Cedar Ridge High School

Photo by Kelly Snow

In the southern part of Orange County, Carrboro volleyball has won 134 matches since 2014, taking a pair of 2A state championships and reaching the Eastern Regional Finals four times. They lost to South Granville twice with a berth to the state title match on the line.

Across the way is Chapel Hill, which has captured three consecutive Big 8 Championships since Ross Fields arrived as head coach in 2016 from Indianapolis. In his first two years, the Tigers won the Eastern Regional Championship. They lost to Cox Mill 3-0 in the 2016 3A State Championship match. The following year, they fell to North Iredell in five sets.

Across Weaver Diary Road, East Chapel Hill ended Chapel Hill’s 30-match conference winning streak last season, finishing 24-5 under first-year head coach Rachel Kline.

If you shift up north, residents in Person County like to think of Roxboro as Volleyball Town, perhaps justifiably. The Person Rockets went 24-1 in 2017, falling to Chapel Hill in the 3A Eastern Regional Championship match. Matchups with Person and crosstown rival Roxboro Community School are carried on the town’s local radio station and play to a crowd filled to the brim in bandbox gymnasiums.

Needless to say, it’s a competitive area for volleyball. And in between is Orange and Cedar Ridge.

There have moments of glory in Hillsborough volleyball. In 2015, Cedar Ridge won the Big 8 Championship behind the finishing of middle blocker Asha Barnes, the reliable sets of Lili Henry and the passing of Leah Thompson. They went 12-0 in the Big 8 and even hosted the 3A Eastern Regional Championship match, losing to Asheboro in four sets.

Since then, Cedar Ridge hasn’t won more than eight matches in a season. Orange has reached the state playoffs three straight years, each first round eliminations to Cleveland, Chapel Hill and Franklinton.

Which is exactly why the first two weeks of 2019 are so noteworthy.

Orange stumbled to a three-match losing streak to begin the season, including getting swept by Person in Roxboro on August 20. Last Thursday, the Rockets arrived to Hillsborough 3-0 without losing a set.

They came away with a 3-1 loss to the Lady Panthers in an upset that was surprisingly anti-climatic. Orange won 25-15, 12-25, 25-18 and 25-16. In between the Person win was two victories over traditional 2A power South Granville, including a 3-0 sweep in Creedmoor on August 26.

Seniors Emma Clements and Kaitlyn Werden, along with libero Brooke Fryar excelled in the three wins.

“Our girls have been working very hard,” said Orange coach Kelly Young. “When we played Person, they nit-pick us like crazy. They showed me exactly where we were weak in our defense and our offense. So after playing them, I had a list of things that I wanted to work on. And I’ve been pushing the girls in practice and they proved it on the court tonight.”

At Cedar Ridge, the Red Wolves are off to its best start this decade. After beating Eastern Alamance 3-0 in Mebane on Thursday, they’re 5-0.

Freshmen Cameron Lloyd, the younger sister of former Orange High player Jordan Lloyd, leads the team with 44 kills and 51 digs. Another freshman, Cameron Lanier, is second with 34 kills while rookie Julie Altieri has 23 kills. She also leads the team with 17 aces and 68 assists.

The Red Wolves won three matches on the road last week. In addition to the Eastern win, they defeated the North Carolina School of Science and Math and Durham School of the Arts.

Lloyd finished with 18 kills and 18 digs against the Bulldogs, while Lanier had 17 kills. Junior Marlee Rakouskas finished with 17 digs. Altieri registered 28 assists.

After playing five matches in the span of ten days, Cedar Ridge will play its Big 8 Conference opener against Northwood on Thursday in Pittsboro. The Chargers have beaten the Red Wolves six consecutive times.

Payton Wilson: The former Big 8 Player of the Year made his long-awaited debut for N.C. State in its season-opener against East Carolina at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh on Saturday. Wilson made six tackles, including two tackles for loss, in his first college game as the Wolfpack hammered the Pirates 34-6. Wilson was part of a stout Wolfpack defense that kept the Pirates out of the end zone. ECU was held to 41 rushing yards and 269 yards total offense. East Carolina didn’t cross the 50-yard line for eight consecutive drives. The Pirates didn’t snap the ball in Wolfpack territory at all in the second half until a meaningless final drive that ended with a field goal. Wilson, a redshirt freshman, will return to action against Western Carolina at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.

Trent Gill: The 2017 Cedar Ridge graduate also made his college football debut for N.C. State in the victory over East Carolina. Gill delivered the opening kickoff to the Wolfpack’s season, He also had five punts for an average of 41.6 yards. His longest kick was 53 yards. As placekicker, he had two touchbacks. As a punter, he downed two punts inside the 20-yard line.

Keshawn Thompson: A 2017 Orange High graduate, Thompson played extensively in for FCS Campbell in its 43-14 loss to Troy at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Troy, AL on Saturday night. Thompson made five tackles against the Trojans. Thompson, who was placed on scholarship during the summer, was named to the Big South Presidential Honor Roll last year. In 2018, he played in all eleven of Campbell’s games. The Camels will host Division II Shaw in Buies Creek next Saturday.

Kayla Hodges: On Friday night, Hodges notched her first college assist. Not only that, but she assisted on the game-winning goal as Elon defeated Radford 2-1 at Cupp Stadium in Virginia. Off a corner kick, Hodges headed the ball to Taylor Paradoski, who fired it into the net from four yards out in the 67th minute. Elon is 3-0, already equaling its win total from 2018. Hodges has started all three games. Elon travels to Furman on Sunday afternoon.

Brittany Daley: After going undefeated during the regular season in 2018, the Division III Greensboro women’s soccer team dropped its opener to Washington & Lee 2-0 in the Washington & Lee Tournament in Lexington, VA on Friday. Daley, a 2018 Cedar Ridge graduate, started for the Pride. On Saturday, Greensboro rebounded with a 2-1 win over Bridgestone College in the consolation game. Daley also started that game at centerback.

Jordan Rogers: A 2018 Orange graduate, Rogers started her sophomore season with Division III William Peace University’s women’s soccer team on Friday night. St. Andrews defeated the Pacers 2-1 in Laurinburg. Rogers started at midfield.

Lionel Reid-Shaw: The Division III Dickinson’s men’s soccer team started its season with two wins. Reid-Shaw, a senior who graduated from Orange, started in a 3-0 victory over Rensselaer at Miller Memorial Field in Carlisle, PA on Saturday night. Reid-Shaw started at wingback. He also played in Dickinson’s 6-3 victory over Plattsburgh on Friday.

Lili Henry: The Division III Methodist volleyball team started its season in the Oregon Trail Volleyball Tournament in Newberg, OR. The Monarchs dropped all four of its matches against Linfield College and George Fox University on Friday. On Saturday, Pacific University and Lewis & Clark College defeated Methodist. In the 3-0 loss to Linfield, Henry led Methodist with 18 assists and three aces. She also had three kills. Against George Fox, Henry had 22 assists, four digs and a block. In Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Pacific University, Henry registered 24 assists, three kills, and five digs. The finale against Lewis & Clark, a 3-0 loss, featured Henry with 26 assists and seven digs.

Bailey Lucas: Lucas started her sophomore year as a member of the Division III Meredith Volleyball team with three wins and a loss at the Route 42 Classic this weekend. On Friday, the Avenging Angels defeated Catholic 3-0 and fought back to defeat Eastern Mennonite 3-2 in Yoder Arena in Harrisonburg, VA on Friday. Meredith defeated Lynchburg 3-1 before falling to Bridgewater 3-0 on Saturday.

Lucas didn’t play on Friday, but did see action against Lynchburg. Lucas had two kills, 16 assists and three digs. She also played all three sets against Bridgewater, where she registered one kill, seven digs, one dig and one block.

Lou Mannheim, the wise elder statesman portrayed by Hal Holbrook in Oliver Stone’s 1987 classic “Wall Street,” delivered this final piece of advice to Charlie Sheen’s character: “A man looks into the abyss. There’s nothing staring back at him. At that point, a man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss.”

Olivia Ward beat the #1 singles player from perennial power Chapel Hill on Monday in a match that ended with a 10-8 tiebreaker. Considering that, only 18 months ago, Ward wasn’t sure if she would ever pick up a racket again, it’s safe to say she found her character long before many grown adults do.

On Wednesday, Ward completed the week by leading Cedar Ridge past Orange 5-4 in the Big 8 Conference opener for both teams at Orange High Tennis Courts in Hillsborough. Cedar Ridge has defeated their crosstown rivals every dual match since they became conference mates in 2014.

Ward won at #1 singles 6-1, 6-4, then joined with classmate Nora Sauers to win at #1 doubles 8-2 to clinch Cedar Ridge’s first dual match of the year. Sauers also won at #2 singles 6-0, 6-0. Brianna Cellini captured another Cedar Ridge singles win 6-3, 6-2. Hannah Shinnick, a sophomore for the Red Wolves, won at #5 singles 6-2, 6-0.

Orange junior Emma Williamson won at #4 singles 6-4, 6-2. Junior Lindsay Jouannet captured the #6 singles match for the Lady Panthers 6-2, 6-4.

Orange’s #2 doubles team of Williamson and Morgan Gwinn won their match 9-7. Jouannet and Sydney Allison won at #3 doubles 8-2.

In May 2018, Ward underwent major thoracic surgery on her right arm at Duke University after suffering shoulder pain.

It all started in February 2018 as she concluded her sophomore year. During a USTA doubles tournament in Greensboro, Ward dropped her racket because her hand wasn’t strong enough to hold it.

Her father Lynn, who was once the women’s tennis coach at Person High School in Roxboro, arranged an appointment at Duke Sports Medicine Clinic for a second look. She underwent an electromyogram test and shock nerve testing. Neither determined any reason why Ward was experiencing pain.

At the end of her visit, a doctor told Ward there was a problem with her top rib.

Ward didn’t have any grip strength in her right hand. She couldn’t even squeeze Doctor Jeffrey Bytomski’s hand. Ward’s nerves had stopped communicating with her muscles, which caused her right arm to atrophy. Another doctor, Tracy Ray, told Ward if she didn’t get surgery immediately, the arm was going to be disabled.

Ward missed the final six weeks of class at Cedar Ridge last academic year. Fortunately, Duke has the top thoracic surgeon in the world. On May 18, Dr. Thomas D’Amico performed Ward’s procedure. D’Amico conducted a similar surgery with former New York Mets pitcher Matt Harvey, who attended UNC.

In her junior season, Ward and her doubles partner Alana Lutz qualified for the 3A State Doubles championships at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center in Greensboro.

In her freshman year, Ward helped the Red Wolves win the Big 8 Championship and reached the 3A State Quarterfinals. It remains the most successful tennis season in school history.

Payton Wilson: After being on the sidelines for nearly two years, Wilson is expected to make his college debut on Saturday when N.C. State faces East Carolina at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh. On Monday, Wilson was listed as a backup as a weak side linebacker junior Louis Acceus. Wilson will likely share time with redshirt junior Brock Miller. Wilson was the 2017 Big 8 Defensive Player of the Year and helped lead Orange to three consecutive Big 8 Championships, including an undefeated regular season in 2016. Wilson also played quarterback, wide receiver, and punter for Orange under head coaches Pat Moser and Van Smith. Wilson is a redshirt freshman who missed last season after tearing his ACL during spring practice in March 2018. He originally injured the knee against Cedar Ridge on the opening kickoff between the two teams on October 27, 2017.

Stone Edwards: Edwards, who graduated from Orange in 2016, is listed as a second-string defensive end for Vanderbilt going into its season-opener against #3 Georgia at Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville on Saturday. Edwards, a redshirt sophomore who majors in Psychology, is behind junior Dayo Odeyingbo on the two-deep. In 2018, Edwards made his college debut as a redshirt freshman. He played 12 games and compiled seven tackles, one tackle for loss and one sack. Edwards was also part of Orange’s 2017 season that went undefeated in the regular season and only allowed three offensive touchdowns the entire season.

Adam Chnupa: The 2018 Cedar Ridge graduate will be in uniform for the first time this weekend when FCS Elon takes on North Carolina A&T at BB&T Stadium in Greensboro on Saturday. Chnupa is a redshirt freshman for the Phoenix. North Carolina A&T is #20 in the preseason FCS poll and has won three of the last four HBCU National Championships. Elon is #21 in the preseason FCS poll.

Bryse Wilson: It was another strong performance for Wilson for the AAA International League’s Gwinnett Stripers on Tuesday night. Wilson earned his sixth straight win as the Stripers defeated the Norfolk Tides 8-2 at Coolray Field in Gwinnett County, GA. Wilson tossed seven innings, striking out nine. He surrendered nine hits and two runs in his sixth consecutive quality start. Wilson is now 10-7 with a 3.42 ERA. He hasn’t lost since July 21. With the win, along with the Durham Bulls’ victory over the Charlotte Kngihts, Gwinnett clinched a berth in the Governor’s Cup Playoffs. Major League Baseball rosters expand on Sunday. If Wilson is recalled by Atlanta, it will be his fifth stint with the Braves this season.

Kayla Hodges: For the second straight game, Wilson started as a midfielder for the Elon women’s soccer team against High Point at Rudd Field in Elon on Sunday. The Phoenix claimed its second straight win to open the season, 1-0 over the Panthers. Wilson fired one shot. Charlotte-native Carson Jones scored the game’s only goal. Elon will return to action with a road trip to Radford on Thursday. If Elon wins this weekend, they will have already matched its win total from all of 2018.

Chandler Compton: As mentioned last week, Compton plays as a wingback for the Wofford men’s soccer team. The Terriers starts its 2019 season at Houston Baptist on Friday night.

Not even the 2015 Cedar Ridge volleyball team that was one win away from the 3A State Championship match started 3-0.

But this year’s Red Wolves team has.

On Monday night, Cedar Ridge continued its impressive start to the 2019 season with a 3-1 win at the North Carolina School of Science and Math in Durham. The Red Wolves prevailed 25-22, 19-25, 25-17 and 25-15.

Since going 24-4 in 2015 and losing to Asheboro in the Eastern Regional Championship match, the Red Wolves (3-0) haven’t won more than eight games in a season the past three years. If they defeat Durham School of the Arts on Tuesday night, they’ll already be halfway to that total this year.

As is the case with so many successful teams from Hillsborough over the past few years, the Red Wolves have had an instant impact from freshman. Going into Monday night’s match in Durham, freshman Cameron Lloyd led the team with 26 kills, with classmate Julie Altieri right behind her with 19. Fellow rookie Cameron Lanier is fourth on the list with 17.

Altieri also leads the team with 14 aces and 40 assists, while Lloyd had 33 digs in the opening two matches.

“Julie is just a really dynamic player,” said Cedar Ridge coach Anna Seethaler. “She is all-around a good player. She’s supportive. She’s a team player. She’s fine with coming on and off the court at any given player and tries to bring the best to the team.”

Lloyd, Altieri, Lanier and East Chapel Hill transfer Layne Foster are the new faces from a team that went 7-15 last season. Seethaler, in her second year, has had to blend the new faces with veterans like juniors ShiLi Quade and co-Captain Marlee Rokouskas.

“Sometimes I just hope that they can pull the weight,” Seethaler said. “They’re able to step up and step into those roles and trust either. They can focus on the unity on the team.”

In the 3-0 win over Eastern Alamance to open the season, Lanier set Cedar Ridge with 12 kills while Lloyd added eleven. Senior Tori Dalehite had five aces.

The following night, Cedar Ridge defeated Durham School of the Arts 3-1. Lloyd had 15 kills while Foster had 13. Altieri had ten kills, 14 aces, 12 digs and a block.

The Orange volleyball team played its third true road match of the season on Monday night and came away from Creedmoor with a 3-0 win over South Granville. Dating back to last year, the Lady Panthers have defeated the Vikings three straight times.

Orange won on scores of 25-16, 26-24 and 25-16 to improve to 2-3.

Over the weekend, Orange played three matches in the Peak City Classic at Apex Friendship High School. The Lady Panthers lost to Apex Friendship and to Jordan, but ended the afternoon with a 3-1 victory over Jack Britt.

Against the Buccaneers, Orange won the final three sets on scores of 25-18, 25-18 and 25-17. The Lady Panthers lost the season-opener to Person in Roxboro last week. Orange will face Person again on Wednesday, this time in Hillsborough.

Orange’s co-captains are Emma Clements, Kaitlyn Werden and Brooke Fryar. Morgan Ray, Devyn Norman and Chloe Riley, who were all standouts on the junior varsity squad last year, have played regularly to start this season.

The first Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the week for the 2019-2020 academic year is freshman setter for the Red Wolves volleyball team Julie Altieri. Last week, Red Wolves started the season with wins over Eastern Alamance and the Durham School of the Arts. Against the Eagles, Altieri had nine kills, five digs, two blocks and 14 assists. In the win over the Bulldogs, Altieri had ten kills, 14 aces, 12 digs, 26 assists and a block. There were several freshmen who stood out for the Red Wolves in the opening week of the season. Cameron Lloyd had 15 kills against Durham School of the Arts, while Cameron Lanier had five kills. Altieri’s older brothers, Andrew and Eddie, both played for the Cedar Ridge men’s basketball team. The Red Wolves will play on the road three times this week. They travel to the North Carolina School of Science and Math on Monday, the Durham School of the Arts on Tuesday and Eastern Alamance on Thursday.

It was 65 degrees when Cedar Ridge kicked off its 2019 high school football season.

And that was far from the most unusual thing Saturday.

But back to weather for a moment….65 degrees on opening day? This is North Carolina high school football in mid-August. You’re supposed to sit in the hot late afternoon sun with humidity thick enough to make you beg for your next breath.

Yet by the end of the day on Saturday, it seemed appropriate. Why should the weather on August 24 make any sense when nothing else in the game did either?

Teams aren’t supposed to commit seven turnovers and still win. But Carrboro did. A football fan can go years between watching their team give up two safeties. On Saturday, there were two within three quarters, including the opening snap of Cedar Ridge’s season.

On a muddy, rain drenched day, Carrboro defeated Cedar Ridge 24-18 in the Red Wolves’ first varsity football game since 2017. After not fielding a varsity team in 2018, the Red Wolves returned in a game that was more mud ball than football.

It was Carrboro’s first win over the Red Wolves since 2015. Carrboro (1-0) senior quarterback T.K. Paisant scored the Jaguars’ only touchdown in the first half on a five-yard keeper around right end. Paisant was also the Jaguars’ leading tackler as a linebacker.

Despite being statistically dominated for much of the first half, the Red Wolves still had a drive to potentially win the game late. Senior wide receiver K.J. Barnes had the longest play from scrimmage of the day with a 73-yard catch-and-run from sophomore quarterback William Berger, who was one of many Red Wolves making their varsity debut.

“We had more than K.J. show up today,” said Cedar Ridge Football Coach Torrean Hinton. “We had Jaikel Gibbs show up today. We had a lot of kids in the interior that fought hard. Braxton (Mergenthal) fought extremely hard. We fought all the way to the end.”

Gibbs, a junior who started for Cedar Ridge’s basketball team last year, had an interception and a fumble recovery in the first half.

The tone for the wet and wild afternoon was set early after Carrboro punter Robert Allen pooched a kick to the Cedar Ridge 3-yard line, the first of nine Red Wolves drives to start inside its own 20-yard line. Berger watched the first snap of Cedar Ridge’s season sail over his head and out of the end zone for a Carrboro safety, two points that the Red Wolves spent the rest of the day chasing.

“To play from behind the whole game, and still have a shot in the end, you can’t ask for more than that.” Hinton said. “We obviously have to cut down on mistakes and turnovers. Some of them were influenced by the conditions, but some of them weren’t.”

Carrboro ventured into Red Wolves territory on its first four possessions, but couldn’t muster any points. Early in the second quarter, Gibbs picked off a Paisant pass, only to have Carrboro’s Anthony Mudrow make his own interception two plays later.

That led to Paisant’s 5-yard touchdown run. The subsequent attempt for 2-points failed and Carrboro led 8-0 with 5:46 remaining in the first half.

Cedar Ridge, still without a first down, went three-and-out on its next drive, but Gibbs recovered a fumble off a muffed punt return at the Carrboro 31-yard line. After running back Isiah McCambry chewed up eight yards on a 3rd-and-7, Berger found Brandon Poteat for a 14-yard touchdown pass to narrow Carrboro’s lead to 8-6.

Cedar Ridge botched a punt snap on the first possession of the second half, leading to Paisant finding Anthony Muldrow for a 32-yard touchdown pass with 9:38 remaining in the 3rd quarter.

The subsequent Cedar Ridge drive could have ended early, but Carrboro was hit with two penalties (personal foul and pass interference) on consecutive third downs. McCambry pushed into the red zone with a 14-yard run, then scored his first varsity touchdown on a 3-yard gallop. Cedar Ridge’s attempt for two failed to keep the Carrboro lead at 14-12.

Carrboro backup quarterback Jake Adams found Tim Rogers-Neal for a 37-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the fourth quarter. In the only successful point after touchdown of the day, Adams found Muldrow for a two-point conversion to push Carrboro lead to 22-12.

Two plays later, Berger hit Barnes for the 71-yard score to narrow Carrboro’s lead to 22-18.

The final six minutes didn’t have any scoring, but it sure wasn’t boring. With a chance to take the lead after a Carrboro punt, Cedar Ridge fumbled and Braden Hunter recovered at the Red Wolf 12-yard line.

On a 3rd-and-7 from the Cedar Ridge 8-yard line, Paisant threw a pass that went off the helmet of Red Wolf linebacker Braden Thompson and was caught by Muldrow at the 1-yard line. Right on cue, Carrboro (you guessed it) fumbled the snap, which was recovered by Elijah Whitaker in the end zone.

Starting from its own 20, Cedar Ridge promptly fumbled another snap in the end zone. McCambry raced back and beat Paisant to the ball for another Carrboro safety instead of a Jaguar touchdown, increasing the Carrboro lead to merely 24-18 and still giving the Red Wolves a fighting chance.

On the subsequent free kick, Carrboro fumbled and Cedar Ridge’s Matthew Hinton recovered. On the next play, Carrboro’s Rogers-Neal picked off his 2nd pass of the game.

Cedar Ridge had the last possession to take the lead, but it stalled out at its own 38-yard line as time ran out.

“We have to be better and fine tune some things,” Hinton said. “We’ll get better.”

The return of Cedar Ridge varsity football has been pushed back a day.

On Friday afternoon, the Cedar Ridge-Carrboro football game was postponed until 4 o’clock Saturday afternoon. Cedar Ridge Athletic Director Andy Simmons confirmed the game will be played to benefit both teams’ schedules.

Cedar Ridge is scheduled to have its off week on August 30. But Carrboro is slated to face East Chapel Hill next week and won’t have an open date until late September. By that point, Cedar Ridge will already be in its Big 8 Conference schedule.

Hillsboroughsports.com will have coverage of Carrboro at Cedar Ridge starting at 3:45 on Saturday afternoon for the C&R Ski Outdoor Pregame Show. Kickoff will be at 4.