Cedar Ridge High School

What would happen if two crosstown rivals had a classic basketball game and no one showed up?

Chances are, it would look a lot like Orange-Cedar Ridge on Monday night.

The Red Wolves, who trailed 49-31 with 2:34 remaining in the third quarter, went on a 24-7 run to finish regulation and force overtime. From there, Cedar Ridge held off its crosstown rivals 67-66 in overtime to claim its third straight win over Orange.

Among the many things that have been missed during the interminable pandemic, the absence of exhilaration of a packed gym of Cedar Ridge fans watching the Red Wolves erase an 18-point deficit in the span of 5 minute and 53 seconds will certainly be among the most regrettable locally. Instead, the crowd was limited to junior varsity players and a few family members, who will have their own stark memories regardless.

Online records indicate it’s the first time ever that Cedar Ridge has beaten Orange three straight times. In 2014-15, the Red Wolves swept the season series from Orange, but the Panthers won six straight over the next three years.

Cedar Ridge senior Luke Pagnanelli, who suffered through 1-23 season as a sophomore, finished with 17 points and five rebounds. Pagnanelli scored the opening two field goals of overtime, including a stickback basket after he rebounded his own miss, thrown towards the glass so hard it nearly shattered through the backboard.

“I was looking for somebody to pass to,” Pagnanelli said. “it was too late so I just threw it up there, went and got it and threw it back in the goal.”

Cedar Ridge sophomore Neco Clark led the Red Wolves with 19 points.

Orange senior Jason Franklin finished with 20. Once again, the Panthers lived and died with the 3-pointer. They finished 11-of-26 from downtown. Jerec Thompson had 13.

“We have to learn how to win” said Orange Coach Darryl Britt. “I think we had some mental lapses. We were in good enough position to win this basketball game and we didn’t. We should have won this basketball game. We had this game won in regulation and we didn’t seal the deal. We just have to learn how to win basketball games.”

It was Franklin and Clark matched up in the last critical sequence of regulation. With the game tied 56-56, Orange held the ball for a full one minute, 34 seconds. Franklin was isolated with Clark at the top of the key and threatened to drive on him repeatedly, but relented at the instruction of Britt. Once Franklin made his move, he extended his arm and was called for an offensive foul, leading to overtime.

The decision to put Clark in that defensive role was a daring one by Cedar Ridge head coach Jaison Brooks, who is Clark’s father. Franklin is a four-year varsity starter. Clark was in his second varsity game.

“We told him he was on an island by himself,” Brooks said. “It was just him. We just reminded him of the good habits that we try to teach. To move his feet and keep Jason in front of him.”

Leading 33-29 at the half, Orange went on a 16-2 run to open the third quarter and appears to be on the verge of blowing the game open. Jared Wood came off the bench to score all eight of his points in the 3rd quarter, including a 3-pointer off an assist from J.J. Thompson to put the Panthers ahead 49-31 with 2:34 remaining in the third quarter. 

Cedar Ridge scored nine straight points, including three-pointers from Clark and Ian Johnson, but Jerec Thompson drilled a three-pointer at the 3rd quarter buzzer to give the Panthers a 52-40 cushion going into the final stanza. 

Orange was held to four points in the final eight minutes of regulation. Pagnanelli opened the fourth quarter with consecutive three-pointers, including one in transition off a skip pass from Ian Johnson to narrow the Orange lead to 52-46. 

After a field goal from Panther center Kyle Stanley, James Raglnad went on a personal 8-0 run to briefly vault the Red Wolves ahead 56-54. Ragland canned back-to-back 3-pointers, then stuck back a miss by Pagnanelli to give Cedar Ridge a 56-54 lead. Stanley scored off his own offensive rebound to even the game. 

Ragland finished with ten points. 

Orange will travel to defending Big 8 Champion Northwood on Friday. Cedar Ridge travels to Northwood. 

Time will tell whether the first time against Orange for Neco Clark will be the best time, but it was certainly memorable. Trailing by 18 points, Cedar Ridge rallied to defeat Orange 67-66 in overtime. It was Clark’s first game against Orange on the varsity level and he was a huge part in the biggest plays of the game. With the game tied 56-56, Orange held the ball for over one minute trying to get the final shot on regulation. But Clark, a sophomore, drew a charge against Orange senior Jason Franklin with 8.6 seconds remaining. In overtime, Clark scored four points to lead Cedar Ridge with 19 points. it was the Red Wolves’ third straight win over the Panthers and its fourth in the last six games. Cedar Ridge is 1-1 and will travel to Northern Durham on Friday. 

Luke Pagnanelli’s final home game against Orange was one he will never forget. The Red Wolves rallied from an 18-point deficit to defeat the Panthers 67-66 in overtime on Tuesday night at Cedar Ridge Gymnasium. Pagnanelli helped spark the comeback with a key 3-pointer late in the third quarter. Then Pagnanelli opened overtime by scoring consecutive field goals to put the Red Wolves ahead for good. For Pagnanelli, the win was extra sweet as a senior. He lost his first two games to Orange as a sophomore. Cedar Ridge improved to 1-1 after the comeback victory over its archrivals. The Red Wolves travel to Northern Durham on Friday night. 

For the first time since 2015, the Cedar Ridge volleyball team will host a playoff game. On Tuesday night, the Red Wolves will face Union Pines in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs. Senior Shili Quade has been a part of three Big 8 Conference championship teams at Cedar Ridge. In addition to the volleyball team, she was a member of two softball championships in 2018 and 2019. In addition, Shili is the Cedar Ridge Yearbook editor, and a member of the Cedar Ridge Map Club and Photography Club. This season, Quade was a regular player for a Cedar Ridge team that won the Big 8 Championship with an 8-0 record. Cedar Ridge will host Union Pines at 6 o’clock on Tuesday night. 

Though they had to wait 26 days between games, the Cedar Ridge volleyball team has won the Big 8 Championship. The Red Wolves defeated Orange to clinch its first volleyball conference championship since 2015 on Tuesday night at Orange High School . It was another strong game for sophomores Cameron Lloyd and Grace Young. Lloyd, a sophomore whose older sister Jordan played at orange, led the team in kills. The Red Wolves improved to 8-0 and will finish the regular season on Friday night with a home game against Northern Durham. It will be senior night for Shili Quade, Layne Foster, Nicol Anderson, Haylee Cothran and Marlee Rakouskas. Orange will face East Chapel Hill at Wildcats Gymnasium on Wednesday.

The Cedar Ridge men’s Ross country team won its season-opening meet at West Point on the Eno. The Red Wolves topped the standings ahead of Northern Durham and Southern Durham. Red Wolves senior Jay Cole won a sprint to the finish line to earn first place overall. He finished with a time of 21:02. Cedar Ridge’s Harrison Park finished third with a time of 21:33. Cole, like all the other competitors, had to get used to running with a mask on during chilly temperatures in late autumn. Usually, cross country season starts in mid-August during the hazy final days of summer. Cole and the rest of the Cedar Ridge men’s cross country team will look ahead to the 3A Mideast Regional meet in January.

The Cedar Ridge women’s cross country team finished 1st at the West Point on the Eno race to open its abbreviated season. Senior Jill Myler ran the hilly course at a time of 21 minutes, 39 seconds, crossing the finish line first against teams from Northern Durham and Southern Durham. Despite not being at Cedar Ridge for in-person classes because of the pandemic, Myler finds herself busy. She is a member of Cedar Ridge’s International Baccalaureate program and helps tutor elementary school students in Hillsborough. Also at West Point on the Eno, Cedar Ridge’s Zoe Wade finished third, while Sarah Tucker came in 5th. Caroline Fowlkes, who qualified for the 3A state championships in the pole vault as a freshman in spring of 2019, and Georgia Roney also finished in the top 8.

A start-and-stop volleyball season is back on hold in Hillsborough.

The Cedar Ridge and Orange High volleyball teams have paused their seasons for two weeks. The two teams were told of the move on Monday morning by their respective coaching staffs.

The delay occurred after it was discovered a player on the Northwood Chargers volleyball team had tested positive for COVID-19. Likewise, Northwood’s season is also on hold for two weeks.

Cedar Ridge traveled to Northwood on Thursday, and Orange played the Chargers the following night in Pittsboro.

The 14-day period starts when the two teams played Northwood. Cedar Ridge would be eligible to return to action December 24. Orange is eligible on December 25.

Orange’s game at East Chapel Hill, scheduled for Monday night, was postponed hours before it was slated to begin. It’s the third time that a matchup between the Wildcats and the Lady Panthers has been delayed since the regular season started on November 19.

Cedar Ridge, who leads the Big 8 Conference with a 7-0 record, was supposed to start a four-game homestead against Orange on Tuesday night. The Red Wolves also had games against Northern Durham (Thursday), Chapel Hill (December 21) and East Chapel Hill (December 22). All of those matches will have to be rescheduled.

Orange had five games slated leading up to Christmas, including three this week. In addition to road games against East Chapel Hill and Cedar Ridge, the Lady Panthers were supposed to host Northwood on Thursday. Next week, Orange was supposed to play Vance County (December 21) and travel to Chapel Hill (December 22).

The shutdown means that Orange and Cedar Ridge not only can’t play games, they also can’t practice. It’s the second time this season that Orange has dealt with a shutdown. Though the regular season started in November, Orange didn’t play its first game until December 1 when they upset defending 3A State Champion Chapel Hill. (There was a forfeit victory over Vance County).

The two-week shutdown will put a crunch on both Orange and Cedar Ridge to finish its 14-game regular seasons. In its amended sports calendar, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association mandates that the regular season must end January 8.

Orange is 4-2, which means they have 14 days to play its final ten games. Cedar Ridge, who is ranked #5 in the state among 3A teams in the latest MaxPreps rankings, already had a match against Orange postponed from December 4 because of COVID concerns. It was rescheduled for January 6.

Teams across the Big 8 Conference have been forced to deal with COVID from the very beginning. Southern Durham High School was forced to cancel games after a positive case. The Spartans already have forfeited games against Cedar Ridge (December 8) and Orange (December 3).

Due to the abbreviated season, only two teams from the Big 8 Conference will make the state playoffs. Currently, Chapel Hill, East Chapel Hill and Orange are tied for 2nd in the loss column. The Tigers are 6-2, while East Chapel Hill is 5-2. The Wildcats defeated the Lady Panthers last Thursday in Hillsborough.

The first round of the state playoffs is scheduled for January 12. This year’s 3A State Tournament will be 32 teams, as opposed to the 64-team field which has been common in recent years across all classifications.