Cedar Ridge High School

In the new Big 8 Conference, the top teams play a big game every week. Sometimes, twice a week. A week after beating Chapel Hill and Orange in a 48-hour span, Cedar Ridge continued its torrid pace by beating Northern Durham 3-0 on Tuesday night at Red Wolves Gymnasium. The Red Wolves improved to 10-1, 4-0 in the Big 8 Conference. Cedar Ridge is tied for 1st in the Big 8 with East Chapel Hill. As you may have thought, Cedar Ridge will travel to East on Thursday night in a showdown for first place. Cedar Ridge defeated Bartlett Yancey on Monday night 3-0. In that match, seniors ShiLi Quade and Celeste Pasley helped the Red Wolves to its third straight win. They spoke with Hillsboroughsports.com’s John Franklin after Tuesday’s win over the Knights.  

The realignment of the new 3A/2A/1A lacrosse conferences raised some eyebrows across Hillsborough among players and coaches last week.

The North Carolina High School Athletic Association released new the new conference configurations last Thursday. Orange and Cedar Ridge remain paired together in Conference 9. The biggest surprise isn’t just who joined them, but also who didn’t.

Often, the NCHSAA will keep teams from an existing league evergreen for lacrosse, as well. However, Big 8 Conference members Chapel Hill, East Chapel Hill, Northwood and Southern Durham were split off into a new Conference 10. They were joined by Carrboro and Voyager Academy.

Orange and Cedar Ridge are joined in Conference 9 by fellow Big 8 member Northern Durham, and also J.F. Webb, Roxboro Community School, Vance Charter and Vance County.

The release of the new league brought this skeptical response from East Chapel Hill’s lacrosse Twitter account.

Unpopular Opinion: It was nice to have a (now former) Lacrosse Conference that was aligned to our #Big8 Conference… you know, like EVERY OTHER SPORT – made us feel like part of the whole. #PerpetuallyStartingOver @trianglelax @nclaxnews #nclaxscores pic.twitter.com/52WjRpld9x— East Lacrosse (@EastLax) September 12, 2019

Some of the players from both high schools in Hillsborough has a similar reaction.

One lingering question is will everyone in Conference 9 actually have a team?

Vance Charter opened in 2017. Though they offer 15 different sports, they have yet to do so for lacrosse. Vance County, formed after the consolidation of Northern and Southern Vance High Schools in 2018, joined the Big 8 Conference this summer. Even though Northern Vance had a lacrosse team in its final years, Vance County hasn’t fielded its first squad.

Roxboro Community School was slated to play in Conference 8 in 2019, but never made it to the league campaign. After playing four games, they disbanded, leaving Conference 8 to be contested among only Carrboro, Voyager and Webb.

It’s possible the NCHSAA was concerned about creating a league primarily consisting of schools that can’t be relied upon to complete a season or field a team. While Cedar Ridge and Orange are still young programs compared to their neighbors in Chapel Hill-Carrboro, they also have healthy participation and recent playoff success.

Cedar Ridge played for the 2017 3A/2A/1A State Championship. Last May, Orange defeated Northside-Jacksonville for its 2nd-ever state playoff win.

“Honestly, I was surprised,” said Cedar Ridge coach Patrick Kavanaugh about the new alignment. “Typically, the state has tried to keep the all sports conferences as in tact as possible. Obviously, splitting up East, Chapel Hill, Northwood and Southern out of our conference, they didn’t do that.”

For Cedar Ridge and Orange, it’s the exact opposite of conference stability that Chapel Hill and East Chapel Hill became synonymous for. The Tigers and the Wildcats were among the first teams in North Carolina to offer the sport in the late-90s. Long before it was sanctioned by the NCHSAA, Chapel Hill and East often met in the state playoffs when the sport was governed by the North Carolina Lacrosse Association, largely comprised of local head coaches. In fact, the Wildcats and the Tigers played for the 2006 State Championship at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.

Both Kavanaugh and Orange Coach Chandler Zirkle say they will continue to schedule Chapel Hill, East Chapel Hill and Carrboro for nonconference games.

“We’re going to keep playing all of those teams,” Kavanaugh said. “They’re longtime rivals, they’re good teams and they’re close. We’re lucky. Orange and Cedar Ridge don’t have to travel 90 minutes to get quality lacrosse games. I teach until 4 o’clock. I’m not going to schedule games on the east side of Raleigh or in Greensboro when I can get quality of games within 20 minutes of Hillsborough.”

Carrboro and Cedar Ridge met for the 3A/2A/1A Eastern Regional Championship in 2016 and 2017.

Zirkle, whose father Franklin is the coach at Leesville Road in Raleigh, also was taken aback by the new league.

“I was a little disappointed that we won’t be playing the same times that we have in the past,” Zirkle said. “They’ve all been really fun rivalries to develop the last few years. Our goal is still going to be to play them. Those rivalries won’t go away.”

However, Zirkle said the new league does offer new possibilities for his team.

“We’re excited about the new opportunity,” Zirkle said. “There’s new competition and some teams that we don’t see all the time. So we’re interested to see what’s the going to be like.”

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior soccer midfielder Brandon Garcia. Entering Monday night’s game against Chapel Hill, Garcia had a six-game scoring streak. He ended last week with seven goals and three assists. That included a hat trick in a crazy 6-6 tie against the Durham School of the Arts on September 4. Garcia started the season with a goal and an assist in a 4-1 win over Eastern Alamance on August 19. He has scored a goal in every game except one. The lone exception was against Carrboro, where he assisted on a goal by Reese Weaver. This is Garcia’s third year on the varsity. When he graduates from Cedar Ridge in June, he hopes to move into the field of sports medicine and try to play soccer in his spare time. Garcia and the rest of the Red Wolves will host crosstown rival Orange on Wednesday night at Cedar Ridge Stadium at 6:45. 

The Cedar Ridge volleyball team has guaranteed itself its best season since making the Eastern Regional Championship game in 2015. The Red Wolves are 9-1 after beating Bartlett Yancey on Monday night. Hillsboroughsports.com’s John Franklin talked with Cedar Ridge coach Anna Seethaler and three of the seniors who have been key in leading a young Red Wolves squad this season. Middle blocker Emma Downing, outside hitter Tori Dalehite and setter Cailyn Thornton have been with the team through thin times, and now they’re marching towards a birth in the state playoffs. Cedar Ridge will return to action against Northern Durham in Hillsborough. The Red Wolves and East Chapel Hill are tied for 1st in the Big 8 Conference, and those teams will play on Thursday at Wildcat Gymnasium. 

Would it be a stretch to say that last week was the most successful fall sports week at Cedar Ridge in years? Not at all.

In fact, it may be an understatement.

In 2016, the Cedar Ridge women’s tennis team won the Big 8 Conference Championship. The Red Wolves football team finished 6-5, the last time they had a winning season.

But to find a week with as many signature wins that register on a state level, you would have to go back to 2015, when the Red Wolves defeated Topsail and Lee County in the 3A State Volleyball playoffs. The Red Wolves hosted the 3A Eastern Regional championship match, where they lost to Asheboro in four sets.

A year after finishing 7-15, the Red Wolves put themselves in contention to win the Big 8 Championship with wins over Chapel Hill and Orange last week. Of course, it’s early. The Red Wolves are 3-0 and have eleven conference games remaining. But with freshmen Cameron Lloyd, Julie Altieri and Cameron Lanier leading the way, the Red Wolves will reach nine wins with a win tonight against Bartlett Yancey in Hillsborough. Keep in mind that after reaching the East final in 2015, Cedar Ridge hasn’t won nine games in a season.

Of course, it wasn’t just a volleyball week. Here’s our Magnificent Seven for a memorable Week 4. Keep in mind that of these seven athletes, one from each school will be chosen for the Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week and the Orange Panther of the Week. Those choices will be revealed tomorrow.

1. Julie Altieri: In a 3-2 win for Cedar Ridge over Orange on Thursday, Altieri had eight aces, seven kills, nine digs and 28 assists. She also had the game-winning ace on match point to secure the Red Wolves’ first win over the Lady Panthers since 2016. It was their first win over Orange since 2015.
2. Brandon Garcia: Though the Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team had a disappointing week with losses to Bartlett Yancey and Northwood, Garcia continues to excel. He now has a seven-game scoring streak to start the season. Garcia scored on a penalty kick against Northwood on Thursday in Hillsborough. Against the Buccaneers in Yanceyville, he scored the equalizing goal as the Red Wolves fought back from a 2-nil deficit to even the match against B-Y.
3. Nora Sauers: Earned wins in singles and in doubles as Cedar Ridge women’s tennis team defeated Vance County to improve to 6-3 overall on the season. Sauers also won two matches against Northern Durham on September 3.
4. Courtney Edwards: Six tackles, including one for a loss, for the Orange football team’s 21-13 win over Williams on Friday night. Edwards also scored his first varsity touchdown on a 4th-and-inches from the Williams 4-yard line late in the first half after Orange fell behind 13-0. It was Edwards’ first touchdown since his Pop Warner days.
5. Elliott Woods: The Orange wingback/linebacker was a iron man against Williams. He had a team-high eleven tackles. Woods also had a key 19-yard reception on a 3rd-and-4 early in the third quarter, which was Orange’s first 3rd down conversion in the game. Woods finished with 59 yards from scrimmage.
6. Halle Boroski: The Orange women’s tennis team defeated Southern Alamance and Northern Durham last week. Boroski won at #6 singles 6-3, 6-4, then teamed with Ashley Behringer to win at #3 doubles 8-4. Against the Patriots, Boroski captured her singles match 6-3, 6-4. In doubles, once again she teamed with Behringer to win 8-4.
7. Avery Miller: The Orange sophomore outside hitter had a team-high eleven kills as the Orange volleyball team defeated Vance County 3-0 in the first-ever match between the two teams. Miller also had four digs. Earlier this year, Miller had eleven kills against Person.

Bryse Wilson: As the Atlanta Braves are on the verge of a 2nd consecutive National League East Division Championship, Wilson was recalled to the Major Leagues on Friday. It’s Wilson’s sixth stint in Atlanta this year. The 21-year-old has a 7.20 ERA in 20 Major League innings this season. Wilson was named the Pitcher of the Year by the Gwinnett Stripers of the AAA International League last week. He helped the Stripers to the International League Southern Division championship. Wilson finished 10-7 with a 3.42 ERA this season in Gwinnett. After July 21, Wilson won six consecutive games to push Gwinnett past Durham in the International League standings. On Saturday, Atlanta clinched a playoff birth with a 10-1 win over the Washington Nationals at SunTrust Park. Entering Sunday, the Braves’ magic number to win the division is four. Wilson completed the 2018 regular season on the Atlanta roster after starting the season with the Florida Fire Frogs of the Florida State League.

Payton Wilson: Wilson had three tackles as N.C. State’s football team fell to West Virginia 44-27 at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, WV on Saturday. Wilson also had his first college rushing attempt, running for nine yards on a fake punt to convert a 4th-and-4th in the final quarter. He didn’t start at linebacker as the Wolfpack dropped to 2-1.

Trent Gill: The former Cedar Ridge Red Wolf had three punts against West Virginia, averaging 49 yards per boot. His longest punt was 61 yards. Gill also had a punt blocked in the fourth quarter, leading to a Mountaineer touchdown. N.C. State will try to bounce back against Ball State at Carter-Finley Stadium next Saturday night.

Kayla Hodges: Hodges scored her first college goal in Elon’s 5-0 win over UNC Asheville at Rudd Field in Elon last Sunday. She headed in a cross sent in by Hannah Doherty to help the Phoenix surpass its win total from last seaon. Hodges had three shots against the Bulldogs. On Thursday, Hodges started at midfield in Elon’s 1-1 tie with Liberty. She fired a shot on net, which was stopped by Flames goalkeeper Melody Jayroe. Elon is 5-1-1 after finishing 3-10-4 in 2018.

Taylin Jean: The former Cedar Ridge goalkeeper not only earned her first college win for Division II Limestone, she also posted her first clean sheet. The Saints defeated Chowan 2-0 at Saints Field in Gaffney, S.C. on Saturday. Chowan only got one shot off in the match. Limestone is now 1-2. Jean has started all three of the Saints’ matches this season.

Brittany Daley: The Division III Greensboro women’s soccer team won its fifth straight game on Saturday, beating Marymount (VA) 5-0 at Pride Field in Greensboro. Daley started at centerback, her sixth start this season. Greensboro is 5-1.

Jordan Rogers: On Tuesday, Division III William Peace defeated Hollins 6-0 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. It was the Pacers’ first win of the season. Peace fired a whopping 44 shots. Rogers started at wingback. She has started all three of the Pacers’ matches. Peace is 1-2.

Lionel Reid-Shaw: On Saturday, the Division III Dickinson men’s soccer team lost to Catholic 1-0 in Carlisle, PA. Reid-Shaw entered the game as a reserve. On Wednesday, Reid-Shaw started at midfield as Messiah defeated the Red Devils 3-1 in Grantham, PA. Dickinson has dropped three straight and is 2-3.

Lili Henry: After a trip to Salem, VA was postponed last week because of Hurricane Dorian, the Division III Methodist volleyball team returned to action on Friday in Greenville, S.C. The Monarchs dropped two matches at Bob Jones University. The Monarchs lost 3-0 to Erskine. Henry had 21 assists against the Flying Fleet, along with four digs and one kill. Bob Jones defeated the Monarchs 3-0. Against the Bruins, Henry was credited with one ace, one kill and one assist. The Monarchs are 0-6.

Bailey Lucas: The Division III Meredith Avenging Angels volleyball team finished 1-2 during a tournament at Marymount University in Arlington, VA. On Friday, Meredith defeated Emory & Henry 3-0. On Saturday, Franklin & Marshall topped Meredith 3-1. In the nightcap, Marymount knocked off Meredith 3-1. Lucas played against Marymount and had 12 assists, one kill, two aces and ten digs.

Article by Tim Hackett

Silent in Sanford: Cedar Ridge Suffers Second-Straight Shutout at Hands of Southern Lee

Friday the 13^th with a full moon in full effect – Friday night seemed like a great night for a team named the Red Wolves to transfigure some meteorological magic into their first varsity football win in more than two years. Instead, the Cedar Ridge Red Wolves (0-3) were bewitched and bedeviled all evening on this, the unluckiest of evenings, by the Southern Lee Cavaliers (2-2), falling 44-0. It’s the second week in a row that Cedar Ridge failed to score a single point. 

It’s also the second week in a row that mistakes cost Cedar Ridge dearly. After they mostly shirked the responsibility for their turnovers and missed opportunities against Carrboro, Bartlett Yancey made the Red Wolves pay for their turnovers last week – and the Cavaliers did too. Cedar Ridge moved the ball to midfield on its opening possession, but quarterback Will Berger miscommunicated with his two tailbacks on an attempted handoff, and Southern Lee fell on the dropped change. A few plays later, the Cavaliers were in the end zone for the opening score. 

But Cedar Ridge didn’t waver. Berger rebounded to help spearhead a drive deep into Cavalier territory, but the drive stalled in the Southern Lee red zone when Torrean Hinton correctly elected to attempt to convert a fourth-and-medium rather than try a 35-yard field goal with an inexperienced kicker. The gamble failed, leaving Southern Lee the ball on their own 18-yard line. Two plays later, the Cavaliers were at the other 18-yard line, and a few plays after that, they were back in the end zone. 

Cedar Ridge never had another prolonged drive. On Cedar Ridge’s next three possessions, the Red Wolves punted. On Southern Lee’s next three drives, the Cavaliers found the end zone, and the home team headed to halftime on top 35-0. There was only more trouble in store after the break, as Zach Holmes had to scramble to recover a poor snap on a punt attempt, hustling after the loose ball and tossing it through the back of the end zone for a safety. The Red Wolves did force a trio of Southern Lee punts in the second half, but the Cavs were able to strike once more to switch on the running clock and seal the deal at 44-0. 

Southern Lee entered Friday night’s contest with a lot of questions. Could its defense, which surrendered more than 60 points two weeks ago against Pinecrest, get back in shape? Was its offense, which put up 47 in a rout of Northwood last week, for real? On this night, at least, the answer to both of those questions seemed to be yes. The Cavs’ defensive front bottled up Isaiah McCambry for the first time this year, while a loaded secondary rendered ineffective a passing attack that was without top wideout KJ Barnes. 

On the other side of the ball, Southern Lee showcased just what its new-era, modernized pseudo I-formation offense can do. Running backs Keshaun Mays and Nick Locklear were excellent up the middle, allowing for halfback Tanoah Lockley to ravage the Cedar Ridge perimeter defense with sweeps and pitch-based runs all evening – Lockley had four all-purpose touchdowns in the first half alone before Locklear added his in the second. 

For Torrean Hinton and Cedar Ridge it was another evening of finding the silver linings in the many clouds, literal and metaphorical, that covered the Sanford sky on Friday. The defense was solid, though not perfect in the second half, even if Southern Lee might have lifted its foot off the gas somewhat. The secondary was pretty solid even without Barnes and albeit against a team that doesn’t throw very much. Elijah Whitaker was excellent in the return game in Barnes’ absence, consistently giving the offense good and even great field position to work from. The highlight though for Cedar Ridge was easily the blocked field goal in the second half when someone reached up their right arm and redirected Daniel Pisano’s bid from about 34 yards away. The next step, once again, is learning from those moments and turning it into better, more consistent play in all phases. The Red Wolves will need to be much better next week than they have been the last two, but the good news is there are eight more chances for that first win in more than two years, and the next chance comes on the road next week against Providence Grove at 7 PM. 

Standing in a sweatbox gym at Fairchild Community Center in Burlington, Anna Seethaler seemed to know something a month ahead of everyone else.

She was asked by a local reporter how good her 2nd Cedar Ridge volleyball team would be.

“Look out,” was her pithy reply while wearing a beaming grin.

Look out? Many coaches in fall sports are full of optimism in August, but for a team that went 7-15 last year? That just lost senior Sarah McCuiston, who led the team in kills? That just lost promising sophomore Lydia Wood, who opted to transfer to The Trinity School after one year in Hillsborough?

Indeed, Seethaler did know something that almost everyone else didn’t. She watched as the Red Wolves breezed past Riverside, Greensboro Page and the Alamance Aces in scrimmages at the Fairchild Center on August 17 and understood that 2019 would be very different, in part because of three freshmen.

Three weeks later, Cedar Ridge has just completed its most successful stretch since reaching the 3A Eastern Regional Championship match in 2015.

To end an unenviable stretch in a sultry Orange High Gymnasium, the Red Wolves defeated crosstown rival Orange 3-2 on Thursday night in a rivalry game that was as entertaining as it was draining. Freshman Julie Altieri’s ace on match point was the perfect culmination of a week where the Cedar Ridge rookies delivered notice to the rest of the Big 8 Conference, and possibly the entire region.

Look out, indeed.

Cedar Ridge won on scores of 25-23, 22-25, 25-23, 15-25 and 15-7.

Orange (6-4, 1-1) had a six-game winning streak snapped.

After beating three-time defending Big 8 Champion Chapel Hill on Tuesday and Orange on Thursday, the Red Wolves sit atop the league with a 3-0 league record. With an 8-1 overall mark, the Red Wolves have already surpassed its win total from last season.

The last time Cedar Ridge defeated Orange, it was September 1, 2016. There was barely a ripple of celebration around Red Wolves Gymnasium that night because beating the Lady Panthers was all too common. Cedar Ridge had trumped Orange nine straight times.

Seethaler, who lived in Utah in 2016, wasn’t a clued in about the rivalry as other longtime local residents.

“I haven’t been here so I don’t know the rivalry so well,” Seethaler said. “I’m happy, though.”

The win on Thursday ended the Red Wolves’ five-game losing streak to the Lady Panthers.

It came amid a raucous gym where opposing student sections standing on opposite sides traded barbs about everything from the officiating to lack of air conditioning.

On a day where the heat index reached 101 degrees in Hillsborough, the sweltering weather led to a slick court and some spectators retreated to the parking lot before the exciting finish.

“I think it got to me,” Seethaler said. “I don’t think they thought about the heat. They had to play through it.”

In the fifth set, it was freshman Cameron Lloyd who fired the biggest shots, serving four consecutive aces as the Red Wolves bounced ahead 7-2. Lloyd, who already has 100 kills after Monday’s loss to Jordan, had three kills in the final set.

Orange sophomore Lottie Scully had four kills in the 4th set, the only lopsided frame in the match.

The opening set had eight ties and four lead changes. The second set had 13 ties and four lead changes.

In the first frame, Cedar Ridge scored the final four points with Lloyd serving. She delivered an ace to tie the set 23-23. Senior Emma Downing gave Cedar Ridge the lead with an unassisted kill. The Red Wolves took the opening set when a service return by Orange went wide.

Orange evened the match in the second. A successful block by Erin Jordan-Cornell gave the Lady Panthers a 22-18 lead. Jordan-Cornell finished the set with five kills. Cedar Ridge lost junior setter Layne Foster in the 2nd set because of a left quadricep injury.

Orange appeared set to take the 3rd set, leading 20-15 after a kill by senior Emma Clements off an assist from Ella Van Time. Cedar Ridge finished the frame with a 10-3 run, which included Altieri serving up three straight aces. She also slammed home set point.

The Red Wolves return home to face Bartlett Yancey on Monday. Orange returns home to take on Bartlett Yancey on Tuesday, then travels to Chapel Hill on Thursday.

It was a night of triumph for the Cedar Ridge volleyball team, who defeated Orange 3-2 in a thrilling match at Panther Gymnasium. It was Cedar Ridge’s first win over the Lady Panthers since 2016, a span of five matches. Julie Altieri had an ace on match point to culminate the most successful week in recent team history. On Tuesday, the Red Wolves defeated three-time defending Big 8 Champion Chapel Hill 3-2. Altieri and classmate Cameron Lloyd were teammates with Orange’s Erin Jordan-Cornell on the Chapel Hill Area Volleyball Club last spring. On Thursday, they were on opposite sides of the net. Cedar Ridge won despite losing junior Layne Foster with an injured quad in the 2nd set. Cedar Ridge now sits atop the Big 8 with a 3-0 mark going into Monday’s nonconference match against Bartlett Yancey in Hillsborough.