedar Ridge will play its final game before spring break at Williams in Burlington on Friday night.

Men’s Tennis: Carrboro 6, Cedar Ridge 3

In a tight match between two of the top teams in the area, the Jaguars outlasted the Red Wolves courtesy of wins in the final four singles matches. Cedar Ridge’s Josh Mayhew remained undefeated on the season with a three-set victory over Jonathan Baddour. Mayhew captured the match 6-2, 4-6, 10-3. Mayhew is now 8-0.

At #2 singles, senior Eli Rachlin won over Wesley Hanes 6-4, 6-1. Rachlin is 6-1 on the year.

Cedar Ridge’s only doubles win came from the #1 team of Mayhew and Seth Upchurch, who defeated Baddour and Jonas Miyagawa 8-5. The Red Wolves were supposed to face Williams in a critical Central Carolina Conference match last Wednesday, but it was rained out. On Thursday, the Red Wolves will host Northwood in Hillsborough.

Orange 8, Roxboro Community School 1

The Orange men’s tennis team completed a season-sweep of Roxboro Community School with a 8-1 win at Panther Tennis Courts last Thursday. Freshman Porter Pelphrey was named the Orange Panther of the Match after winning at #2 singles 8-1. Senior Justin Conover won twice on the day for the Panthers. He prevailed at #1 singles 8-1. Then at #1 doubles, Conover teamed with Pelphrey to win 8-0.

Orange swept all six singles matches. At #3, Joseph Clark won 8-4. At #4, junior Nathan Pavalonis prevailed 8-2. Tristan Plummer won at #5 8-2. Junior Brendan Kassler completed the sweep with a 8-3 victory.

At #3 doubles, sophomore Jackson Panning and freshman Ryan Jouannet team to emerge victorious 9-7.

Orange 5, Western Alamance 4: Orange won its first Central Carolina Conference tournament match of the season with a victory over the Warriors on Tuesday in Hillsborough. Orange’s doubles team of Clark and Pavalonis had the decisive victory at #2 doubles, winning 8-2.

Orange won four of the six singles matches. Justin Conover prevailed at #1 singles 6-1, 6-2. Clark won at #3 singles 6-2, 6-0. Pavalonis also was victorious at #4 singles 6-2, 6-0. Plummer captured his match at #5 singles 6-2, 6-4.

Orange will face Williams in Burlington on Friday.

For the second year in.a row, the COVID-19 pandemic will keep the Bull City All-Star Game from being played at Koskinen Stadium at Duke University.

But that doesn’t mean players from around the state can’t be honored.

Over the weekend, two 32-player rosters were released by representatives from the Bull City All-Star Game. Comprised of 64 seniors, players from Wilmington to Weddington were included on the men’s roster.

There were also four players from Hillsborough included after a season where Orange and Cedar Ridge finished in the top two spots in Conference 9.

After being named an All-American last month, Orange long stick defenseman Duncan Grant was included on the Blue Team. Joining Grant on the Blue squad was his Orange teammate Cy Horner. Also on the Blue team was Cedar Ridge defenseman Dov Bearman.

On the White team was Orange’s leading scorer, Ryan Merrill.

In April, Grant was named an All-American by USA Lacrosse. He became the first Orange player to ever be named an All-American.

“It is a testament to the type of game changing player he was for us,” said Orange Lacrosse Coach Chandler Zirkle. “Having a guy who could not only guard the other team’s best player but who could also score 2-3 points a game.”

Grant led Orange with 38 takeaways, nearly three-times more than any other player on the team. He also had 68 ground balls, which was second behind sophomore Jake Wimsatt, Orange’s top face-off man. Grant’s inclusion on the Bull City All-Star team continues a spring that has been filled with postseason honors. He was the Conference 9 Player of the Year and was named to the 3A/2A/1A All-Region team by the North Carolina Lacrosse Coaches Association. Grant will graduate next week and plans to attend N.C. State.

Grant was a key defensive player on the most successful lacrosse team in Orange history, even though the Panthers relied on a goalkeeper-by-committee approach the entire season. Orange captured the Conference 9 Championship and advanced to the 3A/2A/1A State Quarterfinals for the first time ever. They defeated Terry Sanford and Northwood in the state playoffs before falling to eventual Eastern Regional Champion East Chapel Hill.

Cedar Ridge’s Dov Bearman was the Conference 9 Defensive Player of the Year. He led the Red Wolves in ground balls and takeaways. Cedar Ridge finished 5-4. In its five wins, the Red Wolves held each of its opponents to three goals or less. With the help of Bearman and goalkeeper Aiden Kehoe, Cedar Ridge had three shutouts in 2021, including a 14-0 win at Northern Durham at Durham County Stadium on March 1. Bearman will attend UNC-Chapel Hill in August.

Merrill was Orange’s leading scorer with 40 goals and 61 points. He opened the season with six goals in an 18-15 win over Walter Williams. Three weeks later, he scored six goals against Cedar Ridge in a 10-6 Panther win at Auman Stadium. Merrill was the most reliable Orange scorer right up until the very end of his career, when he scored four goals in the playoff loss to East Chapel Hill.

Horner finished the season with seven goals and 15 assists. In the victory over Cedar Ridge, Horner had a season-high four takeaways. He registered two goals in wins over Carrboro and Northern Durham during early March.

Players for the Bull City All-Star Game are nominated by coaches from across the state.

The Bull City All-Star Game is an annual doubleheader featuring the top men’s and women’s lacrosse seniors in North Carolina. It has been held at Koskinen Stadium since its inception in 2017. The game is also a fundraiser for the Duke Cancer Institute and the Tony Cullen Memorial Scholarship.

Tony Cullen was a former player at Duke who went on to coach the Blue Devils for nine years. Cullen was part of the inaugural class of the North Carolina Lacrosse Hall of Fame. After he resigned as Duke’s coach, he went into officiating. He served as the head official for ten ACC Tournaments and five NCAA Division I title games.

The Bull City All-Star Game plans to return with a doubleheader at Koskinen Stadium on June 4, 2022.

The postseason honors continue to pour in for Orange and Cedar Ridge men’s lacrosse teams after a season where both teams made the state playoffs.

On Tuesday, the North Carolina Lacrosse Coaches Association named its 3A/2A/1A All-Region team. Orange longstick midfielder Duncan Grant and senior attacker Ryan Merrill each made the first-team. For Cedar Ridge, junior attacker Roman Oguntoyinbo and defenseman Dov Bearmann also made first-team.

Last month, Merrill and Oguntoyinbo were named co-Conference 9 Players of the Year. Bearmann was honored as co-Conference 9 Defensive Player of the Year, while Grant was named Conference 9 Player of the Year.

In addition, Orange sophomore Jake Wimsatt and freshman midfielder Connor Kruse were named second team All-Region.

Oguntoyinbo was the leading scorer for Cedar Ridge this season with 26 goals and 32 assists. He had five hat tricks, including a six-goal game in a 13-3 win over Vance Charter School in Hillsborough on March 9. He started the year with four goals and three assists against Walter Williams on January 29 in Burlington. Against Orange on February 24, he factored in on all six of the Red Wolves’ goals, scoring three and assisting on the other three.

Oguntoyinbo also led the team with 44 shots on goal and was second with 34 ground balls.

Bearmann provided steady defense for a Cedar Ridge team that held opponents under five goals in all of its wins this season. Bearmann led the Red Wolves with 46 ground balls and six takeaways. He was also occasionally utilized in the face-off circle by head coach Patrick Kavanaugh.

Cedar Ridge made the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs for the first time since 2018.

Merrill led Orange with 40 goals and 21 assists. He had eight hat tricks, including two 6-goal games. The first was against Walter Williams on February 4, the other against Cedar Ridge.

Merrill’s junior season was limited to six games because of the pandemic. Overall, he ended his Orange career with 56 career goals and 90 points.

Grant was a steady all-around presence for the Panthers on both ends of the field. He registered 18 goals and 23 points in his senior season. He was second on the team with 68 ground balls and led the squad with 38 takeaways.

Under Coach Chandler Zirkle, Orange had the most successful season in team history. They romped through Conference 9, winning its first league championship with a 4-0 record. In the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs, the Panthers defeated Terry Sanford 17-1 in the opening round. It was the first playoff win for Orange in any sport since May 2019, when the Orange softball team defeated Jacksonville.

Against the Bulldogs, Merrill scored four goals. Grant had six ground balls and four takeaways.

That led to a second round game against Northwood, who throttled Orange 17-6 just nine days prior in Pittsboro Merrill scored three goals and two assists against the Chargers, including the Panthers’ first two markers.

Grant had eight ground balls against the Chargers.

The Panthers reached the State Quarterfinals for the first time in school history, where they face East Chapel Hill. It turned out to be the final game at Orange for Grant and Merrill. Grant had a season-high four points. Merrill scored four goals and three assists against the Wildcats, who defeated the Panthers 15-12 en route to the Eastern Regional Championship.

Just as Merrill and Grant represented Orange’s senior leadership, Wimsatt and Kruse provided a glimpse into the future. Wimsatt was the Panthers’ face-off ace. He won 73% of his draws and led the Panthers with 120 ground balls. Wimsatt also scored five goals in the playoffs and won 20 of 26 face-offs in the East Chapel Hill postseason meeting.

Kruse, who played at Stanford Middle School in 2020, scored the game-winning goal in the playoff win over Northwood. In his first varsity season, Kruse had 24 goals and 17 assists. That included four hat tricks, starting against East Chapel Hill in a 19-14 loss during the regular season on February 10. Kruse also had hat tricks against Northern Durham and Carrboro.

Players from Orange, Cedar Ridge, East Chapel Hill and Chapel Hill comprised 11 of the 14 spots on the first team All-Region. East Chapel Hill’s Sam Reece, Nick Castro, and Alec Levy made the first-team. Chapel Hill was represented by defenseman Carter Grubbs, Zack Riepl, and face-off specialist Damien Kerner. Northwood goalkeeper Hunter Klingel, Topsail’s Brayden Velasquez and First Flight’s Nick Gardill rounded out the first team.