Cedar Ridge Football

Back in the days when the Orange Panthers were in the PAC-6 Conference, trips up Highway 57 were common.

It was only natural that Orange and Person High Schools developed a rivalry. They were neighboring counties with a healthy population of students from rural areas. For some residents of northern Orange County communities like Cedar Grove, Hurdle Mills and Caldwell, a drive to Person High was actually shorter than a trip to their home school in Hillsborough.

Yet Orange and Person haven’t been conference rivals since 2001.

It appears that’s about to change.

The North Carolina High School Athletic Association released the third draft of its 2021 realignment plan on Thursday. Orange and Cedar Ridge remained paired in the 3A “Conference 25.” There were no changes from the second draft, which pairs the Red Wolves and Panthers with teams located closer to the Triad and leaves its longtime rivals across Durham and Chapel Hill in the rear view mirror.

Conference 25 includes Person, Eastern Alamance, Williams, Western Alamance and Northwood in a 7-team league. Of those squads, only Northwood is a current league rival for Cedar Ridge and Orange in the Big 8 Conference.

Schools have until February 10 to turn in any written appeals to the realignment committee. Since there were no changes from the second draft, it appears that Conference 25 (which will be given a more traditional name by the NCHSAA this spring) will be set in stone this spring.

The original draft, released in December, had Carrboro in Conference 25. That changed in the second draft, where Carrboro and Person basically switched spots. Carrboro is now slated to be in Conference 18, a spit 3A-2A league with Southern Durham, Vance County, Durham School of the Arts, Granville Central (2A), South Granville (2A) and J.F. Webb (2A)

Chapel Hill, East Chapel Hill and Northern Durham, the remaining Big 8 schools, will return to 4A. They’re slated to join Conference 30 with Jordan, Hillside, Riverside and Southern Alamance.

When the current formation of the Big 8 was created in 2017, there was some surprise among high school observers that Person wasn’t included. Instead, the Rockets opted to join the Mid-State Conference, facing schools like McMichael High in Mayodan (a distance of 66 miles) and Northern Guilford in Greensboro (58 miles).

When asked at the time, Person High’s Athletic Director said the NCHSAA didn’t want 9-team conferences, so the Rockets chose a less traditional and much lengthier option.

The creation of Conference 25 will mark the end of an era for Orange on several levels. For the first time since 1985, the Panthers will not have a conference rival from Durham.

After Cedar Ridge opened in 2002, a reduction in Orange’s enrollment forced them to drop to 2A. Even then, the Panthers competed against Durham School of the Arts in the Mid-State Conference.

The new league also breaks up the Orange-Chapel Hill dynamic. For decades, Orange-Chapel Hill was a natural rivalry since they were the only two high schools in the entire county. They’ve remained Big 8 Conference rivals since Chapel Hill dropped to 3A in 2009.

For Cedar Ridge, the new league brings together natural rivalries that have been brewing through nonconference games for years. In softball, Eastern Alamance and the Red Wolves have competed regularly, including in the 3rd round of the 2019 3A State Playoffs, where the Eagles prevailed en route to the State Championship. The Red Wolves and the Eagles regularly compete in men’s and women’s soccer, women’s tennis and volleyball.

An Orange-Eastern Alamance football rivalry has been the object of desire for many local fans for ages, and it would seem easy to make. But red rape and regulations from school boards constantly got in the way. Many Orange players honed their skills in Mebane in youth leagues. Orange and Eastern Alamance have regularly held a football scrimmage on the final Friday before the regular season begins, but they haven’t played in an actual game since the 2012 3A State Playoffs, where Orange won 14-13 in Mebane.

The changes will go into effect in August. The 2021-2025 realignment figures were based on the 2019-2020 Average Daily Members numbers.

For years, Cedar Ridge had the lowest ADM in the Big 8 Conference. Based on the 2019-2020 numbers, that will remain the case in the new league. Cedar Ridge’s last reported ADM was 1,076. The next closest school is Person at 1,095.

Orange’s ADM is 1,306. Among teams in Conference 25, Northwood has the highest current ADM at 1,433, while Eastern Alamance is 1,234. Western Alamance is 1,155 and Walter Williams is 1,177.

It’s Still a Bloated Mess

Just a few weeks ago, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association released its plans for the 2021-2025 Realignment to including schematics, initial drafts, and conferences.

When the NCHSAA tried to expand to a fifth classification and to make Realignment occur more frequently, Realignment was to be delayed by one academic year. When these votesfailed along with COVID-19 concerns, Realignment went back to its original course. Realignment will now go into effect on August 1, 2021.

As opposed to recent versions when Realignment primarily involved only one component, this version of the “Ole Switcheroo” includes two more. 

Component #1 remains the Average Daily Membership, or ADM. This remains the average enrolment of a school from 9^th through 12^th grades factoring admissions and departures throughout the academic year. The ADM score is originated by utilizing the school’s 2019-2020 ADM number, as published by the NCHSAA prior to the 2019 football playoffs, and multiplying it by 50 percent.

(Example – 2019-2020 ADM x .50 = ADM score)

Component #2 is a schematic known as the State Cup Score. The Wells Fargo Cup or “State Cup” is a yearly NCHSAA award that recognizes the high schools that achieve the best overall athletic performance within each of the Association’s four classifications. The State Cup is based on overall performance, primarily scored by season finish and postseason play.When teams participate in their respective sports, they are given a score at the end of that season that is scored into the overall standings of the Wells Fargo Cup.

Calculating the State Cup score will consist of multiple steps. First is finding the State Cupaverage of the last three years. 

[Example – (2018 score + 2019 score + 2020 score) / 3 = Three-year State Cup average]. 

After tabulating the three-year average, it is then multiplied it by 25 percent for the official score.

(Example – Three-year State Cup average x .25 = State Cup Score)

Component #3 is the Identified Student Percentage, or ISP. The ISP is the number of students in a school who receives some form of government assistance via guidelines fromthe U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The ISP score will be the most complicated score to compile. First, the Association will find the three-year ISP average for each school, just like with the State Cup Score. Although, the Association voted to eliminate the highest of the three scores as certain discrepancies in numbers from incidents such as natural disasters or other Acts of God could impact a school’s overall realignment score.

[Example – (2018 ISP + 2019 ISP + 2020 ISP) / 3 = Three-year ISP average]

Second, the Association will determine a school’s ISP multiplier by placing each school using a comparative & precise distribution range from .25 to 1.75. Schools that have related ISP averages will be found among similar spots on the distribution range. The higher a school’s ISP average, the lower the multiplier will be. This means that the more students at a school receiving government assistance, the lower the multiplier the school will have, thereby reducing its realignment score. Once the ISP multiplier is identified, the Association will multiply the school’s 2019-2020 ADM number by the ISP multiplier to reveal the ISP factor.(Example – 2019-2020 ADM x ISP multiplier = ISP factor)

Third, when the ISP factor is determined, it is multiplied by 25 percent to get the ISP score for the school. (Example – ISP factor x .25 = ISP score).

The organized calculation of all three components equals a school’s Realignment Score.

Did anyone understand all of that? Neither did I. 

The blueprint for classification reminds me of the obscure Adjusted MaxPreps Ranking, themonolithic Bowl Championship Series formula, and the mysterious trade secret for Colonel Sanders’ Original Recipe of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Despite the openness to do one’s own homework, realignment has again resulted in a cluster of clutter factored by a tedious set of schematics.

Last year, I filed an article wishing for the NCHSAA to designate schools per region, as such designations would allow schools to budget funds set aside for away sporting events and make playoff seeding more easily. The Association has adopted this measure, as the East / West boundary will be set west of the counties of Caswell, Alamance, Chatham, Moore, and Richmond. This will also take effect at Realignment in August.

Despite its overall framework, the Association seemed to return Orange and Cedar Ridge to historical roots. I spoke with our fearless leader, Jeff Hamlin, who passionately recalled of some classic games of the Panthers & Red Wolves against Carrboro, Eastern Alamance, Northwood, Walter Williams, and Western Alamance. While I look forwards to these games, I’m also looking forwards to some shorter drives, especially avoiding the near 60-mile trek to Vance County.

Another Christmas gift the Association has given to all of us through Realignment will be the elimination of split classifications for the football playoffs, which will go into effect in the 2021-2022 season. In previous editions, I cited examples of snafus, favored positions despite producing abysmal season results, and an excessive number of inferior playoff teams with sub-500 records. Hopefully, the playoffs can return to some normalcy with a plain’ol, 16-team tournament on both sides of the state. 

One can also hope that playoffs in other events can be reduced from the engorged 64-team brackets, to a smaller 48-team tourney that rewards the best teams with a bye in the first round. In essence, it’s quality over quantity.

My overall take on the current events from the NCHSAA is that it’s still swollen. Despite some good changes, it’s not enough. We will never see any truly reformed efforts until the principals and athletic directors vote to change the NCHSAA by-laws by expanding the Associationbeyond four classes. 

As I’ve said before, the Association has needed to expand since 2006 with the statewideboom in population and high school construction. Playing within the confines of a four classification system is like trying to fit into your favorite pair of blue jeans that haven’t fit since high school.

There’s only so much that can be done to produce a sensible athletic program in North Carolina. It cannot be accomplished unless those with the power, changes the rules.

Payton Wilson: There’s a famous scene in the 1989 film “Lethal Weapon 2” where detective Martin Riggs, portrayed by Mel Gibson, dislocates his shoulder in order to escape a straight jacket and win side bets in the police office. If case you don’t date that far back in the Lethal Weapon canon:

In a more discreet way, former Orange High linebacker Payton Wilson did the same thing against Georgia Tech on December 5 in Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh. Except Wilson dislocated both of his shoulders in the first half. Despite playing a season-low 53 snaps, Wilson made eleven tackles as the Wolfpack defeated the Yellow Jackets 23-13 to finish the regular season 8-3. Wilson was named ACC Linebacker of the Week for the fourth time this season.

This season, Wilson leads N.C. State with 108 tackles. He also leads the team in tackles for loss (11.5) and interceptions (two). This week, the All-ACC team will be announced and Wilson is expected to make the first-team as a redshirt sophomore.

Wilson had a season-high 19 tackles on October 17 against Duke. He has had double-digit tackles in seven of N.C. State’s eleven games (Wilson didn’t play against Virginia Tech on September 26.) He recorded at least ten tackles in each of State’s final five games.

Trenton Gill: The redshirt junior who played football and soccer at Cedar Ridge has been N.C. State’s punter for the second straight season. Gill was named second-team preseason All-ACC by Athlon. This season, Gill had 49 punts for a 44.8 yard average. His longest was 62 yards against North Carolina on October 24. He also had a 60-yard punt in a win against Pittsburgh on October 3 at Heinz Field. Gill had 15 punts travel 50 yards or longer. He had 17 downed inside the 20-yard line.

As placekicker, Gill had 64 kickoffs. Only one went out of bounds. N.C. State is expected to accept a bowl bid later this week after winning seven ACC games this season, the most conference wins in school history. The Wolfpack also closed the season with four straight wins for the first time since 2008.

Keyshawn Thompson: With many teams in the Football Championship Subdivision waiting until the spring to play a full-fledged regular season because of the pandemic, Campbell University played four games this fall, racking up plenty of mileage along the way. The Camels went 0-4 against Georgia Southern, Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina and Wake Forest. Thompson, a redshirt junior, earned his first career start against Coastal Carolina. Against the Chanticleers, he had a career-high four tackles. He also had 2 tackles, including one-half tackle for loss, against Georgia Southern. He finished the year with nine tackles.

Campbell coach Mike Minter said the Camels would not play in the spring. The Camels next game will be September 4 against Liberty in Lynchburg, VA.

Colin Guentensberger: A redshirt freshman walk-on for the Appalachian State football team, Guentensberger has not played in a game this season for the Mountaineers. Appalachian completed its regular season with a 34-26 victory at Georgia Southern on Saturday night. After finishing 8-3, Appalachian accepted a bid to the inaugural Myrtle Beach Bowl on Sunday night. The Mountaineers will face North Texas at Brooks Field on December 21. Appalachian has won four straight bowl games.

Connor Crabtree: Crabtree made his debut for the Richmond Spiders on Sunday. The former Orange Panther, who transferred to Richmond after spending his freshman year at Tulane, played one minute in an 87-71 loss to #11 West Virginia on Sunday in at the WVU Coliseum. Crabtree hit a three-pointer, his only shot from the field. He finished with five points and two rebounds. Crabtree, a redshirt sophomore, missed Richmond’s first four games as he recovered from two hip surgeries earlier this year. To open the year, Richmond upset #10 Kentucky 76-64 on November 29 at Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY.

Since mid-March, every student athlete, parent, and spectator in North Carolina has had to wait. 

Up until a few weeks ago when I announced both the ACC Men’s & Women’s Soccer Championshipin Cary, I had not announced a game since the East Chapel Hill – Cedar Ridge basketball games on February 10. 

In that time frame and within my work in prisons, I aspire to avoid COVID-19 on a daily basis. I’m scanned, questioned, masked, searched, gloved, and in the process, overworked due to short staffing. My fiancée Sarah worked in a nearby emergency room and now to a surgical center, but has endured the same. Together, we’ve been trying to plan a wedding. To watch every plan get ripped and reformulated thanks to the powers that be limiting us and our guests, it has absolutely destroyed us.But the wedding is still on and come December 12, 2020 – we will be man and wife (God Willing).

Because of the ever-changing politics of a virus that NO ONE (medical or political) has been able to figure out, we still live in a complete state of chaos in navigating the slough known as Coronavirus.While prevention might be worth a pound of cure, all of this prevention has prevented a return to normalcy, even in the form of high school athletics.

I am probably going to get excoriated for saying all of this, but I don’t care.

It boils down to this. Let the kids play. To those who want to watch them play, let them come. And for all in attendance, let them have a good time.

Currently, Orange and Cedar Ridge are only allowing players, coaches, media, and officials to be present at sporting events. In essence, the only “fans” at volleyball would be the junior varsity or varsity teams not playing. As Cedar Ridge’s PA announcer, I have been forbidden to come to just play music. No announcing, no national anthem, no house music, NOTHING. 

At other places, it’s different. When Cedar Ridge defeated Chapel Hill at Smith Middle School, our Hillsboroughsports.com leader Jeff Hamlin, was removed and escorted from the building. The press pass that he assumed he was to be given, was instead, given to HighSchoolOT freelancers. PerChapel Hill’s AD, Jeff was literally put out into the cold.

I’ve been informed that it could be as soon as January for basketball season before any spectators are allowed to return to high school sporting events in Hillsborough. However, with all scientific data reporting negative trends, that likelihood seems unlikely. In reality, the concept of spectators at a Hillsborough high school sporting event might be a kick-the-can situation. Once the situation comes to the forefront, it’s punted down the road in hopes it improves with time.

The funny thing is with this virus is that no one knows for certain if they have it unless they are tested. Some have active symptoms, many are asymptomatic carriers. Some could be battling seasonal allergies that mirror COVID symptoms or many just don’t have it.

In simplest terms –

If you are running a temperature of more than 99 degrees, STAY HOME.

If you are sick or are displaying any COVID-19 symptoms, STAY HOME.

If you are awaiting the results of a COVID test (regardless of symptom status), STAY HOME.

If you are none of the above, you should be allowed to play in the games or watch the games. 

Imagine that you are a senior at Cedar Ridge or Orange and throughout the offseason, the idea of playing in your senior campaign was an absolute uncertainty. Even if you did get to play, would there be people to play for? Would you have a senior night to where your career would be celebrated by family and friends? As of right now, it appears that both are highly doubtful.

When I played scholastic sports, nothing brought me satisfaction knowing that my parents were in attendance from the stands. But as of now in Hillsborough, parents are disallowed to watch their children play in person. It’s a shame to be a parent and spend scores of dollars in the funding ofcamps, clinics, equipment, and other items – all to be told that you can’t watch your kids play or should live stream their games from home. If you are a parent and are abiding by the aforementioned rules, you should be allowed to come and watch.

If you’ve been watching any NCAA sporting events, you’ll see a smattering of people watching from the stands. They are families with a sprinkling of select season-ticket holders chosen from the schools’ respective ticket lotteries. All entering fans are screened with temperature checks, spread out to ensure social distancing, and must wear face coverings at all times. Players are also spreadout on the benches for social distancing. Each player is assigned their own towels and water bottle to prevent viral transmission.

If it works for the collegians, I’m quite certain it will work for high school teams and their respective athletic departments.

In addition, I can’t imagine how much the athletic departments are even in good financial shape. As reported on December 2nd by HighSchoolOT, the Wake County School Board unanimously approved to allocate $835,000 to help fund high school and middle school athletics. The same report also mentioned that families would be permitted to attend. 

Imagine the small school districts that might have a singular high school. There’s no telling how much funds has depleted from their accounts as a result of not allowing any fans to attend. Then again, these same districts don’t have the funding capability as Wake, Mecklenburg, Guilford, Durham, or any other highly populated school district. I’m not going to speculate for Orange County, but when funds are non-existent and debts, equipment, and officials must be paid – with insufficient funds – all parties (regardless of location) are in a potential state of want.

In closing, we all want to return to a place in a pre-COVID time, whatever that may be. But to deny student-athletes the ability to play and their parents (or fans) to watch is unfathomable. While we are all doing our part to mitigate this virus, there must be some exceptions for student-athletes to play, families to watch, and for all to enjoy one of the many returns to normalcy in high school athletics.

On this edition of the Rodcast, we’re joined by trainer Elton Faulk. Elton runs www.gamma-fitness.com. After graduating from Jordan High School, he joined the Army and was stricken by a respiratory illness that left him barely able to walk. He fought back from adversity to become a kickboxer and start his own gym, which is located at the old location of North Duke Mall. Elton joined us to discuss own he’s operating a gym during COVID-19, as well as trying to stay healthy himself during a pandemic. Plus, plans to return to the kickboxing ring and his own graphic novel. Learn more about Elton here: https://www.thumbtack.com/nc/durham/personal-trainers/elton-e-faulk/service/196977197755942082

On this edition of the Rodcast, we’re joined by new Cedar Ridge football coach Cory Lea. Cory has been successful wherever he’s gone in coaching circles. At Northern Vance, he led them to a winning season in his second year. At Riverside, Lea coached the Pirates to the 2018 Triangle 8 Championship. It was only the second conference title for Riverside in school history. Cory was a walk-on at UNC during Mack Brown’s first stint in Chapel Hill, and is now focused on leading Cedar Ridge to the top of the Big 8 Conference.

Loyalty requires a certain amount of stubbornness.

As a freshman, Braxton Mergenthal was a starter on Cedar Ridge’s football team.

By the end of his sophomore year, he didn’t have a varsity football team.

In the summer of 2018, the Orange County School System announced that Cedar Ridge wouldn’t field a varsity squad the following August because of “safety concerns.” In a sport where quantity determines your quality, the Red Wolves simply didn’t have enough players.

Mergenthal would have had every right to transfer to neighboring Orange High. Five of his teammates did, and there were other defections by All-Conference-caliber athletes from other sports in a summer of torment at Cedar Ridge.

Six weeks later, his coach, Scott Loosemore departed for Scotland County in order to secure an elusive full-time teaching position.

In order for Mergenthal to return to Cedar Ridge, it meant he had to go back to a program that had hit the reset button on football. After two years at the highest level, he would spend his junior year playing junior varsity, the only team that Cedar Ridge could possibly deploy. He would be surrounded by freshmen and sophomores learning on the job, just as he did in prior years.

Still, Mergenthal stayed. So did Braedon Thompson, K.J. Barnes, Jaikel Gibbs, Matthew Hinton, Brandon Poteat and Zach Holmes.

In the future, whenever Cedar Ridge football rises from the ashes, those players should be remembered as the ones who laid the foundation for success.

“As long as you have seniors who stay all four years, you’re going to have something to build on,” Mergenthal said. “I think we’ll continue to have that.”

There was also an academic factor. As a member of Cedar Ridge’s International Baccalaureate program, Mergenthal had already spent two years taking college-level courses. A move to Orange would have basically reset that process.

It wasn’t easy to remain. As soon as Mergenthal finished junior varsity football season, he played center for a Cedar Ridge men’s basketball team that went 1-23. Nonetheless, he suited up for 23 games, including the season’s lone win over Rockingham County.

“Staying at Cedar Ridge was a great decision,” Mergenthal said. “It taught me how to face adversity and I’m going to need that in college.”

It took a lot of stubbornness to stay around for a 1-win basketball season and a 1-10 football season last fall, when Cedar Ridge returned to varsity action.

Where did that stubbornness come from?

Perhaps the answer is Dusseldorf, Germany.

After spending his sixth grade year at Gravelly Hill Middle School, Braxton and his younger brother Jake moved to Europe. Their mother, Jessica Adams, got promoted to project manager with Bayer-Crop Science, which develops crop safety products for farmers. It led them away from Efland and into a whole new world.

“It was kind of like vacation,” Jessica said.

Until it wasn’t.

Jessica arrived home from work one day to find that Braxton had his bags packed. He informed his mother he was ready to return to Efland. At the age of 12, he assumed his mother and Todd would surely follow.

The only problem was Jessica was six months into a two-year assignment.

“I tried to explain that to him what the situation was,” said Jessica, who now works at BASF in Research Triangle Park. “I told him that before we went there. He said ‘No, I’m going home. If you want to stay, you stay.'”

Things got tense. Jake, who was ten, also got upset and ran to his room. Jessica followed to calm him down.

In the meantime, Braxton vanished.

Jessica scampered around the house only to find the Euros the family stored in a drawer taken. When she went outside, the garage door was open and Braxton wasn’t there. Neither was his bicycle.

Since they lived only two miles from Dusseldorf Airport, Braxton had decided to get a head start on his voyage home.

Jessica frantically drove around the streets looking for her son.

“I had no idea where he went,” Jessica said. “He had just decided he was leaving. There was so many bicyclists around Dusseldorf on the streets, he blended in very easily.”

After about an hour, Braxton sheepishly decided to backtrack. He couldn’t returned to Efland yet because he didn’t have a passport and he was underage to fly back to Raleigh-Durham Airport alone.

But he didn’t come home empty handed.

As he peddled back home, Braxton stopped by one of the many lavish flower fields in Dusseldorf.

“He cut a bunch of flowers for me and brought them home,” Jessica said.

“OK. I’m sorry,” Braxton said as he handed his mom the tulips. “I can stay another year.”

Then he headed upstairs.

“That was the end of that,” Jessica said. “He’s kind of hard headed. But he’s a sweet kid. Once he works through it on his own, he’s all-in.”

In his final year in Germany, Mergenthal improved his tackling technique by playing rugby.

He even learned a little German.

“I lost most of it once I came back, though,” Mergenthal said.

After he came home, Mergenthal was a three-sport athlete at Cedar Ridge. In addition to football and basketball, he played baseball in the spring under former head coach Jamie Athas. In his junior and senior seasons, he played defenseman on the lacrosse team.

“I love football,” Mergenthal said. “Let’s just say I thoroughly enjoy lacrosse.”

“When he first came out he could barely pass and catching was an adventure,” said Cedar Ridge lacrosse coach Patrick Kavanaugh. “But he stuck it out and became a solid contributor.  I am sorry he didn’t get a full season this year to show how much he has grown.”

Earlier this month, Mergenthal signed to play football at Division III Hampden-Sydney College in Farmville, Virginia, in between Danville and Lynchburg.

“I toured the school and it was just fit,” Mergenthal said. “Everything was perfect. Academics had a lot to do with it I felt this was the place for me. I’m attracted by their business program and they have a great alumni program. So hopefully after college I’ll find a job.”

He also had offers from Division II Mars Hill and various Division III schools.

After a high school career filled with uncertainty, Mergenthal will start his college career the same way. Filled with idle time recently, Mergenthal has worked out constantly since in-person classes shut down in Orange County March 16 due to the coronavirus pandemic. He’s already set for college football season, but has no idea when it will actually start this fall.

He’s not the only one.

Mergenthal finds himself set to graduate under the most unorthodox circumstances imaginable. As he departs for a destination not as far away as Germany, he’ll leave a lasting impact at Cedar Ridge by being, as late heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio coined it, the Last in Line.

“You could be the last, the strongest, and to me, it’s always been that,” Dio once said in an interview. “The perseverance that comes from going through challenges in life. And when you get to the end, and you’re the last one standing, and you ask yourself, ‘Was it worth it?’ you better say yes. That’s gonna be my answer.”

When Cory Lea joined the UNC football program as a walk-on in 1990, it was hardly a fashionable time to be a Tar Heel.

UNC had consecutive 1-10 seasons under Mack Brown, who arrived from Tulane to replace Dick Crum in 1988. Their struggles were so profound, they were daily fodder for morning radio show comedy bits.

The common joke around Durham and Raleigh (and even a few good natured UNC fans) became:

Q: “Why does Billy Graham want to hold a revival meeting inside Kenan Stadium?”

A: “Because every Saturday, Carolina fans keep screaming ‘Jesus Christ!'”

Three years after the Tar Heels’ last 1-10 season, they won the Peach Bowl over Mississippi State in the Georgia Dome. The following year, they played Alabama in the Gator Bowl. Lea was on the sidelines for both games.

Though he rarely played for the Tar Heels, Lea had no idea at the time that his looming career in education and coaching would mirror UNC’s rise to gridiron prosperity in the 1990s.

Lea was formally introduced to Cedar Ridge parents, students and staff inside the school’s Media Center on Monday night. The ceremony included introductions from new Cedar Ridge principal Dr. Carlos Ramirez and Athletic Director Andy Simmons.

“We scored a big win by having Cory join our staff,” Ramirez said. “He will begin building our program into, what I hope, will be perennial winners. I would like to see and support our Cedar Ridge program begin building athlete-scholar starting in elementary school. And that’s going to take a community effort. We have big plans down the road to make that happen.”

“We’re looking to establish solid relationships in the community with everybody,” Lea said. “I want us to be a culture in a school that wins at everything. To me, that is probably the most important thing that you can do as a school community. If you win at everything, then that permeates into everything. It permeates into your community.”

Lea arrives from Riverside, where he led the Pirates to its second conference championship in school history in 2018. Last season, Riverside finished 8-4 and reached the state playoffs for the second straight year.

When Lea took over at Northern Vance in 2015, the Vikings had won four games in the previous four years. In Lea’s first season, they finished 5-6, ending the year with a victory over Cedar Ridge in Hillsborough.

If Lea had his way, his arrival in Hillsborough would have happened years ago. He applied for the vacant Red Wolves head coaching job in 2016 when former Burlington Cummings head coach Steve Johnson resigned before he ever coached a game in Hillsborough because of a thoracic aortic aneurysm. Scott Loosemore, who eventually wound up with the permanent job for two seasons, served as interim coach in 2015.

“I’m destination driven,” Lea said. “Either I get a promotion or every once in awhile, there’s some place I really want to go. That list is very short. This is a place where I want to go. This is where I want to be. When the job came open again, I talked to Antonio King (Cedar Ridge’s coach in 2018) and I talked to Coach (Torrian) Hinton (who served as interim coach in 2019). They told me ‘Yeah, that’s a place you want to be.’ So here I am.”

After a year as offensive coordinator at Granville Central under head coach Don Colgan, Lea’s first head coaching job was at Bartlett Yancey in 2012. He went 2-9 in each of his two seasons. It was there where he learned about trying to do more with less.

“I’m not one of these guys that has to have a $5,000 piece of equipment,” Lea said. “We can remember showing up to practice and it was just me and Coach Antwain Cook. (his defensive coordinator). It teaches you how to be an effective coach and get things done.”

Lea has maintained a residence in Durham throughout his teaching career, so he came to Riverside as offensive coordinator to be closer to home. Lea left for Northern Vance a year later.

His success in Henderson led to a call back from Riverside officials when Howell left in 2016.

“I didn’t even have to apply for that job,” Lea said. “They called me. That says a lot about how my staff is able to build relationships and how we built things in the community.”

Lea also wasted no time in drawing the battle lines with Orange, which has ruled the roost in Orange County football since the departure of Joe Kilby as Cedar Ridge coach nine years ago.

Cedar Ridge hasn’t beaten Orange since 2011, when they won a 49-43 shootout. Since then, the Panthers have won seven consecutive matchups by a combined score of 309-43.

“There are two objectives that we have: to walk in the door and win games. And to beat that team across town,” Lea said. “Period.”

A crosstown rivalry was a big part of Lea’s job at Riverside. Last September, the Pirates beat neighboring Northern Durham for the first time since 2013.

“When we were at Riverside, we had the same pains that ya’ll had,” Lea said. “When we walked in the door there (at Riverside), we had never beaten Orange, ever. For the last two years, they (Orange) now know what it’s like to lose (to Riverside). I’m going to bust my behind to get those things done here.”

At his previous two stops, Lea has proved he can do more than compete with the Panthers. In 2016, Northern Vance battled Orange in a defensive struggle that the Panthers prevailed in, 14-0, in the final ever game between the two teams.

Riverside won the last two matchups against Orange, including September’s 28-26 victory at Linny Wrenn Stadium in Durham. They also beat the Panthers 22-6 on Orange’s senior night in November 2018.

Lea isn’t just rebuilding a team as he starts with Cedar Ridge. He’s building a program. The Red Wolves didn’t field a varsity team two years ago, which led to an ugly summer of 2018 between unhappy parents and county administrators, resulting in numerous transfers and coaching departures that devastated the entire athletic program.

While all that is in the rear view mirror, Cedar Ridge has won only three varsity football games in three years. They haven’t had a junior varsity and varsity team in the same season since 2017.

The most common word that came up with Lea on Monday night was relationships. He plans to utilize that in Hillsborough for his latest challenge.

“I’m going to go to Gravelly Hill (Middle School) stuff,” Lea said. “I’m going to go to Stanback (Middle School) stuff. They may look at me sideways, but I may show up at a Stanford game. I think the first thing you have to do is make them comfortable with you personally. It is our intention to have a football camp this summer and I want to make it free because we just want kids out there.”

Lea will have his assistants accompany him to Hillsborough. Defensive coordinator Antwain Cook, who succeeded Lea at Northern Vance as head coach, will be the defensive coordinator. Zack Russell (offensive line), Caleb Russell (quarterbacks), John Seagroves (associate head coach), and Don McDowell (wide receivers coach) will also be on Lea’s staff.

Cory Lea built a reputation by turning around football programs in Vance and Durham Counties.

Now, he’ll try to do it in Hillsborough.

Lea was formally named the new head coach of the Cedar Ridge Red Wolves on Thursday afternoon in a tweet from Athletic Director Andy Simmons. He was formally approved by the Orange County School Board, as first reported by Hillsboroughsports.com, on Monday night.

Lea replaces Torrian Hinton, who served as interim coach last season. Antonio King resigned as Cedar Ridge’s head coach after the first practice of summer training camp last July to become the running backs coach at North Carolina Central, his alma mater.

In 2019, Hinton coached Cedar Ridge to a 1-10 season in its first varsity campaign after the school didn’t field a team the year before. King coached a junior varsity squad in 2018 and continued spring workouts last May to help secure enough players to have a varsity team again.

Cedar Ridge’s victory over Chapel Hill on October 11 was its first varsity win on the gridiron in 465 days.

Lea departs Riverside after three seasons. He led the Pirates to a share of the 2018 Triangle 6 Championship, when they finished 4-1 and tied Jordan atop the league. It was only the second conference championship in school history and its first since 2002, when they won the PAC-6 Conference under former coach Linny Wrenn.

In 2006, Riverside reached the 4-AA State Championship game under Tommy Blalock. In the subsequent eleven years, the Pirates only had one winning season (in 2013).

Lea arrived from Northern Vance in 2017 and briefly took the Pirates to the top of Durham football. The Pirates defeated Hillside, Jordan, and Northern Durham during Lea’s stint.

After going 4-7 in 2017, they had consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 2001-02. Last fall, Riverside defeated crosstown rival Northern Durham for the first time since 2013 and only the second time in the 2010s.

When Lea took over at Northern Vance in 2015, the Vikings had gone a combined 9-57 from 2009-14. In Lea’s first year, they went 5-6, ending the year with a 26-17 upset win at Cedar Ridge. It was Northern Vance’s winningest season in seven years.

In 2016, Lea led the Vikings to another 5-6 campaign. They likely would have made the state playoffs, but were ineligible after three players were ejected from an August game against Warren County for fighting.

Lea was the next-to-last coach in Northern Vance history. Antwain Cook replaced Lea and Northern Vance consolidated with neighboring Southern Vance to form Vance County High in 2018.

Since the Red Wolves went 12-3 in 2010 and reached 2-AA Eastern Regional Championship game, they’ve had six head coaches in eight years (seven if you count Melvin Griffin, who served as interim coach for about three weeks after Scott Loosemore resigned in August 2018).

Last season was actually the second time in recent years that an assistant had to fill in as interim head coach for an entire season because of an August emergency. In 2015, former Cummings head coach Steve Johnson was hired as head coach, but suffered a thoracic aortic aneurysm just before practice was supposed to start. Loosemore served as interim coach in 2015, then became permanent coach the following year.

Lea also served as Riverside’s offensive coordinator in 2014. He previously was an assistant at Granville Central. His first job as a head coach was at Bartlett Yancey in 2011, where he remained for three seasons.

Cedar Ridge will open 2020 at Carrboro on August 21.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior basketball forward K.J. Barnes. On Tuesday night, Barnes scored eleven points as the Red Wolves defeated Orange 66-55 for its first win at Panther Gymnasium since 2015. Barnes has starred on the basketball floor and the gridiron for years. In October, he scored the game-winning 2-point conversion in Cedar Ridge’s victory over Chapel Hill in football. This season, Barnes has played an instrumental role as Cedar Ridge has surpassed its win total from all of last season. In his junior season, K.J. didn’t have a varsity football team to play on when the Red Wolves didn’t field a team, but he remained at Cedar Ridge. On Tuesday night, his wait paid off with a hard earned win over a crosstown rival. K.J. Barnes and the rest of the Red Wolves return to action on Friday night when Cedar Ridge hosts Northern Durham.