Cedar Ridge High School

In America, this is the heart of the school year. Thanksgiving is over. Christmas is around the corner, and so is the holiday break. Summer vacation seems like years away.

In Australia, what we call winter is their summer vaction, and they’re on it right now. In recent years, various high school teams from the land Down Under journey across the southeast United States to play American teams.

On Monday night, Cedar Ridge will play one of those squads in Hillsborough.

Make no mistake, these are players dedicated to playing in America, even if its only exhibition games. They pay their own way for the 20-hour flight. They seek living arrangements with various American families in advance. Then they pay a grueling schedule across various towns, often as many as five games in a week.

Though it won’t count in the official standings, it’s a chance for the Red Wolves to gear up for another busy week. After a trip to Graham on Tuesday night, the Red Wolves start Big 8 Conference play on Friday night at archrival Orange.

Cedar Ridge arrives into tonight’s game against the Aussies with a 4-2 record. After beating Southern Alamance on Wednesday, the Red Wolves lost to Burlington Cummings 75-59 on Friday night.

Leading 31-28 at the half, the Cavaliers exploded for 31 points in the third quarter to put the game away. Peyt0n Pappas led the Red Wolves with 21 points while Jacob Thomas added 15.

Hillsboroughsports.com will have coverage of Orange-Cedar Ridge on Friday night starting at 6:50. Go to Hillsboroughsports.com Facebook page to listen in.

Cedar Ridge’s jump to the brink of the Big 8 Soccer Championship paid off with a dual honor for the team’s coach and second-leading scorer on Monday.

Red Wolves midfielder Chris Walker was named Big 8 Player of the Year on Monday. Walker led the team with nine assists, and added ten goals this season for a Cedar Ridge team that finished 13-6-2 this season. They went 9-12 in 2013.

Because of that improvement, Walker’s father, Chris Walker Sr. was voted Big 8 Coach of the Year. It was Walker’s third season as the head coach at CRHS. The Red Wolves made the 3-A state playoffs, defeating Northwood in the opening round. They fell to Cleveland 2-0 in the 2nd round.

Joining Walker on the All-Big 8 team was goalkeeper Brandon Boss, striker Ivan Carbajal, midfielder Lachlan McGrath and striker Noah Leesnitzer.

Carbajal led Cedar Ridge in scoring with with 20 goals and 45 points. Leesnitzer played 19 games and added five goals. McGrath added seven goals, which was third on the squad.

Orange, which defeated Chapel Hill for the first time in school history this season, placed centerback Chandler Compton, striker Alfredo Rodriguez and midfielder Lionel Reid-Shaw on the All-Big 8 squad.

Rodriguez finished with ten goals this season. Reid-Shaw led the squad with 15 goals and 14 assists. Compton was the 2nd Hillsboroughsports.com Orange Panther of the Week.

After earning the Big 8 individual championship at the conference championship meet in Pittsboro, there was only one natural choice for boys’ runner of the year.

Cedar Ridge’s Ian Elliot was named to the top honor on Tuesday. He captured the Big 8 Conference Championship on October 21, crossing the finish line at 16:53.54, his best time of the season.

“I hadn’t wanted to take the lead too early,” Elliot said to the Raleigh News and Observer. “I didn’t think I had the energy for that.”

On the same course in Pittsboro, Elliot finished 8th in the 3-A Mideast Regional meet at 16:51.72.

Orange’s Hunter Spitzer joined Elliot on the All-Big 8 team. Spitzer finished 2nd in the conference and 14th in the regionals.

Spencer Husen and Danny Archibald also made all-conference for the Panthers.

In Girls Cross Country, Cedar Ridge’s Jennifer Pepin was named Big 8 Coach of the Year. She guided the Red Wolves to a third place finish in the league.

Cedar Ridge’s Liz Zarzar earned All-Big 8 Conference Honors after finishing 5th in the conference meet. Orange’s Adalyn Fleming (8th) and Juliana Lester also made the All-Big 8 squad.

After a season where Cedar Ridge captured the Big 8 Championship and advanced to the Final Four of the 3-A State Tournament, Coach Charlie Oakley was named the Big 8 Coach of the Year on Tuesday.

Oakley guided Cedar Ridge to a 24-4 record, the most successful in team history. The Red Wolves finished 12-0 in the Big 8.

Led by seniors Asha Barnes, Meg Anderson and Courtney Eckmann, the Red Wolves captured the district and sectional championships before falling in the Eastern Regional Championship match to Asheboro 3-1.

That wasn’t the only volleyball honor for the Orange County area. Orange’s Andie McKinnon was named the Big 8 Player of the Year. McKinnon led the Panthers with 291 kills and a 49,7% kill percentage. She also led the team with 72 aces and 367 digs.

Orange finished 15-10 this season, including two victories over Chapel Hill. The Panthers went to the third round of the state playoffs.

Also making All-Big 8 Conference for Cedar Ridge was Barnes, Lily Henry and Karsen Lee. Joining McKinnon on the All Confernece team for Orange was Kayla Durham and Macy Hughes.

Eckmann was named Honorable Mention for CRHS. Jordan Lloyd and M’Lynn Dease were Honorable Mention for the Panthers.

Going into Thanksgiving break, the Cedar Ridge boys basketball team suffered its first loss of the young season to Person in Roxboro.

The first game after Thanksgiving turned out much better.

The Red Wolves cruised past South Granville 71-52 on Tuesday night at Red Wolves Gymnasium. As usual, seniors Peyton Pappas and Jacob Thomas led CRHS in scoring. They each scored 17.

It was freshman Terrence Crawford who provided the surprise scoring punch. In just his fourth varsity game, Crawford registered 11 points.

Cedar Ridge jumped out to a 26-8 lead at the end of the first quarter and never looked back.

The Red Wolves will be right back in action tonight. They face Southern Alamance in Mebane. Before the week is over, CRHS will play three games in four days. They travel to Burlington to take on the Cummings Cavaliers on Friday night.

When a high school football team starts its season every August, they hope to be successful.

Of course, that’s a relative term. For schools accustomed to winning, nothing less than a conference championship will do. Orange High has already gained a share of the Big 8 Championship.

That started with a solid foundation which was created in 2008, when Pat Moser was hired as head coach. After several disappointing seasons, Moser now has led the Panthers to four consecutive double-digit win seasons, a first in school history.

Cedar Ridge started this season thinking they would have a big name coach in its corner. Steve Johnson hired to replace Clay Jones, who wanted to focus on his duties as head basketball coach at CRHS.

Johnson fit the bill of a coach that could revive Cedar Ridge football, which hasn’t made the playoffs since reaching the 2-AA Eastern Regional Championship Game in 2010. He had won two state championships at Burlington Cummings, and had been an assistant for three others.

The hiring mirrored what Moser’s hiring at Orange in 2008. Both had coached previously in Alamance County, both had won state championships at their respective schools (Moser at Graham, Johnson at Cummings) and both resigned after health concerns.

Moser had time to recover. Evidently, Johnson did not.

Johnson suffers from Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which causes fatigue and numbness. He suffered a setback just a few days in August workouts that sources close to the team remain tight-lipped about. Johnson abruptly turned the head coaching reigns over to offensive coordinator Scott Loosemoore. Weeks went by without the team even hearing from Johnson until he resigned in mid-September. He never coached a game at Cedar Ridge.

The hopes for building a new foundation had not only crumbled, but the Red Wolves were left scrambling to keep what they already had in place.

Loosemore was the third Red Wolves football coach in the last three years. A former head coach at Eastern Guilford and assistant at Elon and North Carolina A&T, Loosemore isn’t clear if he will get the permanent job.

During the 2000s, Cedar Ridge was the epitome of coaching stability. Longtime Stanford Middle School football coach Lou Geary built the program from the ground up starting in 2002. Eight years later, they played for the 2-AA Eastern Regional Championship under Joe Kilby.

It’s been particularly difficult for varsity players like quarterback Peyton Pappas, who had to work under three different coaches in three years.

Now, the Red Wolves are looking for a new path. Again. Exactly who will take them there is anyone’s guess.

For now, Cedar Ridge can only focus on Friday night when they face Northern Vance. A win will put their mark at 5-6, which should be good enough for a birth in the 3-A playoffs.

After the Vikings started the Big 8 portion of its schedule with a 35-34 victory over Oxford Webb, they’ve lost four straight.

By the time 2016 rolls around, Cedar Ridge will likely have to start over again. Pappas, Marquez Hunter (out for the Northern Vance game), Dahnte Scott, Lee Fields, Grady Pritchard and Tyreq Jennings are all seniors.

That’s all in the future. Cedar Ridge has a chance to start putting its new foundation in place on Friday night, and that starts with making the playoffs.

The Cedar Ridge Red Wolves boys soccer team will not only play in the 2nd round of the 3-A state playoffs, but they’ll have additional rest to prepare.

On Wednesday night, the Red Wolves defeated Northwood 2-0 in the 1st round. It was the third time this year that Red Wolves goalkeeper Brendan Boss posted a clean sheet against the Chargers.

Chris Walker scored the opener for the Red Wolves. Ivan Carbajal added insurance.

Cedar Ridge improves to 13-5-2 on the season.

Next up is the Cleveland Rams, champions of the Two Rivers Conference. Cleveland defeated Orange 3-1 in the opening round.

Carbajal and Boss talked about the Rams, the victory over the Chargers and how the team has grown under head coach Chris Walker.

Cedar Ridge Boys Soccer Players Ivan Carbajal and Brendan Boss Discuss Playoff Win over Northwood

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Cedar Ridge would rather be playing for a volleyball state championship this weekend. Alas, it won’t.

The Asheboro Blue Comets defeated the Red Wolves 3-1 on Tuesday night. It was Cedar Ridge’s first home loss of the year. It turned out to be a good night for underdogs in the 3-A regional finals.

In the 3-A Western Regional Final, 4th seeded South Iredell surprised 2nd-seeded West Henderson in four sets. The Blue Comets will meet the Vikings on Saturday at noon for the state championship in the Raleigh Convention Center.

After capturing the Big 8 Conference, district and sectional championship, the Red Wolves end the season with a mark of 24-4. They had won 17 straight before Tuesday’s loss, but they accomplished more than any other Cedar Ridge team since moving up to 3-A.

Senior Courtney Eckmann discussed the loss to the Blue Comets and what she will remember from her senior year.

Cedar Ridge Senior Courtney Eckmann Discusses Senior Year

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Cedar Ridge Volleyball Coach Charlie Oakley Talks about the 3-1 loss to Asheboro in the 3-A Eastern Regional Final.

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State tournaments can be a cruel thing. Especially when the stakes are high.

On Tuesday night at Cedar Ridge High, two volleyball teams entered the 3-A Eastern Regional Final on 17-game winning streaks. Cedar Ridge had romped through the Big 8 Conference undefeated, not having lost a set since October 8. Asheboro roared through the Mid-Piedmont Conference, having lost just one set in its first four playoff matches.

Somebody’s season had to end. And Cedar Ridge’s number proved to be up.

The Blue Comets defeated the Red Wolves 3-1 to win the 3-A Eastern Regional Championship at Red Wolves Gymnasium on scores of 25-23, 25-23, 23-25 and 25-23. Cedar Ridge ends the season 24-4.

Vollyeball isn’t supposed to be a sport of the elements. Its indoors, thus it’s climate controlled. At least it’s supposed to be.

Not on Tuesday night. The standing room only crowd representing both schools constantly tried to drown the other out with chants. The mild November night led to a sultry, humid gymnasium that forced the  players to constantly trade balls before serves because the moisture had built up. Reporters from six different newspapers were stationed at courtside.

It was heat. It was intensity. It was something that Cedar Ridge, with all of two seniors, wasn’t used to.

“It’s hard to get over the hoopla,” said Cedar Ridge coach Charlie Oakley. “The crowd, the photographers, and the newspaper reporters. They handled it better than we did. We came out nervous. Asheville is a great team and they deal with it.”

No team led any set by more than five points. When Asheboro needed points, they turned to the serve of Destinee Goldston. In the fourth set, there were 13 ties and eight lead changes. Asheboro got the ball back after a kill by Salem Davidson. Goldston served consecutive points to give the Blue Comets a 24-23 lead. Asheboro took the win after Goldston’s serve led to a Red Wolf set error, sparking a wild celebration by the Blue Comets players.

Cedar Ridge had a season-high 23 attacking errors. Meg Anderson finished with 12 kills, while Asha Barnes had 11. Lily Henry finished with 19 assists.

The Blue Comets roared out to a 2-0 lead. In the first set, Asheboro jumped out to a 9-5 lead before Cedar Ridge mounted a 7-1 run to even the match at 16. Asheboro came back with seven straight points, all of them from the serve of Goldston. Davidson spiked home set point.

The second set was tied nine times, but Asheboro led most of the way behind kills from senior Ballie Gordon and 6’2 junior Megan Banker.

Cedar Ridge’s only set win came in the third. Meg Anderson scored the kill off an assist from Henry to make the match 2-1. The Red Wolves were three points away from forcing a 5th set, but it was not to be.

Afterwards, seniors Barnes and Courtney Eckmann embraced and shared tears and final memories. They had just played their final game together at Cedar Ridge.

The tournament can be cruel, leaving behind only memories. The good news for Cedar Ridge is the memories they leave behind this year are pleasant ones that will last forever.