Cedar Ridge High School

In the film “Rounders,” Martin Landau’s character Abe Petrovsky tells Matt Damon “We can’t run from what we are. Our destiny chooses us.”

Whether that’s a corny line depends on your perspective, but what may be deemed schmaltzy doesn’t make it false.

Tori Dalehite’s father, Danny, was a sprawling, dirt-eating right fielder for a PAC-6 Conference Championship team for Orange High in 1992, and later for a modified-pitch recreation softball team in White Cross. Her mother, the former Beth Simmons, graduated the year after Danny and played softball at Orange when the North Carolina High School Athletic Association mandated slow-pitch only.

In fact, Beth still plays co-ed games on summer nights at Oak Grove Church, just on the edge of Mebane.

So maybe it was destiny that chose Tori Dalehite to walk into a gym packed with friends, family and coaches on Friday night at Cedar Ridge High School. 12 years after her softball career started at the age of 6, Tori signed with UNC Greensboro to continue playing at the college level.

As a three-sport athlete at Cedar Ridge, Tori has dished out many assists in her career, whether it was on the diamond, in volleyball or basketball. On Friday, Tori was the one receiving an assist from her mother, who consoled her daughter at the podium as the emotion of the moment caught up to her.

“I am so grateful for to all of my current and former coaches for supporting me on this special day,” Dalehite said as tears streamed down her face. “You’re the ones who helped me become a better player and a better teammate.”

Dalehite committed to UNC Greensboro last winter. She’s played on two Big 8 Conference Championship teams at Cedar Ridge in 2018 and 2019, the first two in school history. In 2018, Dalehite was named the Big 8 Hitter of the Year after she posted a .582 batting average. She led the team with 29 runs, 32 hits, 32 RBIs, and five triples. She added six home runs as the Red Wolves went 17-2 overall, including 14-0 in the Big 8 Conference.

In the state playoffs, Cedar Ridge reached the third round for the first time in school history. In a 10-0 win over West Carteret in the second round, Dalehite went 1-for-3 with an RBI single.

In the third round, Cedar Ridge traveled to West Brunswick, where Dalehite’s power and toughness were on full display. She cracked a three-run homer over the centerfield fence in the third inning. The Trojans came back to tie and forced extra innings.

In the fifth, Dalehite was hit by a pitch that broke her hand. She continued to play 2nd base, but the Trojans won 4-3 in eight innings to end the career of storied Red Wolves pitcher Rivers Andrews. As her teammates gathered for a four-hour bus ride back home, Dalehite stayed behind in Shallotte to have her hand examined at a nearby hospital.

Last spring, the Red Wolves reached the third round of the state playoffs before losing to eventual 3A State Champion Eastern Alamance in Mebane. Cedar Ridge finished 21-3 and again claimed the Big 8 Championship after beating Orange in a one-game tiebreaker to determine the #1 seed for the state playoffs.

In 2019, Dalehite also earned All-Big 8 honors.

Among those on hand on Friday night was Cedar Ridge softball coach Allen Byrd, former women’s basketball coach Felton Page, Athletic Director Andy Simmons and assistant principal Heather Witherspoon.

“Tori is awesome, period,” said Witherspoon. “She is one of the first people I met when I started here at Cedar Ridge. Tori is a hustler. She gave it all she got in volleyball, she gave it all she got in basketball and she gave it all she got in softball. She also does it in the classroom.”

Also on hand was Dalehite’s friend, Jaden Hurdle, an Orange High softball player that Tori competes with twice a year, at least. It’s a tradition that Jaden and Tori gather for a photo following every game they compete against each other.

Dalehite has a 3.8 grade point average. At UNCG, Dalehite plans to major in kinesiology and then master in physical therapy.

Last winter, Cedar Ridge 2nd baseman Tori Dalehite announced her commitment to UNC Greensboro. On Friday night, she officially signed with the Spartans in front of a packed auxiliary gymnasium at Cedar Ridge Gymnasium with family and friends. In 2018, Dalehite was the Big 8 Conference Hitter of the Year. Playing 2nd base, Dalehite hit .582 and led the team with 32 hits, 29 runs scored, 32 hits and five triples. In 2019, Dalehite hit .544 with 43 hits. She was tied for the team lead with 41 RBIs. Tori was joined in Friday night’s ceremony by her father Danny and her mother, Beth. Along the way, Dalehite has maintained a 3.9 GPA and continues to excel in three sports at Cedar Ridge. She is a member of a Cedar Ridge softball team that has claimed back-to-back Big 8 Championships. This fall, she helped the Cedar Ridge volleyball team reach the state playoffs for the first time since 2015. Also in attendance at the ceremony was Dalehite’s former basketball coach, Felton Page. 

785 days. That’s the amount of time Cedar Ridge varsity football waited for a win.

In fact, the heartache went deeper on several levels. On August 18, 2017, Cedar Ridge defeated Carrboro 21-6, but the game was stopped late in the second quarter. Though there was little doubt the Red Wolves would still defeat the Jaguars that night, you had to go all the way back to November 4, 2016 to find the last time Cedar Ridge won a game that lasted all four quarters.

That win was against Northern Vance, a school that no longer exists.

On October 11, Cedar Ridge was due. In particular, it was a special night for seniors Bradon Thompson, Braxton Mergenthal, Zach Holmes, K.J. Barnes, Brandon Poteat, Jai’Keel Gibbs and Matthew Hinton. It was Homecoming against Chapel Hill.

As tough as Cedar Ridge’s 1-10 season in 2019 ended up being, it wasn’t nearly as painful as the year before.

That’s because, in 2018, the varsity Red Wolves varsity didn’t play at all.

The deceit, staff turnover, player turnover and stress from that decision has been told time and again in this space. It not only hurt Cedar Ridge in football, but none of the other men’s athletic teams at Cedar Ridge made the state playoffs in 2018-19. It’s doubtful that was a coincidence.

Any or all of Cedar Ridge’s seven seniors could have elected to leave in the summer of 2018. No one would have blamed them. Five of their teammates did. But those seniors remained and they started to see the fruit of their courageousness pay off against Chapel Hill.

Cedar Ridge would defeat Chapel Hill 20-19 behind 190 yards and three touchdowns from sophomore running back Isaiah McCambry.

Cedar Ridge spent much of the game playing catch up. Chapel Hill’s Caleb Clegg opened the scoring with a 5-yard touchdown run. Tyler Roberts extra point bolted the Tigers ahead 7-0.

McCabry scored his first touchdown on a 53-yard run late in the first half.

Chapel Hill opened the second half with a 75-yard touchdown drive. Jaylen Mitchell scored off a two-yard touchdown run, but the extra point failed.

Barnes returned the opening kickoff of the second half 40 yards. McCambry rumbled up the middle for a four-yard touchdown run to cut Chapel Hill’s lead to 13-12.

Clegg struck pay dirt for the second time midway through the third quarter. With Chapel Hill leading 19-12, McCambry scored his third touchdown with a 36-yard burst up the middle. Cedar Ridge Coach Torrean Hinton didn’t hesitate on the extra point, sending out his offense for a two-point conversion.

Instead of going to McCambry, the Red Wolves ran a trick play. Quarterback Willam Berger faked a handoff to McCambry, instead sending the ball to Barnes, who ran an end-around. He had the entire end of the field to himself and scored untouched into the left corner of the end zone to give Cedar Ridge a 20-19 lead with four minutes remaining.

The Tigers managed to drive into Cedar Ridge territory late, but junior Desi Raspberry broke up a late pass attempt. A desperation field goal attempt came up short for the Tigers and Cedar Ridge finally savored a long-awaited taste of victory on their Homecoming night.

The Cedar Ridge women’s cross country team was the only local representatives at the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s 3A State Championship meet at Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville on November 2.

Unlike last year, the Cedar Ridge women didn’t qualify as a team. Instead, three Red Wolf runners reached the state meet based on their individual finishes at the Mideast Regional Championships at Northwood High School on October 26.

Junior Anne Morrell finishes with the fastest time among Cedar Ridge runners with a time of 19:41.50, good enough for 35th place. Last year, Morrell ran the same course at 20:11.33.

The other two Cedar Ridge runners also improved from their times at the Redmon Complex from 2018.

Sophomore Zoe Wade came in 74th at 20:35.61. Last year, Wade finished 101st with a time of 21:37.10.

Wade’s classmate, Ruby Lapham, finished 84th with a time of 20:50.28. In 2018, Lapham came in 113th at 21:50.78.

All three runners had personal bests times.

The state championships completed a grueling postseason stretch that started with the Big 8 Conference Championships, which was held on October 19 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. Morrell finished tenth in the Big 8 Championships, the highest among runners outside of Chapel Hill.

Morrell won a sprint to the finish line to edge East Chapel Hill’s Sara Oren for a spot in top ten. Senior Allison Musty finished 15th and joined Morrell on the All-Big 8 Conference team.

“Allison had a great race,” said Cedar Ridge women’s coach Paul Lockwood. “This was her type of race. The weather’s cooler. It’s nice out. You can’t always have nice weather. Anne had a great day and ran really well.”

In addition, Lockwood was voted as the Big 8 Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year. Lockwood, who is in his second year, led the Cedar Ridge women to three dual match victories this year. Cedar Ridge also captured the Greensboro Cross Country Invitational race at Hagan State Park on September 28.

“It all goes back to the kids,” Lockwood said. “If I can’t have them, I don’t have anything. They’re awesome. I enjoy being around them. They work hard and I enjoy being around that.”

In addition to Morrell and Musty, Wade finished 16th at 20:36.60. Right behind her was teammate Ariadna Solis, who finished 17th. Junior Jill Myler came in 18th.

The top Orange finisher in the women’s race was junior Ava Zinn, who crossed the finish line 28th with a time of 21:56.70.

In the men’s race, Cedar Ridge senior Noah Draughon finished 17th with a time of 17:47.30. The Red Wolves Drew Gillespie came in 28th at 18:12.80.

Orange senior Bennett Flemming finished 24th at 18:09.50.

At the Mideast Regionals, the Cedar Ridge women’s team finished 5th among 15 teams. Morrell came in 12th at 20:16.14. Last year at the regionals, Morrell finished 19th at 20:26.21. Wade came in 24th, while Musty finished 28th.

Orange’s Zinn came in 49th at 22:43.13. Senior Hailey Bullard, in her final race, finished 58th.

In the men’s race, Orange’s Flemming was the highest finisher among Hillsborough runners, finishing 32nd.

Levi Draughon came in 34th for Cedar Ridge. Noah Draughon finished 42nd.

The fall sports season for Hillsborough middle schools ended with two local team appearing in the Orange-Person Athletic Conference Championship games.

On October 30, Southern Middle School led Stanford 14-0 in the OPAC Football Championship game in Roxboro. The game was stopped a few minutes into the third quarter after Stanford linebacker Jeremy Morrow suffered a concussion following a hard hit. According to Kelly Snow of PersonCountySportsNow.com, one of Southern’s assistant coaches is an ER nurse who treated Morrow immediately. After staying at Duke Children’s Hospital for one night, Morrow was released and returned home. Stanford ends the year 5-3.

On the same day, the Gravelly Hill football team defeated the Stanback Bulldogs 16-6 to conclude its season. Maliky Poole opened the scoring with a 20-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Derick Yanko. On the subsequent 2-point conversion, Yanko scored to push the Grizzlies lead to 8-0.

Gravelly’s other touchdown came when Yanko threw to Mason Cates. Yanko added another 2-point run on the point after.

Running back Tyler Fields had a strong all-around game for the Grizzlies. He had several strong runs on offense and made big tackles on defense as a linebacker.

In addition to his touchdown, Cates had an interception, a fumble recovery and several big tackles on defense. Christian Moore also had a solid day for the Grizzlies to conclude the season at 3-4.

Boy’s Soccer: The Gravelly Hill boys soccer team claimed its 3rd straight OPAC Northern Division championship when they defeated Phillips 5-1. Nathan Sorrells had a hat trick for the Grizzlies, while Konnor Johnson and Carson Condon each scored for the Grizzlies. Smith Middle School defeated the Grizzlies for the OPAC Championship.

Also in the final week of October, the Stanback Bulldogs defeated Stanford 4-0 to conclude its season. It was a special night for the Stanback 8th graders who won its final home game. The Bulldogs were coached by J.P. Joubert and Mary-Kathryn Scheppegrell.

Kevin Wright: In Sunday’s Alumni Update, we didn’t include Kevin Wright’s latest game because he was erroneously reported as having not played during North Carolina Wesleyan’s game against Huntingdon on Saturday. In fact, Wright did play as Wesleyan won 23-7 at Samford Stadium in Montgomery, AL. Wright was credited with three tackles as the Battling Bishops improved to 5-4 overall, 4-2 in the USA South Athletic Conference. Wesleyan will conclude its season against Maryville on Senior Day in Rocky Mount on Saturday.

Finally, last week during a column I wrote regarding the Chapel Hill-Orange rivalry, I mentioned that Orange High School never received a golden football from the National Football League despite the fact that 1993 Orange graduate Alvis Whitted had played in Super Bowl XXXVII for the Oakland Raiders against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That was incorrect. In fact, Orange did receive a gold football from the NFL in 2016 for the 50th anniversary of the Super Bowl and is, in fact, in the trophy case outside the Orange High Gymnasium. I apologize to the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell for the error.

Speaking of which, Whitted is now the wide receivers coach for the Green Bay Packers. Whitted left Colorado State last year and joined the Packers over the summer. He actually started he coaching career at Orange before reaching the college ranks.

It’s official, the whole conference outside of Clemson is bad. Even Wake Forest, who I believed in with all my heart, let me down in Blacksburg. And Louisville, just as I thought you were on the rise, I see your most recent outcome. Anyways, here we go. 

Note: Since Duke did not play a conference game, they do not get analysis for their performance against Notre Dame.

Note 2: For basketball predictions, I’m just going to pick a few games that I find interesting for the upcoming week. 

Virginia

It wasn’t pretty for the Hoos, but a 5 point win over Georgia Tech is a win nonetheless, and they are a win against Virginia Tech away from their first ever ACC Championship game appearance. They have a tune-up game against Liberty next week to prepare for what will inevitably be a tough battle with the Hokies the final week of the season.

Virginia Tech

Like Virginia, the Hokies control their own destiny in their effort for an ACC Championship game appearance. The Tech defense locked down Wake Forest quarterback Jamie Newman, and Deshawn McClease’s two touchdown carries led a dominant rushing attack for the Hokies. It seems like Virginia Tech is finally hitting their groove at the right time. 

Florida State

Didn’t expect to see these guys in the winner’s circle this week, but alas, here they are. The 38-31 win over Boston College is big for Florida State as that likely secured them bowl eligibility with FCS Alabama State up next. Now, the real question for FSU now is who their next head coach will be. If it’s Deion Sanders, I will laugh harder than I have my entire life.

Miami

Miami is good! A dominating victory over what has been a surprisingly solid Louisville team seems to show that with Jarren Williams becoming a better passer day by day, and with tailback Deejay Dallas right there for OC Dan Enos to lean on when things are tough, it seems the Miami offense is good enough to win football games. This is something that wasn’t there for Miami in early season losses to Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia Tech. It’s there now, and Miami is going to be dangerous down the stretch because of it. 

Clemson

After the playoff committee decided to put Clemson at number 5 in their initial rankings, Clmeson decided they had something to prove, and boy did they play like it. With Dabo already not liking Dave Doeren, this was shaping up to be a blowout for a week and the Tigers could have easily beaten NC State much worse than by the 45 point margin they did. Clemson is really good, and State is really bad, that’s all there is to it.

Wake Forest

Sigh, Wake Forest was just asleep all day against Virginia Tech, and in a place that’s as hard to win in as Lane Stadium, if you aren’t on your A game you aren’t going to win. With a game against Clemson next week likely to knock them out of the Top 25, the Wake Forest Orange Bowl dream seems to be slipping away.

Boston College

If only the Eagles defense could be as good as their offense has been, with the most recent negative result coming at home against Florida State. This has been a weird season for a Steve Addazio coached team, hopefully the Eagles can steal a win against either Notre Dame or Pitt and snag a bowl bid. That Kansas loss from early on looks worse and worse by the day. 

Louisville

Defense wins championships, and that is why Louisville won’t be winning any championships this season. Giving up 52 points to Miami, regardless of how highly I think of Miami right now, is embarassing. Javian Hawkins is still super fun to watch though, so at least Louisville had that going for them this past Saturday.

Georgia Tech

Yep, they lost again. That being said, the Jackets are getting better and better every week. They played UVa at Scott Stadium better than anybody else has this season, and I think that speaks to how well Geoff Collins is doing in instilling that drive into these GT players. Tech could have easily just given up after the loss to The Citadel, but they kept fighting, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see the Yellow Jackets get a third win on the season over their last 3 games here. 

NC State

Everybody is injured, all 3 quarterbacks are bad, and the coaching staff has no idea what to do right now. All these things lead to bad football, and I know they were playing Clemson, but they were flat out embarrassed at home. I think Doeren definitely gets at least one more year after this one due to the circumstances he was dealing with, but I don’t exactly blame State fans for being sick of him right now. 

Football Power Rankings1. Clemson, duh.2. Virginia3. Virginia Tech4. Wake Forest5. Miami6. North Carolina7. Pitt8. Louisville9. Florida State10. Boston College11. Duke12. Georgia Tech13. NC State14. Syracuse

Football Predictions

North Carolina at Pitt: North Carolina 31-28

Alabama State at Florida State: Florida State 42-14

Wake Forest at Clemson: Clemson, 49-20

Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech: Virginia Tech, 28-24

Syracuse at Duke: Duke, 30-17

Louisville at NC State: Louisville, 38-27

Last week’s predictions: 3-3

Season total: 19-15

Basketball Power Rankings1. North Carolina2. Duke3. Virginia4. Louisville5. Florida State6. NC State7. Miami8. Syracuse9. Notre Dame10. Pitt11. Georgia Tech12. Virginia Tech13. Boston College14. Clemson15. Wake Forest

Basketball Predictions

Miami at UCF: Miami, 75-70

Colgate at Syracuse: Syracuse, 67-55

Marshall at Notre Dame: Notre Dame, 78-65

West Virginia at Pitt: West Virginia, 82-76

Belmont at Boston College: Belmont, 71-66

Wake Forest at Charlotte: Charlotte, 61-59

Keshawn Thompson: The Campbell Fighting Camels of the Football Championship Subdivision suffered its first Big South Conference loss of the season to #11 Kennesaw State, 38-35, at Barker-Lane Stadium in Buies Creek on Saturday. Thompson, who wasn’t credited for a tackle last week against North Alabama, made a career-high seven tackles against the Owls. A redshirt sophomore, Thompson had five tackles in a season-opening loss to Troy of the Sun Belt Conference. Campbell is 6-3 overall, 3-1 in the Sun Belt Conference. They return to action against Monmouth next Saturday.

Payton Wilson: #4 Clemson defeated N.C. State 55-10 at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh Saturday night. Wilson, a redshirt freshman, left the game with a sprained left shoulder in the 2nd quarter and didn’t return. Wilson had two tackles up to that point. He emerged from the locker room with his left arm in a sling on the sidelines during the 2nd half. After the game, Wolfpack Coach Dave Doeren said he didn’t know how long Wilson would be out. N.C. State has three games remaining, starting with Louisville next Saturday in Raleigh.

Trenton Gill: Against Clemson, Gill had five punts for an average of 52.2 yards per punt. On a brisk night, his longest was 75 yards. Three of the punts were over 50 yards, two were downed inside the 20-yard line and one was a touchback. Gill also had three kickoffs, one of which was a touchback.

Adam Chnupa: The FCS Elon Phoenix’s hopes making the FCS playoffs took a drastic hit on Saturday after losing 31-17 to Maine at Rhodes Stadium in Elon. Chnupa, redshirt freshman, played special teams for Elon, who falls to 4-6, 3-4 in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Rodney Brooks: In CIAA action on Saturday, Fayetteville State defeated Livingston 32-0 at Alumni Memorial Stadium in Salisbury. Brooks, who suited up for Livingstone, had three tackles, including one for a loss. Brooks is classified as a junior, according to the Livingstone website. The Blue Bears haven’t scored in eight quarters and have lost five straight. They’re 4-5 overall, 1-5 in the CIAA. They conclude the season next week against Johnston C. Smith in Salisbury next week.

Chandler Compton: After four years on the Wofford men’s soccer team, Compton’s college career came to an end on Friday night. The Terriers lost to Mercer 3-0 in the opening round of the Southern Conference Tournament at Stone Soccer Stadium in Greenville, S.C. Wofford finished the year 4-13-1. Compton played in two games. He played 17 games in his Wofford career. He scored one goal in 2018 against VMI.

Lionel Reid-Shaw: The college career of Lionel Reid-Shaw also ended on Saturday. Division III Johns Hopkins defeated Dickinson 2-0 in the semifinals of the Centennial Conference Tournament at Franklin & Marshall University in Lancaster, PA. Reid-Shaw scored his only college goal last week in his final home game against Muhlenberg. Reid-Shaw concludes his career with the Red Devils with 67 games played. He started 45 with one goal and one assist. Dickinson ends the year 10-8.

Taylin Jean: The Division II Limestone Saints women’s soccer team defeated North Greenville University 2-1 in the opening round of the Conference Carolinas Tournament on Saturday at Saints Field in Gaffney, S.C. Jean started at goalkeeper for the Saints and earned the win after she made three saves. Limestone, who is a #4 seed in the tournament, will face regular season champion Mount Olive on Thursday in the semifinals.

Brittany Daley: The season of the Division III Greensboro College women’s soccer team ended in the semifinals of the USA South Athletic Conference on Friday. Covenant College defeated Greensboro 3-1 on penalty kicks after the two sides played to a scoreless tie in regulation. Greensboro lost despite outshooting the Scots 22-3 in regulation. As she has done every game this season, Daley started at center back for the Pride. Daley didn’t attempt a penalty during the shootout. Greensboro, which went undefeated in the regular season last year only to lose in the USA South Conference Tournament and were denied a trip to the Division III National Tournament, end the year 13-4-2. Daley, a sophomore, started all 19 games for the Pride.

Bailey Lucas: The Division III Meredith volleyball team had its season come to an end in the USA South Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals on Friday. Maryville defeated Methodist 3-1 in the USA South semifinals at the Grant Center in Danville, VA. Lucas started again for Meredith and finished with 25 assists, eleven digs, and one kill. In the quarterfinals, Meredith defeated William Peace 3-1 at Weatherspoon Gym in Raleigh on Wednesday. Lucas started and had 28 assists, 10 digs and one kill. Meredith ends the year 20-9. Lucas was 2nd on the team this season with 267 assists.

Icez Barnett: The Division II Chowan women’s basketball team had an exhibition game against Gardner-Webb last week. The Running Bulldogs won 69-33. Barnett came off the bench and played three minutes. She grabbed one rebound. The Hawks will officially start its season on Friday against North Georgia in Dahlonega, GA.

Lauren Cates: Wake Tech Community College improved to 2-0 on the season with a 117-24 win over Fayetteville Technical Community College at Reid Ross Gymnasium in Fayetteville on Wednesday night. Cates scored 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field, including 3-of-7 from 3-point range. Cates also had three rebounds, three steals and two assists. On Saturday, the Eagles suffered its first loss of the season to South Carolina-Salkehatchie 58-50. Statistics from that game weren’t immediately available.

by Tim Hackett

Everything had led to this. All the hard work, the long hours, the grueling drills, the tough losses, they all built up to one more moment: Friday’s regular season finale, which meant one more chance for the Cedar Ridge players to go out and compete after a year without football. One more chance to strap ‘em up with your teammates and play together. One more chance to play spoiler and uproot a conference rival’s strong season. One more chance to prove to others – and themselves – that they belong. 

Instead, Vance County quickly proved why they might be a legitimate force in the 3A playoffs in just the second year of this version of the school. A Viper team that averaged close to 33 points and just shy of 400 yards of offense in the first ten games of the 2019 season easily surpassed both of those lofty marks in their regular season finale, as Vance County (9-2, 5-2 Big 8) dominated its first-ever meeting with Cedar Ridge (1-10, 1-6) 65-6 on Friday night in Henderson. 

The Red Wolves picked up one first down and then punted on their first possession, and once the Vipers got the ball, they swiftly showcased that elite offense that’s helped them dominate nearly every team they’ve played this season save for the two Big 8 teams from Durham. Against this team from Hillsborough, Vance County scored eight touchdowns on eight offensive possessions before taking knees on their final one, and even scored once on a defensive possession, and barely allowed Cedar Ridge to cross midfield until the waning minutes of the game. Quarterback Samein Burwell, who averages more total yards of offense per game individually than Cedar Ridge does as a team, authored one more chapter in the story of his electrifying senior season, throwing for three touchdowns in the first half and eclipsing the 3000 total yard mark with another standout all-around performance.

Noah Terry, one of the conference’s best two-way players, scored four total touchdowns, two on the ground and two through the air. Davonte Evans rushed for two scores. Top wideout Phadol Jordan found the end zone on both sides of the ball, including a 60-yard fumble recovery for six in the first quarter. Burwell hit Jordan for two two-point conversions and hit William Hawkins IV for two more. Even backup quarterback Saimir Best got in on the action, scoring a 32-yard touchdown and a two-point conversion for his first trip to the end zone since Vance County’s fourth game of the season. 

The Vipers players and fans who braved the sub-40-degree temperatures got to see plenty of great plays, but they were never louder than they were late in the first quarter. Phadol Jordan had just put the game beyond any doubt with his fumble recovery to make it 28-0 in the first period, but Vance County kicker Stephanie Melgar added in some history by knocking through the PAT. Vance County’s first made kick of the season was made by the conference’s only regular female player, and the Senior Night crowd gave the soccer veteran some much-deserved appreciation. 

It was always going to be a difficult task for a Cedar Ridge team once again playing without a few regulars to contain a truly elite offense, but the Vipers, also working without a few key players, still showcased a solid defense and didn’t have to worry about poor special teams play on this night. Those latter two phases could be problematic for Vance County once they hit the playoffs, but if the Viper offense plays as close to as well as it played Friday, it’s tough to imagine many teams slowing them down.  

But even in the worst, most lopsided loss in a season full of them, the Cedar Ridge players once again showcased their resolve, tenacity, heart and desire to compete. It’s not easy to look back and say that Vance County was simply a far better team than Cedar Ridge and played like it. It would have been easy for Cedar Ridge, knowing that fact, to just give up or not even try. But try they did. Sure, the Vipers still executed, but that’s a testament to Vance County’s skill level. The manner in which the Cedar Ridge players comported themselves, in this tough game and all throughout this tough season, is a testament to their coaches, their families, and to their own characters. 

And the Red Wolves got to put up a few highlights of their own on the field as well. Zach Holmes completed another fake punt pass. His brother Toby Holmes handled the punting duties in the second half and looked pretty solid. KJ Barnes was Cedar Ridge’s best player in his final football game, turning multiple catches along the line of scrimmage into double-digit gains. Braedon Thompson, like usual, made a bunch of stops, even in the fourth quarter. And once the Red Wolves finally got into the red zone with the running clock winding down, Braxton Mergenthal got to add one final moment to his stellar senior season, running the ball in around right tackle from three yards out for his first career touchdown. One of the guys who helped to lay the foundation for Cedar Ridge’s return to football relevance got one more moment to remember, and on a cold night a long way from home, Cedar Ridge finally had cause to celebrate.

Friday night will be the end of the chapter of the lives of Braedon Thompson and Braxton Mergenthal. It will be their last football game as Cedar Ridge Red Wolves when they face Vance County in Henderson. Thompson and Mergenthal have been teammates on the gridiron for over a decade of their young lives. Aside from one year when Mergenthal moved to Germany, they’ve been teammates more often than not. While Cedar Ridge is 1-9 this season, the key role for Thompson, Mergenthal and the rest of the Cedar Ridge seniors wasn’t simply about winning. It was keeping the program alive. Cedar Ridge didn’t field a varsity team in 2018. Instead of transferring, Thompson, Mergenthal and the rest of the seniors stayed at Cedar Ridge and played junior varsity football last year. Whatever success the Red Wolves have in the future will be directly because of the sacrifice that the Red Wolves seniors made this year. Hillsboroughsports.com will broadcast Cedar Ridge at Vance County tonight at 6:55 with Tim Hackett on the play-by-play. Kickoff will be at 7.