Cedar Ridge High School

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior basketball guard Mekai Collins. The Cedar Ridge men’s basketball team defeated the North Carolina School of Science and Math in its season opener 77-48 on November 18. Collins is the leading scorer for the Red Wolves. Last season when Collins played for Orange, he averaged 15.6 points per game, which led the team. Collins is a native of Southern California and carried his fandom of the Los Angeles Clippers to the east when he started attending Cedar Ridge as a freshman. Collins plays for the North Carolina Gators AAU team, based in Greensboro, during the spring and summer. His flashy ball handling skills and the ability to finish off the dribble has made Mekai one of the most entertaining players in the Big 8 Conference. 

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Mekai Collins

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior basketball guard Mekai Collins. The Cedar Ridge men’s basketball team defeated the North Carolina School of Science and Math in its season opener 77-48 on November 18. Collins is the leading scorer for the Red Wolves.

Photo courtesy of Card Chronicle

Scott Satterfield: The 1991 Orange High graduate, who grew up miles from the Caldwell community where he watched his father Freddie run street stock race cars at the Orange County Speedway, is the Atlantic Coast Conference Football Coach of the Year. The official announcement came Thursday morning from the ACC office in Greensboro. Among a panel of 46 media members, Satterfield received 23 votes. Virginia’s Bronco Mendenhall finished second with 17. Dabo Sweeney of Clemson received 15 votes.

Satterfield took over the reigns of the Louisville Cardinals last December after leaving Appalachian State, his alma mater. The Cardinals were picked to finish last in the ACC’s Atlantic Division. Louisville went 7-5, 5-3 in the ACC. They became bowl eligible with a victory over N.C. State in Raleigh on November 16. The Cardinals also played three ranked teams in 2019, including its season-opener against #9 Notre Dame on September 1.

On October 13, Louisville defeated #19 Wake Forest at BB&T Field in Winston-Salem, its first road win over a ranked team since 2011.

At Appalachian State, Satterfield led the Mountaineers to three consecutive Sun Belt Conference Championships. His final game with the Mountaineers came in the inaugural Sun Belt Conference Championship game, where Appalachian defeated the University of Louisiana 30-19 at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone. Afterwards, Satterfield left for Louisville while assistant Mark Ivey prepared the Mountaineers for the New Orleans Bowl, which they won over Middle Tennessee.

Satterfield played quarterback and safety for the Orange Panthers in 1990. His junior season was cut short in 1989 after he tore his ACL in the season opener against Eastern Alamance in Mebane.

Trenton Gill: The former Cedar Ridge football and soccer star was named 3rd-team All-ACC punter by a panel of 46 media members and the ACC’s 14 head coaches. Gill received 61 votes. After he didn’t play his freshman year at N.C. State, Gill averaged 47.6 yards per punt in 2019, a school record. He also averaged a net of 41.5 yards per punt. 50% of Gill’s punts were over 50 yards. Of Gill’s 56 punts, 17 were downed inside the 20-yard line. As a placekicker, 50% of Gill’s kickoff were touchbacks. Gill was nominated for the Ray Guy Award, but didn’t made the cut for semifinalists. Gill was an All-Big 8 Conference performer in soccer and football at Cedar Ridge.

Icez Barnett: Belmont Abbey defeated Division II Chowan 83-57 in women’s basketball on Tuesday night. Barnett played six minutes and grabbed one rebound. The Hawks are now 1-6 overall, 1-2 in Conference Carolinas. Chowan returns to action against Erskine on December 14.

Lauren Cates: Spartanburg Methodist defeated the Wake Tech Community College women’s basketball team 66-56 in Spartanburg, SC on Monday. Cates started and was the only Eagle to play all 40 minutes. She finished with eight points on 3-of-13 shooting, including 2-of-11 from 3-point range. Cates also had three rebounds and one assist. Wake Tech is 5-3, 3-2 in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association. Cates has started all eight of the Eagles games. She is the second leading scorer on the team with 10.6 points per game. She’s shooting 37% from 3-point range. The Eagles travel to Patrick Henry Community College in Martinsville, VA on Saturday.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is freshman wrestler Fernando Martinez. On Wednesday night, Martinez defeated Chapel Hill’s Avery Soular to improve to 6-1 on the season. Remarkably, Martinez only started wrestling two years ago at A.L. Stanback Middle School. Since then, he advanced to the championship of his weight class in the Orange Person Athletic Conference as an 8th grader. Last month, he won his first high school match against Williams. Then in the Red Wolves Invitational at Cedar Ridge, Martinez finished second at 106 pounds. He scored an 18-10 win over Person’s Derrick Laycock in his first competitive high school match. In the semifinals, Martinez pinned Chris Grubb of Trinityin 5:53. Martinez also scores two wins last week in a tri-meet against Apex Friendship and Green Hope, where he pinned the Green Wave’s Payton Meade in 1:33. Martinez is one of several promising freshman competing on the mat this winter in Hillsborough. He will be among many competing in the Jim King Invitational at Orange High starting Friday.

No Title

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is freshman wrestler Fernando Martinez. On Wednesday night, Martinez defeated Chapel Hill’s Avery Soular to improve to 6-1 on the season. Remarkably, Martinez only started wrestling two years ago at A.L. Stanback Middle School.

In this week’s ramble, I won’t have commentary on every team, but rather my regular season awards. Since the list gets a little bit lengthy, I won’t have a reason for every award I’m giving out. That being said, I will also give out honorable mentions for the award as some of these decisions were really tough to make and I don’t want to leave folks out who are really deserving of recognition this season.

Coach of the Year

Scott Satterfield (Louisville)

Honorable mentions:

Mack Brown (North Carolina)

Dabo Swinney (Clemson)

Offensive Player of the Year

AJ Dillon (Boston College)

Honorable mentions:

Sam Howell (North Carolina)

Jamie Newman (Wake Forest)

Sage Surratt (Wake Forest)

Offensive Rookie of the Year

Sam Howell (North Carolina)

Honorable mentions:

Javian Hawkins (Louisville)

Zonovan Knight (NC State)

Defensive Player of the Year

Isaiah Simmons (Clemson)

Honorable mentions:

Chazz Surratt (North Carolina)

Lakiem Williams (Syracuse)

Defensive Rookie of the Year

Payton Wilson (NC State)

Honorable mention:

Trey Rucker (Wake Forest)

Most Outstanding Receiver

Sage Surratt (Wake Forest)

Honorable mentions:

Tee Higgins (Clemson)

Justyn Ross (Clemson)

Trishton Jackson (Syracuse)

Dyami Brown (North Carolina)

Kendall Hinton (Wake Forest)

Tutu Atwell (Louisville)

Tomorrion Terry (Florida State)\

Most Outstanding Running Back

AJ Dillon (Boston College)

Honorable mentions:

Javian Hawkins (Louisville)

Cam Akers (Florida State)

Travis Etienne (Clemson)

Most Outstanding Quarterback

Sam Howell (North Carolina)

Honorable mentions:

Trevor Lawrence (Clemson)

Jamie Newman (Wake Forest)

Bryce Perkins (Virginia)

Most Outstanding Defensive Back

Andre Cisco (Syracuse)

Honorable mentions:

Tanner Muse (Clemson)

Amari Henderson (Wake Forest)

Most Outstanding Linebacker

Chazz Surratt (North Carolina)

Honorable mentions:

Lakiem Williams (Syracuse)

Rayshard Ashby (Virginia Tech)

David Curry (Georgia Tech)

Most Outstanding Interior D-Lineman

Larrell Murchison (NC State)

Honorable mentions:

Aaron Crawford (North Carolina)

Jaylen Twyman (Pitt)

Most Outstanding Defensive End

Greg Rousseau (Miami)

Honorable mentions:

Victor Dimukeje (Duke)

Carlos Basham Jr. (Wake Forest)

Most Outstanding Punter

Sterling Hofrichter (Syracuse)

Honorable mentions:

Trenton Gill (NC State)

Oscar Bradburn (Virginia Tech)

Dom Maggio (Wake Forest)

Austin Parker (Duke)

Most Outstanding Kicker

Nick Sciba (Wake Forest)

Honorable mentions:

Andre Szmyt (Syracuse)

Christopher Dunn (NC State)

AJ Reed (Duke)
Brian Delaney (Virginia)

Man of the Year

James Smith-Williams (NC State)

Final Football Power Rankings

1. Clemson, duh. 
2. Virginia
3. Virginia Tech
4. Wake Forest
5. North Carolina
6. Louisville
7. Pitt
8. Boston College
9. Florida State
10. Syracuse
11. Duke
12. Miami
13. Georgia Tech
14. NC State

Conference Championship Game Predictions

Utah vs. Oregon (Pac 12): Oregon, 31-27

Baylor vs. Oklahoma (Big 12): Oklahoma, 42-38

UL Lafayette vs. Appalachian State (Sun Belt): Appalachian State, 24-10

Cincinnati vs. Memphis (American): Cincinnati, 45-42

Georgia vs. LSU (SEC): LSU, 41-21

Hawai’i vs. Boise State (Mountain West): Boise State, 31-20

Virginia vs. Clemson (ACC): Clemson 38-13

Ohio State vs. Wisconsin (B1G): Ohio State: 49-28

Last week’s predictions: 5-4

Season total: 35-22

Basketball Power Rankings

1. Virginia
2. Louisville
3. North Carolina
4. Florida State
5. Duke
6. Virginia Tech
7. Notre Dame
8. NC State
9. Pitt
10. Syracuse
11. Georgia Tech
12. Clemson
13. Miami
14. Wake Forest
15. Boston College

Basketball Predictions

Michigan at Louisville: Michigan, 77-68

Florida State at Indiana: Florida State, 65-61

Duke at Michigan State: Michigan State, 75-74

Ohio State at North Carolina: North Carolina, 71-67

Duke at Virginia Tech: Duke, 85-79

North Carolina at Virginia: Virginia, 53-50

Last week’s predictions: 2-4

Season total: 18-7

Payton Wilson: UNC defeated N.C. State 41-10 at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh on Saturday night. Wilson concluded his freshman season with the first interception of his college career, which led to a field goal from Chris Dunn in the 2nd quarter that evened the game 6-6. Wilson also led N.C. State with 14 tackles, including four solo. To conclude his freshman season, Wilson led the team with 69 tackles, one more than sophomore Tanner Ingle. Wilson had 36 unassisted tackles, second on the team. He had five tackles for loss and will likely be included in several year-end awards which will be announced in the subsequent days.

Trenton Gill: The former Cedar Ridge punter was busy during the 2nd half of the UNC game. He had six punts for a 48.3 average. His longest punt was 68 yards, his only attempt over 50 yards on the night. Two of his punts were downed inside the 20-yard line. Gill, who was named to the Ray Guy Watch list last month, was not named a semifinalist. He ends the year with 56 punts for an average of 47.6 yards per attempt. His longest of the year was 75 yards. 24 of the 56 punts were over 50 yards, and 16 of them were downed inside the 20-yard line.

Icez Barnett: Division II Mount Olive defeated Chowan 63-57 on Tuesday inside the Helms Center in Murfreesboro on Wednesday night. Barnett scored two points off 1-of-4 shooting from the field. She played ten minutes. Barnett also grabbed four rebounds and blocked three shots. On Saturday, UNC Pembroke defeated Chowan 55-51 at English E. Jones Center in Pembroke. Barnett played 20 minutes, the most of any of her six games thus far. She went 0-for-5 from the field and finished scoreless, but she did grab two rebounds and dish out an assist. The Hawks are 1-5 overall, 1-1 in Conference Carolinas. Chowan travels to Belmont Abbey on Tuesday.

Kaylen Campbell: The Division III Trinity women’s basketball team routed Sarah Lawrence 68-28 on Monday at Oosting Gymnasium in Hartford, CT. Campbell, a redshirt sophomore, scored seven points off the bench in 15 minutes. She shot 3-of-5 from the field, including 1-of-2 from 3-point range. Campbell also grabbed four rebounds, and was credited with two assists and a steal. The Bantams had a game scheduled against the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts on Sunday, but it was canceled because of winter weather. Trinity is 6-1, has won six in a row and closed out a stretch of seven games in ten days with the Sarah Lawrence win. They travel to Connecticut College on Thursday.

Lionel Reid-Shaw: The former Orange Panther ended his college soccer career with Division III Dickinson College last month. Johns Hopkins defeated Dickinson 2-0 in the semifinals of the Centennial Conference Tournament at Franklin & Marshall University in Lancaster, PA on November 9. Reid-Shaw started at center back. The Red Devils end the year 10-8. Reid-Shaw ends his career with 67 games played. He scored he only goal of his Dickinson career on his senior night game, a 3-1 victory over Muhlenberg on October 30. This season, Reid-Shaw played in 17 games, starting 13. He had one assist in his sophomore year.

Her rehabilitation started with baby tennis, which she started playing at seven years old.

Olivia Ward had a long road back when major thoracic surgery jeopardized her playing career. In February 2018, as she neared the end of her sophomore year, her right hand wasn’t strong enough to hold a tennis request.

Her nerves stopped communicating with her muscles, which required surgery from Thomas D’Amico at Duke University Medical Center, who once performed a similar procedure on former New York Mets pitcher Matt Harvey.

Six months later, Ward returned to reach the 3A State doubles tournament with Alana Lutz. Though she had been a member of Cedar Ridge’s 2018 Big 8 Championship team, she had never qualified for the state singles championships, a goal since she was a middle schooler.

“(In singles), the responsibility is on me,” Ward said. “I can say that I got there on my own because it’s just you on the court against someone else. Going with Alana in doubles was a great experience, and I missed playing without her this year.”

To qualify for the state championships, Ward had to reach the semifinals of the 3A Mideast Regionals. After she defeated a representative from Terry Sanford in the opening round, Ward faced Orange’s Jera Hargrove.

It would be the final match they would ever play against each other, and while it was a rivalry, it was a civil one. They were friends off the court. On September 23, Hargrove defeated Ward 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 10-4 (10-point tiebreaker in the third set), as Orange defeated Cedar Ridge 5-4 on the Red Wolves’ senior night.

Now, Hargrove was in Ward’s way of reaching the state championships.

“It was bittersweet,” Ward said. “Jera and I have always been, I would say, friends. Every time we play each other, it’s a great match. I wish it would have been both of us going. I wish we went to the same school. We could have advanced to regionals together and wouldn’t have had to play each other.”

What followed at the Burlington Tennis Center was a grinding two-and-a-half hour match. After Hargrove evened the match with a 6-4 win in the second set, Ward sat down, started eating between sets and then remembered why she had trained to come back 18 months ago.

“It was a mental switch,” Ward said. “I had this feeling the I wasn’t going to lose. I don’t think I played any better or worse. I think it was just my attitude that changed how that third set went. It was worth it just to ride home with my Dad and meet my goal to make states.”

And she did. Ward captured the third set 6-1 to advance to the semifinals. It was a match featuring the two best female tennis players in Hillsborough, and its symbolism wasn’t lost on Ward.

“If I had lost that match, it would have been a loss I would have been happy about,” Ward said. “Because Jera would have been going. Either way, I would have been happy with the outcome. She’s a great player.”

In states, Ward lose to eventual 3A state champion Rose Kennedy of Charlotte Catholic, who lost only five games in four matches.

Last month, Ward signed with Methodist College to play college tennis.