Cedar Ridge Football

Photo courtesy of NBC Sports

Trenton Gill: On Sunday, Gill became the first Cedar Ridge Red Wolf to play in the National Football League. It was certainly a memorable debut as the Bears defeated the San Francisco 49ers 19-10 in the midst of dreadful conditions at Soldier Field. Heavy rain floods the field and Gill actually received a bizarre 15-yard personal foul penalty for bringing out a towel to dry a small area of the field prior to holding for a field goal attempt by Cairo Santos. Despite playing in a quagmire, Gill still averaged 46.2 yards over six punts. One was downed inside the 20-yard line and another went for a touchback. It was the Bears first win under new head coach Matt Eberflus.

Keshawn Thompson: William & Mary, ranked #20 in FCS, defeated Campbell 37-21 in Watler Zable Stadium in Willamsburg, VA. Thompson had three tackles for the Camels, who fell to 1-1. Campbell will travel to East Carolina on Saturday.

Darius Satterfield: Satterfield was all too busy for Elizabeth City State in the Down East Viking Classic on Saturday in Rocky Mount. The Blue Bears defeated the Vikings 19-0. Satterfield had nine punts for an average of 35.3 yards. His longest was 49 yard. He had only one kickoff for 55 yards. The Vikings are now 0-2 and will face Winston-Salem State in its CIAA opener next Saturday in Elizabeth City.

Braxton Mergenthal: Mergenthal got the most extensive playing time in his Hampden-Sydney career as the Tigers dropped a heartbreaker to Widener College 31-27 in Lewis Everett Stadium in Hampden Sydney, VA on Saturday. Mergenthal had a career-high four tackles. Hampden-Sydney, now 0-2, will host Greensboro College this Saturday.

Bryse Wilson: Wilson came out of the bullpen to throw six innings of middle relief as the Pittsburgh Pirates lost to the New York Mets 5-1 at PNC Park last Wednesday. Wilson surrendered four runs off seven hits with three strikeouts. He did not factor into the decision. Wilson will start for the Pirates against Cincinnati in the second game of a doubleheader on Tuesday.

Mia-Davidson Smith: After her first professional softball season with Athletes Unlimited, Davidson-Smith has joined the Mississippi State coaching staff as a graduate student coach. Davidson-Smith, the all-time leading home run hitter in Southeastern Conference history, is in graduate school at Mississippi State.

Kayla Hodges: The VCU women’s soccer team held Virginia, ranked #5 in the country, to a scoreless tie on Sunday at Klockner Stadium in Charlottesville. Hodges came off the bench to play 24 minutes. The Rams defeated Pitt 3-2 in its prior game. VCU is 2-1-5 and will face Massachusetts in its Atlantic 10 opener on Thursday.

Emerson Talley: The Division II Lenoir-Rhyne women’s soccer team had two wins last week. The Bears defeated Lincoln Memorial 1-0 at LMU Soccer Field in Harrogate, TN last Wednesday. Talley came off the bench to play 30 minutes for the Bears. On Saturday, the Bears improved to 2-0 in the South Atlantic Conference with a 2-0 win over Tusculum at Pioneer Field in Greenville, TN. Talley played 23 minutes as a reserve. Lenoir-Rhyne is 2-1-1 and will host UNC Pembroke in Hickory on Wednesday.

Lottie Scully: The Binghamton Bearcats volleyball team finished 2-1 in the Georgetown Invitational over the weekend. The Bearcats started with a 3-0 sweep of George Washington at the Charles E. Smith Center in Washington, D.C. Scully finished with four kills, 30 assists, two aces and nine digs. The following day, the Bearcats suffered its only loss of the weekend. Georgetown defeated Binghamton 3-2 on scores of 16-25, 25-22, 28-30, 25-23 and 15-13. Scully had three kills, 45 assists, one ace and 16 digs. Later on Saturday, the Bearcats swept Rider 25-16, 25-20 and 25-15. Scully registered two kills, 26 assists and six digs. Binghamton is 7-2 overall and will start play in the West Virginia Tournament on Thursday. They open with Delaware State on Thursday at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, WV.

Avery Miller: The Pitt Community College volleyball team won both of its matches at Davidson-Davie Community College in Thomasville on Saturday. The Bulldogs opened with a 3-0 win over USC-Salkehathie on scores of 25-17, 25-14 and 25-14. Miller started for PCC and finished with two kills, one ace and six digs. Later in the day, Pitt defeated Davidson-Davie Community College 3-0 (25-22, 26-24 and 25-19). Miller started and finished with two digs. Pitt CC is 6-2, 0-2 in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association.

This week’s Lineman of the Week is Cedar Ridge senior Louis Tedder. Last Friday night, Tedder played both guards and defensive tackle as the Red Wolves defeated East Chapel Hill 8-6 to win its first varsity game since October 2019. It was an unusual night for Tedder. His father, Louis Tedder Sr., is a defensive line coach for East Chapel Hill. Last season, he coached for Cedar Ridge when the Red Wolves only fielded a junior varsity team. Tedder has been active with Cedar Ridge sports through his first three years. He wrestles for the Red Wolves wrestling team coached by Scott Metcalf. He also competes in track & field in the spring. Tedder and the rest of the Cedar Ridge defense held the East Chapel Hill defense without a point in the final 40 minutes of its win last Friday night. Tedder and the rest of the Red Wolves will journey to Bartlett-Yancey on Friday night to face the Bartlett-Yancey Buccaneers. Last season, Cedar Ridge defeated Barrett-Yancey in a junior varsity game. 

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior football safety Matt Turner. On Friday night, Turner secured a fumble recovery late in the fourth quarter against East Chapel Hill deep in Wildcat territory. Though the Red Wolves didn’t score on the subsequent possession, it did help secure a safety from linebacker James Este Wittinger that provided the game-winning points. It was Cedar Ridge football’s first varsity win in 1,050 days. Turner played football at Gravelly Hill Middle School. He played as a freshman under head coach Torrean Hinton in 2019. He took the following two years off from football, but decided to return for the 2022 season as Cedar Ridge revived its varsity program. Turner has been a steady contributor thus far through two games in the 2022 season. On Friday night, Cedar Ridge rode its defense to victory. The Red Wolves forced turnovers in its last four possessions, including two interceptions by Justin Hartsell. There was another by Mason Cates late in the game. Cedar Ridge will go for its second straight win when they face Bartlett Yancey on Friday night in Yanceyville. You can hear that game on Hillsboroughsports.com. Congratulations to Mattt Turner, this week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week. 

Cedar Ridge’s defense came up huge in an 8-6 victory over East Chapel Hill on Friday night. It was the Red Wolves first win in varsity football since October 2019. Junior defensive back Justin Hartsell had two interceptions in the second half, including one that set up a touchdown run by James Este Wittinger. The Red Wolves got the game-winning points off a safety when Este Wittinger tackled East Chapel Hill running back Tyonne Hicks in the end zone. The Red Wolves defense forced three turnovers in the second half. Junior quarterback Tom Crawford won his first varsity game for the Red Wolves. To wrap up the win, Cedar Ridge junior Mason Cates picked off a pass. Cates, Hartsell, and Crawford were teammates last season for the Red Wolves when they fielded a junior varsity team. This Friday night, Cedar Ridge will journey to Yanceyville to face Bartlett Yancey, who are coming off a 40-38 loss to McMichael last week in Mayodan. 

As part of a season-long tribute to the hit Netflix show “Stranger Things,” the Cedar Ridge marching band played Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” during halftime on Friday night.

The Red Wolves football program has been through an upside-down of its own the last few years. They had gone 1,050 days without a varsity win after not fielding a team in 2021 due to a lack of players. (There was a junior varsity team).

Call it fate. Call it karma. Call it good coincidence. But on the night that Cedar Ridge started its tribute to “Stranger Things,” the Red Wolves football team ended its losing streak at, well, eleven.

Junior linebacker James Este Wittinger and defensive lineman Sam Hughes grabbed East Chapel Hill running back Tyonne Hicks in the end zone for a safety with 3:53 remaining to notch the game-winning points as Cedar Ridge defeated East Chapel Hill 8-6 at Cedar Ridge Stadium.

Earlier in the second half, Este Wittinger scored the Red Wolves only touchdown on a 3-yard run. The subsequent two-point conversion failed to keep things tied 6-6.

It was Cedar Ridge’s first varsity football win since October 11, 2019, when K.J. Barnes scored on a two-point conversion with 4:00 remaining after a touchdown run by Isaiah McCambry.

Torrean Hinton was the head coach of the Red Wolves for both wins. For the Chapel Hill victory three years ago, he was the interim coach after Antonio King gave notice on the first day of August practice to become an assistant at North Carolina Central.

Hinton left Cedar Ridge after the Red Wolves hired Corey Lea as its head coach in February 2020. Lea left after 16 months to return to Riverside, paving the way for Hinton to return as permanent head coach last year.

Instead of savoring a win, Hinton was more focused on trying to make victories more common instead of waiting hundreds of days for the next one.

“I feel good that’s now over,” Hinton said. “The game didn’t go as we planned it to go, but sometimes you get a win and that’s the most important thing. I’m happy the kids are happy. They’re very excited about it. To get a varsity win isn’t easy. So the fact that we did come out and get one, that’s why we play.”

The game had other quirks. East Chapel Hill assistant coach Louis Tedder Sr. was coaching against his own son, Louis, Jr. to the truest since of the term. Tedder Sr., who was a member of Cedar Ridge’s staff last season when they fielded a junior varsity team in 2021, joined the staff of new East Chapel Hill head coach Larry Stroud last winter.

Louis Tedder Jr. is an offensive and defensive lineman for Cedar Ridge who is also a heavyweight on Scott Metcalf’s wrestling team.

“I told Louis this week in practice that I couldn’t send him home without a win,” Hinton said. “If he had lost, I know his father wouldn’t have let him hear the end of it.”

On Friday night, the Red Wolves trailed right from the start. Hicks scored on East Chapel Hill’s first drive on a 49-yard end sweep with 9:38 remaining in the first quarter. The Red Wolves’ defense allowed only two more first downs the rest of the game.

The Red Wolves offense, behind 55 yards rushing from junior running back Tyler Fields, looked like a long-distance golfer most of the game: they had no problems driving with a rough short game. The Red Wolves had four drives penetrate the East Chapel Hill 45-yard line in the first half and came away with nothing.

Of Cedar Ridge’s first five possessions, three ended in turnovers.

On the other hand, Cedar Ridge’s defense allowed just 87 yards after Hicks’ touchdown run. On the final play of the first half, East Chapel Hill quarterback Christopher Creamer hit Owen Stout, who briefly broke out in the open before he was tackled by senior safety Matt Turner.

To open the third quarter, Tedder made a big stop on defense to force a Wildcat punt. That led to a steady Cedar Ridge drive, where they kept running up that road, running up that hill, running up that building to the tune of 68 yards on ten plays. After running back Justin Harsett rushed for ten yards, Este Wittinger busted free for 15 yards. Fields reeled off a ten-yard gain to get the ball into the red zone. Este Wittinger scored on a 3-yard run with 3:39 remaining.

The remaining five East Chapel Hill drives all ended in turnovers. Hartsell, also a defensive back, had back-to-back interceptions, the final one on the second play of the fourth quarter for a 41-yard return.

Though the subsequent Cedar Ridge drive stalled out at the Wildcat 20-yard line, the Red Wolves were winning the field position battle. Turner recovered a botched snap inside the East Chapel Hill 12-yard line midway through the final quarter.

The Wildcats held its ground as Cedar Ridge couldn’t move the ball on the subsequent four plays. East started its next series from its 13-yard line, but the Red Wolves defense was fresher. Este Wittinger wrestled down Hicks for a 2-yard loss. After Creamer was sacked, Hicks took a handoff in the end zone where he ran into traffic. Este Wittiner and Hughes tackled Hicks behind the line of scrimmage to put the Red Wolves ahead 8-6.

Fittingly, junior Mason Cates, who played on the junior varsity team last year, sewed up the win with an interception on the Wildcats’ final drive.

CEDAR RIDGE 8, EAST CHAPEL HILL 6

ECH–6 0 0 0-6

CR–0 0 6 2-8

ECH–Tyonne Hicks 49 run (kick failed)

CR–James Este Wittinger 3 run (pass failed)

CR–Safety, Hicks tackled in end zone

RUSHING–EAST CHAPEL HILL 19-40 TD (Hicks 16-60 TD, Charlie George 1-5, Christopher Creamer 1(-8), team 1-(-17)

CEDAR RIDGE (Tyler Fields 19-55, Mason Cates, 2-20, Justin Harsell 1-20, Keyshawn Mangum 1-(-1), Tom Crawford 3-(-3))

PASSING: EAST CHAPEL HILL: (Creamer 5-19 97 yds 3 INT)

CEDAR RIDGE: (Crawford 4-10 31 yds)

RECEIVING: EAST CHAPEL HILL (George 3-76, Owen Stout 1-15, Daniel Cruz 1-7)

CEDAR RIDGE (Hayden Kirk 3-11, Cates 1-20)

It had been 1,050 days since the Cedar Ridge varsity football team won a game. After not fielding a team last year, the Red Wolves came through in remarkable fashion on Friday night. Joel Gravitte tackled East Chapel Hill’s Tyonne Hicks for a safety with 3:53 remaining in the fourth quarter as the Red Wolves defeated East Chapel Hill 8-6. After East Chapel Hill took a 6-0 lead to the locker room at halftime, Este Wittinger scored Cedar Ridge’s first touchdown of the season. Matt Turner made a huge sack for the Red Wolves to set up the game-winning safety. The victory brought a wealth of memories for Cedar Ridge coach Torrean Hinton, who was the head coach of the Red Wolves for its last varsity win in 2019 when they defeated Chapel Hill. Hinton left Cedar Ridge after the 2020 season, but returned to coach a junior varsity team in 2021. Through the course of an offseason that focused on plenty of time in the weight room and the practice field, the Red Wolves have a cherished victory. They will look for consecutive wins next week when they travel to Bartett Yancey.

Special Thanks to Tracy Thompson and the Cedar Ridge & Orange cheerleaders for gathering at Gold Park for this photo. We’ll have individual photos of the cheerleaders in the weeks ahead. Also, thanks to the Cedar Ridge and Orange cheerleading coaches!