Cedar Ridge High School

It goes without saying that the mid-week edition of Alumni Update is abbreviated because of Hurricane Florence. Methodist College, where former Cedar Ridge volleyball liberio Lili Henry currently plays, has had four matches either postponed or canceled, including a USA South Conference Tri-Match set for Rocky Mount this weekend. The Elon Women’s Soccer team, where 2018 Orange graduate Kayla Hodges plays, had its Wednesday night match against UNC Wilmington postponed. The Phoenix also had a match set against Davidson on September 14 cancelled. The Cape Fear Community College volleyball team, where Cedar Ridge graduate Lindsay Thompson plays, hasn’t played in nearly two weeks. The Sea Devils were supposed to compete in the Region X-travaganza at the Tarlton Complex in Hickory this weekend, but it has also been postponed. Cape Fear isn’t slated to play again until next Thursday. The William Peace University women’s soccer team, where former Orange star Jordan Rogers plays, has had five games postponed or canceled because of Florence, including Saturday’s game against Methodist in Fayetteville. The Pacers are slate to resume the season on Tuesday against Hollins University in Roanoke, VA. Despite all that, some former Hillsborough athletes returned to action this week.

Bryse Wilson: The 2017 Orange graduate made his third pitching appearance for the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday, his first in two weeks. In an 8-1 loss to St. Louis, Wilson pitched the 9th inning and gave up three hits, two runs with one strikeout. His ERA is now 6.43. Despite the loss, Atlanta leads the Philadelphia Phillies by 6 games with ten games remaining and is en route for its first division championship since 2013. Wilson is currently on Atlanta’s 40-man roster, which was expanded on September 1st. The playoff roster will be whittled down to 25 players if the Braves make the postseason. On Wednesday, Atlanta defeated St. Louis 7-3. Wilson’s teammate with the Gwinnett Stripers and the Braves, 22-year-old Touki Toussaint, earned his second Major League win, striking out eight over five-plus innings.

Brittany Daley: The former Cedar RIdge centerback has played in  every game for the Greensboro College women’s soccer team, which is off to a 5-0 start. On Wednesday night, the Pride defeated Marymount (VA) 3-1 in Arlington, VA. Daley started at centerback, her third start this season. She has played 195 minutes through five games. Greensboro, a Division III team, will host Bob Jones University on Friday afternoon at Pride Field.

Chandler Compton:  The former Orange High reserve came off the bench on Wednesday night as Wofford lost to South Carolina 5-0 at Stone Stadium in Columbia, SC. Compton has played in four games for the Terriers this season, making two starts and compiling 212 minutes of game action.

Lionel Reid-Shaw: Now a wingback with Division III Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Reid-Shaw started in the Red Devils’ 2-1 victory over Frostburg State in Frostburg, MD on Wednesday afternoon. The Red Devils are now 4-2-1 and are ranked 5th in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Reid-Shaw has started all seven of Dickinson’s games.

Jordan Lloyd: The Brevard College junior started in the Tornadoes’ USA South Conference opener on Wednesday night at Boshamer Gym in Brevard, falling to Piedmont 3-0. Lloyd finished with three kills, one ace,  and 12 digs. Lloyd is 2nd on the team with 49 kills and 88 digs. On Saturday, Brevard travels to Berea, KY to face Huntingdon.

Kevin Wright Jr. The 2018 Cedar Ridge graduate has been medically cleared for game action for North Carolina Wesleyan. However, his college debut won’t come this weekend. The Battling Bishops were supposed to travel up to Bridgewater in Virginia, but the game has been postponed. Wesleyan is slated to host LaGrange at Rocky Mount Athletic Stadium on September 29th. Wright was held out of Wesleyan’s opening games by team doctors. Wesleyan has a 1-1 record after opening the season with a 35-28 victory over Thomas More, followed by a 59-21 loss to Shenandoah.

For the first time in over a year, Cedar Ridge football enjoyed the taste of victory on Thursday night. The Red Wolves junior varsity team defeated Rocky Mount Prep 28-2. Junior wide receiver/cornerback KJ Barnes had three touchdowns for the Red Wolves, and also played an important role on defense as Cedar Ridge didn’t allow an offensive point. Even though Cedar Ridge isn’t fielding a varsity team this season, Barnes wants to make a difference this season for the Red Wolves so that they can return to varsity in 2019. 

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Kierston “KJ” Barnes

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After a difficult summer where Cedar Ridge announced it would not field a football team in June, the junior varsity football team earned a victory on Thursday night over Rocky Mount Prep. Junior Braxton Mergenthal, who is also a varsity basketball player for the Red Wolves, played offense and defense in Thursday’s victory. He blocked for quarterbacks Elijah Whitaker and William Berger as the Red Wolves won 28-2. The Cedar Ridge JVs will be back in action on Thursday night at home against Granville Central. 

Cedar Ridge Interior Lineman Braxton Mergenthal Talks JV Football Win

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On Thursday night, the Cedar Ridge junior varsity team defeated Rocky Mount Prep 28-2 at Red Wolves Stadium. It was the first football victory in over a year at Cedar Ridge and one that was much-needed after a difficult summer. Braedon Thompson helped the Red Wolves deny Rocky Mount any offensive points as they won under the direction of head coach Antonio King for the first time. The Cedar Ridge Junior Varsity will play its fourth game of the season on Thursday night against Granville Central at Red Wolves Stadium. 

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The Cedar Ridge volleyball team earned its first Big 8 Conference win of the season on Thursday night, shutting out Hillside 3-0 at Hornets Gymnasium. Freshman Lydia Wood, junior Emma Downing and senior Sarah McCuiston contributed heavily to the Red Wolves’ third win of the season. Despite setback playing in a tough Big 8 Conference, Wood, Downing and McCuiston believe the best is still to come this season under first year head coach Anna Seethaler. 

Cedar Ridge’s Lydia Wood, Emma Downing & Sarah McCuiston Talk Win over Hillside

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Lili Henry: The sophomore setter for the Methodist volleyball team had two kills, 33 assists and ten digs as the Division III Monarchs lost to Guilford 3-1 at Ragan-Brown Field House in Greensboro. It was Methodist’s first loss of the season. They’re now 2-1. Henry, who was a member of Cedar Ridge’s 2015 Big 8 Conference Championship team, currently is 2nd on the team with 27 digs, and leads the Monarchs with 83 assists.

Bryse Wilson: In a series that the Atlanta Braves bullpen would love to forget, Wilson made his second Major League pitching appearance for the Braves on Monday in an Interleague matchup against the Boston Red Sox. In one inning of work, Wilson gave up three runs on two hits with three walks. The Red Sox won the game 8-2 and went on to sweep the Braves in the three-game series at SunTrust Park. On Wednesday (in a game that Wilson didn’t appear in), the Braves became the first team in 487 Major League games to blow a six-run lead after the 7th inning. Boston trailed 7-1 going into the eighth, but Atlanta’s bullpen gave up eight runs, including a two-run blast to Brandon Phillips in the top of the ninth as the Red Sox completed the sweep with a 9-8 victory. Despite getting swept, Atlanta maintained a three game lead over Philadelphia in the National League East. The Miami Marlins defeated the Phillies 2-1 on Wednesday. On Thursday, Atlanta travels to Arizona to start a west coast road trip. Atlanta, searching for its first division championship since 2013, leads by three games with 23 games remaining in the regular season.

Rachel Shinnick: Now a centerback for the Wofford women’s soccer team, Shinnick entered Sunday’s game against Clemson as a reserve. The Tigers defeated the Terriers 3-0 at Snyder Field in Spartanburg, SC. Shinnick has played in each of Wofford’s six games so far this season. The Terriers are 1-4-2 with their next match set for Friday night against South Carolina Upstate.

Jordan Rogers: On Wednesday night, Rogers made her third straight start for Division III William Peace. In a 9-0 victory over Sweet Briar College at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, Rogers assisted on the Pacers’ third goal of the night, scored by Haley Hinton, who fired into the right corner from the edge of the box. For the game, Rogers finished with three shots, one on net as the Pacers rolled to its first win of the season. On Sunday, Peace played to a scoreless tie against Agnes Scott College at WakeMed Soccer Park. Rogers, a freshman who graduated from Orange in June, has started all three of the Pacers’ games. William Peace hosts Johnson & Wales on Friday night at WakeMed Soccer Park.

Brittany Daley: The former Cedar Ridge centerback came off the bench for Division III Greensboro College on Wednesday night in a 4-0 victory over Emory & Henry at Pride Field. Greensboro outshot the Wasps 25-1 in improving to 3-0. Through the opening three games, Daley started in Saturday’s 10-3 win over Regent University in Virginia Beach, VA. She also came off the bench in the season-opener, a 1-0 win over Guilford College on Friday.

For the 2nd week in a row, our Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week hails from Chris Walker’s men’s soccer team. Gavin Hughes scored five goals last week as the Red Wolves won both its games. Hughes scored twice in the second half of Cedar Ridge’s 6-1 win over Bartlett Yancey on Tuesday in Yanceyville. On Wednesday, Hughes scored a hat trick as Cedar Ridge defeated Southern Alamance 3-1. Hughes, a senior, takes many of his classes at Durham Technical Community College for early college credit. Cedar Ridge has won three in a row and travels to Northwood on Wednesday night for its Big 8 Conference opener.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Gavin Hughes

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by Jon Franklin

As the new public address announcer at Cedar Ridge, I was introduced to the rivalry between Cedar Ridge and Orange High in last Tuesday’s volleyball match. While it didn’t seem like much of a contested rivalry, especially, after a very lopsided 3-0 sweep by the Lady Panthers – I can assure the rivalry is as hot and contested as any I’ve seen.

I grew up in the small foothills town of Marion in McDowell County. In a populated county of approximately 45,000, our rival has and will always be Freedom High of neighboring Morganton and Burke County (population give or take – 90,000). The rivalry between the McDowell Titans and Freedom Patriots have been contested in all sports, most notably in football and basketball.

Year after year and sport after sport, the Titans and Patriots would duke it out for Northwestern Conference supremacy in both regular-season play and in the conference tournament. Many times, the rivalry continued into the state playoffs on the sectional level, and in one case, the 2002 women’s basketball 4A Western Regional championship game. On that day, Freedom defeated McDowell to advance to the 4A State Finals, en route to winning the Patriots’ fourth state championship.

No matter of the combatants, the location, the records, or the circumstances, all a rivalry needs is HEAT.

From what I saw inside Cedar Ridge Arena last Tuesday, the rivalry between the Panthers and Red Wolves have it.

From the beginning, I noticed the fuel in the players’ eagerness. For Cedar Ridge, I saw smiles and saw determined game faces. I was asked, if not closed to being ordered, by many members of the Lady Wolves to make sure I go all in on the mic for this game. On the Orange side, I saw a workmanlike attitude. I didn’t see much conversation, but could tell they came focused and ready to play. They too wanted to claim Hillsborough for their own.

Second, I observed the spark from students’ energy. As they congregated in their respective sections (Cedar Ridge on the home side, and Orange behind Cedar Ridge’s bench), they were loud and proud for their home base. Given my position at the scoring table, I couldn’t make out what the Cedar Ridge students were saying, but I saw them get amped up for their Red Wolves with each dig, kill, and point. I did hear the student section for Orange as they purposely stood behind the Cedar Ridge bench for the first and third sets. During those sets, every time the Panther student section roared to get into the heads of their adversary, the Red Wolf bench howled back at them. Even during the second set when the benches switched areas, the student sections jawed back and forth across the court with each other.

Finally, I witnessed the accelerant of the seating sections filled with fans. For a high school volleyball game in the first week of classes, you might not necessarily get a big crowd. At best, you would a marginal amount of local fans (primarily family and friends of players) with a dusting of guests. Don’t tell that to fans of this rivalry. Normally during volleyball at Cedar Ridge Arena, the visitors’ side of the stands are not extended and open for seating. But in last Tuesday night’s affair, a complimentary crowd of approximately 400, dispersed on both sides of the gym, came to watch another game between these rivals.

Before I came to Cedar Ridge, I was the voice of the Duke Blue Devils in Baseball, Soccer, and Wrestling. I also announced Volleyball and Lacrosse in a fill-in capacity. No matter the sport, when the North Carolina Tar Heels came to Durham, all three factors I previously mentioned – happened. The natural heat between the Blue Devils and Tar Heels and the eight-mile distance between the two schools allowed for the rivalry to burn white hot.

The Orange – Cedar Ridge rivalry is very similar to their ACC counterparts. The distance between the two schools is only 4.5 miles, and the students are well acquainted with each other. Both want localbragging rights, an increased status in conference play; and no matter the sport, they want wins against their rival.

With my first interaction with “Hillsborough HEAT” in the books, I have to say that I am really looking forwards to future installments. There’s not enough water in the Eno River to extinguish the flames between these two schools, and I’m hoping fans of this rivalry will keep fanning it to keep burning.

Jordan Lloyd: The Brevard College volleyball team, which plays in the Division III USA South Atlantic Conference, opened its season on Friday in Memphis with the Rhodes College Tournament at Mallory Gymnasium in Memphis, TN. In the season-opening loss to Rhodes College, Lloyd led Brevard with six kills and tied for the team-lead with 12 digs. In the second match of Friday’s doubleheader against the Sewanee Tigers, Lloyd again led Brevard with seven kills. Brevard will play another doubleheader on Saturday morning, starting with Dubuque at 11AM followed by Birmingham-Southern at 1 PM.

Morgan Sellers: In Fayetteville State’s volleyball team opened the season last week against St. Andrews, where they lost 3-0. Sellers, a Cedar RIdge graduate who graduated in June, played in all three sets for the Broncos. She had an ace. Fayetteville State travels to UNC-Pembroke for a doubleheader on Saturday against UNC Pembroke and Lenoir-Rhyne.

Kayla Hodges: A freshman on the Elon women’s soccer team, Hodges came off the bench on Sunday in a 3-0 loss to #11 Duke at Koskinen Stadium in Durham. Hodges graduated from Orange in May and enrolled with the Phoenix in January. Elon played High Point to a scoreless tie on Friday night. Elon will host Richmond on Sunday night at 6PM at Rudd Field.

Chandler Compton:  Compton, another 2016 Orange graduate, started as a centerback on Monday as the Terriers fell to UNC Asheville 1-0 at Snyder Field in Spartanburg, SC. After redshirting in 2016, Compton played in two games as a freshman logging 36 minutes. Wofford travels to Winthrop for the Big South/Southern Conference Challenge on Sunday.

Rachel Shinnick: Shinnick, a 2015 Orange graduate, came off the bench for the Wofford Women’s Soccer team on Friday night in a 4-0 victory over Alabama A&M. The Terriers fired eleven shots in winning its first game of the season. Wofford is now 1-3-2. On Sunday, they host Clemson.

Jordan Rogers: Barely three months after playing her final game at Orange, Rogers was in the starting lineup on Friday night for the William Peace University women’s soccer team in its season debut against Southern Virginia.  Rogers, a freshman, played wingback in the Pacers 2-0 loss to the Knights at Knight Stadium in Buena Vista, VA. William Peace will continue its season on Sunday with a game against Agnes Scott University at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. Rogers was an All-Big 8 Conference selection for Orange last spring and led the Lady Panthers in scoring.

On Saturday, there will be lots of former Orange and Cedar Ridge products continuing their college football careers. Among them:

Trent Gill: A former kicker for Cedar Ridge, Gill redshirted for the N.C. State Wolfpack last season. He’s listed as a punter. N.C. State opens its season at Carter-Finley Stadium against James Madison on Saturday at noon.

Ryan Sellers: The former Orange defensive end is a walk-on with East Carolina as a freshman. The Pirates open its third season under head coach Scottie Montgomery on Saturday night against North Carolina A&T in Greenville.

Stone Edwards: A 2017 Orange graduate, Edwards redshirted for Vanderbilt last season. He will be in uniform when Vandy opens its season against Middle Tennessee on Saturday in Vanderbilt Stadium.

Adam Chnupa: Elon starts its season at South Florida on Saturday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL. Chnupa, who graduated from Cedar Ridge in June after starting in baseball and football, is listed as a defensive back for the Phoenix.

Eryk Brandon-Dean: Brandon-Dean will start his third season as a running back at Guilford College on Saturday against Huntingdon. Last season, Brandon-Dean appeared in six games as a reserve running back and on special teams. He had 106 rushing yards, third-best on the team.

Jackson Schmid: A 2017 Orange graduate, Schmid will suit up for Division III Wheaton College when they face Monmouth. Last season, Schmid appeared in two junior varsity games.