Cedar Ridge High School

Like most other football teams across North Carolina, Cedar Ridge is starting football season in the spring. Now, they will start a night earlier than anticipated. The Red Wolves season-opener against Northwood has been moved to Thursday night because of rain anticipated on Friday. For new Cedar Ridge Coach Corey Lea, it will give his new staff a chance to learn about his new team. The Red Wolves were supposed to face Granville Central in a scrimmage last week, but it was rained out. The Red Wolves will have to find a replacement for Isaiah McCambrey, who transferred to Williams last summer. Aiden Seagrvoes is expected to be the starting quarterback for Friday’s opener against the Chargers. Jake Mergenthal, the younger brother of former Cedar Ridge All-Conference offensive lineman Braxton Mergenthal, will be a prominent player on defense for the Red Wolves. You can hear live coverage of the Red Wolves vs. the Chargers on Friday night at 6:15 on Hillsboroughsports.com.

Grace Andrews: For the first time in her college career, the former Orange High second baseman hit a home run as #20 Catawba Valley Community College hosted a doubleheader against #19 Pitt Community College on Saturday. Andrews launched a solo blast in the bottom of the second inning. In the sixth, Andrews hit a double and went on to score off a home run by Cali Hinnant. Pitt County won the game 13-9, then completed the sweep with a 9-1 decision in the nightcap. Through eight games, Andrews leads Catawba Valley with a .520 batting average, 13 hits and four doubles. She’s tied for the team lead with eight runs scored. Catawba Valley is 5-3 and will travel to face Camp Community College in Franklin, VA on Friday. The following day, the Red Hawks travel to Virginia Beach for a doubleheader against Bryant & Stratton College.

Montana Davidson: The #22 Mississippi State softball team completed the Alex Wilcox Memorial (dubbed “The Snowman”) with wins over Missouri State and Mississippi Valley State on Monday. In a 5-0 win over the Bears, Montana Davidson went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Davidson, who started at third base, singled in the game’s final run in the fifth inning. In the nightcap, MSU defeated Mississippi Valley State 10-1 in five innings. Davidson went 2-for-2 with an RBI and two runs scored. After reaching on a single, Montana scored in the 2nd inning off an error. In the 3rd, Montana singled to left field to plate Anna Kate Segars. She would go on to score off a hit by Brylie St. Clair. Davidson is on a four-game hitting streak. Through the four games of the Snowman, Davidson went 7-for-11 with four RBIs. Against Southern Illinois, Davidson homered in the sixth inning to even the game at 4-4. The Salukis went on to win 6-5 in eight innings.

Mia Davidson: Mia Davidson hit her first home run of the season against MVSU. It was a two-run blast to dead center. Mia went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a run scored. In the third inning, Davidson singled to left field to score Jackie McKenna. Against Missouri State, Davidson scored the game’s opening run after she was hit by a pitch. Mississippi State is 4-1.

Adam Chnupa: The Elon football team opened its spring football season with a 26-23 victory over Davidson at Rhodes Stadium on Saturday. Chnupa, a redshirt sophomore, played on special teams for the Phoenix. Elon will travel to Gardner-Webb on Saturday.

Landon Riley: The Liberty baseball team started its season with a series against Campbell at Jim Perry Stadium in Buies Creek over the weekend. Riley, a junior, pitched two shutout innings for the Flames on Sunday. Riley surrendered two hits and struck out three batters. The Camels edged the Flames 3-2 to take the rubber game in the series. Liberty will play its home opener against North Carolina A&T on Wednesday in Lynchburg, VA.

Brandon Andrews: The former Cedar Ridge centerfielder and pitcher entered the NCAA Transfer Portal after two seasons at Nicholls State. After being redshirted by the Colonels in 2020, Andrews is now at Jacksonville State. He didn’t play in the Gamecocks’ opening series over the weekend, which included a win over Alabama State and loses to Tennessee Tech and Southern Illinois.

Cooper Porter: Porter, who played six different positions with the Orange baseball team over three seasons, originally committed to play at N.C. State. He is now at Pensacola State, a junior college, after a scholarship crunch with the Wolfpack forced by the pandemic. Porter has appeared in three games for the Pirates. In an 8-2 win over Enterprise State Community College on February 7, Porter had his first college start at second base and finish with an RBI groundout. Pensacola State is 7-8 and will host Bishop State Community College on Friday.

Dylan Boyer: In his first college game, the former Orange High attacker scored a goal for Division II Queen College. Boyer scored the Royals’ final goal in a 9-4 loss to #15 Mount Olive at Ray McDonald Stadium on Saturday. Previously, Boyer was honored by the team with the Practice Player of the Week for week five of the season. Queens, which is picked to finish fourth in the South Atlantic Conference, will travel to Newberry College on Saturday.

It was another strong game for Cedar Ridge sophomore Neco Clark in the Red Wolves’ 55-52 win over Northern Durham on Tuesday night at Red Wolves Gymnasium. Clark led Cedar Ridge with 19 points, which tied his career-high. Clark shot 7-of-10 from the field. On January 11, Clark also had 19 points in a win over crosstown rival Orange. It was the fourth time this year that Clark finished in double figures. Last week, Clark had 17 against Chapel Hill. The Tigers came away with a 61-47 win at Cedar Ridge, but the Red Wolves will have a rematch on Wednesday night. Cedar Ridge will face the Tigers at Smith Middle School. Cedar Ridge is 5-5, its best start in four years.

For the first time since 2016, the Cedar Ridge men’s basketball team is at .500 after eight game in a season. The Red Wolves defeated Northern Durham 55-52 on Tuesday night at Red Wolves Gymnasium. Sophomore forward Johntez Raspberry had a strong floor game with five points, four rebounds and four assists. Cedar Ridge completed a season sweep of the Knights. On January 15, Cedar Ridge defeated Northern Durham 49-34, a game where Raspberry had a season-high seven points, along with six rebounds and three blocks. The Red Wolves carried the momentum from Friday’s win over Orange and are now 4-4 on the season, 2-3 in the Big 8 Conference. Cedar Ridge will travel to Chapel Hill on Wednesday night for a rematch against the Tigers. Last week, Chapel Hill defeated the Red Wolves in Hillsborough.

Marvin Jones: The former Cedar Ridge star captured the high jump championship in this weekend’s Camel City Invite in Winston-Salem. Jones’ jump of 2.10 meters, two inches better than runner-up Tony Jones of Wake Forest. Jones matches his career-best leap. In four indoor events this season, Jones has now won the high jump twice and finished second twice. At the JDL January Kickoff in Winston-Salem, Jones had a jump of 2.06 meters, good enough for 1st place. UNC Pembroke’s Bradley Thompson finished second at 1.96 meters.

Jamar Davis: The 2018 Orange High graduate has started his junior season with the N.C. State track and field team. On January 16, Davis opened the indoor campaign with a fifth-place finish in the long jump at the Gamecock Opener at the University of South Carolina. His best jump was 23-feet, 7.25 inches. At the Hokie Invitational at Virginia Tech, Davis finished 6th with a leap of 7.08 meters.

Mia Davidson: As she starts her senior season at Mississippi State, Mia Davidson has been named a 2nd-team All-American by Justin’s World of Softball. A 2019 All-American, Davidson is a lifetime .369 hitter in Starkville. he holds Mississippi State’s career leading for home runs with 52, and slugging percentage at .789. In 2019, Davidson set the school and Southeastern Conference record with 26 home runs on her way to a school-record .882 slugging percentage.

Her junior season was limited to 21 games because of the pandemic. She hit .330 with a .659 slugging percentage.

Montana Davidson: Montana, Mia’s older sister, will return for her senior season with the Bulldogs. Mississippi State starts its season with a doubleheader against Miami (Ohio) on Friday.

Tori Dalehite: The former Big 8 Hitter of the Year will start her freshman season at UNC Greensboro on February 12. The Spartans face North Carolina at the Carolina Classic at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, S.C. During the three-day event, UNC-G will also face Louisville and South Carolina.

Grace Andrews: Fate has a funny way of working in college sports. In Grace Andrews’ first softball game at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory, she faced Patrick Henry Community College, featuring Andrews’ longtime teammate at Orange, Jaden Hurdle. In fact, Hurdle and Andrews comprised the right side of Orange’s infield when they defeated Piedmont to win the 2017 3A State Championship. So naturally, for Andrews first at-bat for the Red Hawks, the pitcher she faced was Hurdle–in the 8th inning of a tie game. Andrews lifted a sacrifice fly to score Lillie Pennington as the Red Hawks won 4-3 in the opening game of the Catawba Valley Clash in Hickory.

In the second game, Catawba Valley defeated Surry Community Center 7-0. Andrews, playing shortstop, went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a triple and a run scored.

On January 30, the Montreat junior varsity defeated Catawba Valley 8-7 in eight innings in the opening day of a doubleheader. Andrews, starting at shortstop again, went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

In the second game, Catawba Valley shut out Cleveland Community College 9-0. Andrews went 0-for-1 with a walk.

Through four games, Andrews is hitting .500.

Wyatt Jones: The former Orange High midfielder and starting quarterback quietly made history over the weekend. Jones became the first Orange lacrosse player to play as a member of a Division I college team. The Mercer Bears defeated the Division II Lenoir-Rhyne Bears 17-4 at Five Star Stadium in Macon, Georgia. Jones entered the game as a reserve in the fourth quarter. Jones was named to the All-State team as Orange ended the 2020 campaign ranked #3 before it abruptly ended because of the pandemic. He was also a member of the Carolina Hilltoppers summer travel team coached by Franklin and Chandler Zirkle. On Saturday, Jones will sorta come home when Mercer faces #1 Duke at Koskinen Stadium in Durham.

Dylan Boyer: During the summer, Boyer signed with Division II Queens University in Charlotte men’s lacrosse. Boyer, who graduated from Orange in June, is slated to start his college career on February 20 when Queens travels to Mount Olive.

Jaylin Jones: A former Orange High midfielder and safety, Jones will start his senior season at Division II Pfeiffer men’s lacrosse on Saturday when the Falcons host Centenary.

Luke Hernandez: A former defenseman at Cedar Ridge, Hernandez will start his junior season with the Pfeiffer men’s lacrosse team, as well.

Aidan Poole: Last week, the Division III USA South Athletic Conference announced they will have a spring season, despite the pandemic. That means Poole, formerly of Cedar Ridge, will suit up for the Greensboro College Pride. Poole, a sophomore, played in seven games last season for Greensboro. He scored goals against Guilford and Chatham and recorded an assist against Hampton, which turned out to be the season-finale.

Cedar Ridge senior guard Ian Johnson knocked down four pressure free throws in the final minute against Orange. With Cedar Ridge trailing 48-47, Luke Pagnanelli stole the ball away from the Panthers, leading to Johnson getting fouled. Johnson sank the two game-winning free throws. After Orange missed a chance to take the lead, Johnson extended the Red Wolves’ lead to 51-48 with two more charity tosses. Johnson finished with 15 points as the Red Wolves defeated their crosstown rivals for the fourth straight time. Johnson scored nine points in the fourth quarter and was one of three Cedar Ridge players in double figures.

At this time two years ago, the Cedar Ridge men’s basketball team was counting the days to a merciful end of an interminable 1-23 season.

The sophomores on that team included Ian Johnson, Luke Pagnanelli, Grady Ray and Sam Garbee. On February 1, 2019, they lost to Orange 74-49 inside Panther Gymnasium. It was their eighth loss to the Panthers in the last nine meetings.

If you had told any of those players it would be their last loss against Orange ever, you probably have gotten some strange looks and perhaps even laughter.

But the atmosphere around Cedar Ridge men’s basketball has changed and the balance of basketball power across Hillsborough has undeniably shifted to the west end of town.

The Red Wolves defeated the Panthers 51-48 on Friday night at Orange Gymnasium. It was Cedar Ridge’s fourth consecutive win over Orange. Pagnanelli sank two free throws with 1:09 remaining after he stole the ball from Orange in the open court and was fouled in transition.

It was Pagnanelli’s only free throws of the game.

“It was my last game against Orange,” Pagnanelli said. “We just had to come out firing early. They started falling.”

In a frantic final minute, Orange’s Jason Franklin missed a one-handed runner, which was rebounded by Johntez Raspberry. Cedar Ridge’s Neco Clark, with Cedar Ridge leading 49-48, missed a shot, which was rebounded by Devin Corbett with 15.9 seconds remaining. Orange’s Jerec Thompson missed a 3-pointer, leading to Johnson canning two free throws for the margin of victory.

“At the end of practice, Coach Brooks makes us shoot free throws,” Johnson said. “I get a little competitive with Garrett Ray because we typically compete in free throw contests at the end of practice. He usually beats me, but I got them to go in tonight.”

Orange’s final points came off a 15-footer by Thompson with 3:53 remaining.

The Panthers missed a desperation three-pointer at the buzzer. Orange, which is now 0-6, last won a game against Northern Durham on February 14, 2020.

Thompson led orange with 23 points. It was Orange’s second game in two days. On Thursday, the Panthers led by as many as 15 points against Southern Durham (and by 12 at the half) before falling 64-52. Franklin scored 24 against the Spartans, but was held to six against the Red Wolves.

Cedar Ridge (3-5) will host Northern Durham on Tuesday. With only the initial meetings between league rivals being counted as conference games this year, Cedar Ridge has two conference games remaining against Southern Durham and Vance County. They can play as many as six more games, but Friday’s game against Orange will be the last time they see their crosstown rivals this season.

Jerec Thompson flat-out shot Orange into a double-digit lead early. Thompson scored 15 of Orange’s first 19 points as the Panthers led 19-12 at the end of the first quarter.

Franklin opened the second quarter with two free throws, followed by a three-pointer by Ryan Moss, which pushed the Orange lead to 24-12.

It was reminiscent of the first matchup between the two teams on January 11, when Orange built a 19-point lead, only to have the Red Wolves charge back to win in overtime.

This time, Cedar Ridge erased the 12-point deficit before halftime. It started when Johnson sank a three-pointer, followed by another from Pagnanelli that forced an Orange time out. Pagnanelli knocked down two more field goals, and a three-pointer from Clark pushed Cedar Ridge ahead 28-27 at the half.

With the scored tied going into the fourth quarter, Jerec Thompson knocked down a three-pointer to put Orange in the lead, which was followed by another trey from J.J. Thompson.

“I was nervous, but I knew we could come back,” Pagnanelli said. “We came back on them the last time. We have a good team and I thought we were going to win it down the stretch.”

Not to be outdone, Cedar Ridge tied the game with consecutive three-pointers from Pagnanelli and Johnson to even the game at 46.

It is the longest winning streak Cedar Ridge has ever had against Orange in the history of the rivalry, which started in 2002.

Orange will play its final Big 8 Conference game against Vance County on Saturday, its third game in three days.

CEDAR RIDGE 51, ORANGE 48

CEDAR RIDGE: Ian Johnson 14, Luke Pagnanelli 22, Neco Clark 10, Garrett Ray 3, A.J. Richmond 2.

ORANGE: Jerec Thompson 23, J.J. Thompson 6, Jason Franklin 6, Kyle Stanley 2, Hunter Birch 5, Ryan Moss 5, Devin Corbett 1.

In 2019, it would be hard to imagine the Cedar Ridge Red Wolves beating crosstown rival Orange four consecutive times. But that’s exactly what’s happened since Jaison Brooks became the head coach of the Red Wolves in the summer of 2019. On Friday night, Cedar Ridge swept the season series from Orange, beating the Panthers 51-48 at Orange High Gymnasium. Senior guard Luke Pagnanelli led Cedar Ridge with 22 points, including five three-pointers. Friday’s win was especially sweet for Pagnanelli, who was a member of the 2018-2019 Cedar Ridge team that won one game the whole season. After the Red Wolves third win of the season, Cedar Ridge will host Northern Durham on Tuesday night at Red Wolves Gymnasium.

Back in the days when the Orange Panthers were in the PAC-6 Conference, trips up Highway 57 were common.

It was only natural that Orange and Person High Schools developed a rivalry. They were neighboring counties with a healthy population of students from rural areas. For some residents of northern Orange County communities like Cedar Grove, Hurdle Mills and Caldwell, a drive to Person High was actually shorter than a trip to their home school in Hillsborough.

Yet Orange and Person haven’t been conference rivals since 2001.

It appears that’s about to change.

The North Carolina High School Athletic Association released the third draft of its 2021 realignment plan on Thursday. Orange and Cedar Ridge remained paired in the 3A “Conference 25.” There were no changes from the second draft, which pairs the Red Wolves and Panthers with teams located closer to the Triad and leaves its longtime rivals across Durham and Chapel Hill in the rear view mirror.

Conference 25 includes Person, Eastern Alamance, Williams, Western Alamance and Northwood in a 7-team league. Of those squads, only Northwood is a current league rival for Cedar Ridge and Orange in the Big 8 Conference.

Schools have until February 10 to turn in any written appeals to the realignment committee. Since there were no changes from the second draft, it appears that Conference 25 (which will be given a more traditional name by the NCHSAA this spring) will be set in stone this spring.

The original draft, released in December, had Carrboro in Conference 25. That changed in the second draft, where Carrboro and Person basically switched spots. Carrboro is now slated to be in Conference 18, a spit 3A-2A league with Southern Durham, Vance County, Durham School of the Arts, Granville Central (2A), South Granville (2A) and J.F. Webb (2A)

Chapel Hill, East Chapel Hill and Northern Durham, the remaining Big 8 schools, will return to 4A. They’re slated to join Conference 30 with Jordan, Hillside, Riverside and Southern Alamance.

When the current formation of the Big 8 was created in 2017, there was some surprise among high school observers that Person wasn’t included. Instead, the Rockets opted to join the Mid-State Conference, facing schools like McMichael High in Mayodan (a distance of 66 miles) and Northern Guilford in Greensboro (58 miles).

When asked at the time, Person High’s Athletic Director said the NCHSAA didn’t want 9-team conferences, so the Rockets chose a less traditional and much lengthier option.

The creation of Conference 25 will mark the end of an era for Orange on several levels. For the first time since 1985, the Panthers will not have a conference rival from Durham.

After Cedar Ridge opened in 2002, a reduction in Orange’s enrollment forced them to drop to 2A. Even then, the Panthers competed against Durham School of the Arts in the Mid-State Conference.

The new league also breaks up the Orange-Chapel Hill dynamic. For decades, Orange-Chapel Hill was a natural rivalry since they were the only two high schools in the entire county. They’ve remained Big 8 Conference rivals since Chapel Hill dropped to 3A in 2009.

For Cedar Ridge, the new league brings together natural rivalries that have been brewing through nonconference games for years. In softball, Eastern Alamance and the Red Wolves have competed regularly, including in the 3rd round of the 2019 3A State Playoffs, where the Eagles prevailed en route to the State Championship. The Red Wolves and the Eagles regularly compete in men’s and women’s soccer, women’s tennis and volleyball.

An Orange-Eastern Alamance football rivalry has been the object of desire for many local fans for ages, and it would seem easy to make. But red rape and regulations from school boards constantly got in the way. Many Orange players honed their skills in Mebane in youth leagues. Orange and Eastern Alamance have regularly held a football scrimmage on the final Friday before the regular season begins, but they haven’t played in an actual game since the 2012 3A State Playoffs, where Orange won 14-13 in Mebane.

The changes will go into effect in August. The 2021-2025 realignment figures were based on the 2019-2020 Average Daily Members numbers.

For years, Cedar Ridge had the lowest ADM in the Big 8 Conference. Based on the 2019-2020 numbers, that will remain the case in the new league. Cedar Ridge’s last reported ADM was 1,076. The next closest school is Person at 1,095.

Orange’s ADM is 1,306. Among teams in Conference 25, Northwood has the highest current ADM at 1,433, while Eastern Alamance is 1,234. Western Alamance is 1,155 and Walter Williams is 1,177.