Cedar Ridge Football

As a former North Carolina Central wide receiver, Torrean Hinton watched with pride as his Eagles pulled a mild surprise in beating Alcorn State in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge on August 28.

He was probably envious of Central coach Trei Oliver’s ability to not only beat the Bulldogs, but to deftly sidestep the Gatorade shower from his own players once victory was secured.

Last Thursday night, Hinton wasn’t quite as swift as Oliver along the sidelines. But he was just as victorious.

After a difficult summer where Cedar Ridge announced it would not field a varsity football team, the Red Wolves defeated Bartlett-Yancey 21-18 in Yanceyville. In the waning seconds, Hinton tasted the same Gatorade bath as the last time Cedar Ridge won a varsity football game. That was in 2019 when the Red Wolves defeated Chapel Hill at Red Wolves Stadium.

Cedar Ridge running back Tyler Field scored two touchdowns and also had two interceptions for Cedar Ridge, who improved to 1-1. Quarterback Tom Crawford started the scoring with a touchdown pass to Luke Orstad to open the scoring. After Field scored a rushing touchdown, Field threw to Gavin Sher on the 2-point conversion to put the Red Wolves ahead 14-6. After the Buccaneers narrowed its deficit to 14-12, Cedar Ridge scored early in the fourth quarter off another touchdown from Field.

Brian Mazariegos added the extra point.

Mason Cates, Matt Turner, Mazariegos and Fields all had solid games for the Red Wolves.

Cedar Ridge opened the season on August 19 against Northwood inside Red Wolves Stadium.

Northwood, running a Power-I formation, held off the Red Wolves 20-6.

Cedar Ridge’s only touchdown came early in the second quarter when sophomore quarterback Tom Crawford threw to wide receiver Hayden Kirk for a 15-yard strikes down the left corner of the end zone. It concluded a 7-play, 56-yard drive which started with freshman Michael Charway running for eight yards. Cedar Ridge’s 2-point attempt failed and Northwood maintained an 8-6 lead.

Northwood, coming off a loss to Lee County, earned a touchdown on the next drive to go ahead 14-6.

“They did what they do,” said Hinton. “For my team not having a lot of scrimmages and a lot of bodies to go full 11-on-11, this was our first competition. The good thing about it was we got a lot of film. We’re going to learn from this. Northwood played its first game last week, but that’s what happens in football. The most important week is week 2. They had a chance to come out and execute their game plan.”

After going to Orange on September 30, the Red Wolves will finally return home to face Eastern Alamance on October 7.

“A lot of the plays we called, we haven’t done in live contact,” Hinton said. “Because we just didn’t have bodies. So a lot of stuff we called we just called to get it on film. So we treated it like a scrimmage, in some sense. The players lined up and played their hearts out.”

Angus Pritchard, Mason Cates and Rayshawn Page had strong games for the Red Wolves defensively against the Chargers.

Bailey Lucas: The Division III Meredith Avenging Angels volleyball team opened its season with four matches in four days. Meredith started with a 3-1 win over Roanoke at the Cregger Center in Salem, VA. Meredith won on scores of 16-25, 25-10, 25-16, 26-24. Lucas started and played all four sets. She had 17 assists, an ace and four digs. On Friday, the Avenging Angels swept Geneva on tallies of 25-15, 25-23 and 25-6 to start play at the Marlin Invitational in Virginia Beach, VA at TowneBank Arena. Lucas led the team with 14 assists in the win over the Golden Tornadoes. She also had two digs. On Saturday, Virginia Wesleyan defeated Meredith 3-0. Lucas had nine assists and five digs. To end the weekend, the Avenging Angels defeated Mary Washington 3-1. Once again, Lucas led the team with 20 assists. She also registered six digs.

Bryse Wilson: Wilson returned from the injured list for the Pittsburgh Pirates in a start against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday. The White Sox defeated the Pirates 4-2. Wilson suffered the loss after he threw five innings. He surrendered four runs off six hits. Yasmani Grandal hit a solo homer off Wilson in the second inning. Jose Abreu lauded a solo homer off Wilson in the third. This season, Wilson is 2-6 with a 4.61 ERA.

Kayla Hodges: Hodges scored her second goal of the series for Elon in a 3-0 win over UNC Asheville on Thursday at Greenwood Field in Asheville. Hodges scored the game’s second goal off an assist from Abby Fusca in the 24th minute. She fired two shots against the Bulldogs. On August 26, Virginia Tech defeated Elon 7-1 at Thompson Field in Blacksburg, VA. Hodges started as a defensive midfielder. Elon is 2-2 and will travel to N.C. State later today (Sunday).

Brittany Daley: The Division III Greensboro College women’s soccer team suffered a loss to Roanoke 2-0 in its season opener on Wednesday. Daley, a former Cedar Ridge All-Conference selection, started her 37th game with Greensboro as a center back. It was her 40th game. On Saturday, Greensboro rebounded with a 2-1 win over Johnson & Wales University at Pride Field. Daley started for the Pride once again.

Jordan Rogers: Rogers started her senior season for the Division III William Peace women’s soccer team. On Wednesday, Guilford College defeated Peace 1-0 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. On Saturday, Randolph College shut out the Pacers 2-0. Rogers started both games as a wingback.

Keshawn Thompson: The former Orange defensive back led Campbell in tackles in its loss to Liberty at Williams Stadium in Lynchburg, VA. Thompson had a career-high 13 tackles for the Camels, who lost to the Flames 48-7 to open the 2021 season. This was Campbell’s first game since last fall. Unlike many FCS schools, the Camels didn’t play last spring. Next week, Campbell will host Elon.

Payton Wilson: To open his third season with the Wolfpack, Wilson had two tackles as the Wolfpack routed South Florida 45-0 at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh. Wilson had one-half tackle for loss as he was in and out of the lineup throughout the night. The Wolfpack will travel to Mississippi State on Saturday.

Trent Gill: N.C. State only punted three times against the Bulls. Gill, a former Cedar Ridge football and soccer player, had two of the punts for a 45-yard average. Gill’s longest punt was 45 yards. Both of his punts were downed inside the 20-yard line. Gill also had eight kickoffs, four of which were touchbacks. His average kickoff was 64.6 yards.

Adam Chnupa: Former Cedar Ridge linebacker Adam Chnupa started his redshirt sophomore season at Elon with a tremendous game against Wofford at Rhodes Stadium. The Terriers defeated the Phoenix 24-22 on Saturday. Chnupa made one tackle as the Phoenix dropped its opener.

Colin Guentensberger: Guentensberger, who led the 2018 Orange football team in tackles, suffered a torn ACL and MCL during practice with Appalachian State’s football team. Guentensberger is a junior walk-on with the Mountaineers.

Kayla Hodges: After being a regular starter for the Elon women’s soccer team’s first Colonial Athletic Association tournament championship team last spring, Kayla Hodges scored her first college goal in the Phoenix’s season-opener against George Washington. In the 55th minute, Hodges scored off a corner kick when she chipped one in the net off an assist from Lily Harkes. Hodges, who started as a defensive midfielder, played 84 minutes as the Phoenix won 2-0 at Rudd Field in Elon. On Sunday, UNC Greensboro defeated Elon 1-0 at Rudd Field. Hodges earned another start and fired one shot. She played all 90 minutes. The Phoenix are 1-1 and will travel to Virginia Tech on Thursday. Hodges, a junior, started all ten games last year.

Bryse Wilson: Wilson was placed on the Injured List by the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 16. Pirates General Manager Ben Cherington says the move is mostly about rest from fatigue. At the time he was placed on the Injured List, Wilson had just started against the Milwaukee Brewers in a no decision. Counting his time with the Atlanta Braves, Wilson has thrown 48 and 2/3rds innings and has an 5.55 ERA.

The fall sports season is underway for women’s soccer. It will officially start for football, volleyball and men’s soccer next week. Here are some Cedar Ridge and Orange graduates who will be competing in colleges throughout the country this fall.

Payton Wilson: A second-team All-ACC linebacker with N.C. State last season, Wilson returns for his redshirt sophomore season after undergoing surgery on both shoulders. It kept him sidelines for spring practice. Wilson ranks third among returning ACC players in career tackles. He’s been named to the Butkus Award watch list for the nation’s best linebacker.

Trenton Gill: The former Cedar Ridge punter and soccer player is now a redshirt junior at N.C. State. Gill is N.C. State’s career leader in punt average with 46.3 yards–which is tied for the second-best mark among returning ACC punters. Gill’s has 4.997 career punting yards, which is 12 in school history. In 2020, Gill averaged 44.7 yards per punt, the fifth-best single-season mark in school history.

Keshawn Thompson: Thompson is now a graduate student with the FCS Campbell football team. Last year, Campbell played only four games in the fall and sat out the spring. Thompson totaled nine tackles. He started the season opener at Georgia Southern, a game where the Camels lost 28-27 when a two-point attempt in the waning seconds ended with an incomplete pass.

Adam Chnupa: The former Cedar Ridge linebacker returns to Elon’s football team as a redshirt sophomore. The Phoenix played last spring. Chnupa appeared in all six games and finished with six tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss. Elon will open against Wofford at Rhodes Stadium on September 4. It will mark the 20th anniversary of Rhodes Stadium.

Rodney Brooks: The Division II Livingstone Bears of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association didn’t play in 2020-2021 due to the pandemic. Brooks will return as a senior with the Bears. The 2018 Orange graduate had 16 tackles for Livingstone in 2019.

Trey Grizzle: The former Orange linebacker, who graduated in June, has enrolled at Division III Averett University. Averett will face Ferrum College in Virginia on September 4.

Taylin Jean: The 2018 Big 8 Goalkeeper of the Year at Cedar Ridge, Jean starts her junior year at Division II Limestone College. Last season, Jean earned a spot on the South Atlantic Conference Commissioners Honor Roll. She appeared in four games for the Saints between the pipes.

Brittany Daley: A former All-Conference player with the Cedar Ridge women’s soccer team, Daley enters her fourth season with the Division III Greensboro College’s women’s soccer team. Last season, Daley earned USA South All-Academic honors with a 3.9 GPA. Daley has played 45 games in her Greensboro career. Last year, she helped the Pride win the USA South East Division Championship, which was the only tournament the Pride was allowed to play in due to the pandemic.

Jordan Rogers: The Division III William Peace University women’s soccer team will open against Guilford College on September 1. Rogers, a former Orange star who is now a senior, has started all 37 games she’s played in for the Pacers in her career.

Bailey Lucas: Lucas enters her senior season with the Division III Meredith College volleyball team. Last season, Lucas appeared in 14 matches and had 108 digs. She led the team with 298 assists. The Avenging Angels open the season at Roanoke on September 1.

The Orange County School Board has voted not to issue mandatory vaccinations for athletes, band members and other participants in extracurricular activities for the upcoming academic year.

Instead, there will be twice-a-week testing for non-vaccinated students and staff. It was among several measures implemented during an emergency meeting, which was scheduled on Friday.

The final vote came after discussion, where several board members expressed reservations issuing a mandate before it received approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

“I wouldn’t want to unnecessarily create ill will in our community,” said board member Carrie Doyle. “I would rather not mandate it for students.”

Under Agenda item B6, “all students, coaches and employees who directly support athletics, cheerleading, club sports, chorus, marching band, or theater who are eligible for a vaccine must be vaccinated in order to remain eligible to participate effective September 7, 2021 (at least first dose).”

School Board Chairwoman Hillary McKenzie said she didn’t feel comfortable voting for a vaccine mandate under an emergency use authorization.

“Once its approved fully by the FDA, I am comfortable supporting the (superintendent’s) recommendation,” McKenzie said. “But right now, I would prefer to wait for that.”

Superintendent Dr. Monique Felder, who supported the measure, opened the meeting and explained why she introduced it.

“I cannot and will not make any recommendation other than what our medical and health care professionals stated,” Felder said. “They stated the absolute safest way to return to in-person learning and extracurricular activities.”

In the hours leading up to the meeting, there were protesters outside the Orange County Courthouse who angrily denounced a vaccine mandate. They lined South Churton Street with signs reading “My body, my choice” and “Freedom, not Voice.” Since the emergency meeting was announced on Friday, it was a hot-button topic on social media and at Orange High’s football scrimmage against Riverside.

The school system has already mandated face coverings for all students and staff members.

After Felder’s opening statement, Dr. Danny Benjamin of Duke University School of Medicine and Dr. David Weber, Professor Pediatrics from the UNC School of Medicine, explained their positions supporting vaccines.

“We can’t use our secondary mitigation strategy, which is masks, in some sports,” Weber said. “So we need to use vaccines as the best mitigation strategy. Obviously, you can use social distancing in many contact sports. I think mandating vaccination for participation is the best way for protecting both the student, protecting their families and other staff members in the school system.”

The board did approve a list of other measures, which included:

–B1: All OCS employees shall be tested for COVID-19 regardless of vaccination status following procedures established by the NC Department of Health and Human Services contracted vendor.  Exceptions would apply for employees who have been diagnosed positive for COVID-19 within the previous 90 days.

–B2: All OCS employees shall report vaccination status to the school district Human Capital (Resources) Department. 

–B3: All unvaccinated OCS employees must be available for weekly COVID-19 testing from the contracted state vendor.  

–B5: Unless informed otherwise, in the event of a school closure for students, all employees shall be expected to report to their assigned location or take approved leave.   (This provision does not apply to contracted employees or substitutes unless directed to report based on needs of the school or district.)   

The school board meeting coincided with the opening day of the fall sports season.

On the other side of the state, two football games were postponed because of COVID-19 precautions. Morganton Freedom High’s game against Crest in Sheby was postponed because of COVID concerns. Last spring, Freedom was forced to cancel a game against North Caldwell because of the coronavirus.

Also, Brevard’s game at Pisgah was called off. The Hendersonville Times-News reports the Brevard Health Department currently has the Blue Devils’ program on pause, leaving them unable to practice.

The Orange County School Board has scheduled a specially called meeting for Monday that could greatly impact high school sports in Hillsborough for the upcoming academic year.

The board, meeting virtually, will discuss whether to mandate that students, coaches and cheerleaders be vaccinated in order to remain eligible to participate for this season.

It doesn’t just impact athletes and cheerleaders.

In an email sent to parents of Orange County School students on Friday afternoon, Agenda item B6 reads “All students, coaches and employees who directly support athletics, cheerleading, club sports, chorus, marching band, or theater who are eligible for a vaccine must be vaccinated in order to remain eligible to participate effective September 7, 2021 (at least first dose).”

The agenda cites data from the ABC Science Collaborative, coordinated by the Duke School of Medicine and the Duke Clinical Research Institute, that shows COVID transmission is higher for extracurricular activities than standard classroom activities. Studies also show that 50-75% of COVID school transmission occurs during athletics.

The email spread like wildfire across local social media circles on Friday afternoon. Many parents spoke out against the proposal. It was also a hot topic among parents, players, fans and coaches during Orange football’s scrimmage against Riverside at Auman Stadium on Friday night.

It appeared that the pandemic, which heavily altered the 2020-2021 high school sports season in North Carolina, was on its last legs in June. Baseball players and track & field athletes were allowed to compete without masks. Just as practice started last week for fall sports in North Carolina, the Delta variant revived COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations nationwide.

On Friday, the number of new, daily COVID-19 cases in North Carolina surpassed 6,000 for the second time in a week. There were 6,628 new COVID-19 cases reported Friday. The percentage of positive tests in North Carolina is at 11.6%. State health leaders say 5% is adequate.

Last week, Orange County mandated masks to be worn inside all buildings, one day after Durham instituted a similar measure. Wake County is expected to follow suit on Monday, despite pushback from several mayors.

According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Orange County has the highest-percentage of people vaccinated in the state. 79% of the population has had at least one shot, while 76% is fully vaccinated. Neighboring Alamance County, which has three of the teams in the new Central Carolina Conference (which includes Cedar Ridge and Orange), has 50% of the population with one dose, and 46% fully vaccinated.

The Delta variant has also led to the return of safety guidelines that were prominent during the pandemic. Volleyball players from Cedar Ridge and Orange competed with masks on during scrimmages last week. Orange football wore masks, as well, during the Riverside scrimmage. While Cedar Ridge football isn’t fielding a varsity team this year, players and coaches have worn masks during practices since workouts started on August 2 under new head coach Torrean Hinton in preparation for a junior varsity season.

The coronavirus pandemic ended the 2019-2020 high school sports season on March 12, 2020, barely three weeks into the spring season. After a dormant and desolate summer and fall, high school sports resumed last November with volleyball and cross country. But it was a constant stop-and-start period for virtually every sport through the winter and spring, filled with last-minute schedule changes and cancellations. There were separate COVID-19 outbreaks with two local teams, leading to mandatory quarantines.

As the winter died down, football season started in February and was relatively free of interruption for Orange and Cedar Ridge through an abbreviated six-game schedule.

The meeting will take place on the same day the fall sports season starts for volleyball, men’s soccer and women’s tennis across North Carolina. On Monday, the Orange volleyball team will travel to Jordan, while the Orange women’s tennis team hosts Carrboro. The Panthers men’s soccer team faces Chapel Hill, while the Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team travels to Northern Durham.

The virtual school board meeting will begin at 5:30PM on Monday afternoon.

In the midst of a new era for Cedar Ridge athletics, the school’s football program now finds itself back at square one.

Cedar Ridge Athletic Director Andy Simmons and new football coach Torrean Hinton have confirmed that the Red Wolves won’t field a varsity football team in 2021. Instead, Cedar Ridge will have a junior varsity squad.

A formal schedule, including Homecoming and Senior Night activities, will be released as soon as other team’s junior varsity availability is known.

The Red Wolves went 0-6 last spring. With students returning to class and Cedar Ridge going into the new Central Carolina Conference, there was hope within the football program that better times were ahead. Instead, Cory Lea left as head coach on July 5 after only 16 months on the job. Hinton, who was the interim coach of the Red Wolves in 2019 after Antonio King gave notice on the first day of practice to become an assistant at North Carolina Central, accepted the offer to return as Cedar Ridge’s permanent head coach two weeks ago.

Before Hinton returned, Cedar Ridge athletic officials started notifying other Central Carolina Conference schools that the team was lacking in numbers. Several players who started during the shortened season in March have transferred to other schools across the area this summer, including the starting quarterback from last spring’s opener. Officials and administrators reached out to other Cedar Ridge athletes from various sports about interest in playing football. When around 15-to-20 players showed up to the first day of practice on Monday, Hinton realized he had to cut bait for this year.

Before he accepted the offer to return to Cedar Ridge last month, Hinton says he understood not playing a varsity schedule was a possibility.

“The hope was there that we would have enough players,” Hinton said. “I kept my ear close to what was going on. I knew that they had only about 12 kids in the weight room. So I knew what I was walking into as far as numbers go. It’s an uphill battle, but it’s one that I welcome.”

It’s a problem that has become more prevalent across Orange and Durham Counties in recent years. Last spring, Hinton saw it firsthand at Riverside, a school with an average daily membership of 1,852, according to figures from the North Carolina High School Athletic Association during the 2019-2020 academic year. Yet the Pirates had to forfeit its first three games of the 2021 spring season due to a lack of players.

This marks the second time in four years that Cedar Ridge hasn’t fielded a varsity football team. As is the case now, a lack of participation was the reason. Following spring practice workouts in 2018, then-Cedar Ridge Head Coach Scott Loosemoore updated the school’s administration that player turnout had sunk and was ill-prepared to face a varsity schedule that included two 4A teams. The final decision to not field a varsity team came from the Orange County School District via a statement released on Twitter. It led to an angry town hall meeting with coaches, players, parents and staff at the Cedar Ridge school cafeteria a week later, which was curiously scheduled at the same time the Orange County School Board met at Gravelly Hill Middle School.

By the time the saga ended, Loosemore, who had not served in a full-time position at Cedar Ridge despite leading the school to its last winning season in 2016, had left for an assistant’s job at Scotland County.

In addition to Cedar Ridge, Chapel Hill didn’t have enough players to field a squad in 2018. East Chapel Hill didn’t have a varsity team in 2017 or last spring. This year, they plan on playing independently against 2A and 1A teams.

When Cedar Ridge went through its first year without varsity football, five players were granted permission by the Orange County School Board to transfer from Cedar Ridge to Orange in order to continue playing football. Now, most of the seniors who wanted to leave already have.

There are two Cedar Ridge seniors, however, who are staying, providing the ultimate example of staying true to a program during its nadir. But they also can’t play this season because seniors aren’t allowed to play junior varsity.

So Jake Mergenthal and Travis Delph will remain on the team as de facto assistant coaches. In lieu of playing their senior seasons, they will serve as “mentors” (the official title).

“They were captains of this football team,” Hinton said. “They have chosen to stay and coach. That’s very fortunate for us because we still have senior leadership on this football team. They’ve come to practice every day. They’re moving (tackling) dummies. They’re enthused about it.”

Hinton hopes to be a steady and reliable presence that can bring glory back to a team that was one win away from playing for the 2-AA State Championship in 2011. He will be the Red Wolves sixth head coach since 2018, including his own interim stint in 2019. In fact, Hinton was the last coach to lead Cedar Ridge to a win on the varsity level.

On Wednesday afternoon, Orange announced it had replaced Cedar Ridge on its slate by scheduling a second game against new conference rival Walter Williams. The Panthers will travel to Burlington to play the Bulldogs in a non conference game on October 22, in addition to their regularly scheduled Central Carolina Conference matchup on September 24 in Hillsborough.

In previous editions, I have called the North Carolina High School Athletic Association a “bloated mess” because of playoff snafus, engorged playoff brackets, and odd selection procedures. But never have I ever called for its abolition. Yet, a group of state legislators are making a concerted effort to overhaul high school athletics by abolishing the NCHSAA. 

Back in the fall of 2019, Senator Tom McInnis who represents sections of Anson, Moore, Richmond, and Scotland counties, began to investigate the inner workings of the Association following an altercation between the Richmond Senior Raiders and the Anson County Bearcats during their non-conference football game in August 2019. The situation resulted in numerous Anson County players being ejected because they were involved in the fracas or left the bench area. Per NCHSAA rules, this led to the disqualification of the Bearcats from the state football playoffs despite winning their conference. 

Anson County did not file an appeal and thus, the case was closed by the NCHSAA. However, that did not stop the senator as he begin to probe into the Association’s financial statements. Since then, this bureaucrat has led the charge to eliminate the Association through House Bill 91 which passed the NC Senate’s committee on education by voice vote. As fate would have it, Sen. McInnis is a member of said committee.

As of the publishing of this article, HB 91 now awaits consideration from the NC Senate Finance committee before moving forwards in the legislative process. Should this bill become law, a 17-member commission would be created to run high school athletics. Nine members would be appointed by the governor, four members selected by the NC House, and four members chose by the NC Senate. These members would be staffed by full-time educational employees.

As the NCHSAA is currently a private, non-profit entity, a new high school athletics commission would be under the direction of the NC Department of Administration.

Ok……Let me get this straight, a bleeding-heart politician got his jockey shorts in a wad over a situation that was created by the students. They had to pay the piper because of their actions and this didn’t settle well to him. When Sen. McInnis talked to NCHSAA Commissioner Que Tucker about the revisiting the Anson County incident and the Commish said no, the Senator developed a big-time grudge.

Ladies and Gentlemen, when a person holding a political office goes on a tangent, advocating for a special interest within their constituency, and leads a charge for change without having a clue on how to execute the change – that my friends, is the reason for President Ronald Reagan’s epic statement from his 1981 inaugural address:

“In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem.”

I watched the hour-long video on HighSchoolOT.com and listened to politicians say that dissolving the NCHSAA is for “clarity and transparency”. What a load of malarkey. It seems that the state government wants is another governmental agency, create higher taxes, and to create more of a dependence of government. There’s no telling on how much taxpayer dollars this whole crusade has cost hard working North Carolinians.

For 108 years, the NCHSAA has been the organization that has been the authority on operating high school athletics. They have developed policy and procedures on how to effectively run athletic programs and to provide opportunities to student-athletes to play the sports they enjoy. Since 1990, the Association created an endowment fund to attain the financial security for each public high school in North Carolina for years to come. 

I guess Sen. McInnis didn’t get the memo that over the past 30 years, millions of dollars have been distributed throughout the member school that ensures every student-athlete has the ability to play a sport they so choose. If this bill becomes law and knowing how government works, that money will somehow find a way to line the pockets of the politicians and will defund the schools – the recipients in which the money was collected for in the first place. 

But now, due to a politician’s gripe, all of this might be a thing of the past. It’s just another reason as to why politics has no place in any sport.

Once again, the Cedar Ridge football program is without a head coach just weeks before its season opener.

On Friday night, Cory Lea released a graphic on Facebook announcing that he was returning to Riverside to reassume duties as head football coach. Lea departs Cedar Ridge after one, pandemic-shortened, season where the Red Wolves went 0-6.

Lea was announced as Cedar Ridge football coach in February 2020 after leaving Riverside. He brought along a track record of taking once-successful programs that had fallen on hard times and resurrecting them.

According to a source, Lea informed Cedar Ridge Athletic Director Andy Simmons of his decision to return to Riverside Thursday morning. Lea coached Riverside for four years, starting in 2016. He led the Pirates to its second conference championship in school history in 2019.

In his only season with the Red Wolves, Lea was supposed to have running back Isaiah McCambry return after a promising sophomore season in 2019. But McCambry transferred to Walter Williams, who he led the Bulldogs in rushing with 556 yards in only five games.

If that wasn’t enough, Cedar Ridge lost sophomore quarterback Aidan Seagroves in the first quarter of the season-opener against Northwood. That forced Elijah Whitaker, a senior starting wide receiver, to play quarterback for the rest of the year. The Chargers won 48-0 en route to a share of the Big 8 Conference Championship.

The only game where Cedar Ridge held a lead the entire season came against Vance County on April 9, where the Red Wolves scored the opening touchdown. Vance County held on for a 20-14 win.

Lea’s announcement came exactly seven weeks before Cedar Ridge is scheduled to open its season at Chapel Hill, who will once again become a 4A team in August.

Even worse, it continues the pattern of Cedar Ridge looking for a savior in a football coach that starts with promise and ends with uncertainty. On top of that, the Red Wolves are set to start play next month in the new Central Conference, which includes Eastern Alamance and Western Alamance, both of whom won games in the 3A State Playoffs last spring.

Eleven years ago, the Red Wolves were one win away from playing for the 2-AA State Championship. Now, they’re searching for its sixth head coach in six years.

It started in 2015 when Steve Johnson was hired after winning two state championships at Burlington Cummings during a 21-year career, which included coaching the likes of former UNC wide receivers Brandon Tate and Dwight Jones. Johnson never coached a game with the Red Wolves because of thoracic aortic aneurysm suffered just as practice was set to start. His assistant, Scott Loosemore, took over in an emergency role for that year. He remained head coach for three seasons, including Cedar Ridge’s last winning campaign in 2016.

In 2018, Cedar Ridge didn’t field a varsity team because of a lack of players. Loosemore, who never got a full-time teaching position at Cedar Ridge despite plenty of public support, left to become an assistant coach at Scotland County. With Cedar Ridge sporting only a junior varsity team, former Hillside head coach Antonio King was hired in August 2019.

A year later, on the first day of practice, King gave notice to Simmons so he could become an assistant coach at North Carolina Central University. Torrean Hinton coached the Red Wolves in 2020 and led them to a 20-19 win over Chapel Hill on October 11, its first win at the varsity level in 455 days.

Hinton spent the 2021 season as a junior varsity head coach at Riverside. Last season, the Pirates varsity squad was coached by Andre George. They went 0-6, which included forfeits in its first three games.

In 2015, Lea applied to become Cedar Ridge coach before Johnson wound up being offered the position. Instead, Lea went to now-defunct Northern Vance.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior sprinter A.J. Richmond. Last week during a tri-meet in Northwood last Tuesday, Richmond won the 100 and 200 meters against the Chargers and Orange. Richmond won the 100 meters with a time of 12.14 seconds. In the 200 meters, Richmond finished at 24.24 seconds. He also finished second in the high jump with a leap of 5-feet. Since 2021 started, Richmond hasn’t had very much time off. He was a forward for the Cedar Ridge men’s basketball team, which swept the season-series from crosstown rival Orange. That included coming back from 19-point down on January 11 to beat the Panthers 67-66 in overtime. Richmond scored four points in that game. After basketball season ended, Richmond was a starting wide receiver and cornerback for the Cedar Ridge football team under head coach Corey Lea. Next week, Richmond will graduate. He plans to attend a community college this fall and start looking into a career with computer repair. Richmond is the son of Andre Richmond, a former Orange High football player who is now a deputy with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Richmond will continue track and field season on Thursday with a meet at Dave Thaden Stadium at East Chapel Hill.

A part of Cedar Ridge’s future, a soon-to-be graduate, and a name commonly seen across Cedar Ridge circles for postseason football awards are this year’s honorees for All-Big 8 Conference first-team for the Red Wolves.

Freshman wide receiver Mitchell Bonner, linebacker/wide receiver Jake Mergenthal and defensive end/guard James Larisa were named first-team All-Big 8 Conference last week.

Center and defensive tackle Michael Nicholson and defensive lineman Javon McKiver were named honorable mention All-Conference.

This season, Bonner started as a freshman for first-year head coach Corey Lea. Running out of a spread offense operated by quarterback Elijah Whitaker, Booner made several big plays throughout the six-game season for the Red Wolves on both sides of the ball. His playmaking ability garnered him the nickname “Mitchell Baller” from teammates and staff.

“Mitchell really stepped up as a freshman,” Lea said. “Led the team in kickoff returns, 2nd in tackles, and 3rd in receiving yards. He is going to be big for us next season.”

Mergenthal has been one of the names most synonymous with Cedar Ridge athletics over the past five years. Jake’s brother, Braxton, played football, basketball, baseball and lacrosse with the Red Wolves. During Braxton’s middle school years, he and Jake lived in Dusseldorf, Germany when their mother 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. Braxton Mergenthal now plays college football with Division III Hampton-Sydney in Hampton, VA. In the winter of 2020, Braxton turned down offers from Division II Mars Hill and various Division III schools.

“I really proud of Jake,” Lea said. “He led the team in tackles and was our quarterback on the defensive side of the ball.”

Jake also played wide receiver when Whitaker needed a big option near the sidelines.

Larisa was possibly the most consistent player on Cedar Ridge’s defensive line. A constant threat on the pass rush, Larisa had an impressive outing against Vance County to conclude the season.

“James was a matchup nightmare at defensive end,” Lea said. “His speed really made a difference in making some big plays on defense.”

Cedar Ridge lost its starting quarterback during the first quarter of its season-opener against Northwood. Whitaker, who figured to alternate between running back and wide receiver, was forced to resume duties at quarterback, where he remained for the rest of the six-game season.

Among Whitaker’s most reliable protectors was Nicholson, a sophomore listed as 6-feet tall at 280 pounds.

“He was a rock of consistency along the offensive line,” Lea said. “He’s only going to get better.

McKiver turned into a late bloomer as the season went on, particularly defensively.

“He’s a real presence on the defensive line,” Lea said. “He is working hard to get bigger and stronger. Will be a force to be reckoned with next year.”

Cedar Ridge played its best games at the end of last season. In its season-finale, they led Vance County at halftime before the Vipers charged back and held on for a 20-14 win inside Red Wolves Stadium. Since then, Lea has focused on the future, which will include life in a new conference that includes Eastern Alamance, Western Alamance, Walter Williams and Person, as well as traditional Big 8 rivals Orange and Northwood.

“At the end of the season, we wanted to get better and we did,” Lea said after the Vance County game. “Hopefully, the changing climate of the pandemic will allow us to get back to normalcy in the weight room. To solidly create a culture that you have to do to get better. I’m excited about possibilities simply because we only had five seniors that played this season. Realistically, we were a very talented junior varsity team. But we were asking a lot of guys to take varsity reps straight out of middle school.”