Orange Men’s Lacrosse

Whenever the Orange lacrosse team holds team reunions years from now, there will always be a certain amount of mystery surrounding the 2020 team.

On paper, it was the most talented team in Orange history with plenty of firepower. In practice, it sure looked that way, too.

The Panthers had senior midfielder Wyatt Jones, the first Orange player in school history to end up playing lacrosse at a Division I school at Mercer. There was also senior attacker Dylan Boyer, now at Division II Queen’s University.

Orange started 2020 with a 6-0 record with wins over 4A teams J.H. Rose and Heritage. Of course, the ending to this story is all too familiar by now. Last March, the pandemic hit, ending the spring sports season two weeks after it started. On March 13, the Orange lacrosse team defeated Roxboro Community School 15-0, but there was a sense of finality apparent when the players dosed Coach Chandler Zirkle with a Gatorade bath after a anticlimactic win at Bulldog Stadium.

It was the last time that Orange team took the field. They never got the chance to see if they were the squad that could beat one of the Chapel Hill superpowers. Or see if a deep run in the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs was possible.

It was also the last high school sports event for any Hillsborough high school team for eight months.

Jones, Boyer and the rest of the 2020 Orange seniors now hang their hats elsewhere, leaving behind a group of younger Panthers learning on the job.

But Orange’s Ryan Merrill isn’t letting the past get in the way of his senior year.

In likely his final game against crosstown rival Cedar Ridge, Merrill scored six goals as the Panthers defeated Cedar Ridge 10-6 at Auman Stadium on Wednesday night. Merrill opened the game with three goals as he completed the hat trick off an assist from Connor Kruse with 1:14 remaining in the first quarter.

Cedar Ridge junior Roman Oguntoyinbo turned in a six-point night, factoring in on every Red Wolf goal. Oguntoyinbo finished with three goals and three assists to keep Cedar Ridge competitive until Orange ran out the clock in the final minutes.

It was the Panthers (2-1, 1-0 in Conference 9) fourth straight win over the Red Wolves. Cedar Ridge (2-2, 2-1) had its two-game winning streak snapped.

While some players may have spent the interminable hours after the pandemic wondering what might have been in 2020, Zirkle has chosen to let the mystery be.

“Actually, I didn’t think about it at all,” Zirkle said. “It would have been really cool to finish the season, but the thing I really appreciated about the team last year was we did everything we wanted to do the way we wanted to do it. Obviously, I wished we could have finished the season, but I feel proud of what that team did.”

After Merrill’s three goals, Oguntoyinbo broke free in front of the net to score Cedar Ridge’s first goal just 56 seconds into the second quarter. Orange freshman Connor Kruse scored off an assist from sophomore Joe Cady to extend the Panther lead to 4-1, but Cedar Ridge held the Panthers scoreless in the final eight minutes of the first half. Oguntoyinbo scored his second goal with 3:04 remaining in the first half, then assisted on a Holden Neal’s only goal to cut Orange’s lead to 4-3 going to halftime.

Merrill started the second half with two unassisted goals in the opening minute. Kruse added another tally to increase Orange’s lead to 7-3. After Oguntoyinbo completed his hat trick with 8:24 remaining in the third quarter, Merrill registered his sixth goal on a feed from Kruse. Orange’s Duncan Grant widened the Panther advantage to 9-4 off an assist from senior Leif Mahaney.

With regular goalkeeper Ethan Fortner working out for the Panther football team, Malachi Bolton started in net for Orange. Katie Wolter, the younger sister of former Orange goalkeeper Tyson Wolter, played between the pipes in the second and third quarters.

Cedar Ridge’s Alex Castro notched the Red Wolves final goal of the third period. Neal provided the final Cedar Ridge tally in the fourth quarter, his second goal of the night.

The Red Wolves started senior Aiden Kehoe at goalkeeper, but also used junior Joshua Taylor intermittently in the second half.

Orange will travel to Northern Durham on Thursday. Cedar Ridge will travel to Northern Durham on Monday.

The Orange men’s lacrosse team defeated Cedar Ridge 10-6 at Auman Stadium on Wednesday night. Senior Ryan Merrill finished with six goals, including three in the opening period. Caleb Davis added two goals and an assist as the Panthers defeated the Red Wolves for the fourth straight time. it was Orange’s first game in two weeks. The Panthers were supposed to face Roxboro Community School last week twice, but both games were rained out. In 2020, Orange started 6-0 with possibly its most talented team in school history before the pandemic ended the season after a convincing victory against Roxboro Community. Now, with college prospects Wyatt Jones and Caleb Davis now playing at Mercer and Queen’s University, respectively, the Panthers are building again behind younger players like Connor Kruse and Jace Womble. Orange will travel to Northern Durham on Thursday night, then travel to Vance Charter on Saturday.

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.

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.

Well, this whole “not have a game stuff” certainly puts it all into perspective, doesn’t it?

Too much perspective, if you ask me.

(Ed. note: in the interest of fairness, that quote is from “This is Spinal Tap.” I don’t have an ear for most modern pop culture references, and Spinal Tap is old but timeless)

The most amazing thing regarding the coronavirus pandemic is how quickly the spring sports landscape in Hillsborough, and everywhere else, went from rich to barren. On March 10, the Orange baseball team beat East Chapel Hill. The following day, they were taking batting practice preparing for the second game of the series on Friday.

No one had any idea that, in all likelihood, it would be their final practice together. Or that the North Carolina High School Athletic Association would suspend the spring sports season less than 24 hours later.

When you’re a senior in high school, things are never as final as they seem. Many of the students who will graduate in the Smith Center in June (if they’re allowed to) will eventually live in Orange County or somewhere near it. Many of them will continue to carry friendships with people they’ll turn the tassels with, hopefully closer than five feet apart.

Yet the Class of 2020 will hold a unique place in history, but locally and abroad. Especially those that play spring sports.

Hopefully all of them live a long, rich life. And when they get to my age, they can look back and talk about their incomplete senior year. Every other athlete in the history of Orange and Cedar Ridge had the chance to succeed or do otherwise, based on their own abilities.

With each passing day, it feels like the Class of 2020 won’t be able to even say that. Their chance was taken away by an invisible enemy that has shut down everyday life like nothing we’ve seen before it. And hopefully never will again.

Last Saturday night, I received a DM from a friend who graduated with me from Orange in 1991. She asked if I was doing OK. Like many freelancers, I depend on games to make ends meet and the media paradigm isn’t as steady as it once was. I didn’t have a good answer for her because, after 30 years of covering sports, this is all so new to me.

As I’ve written before, high school sports has usually carried on through even the worst disasters, locally and nationally. Three days after 9/11, I was doing play-by-play for Northern Durham at J.F. Webb in Oxford. It may have been the most numb atmosphere for a game I’ve ever seen (especially since Northern won 67-0), but they still played. Well, at least Northern did.

The last thing anyone should do is feel bad for me.

But here’s who I do feel bad for:

Braden Thompson and Braxton Mergenthal: They’re senior lacrosse players at Cedar Ridge. When Thompson was a freshman, the Red Wolves defeated Chapel Hill 11-8 to win the 3A/2A/1A Eastern Regional Championship. They became the first lacrosse team from Hillsborough to play for a state championship in lacrosse. Mergenthal was a defenseman who helped the Red Wolves shut out Roxboro Community School 16-0 in the season opener. It appeared Cedar Ridge was set to battle Orange for the Conference 9 Championship.

Wyatt Jones, Noah Davis and the rest of the seniors on the Orange lacrosse team: Orange tied the best start in school history last Friday at 6-0. Orange coach Chandler Zirkle approached the game with a sense of finality, which appears to be prescient. Jones is the first lacrosse player from Orange to commit to a Division I school. Hopefully next spring, Mercer won’t have its season interrupted like the rest of the spring sports teams, high school and college, did this year.

Cameron Hartley, Chris Pearce, Grant Fox and Fransisco Martinez: The Cedar Ridge baseball team is a young one, but Coach Bryson Massey got a win over The Burlington School on March 6. It wasn’t easy. It was a blustery night and Martinez got some big outs while wind gusts of 25-miles-per-hour swirled around him. I hope Martinez, Hartley, Fox and Pearce all get a chance to play again.

Joey Berini: Somehow, it would be prophetic if Joey Berini’s last game at Orange is the East Chapel Hill one from March 10. That would mean that Berini hit a grand slam in his last official at-bat. (He drew a walk in his final plate appearance in the sixth inning, but that doesn’t count as an at-bat.) Joey has started at Orange for four years at shortstop. I’ve interviewed him about eight times and he’s never cracked a smile once. He also isn’t known for long answers. Our last discussion was one minute and 37 seconds, mainly comprised of me filling up time with run-on sentences. Joey was always high on production even when he was low on words. Hopefully East Carolina beat writers will enjoy his production as much as Orange fans have.

Dayne Watkins: In Orange’s first game of the year, Dayne injured his hamstring running out a ground ball against Western Alamance. He was set to play again last week against East Chapel Hill, which never happened. Dayne also kindly asked me for a video interview despite not playing the past three games. Dayne, we’ll do that soon. What else am I going to do, watch March Madness?

Emma Roby: Taking the place of a three-year starter is not easy. Emma replaced Kymberlie Thacker as catcher for Cedar Ridge’s softball team and was off to a solid start. Thacker had a .370 career batting average with seven home runs and 57 RBIs. Roby went 2-for-4 in her first game against Cardinal Gibbons, an 11-7 Cedar Ridge win.

Cailyn Thornton: A starter for Cedar Ridge in right field, she opened the year 6-for-12 with five RBIs. Also made the state playoffs as a volleyball player last fall. She deserved a chance to win another Big 8 Conference Championship in softball.

Alyssa and Rachel Serre: Two more Cedar Ridge softball seniors who finally had a chance to start together for the first time at the varsity level.

Grace Andrews: As a freshman, she started at 2nd base for Orange’s 3A state championship team. Maybe Grace doesn’t need anyone weeping for her, after all. But she did deserve a chance to finish her career with a chance to win a conference title, one that Orange tied Cedar Ridge for last year. She already had two.

Maddy Bartlett and Rachel Tilley: Orange’s softball team was already dealt a tough hand with season-ending injuries to three infielders before practice started. Yet Bartlett and Tilley fought through all that to propel Orange past East Chapel Hill 10-8 on March 10, despite trailing 7-1. I know Maddy’s cousins, Mia and Montana Davidson, were proud in Starkville, MS.

And the list goes on and on. There are women’s soccer players. Men’s tennis players. Track & field athletes. All of whom are sidelined by something they can’t even envision.

Two weeks ago, I was out in the freezing cold at Cedar Ridge Softball Field to do play-by-play for Cedar Ridge vs. West Johnston. It was 49 degrees at first pitch and it only grew worse with 25-mile-per-hour winds. It was as if I had never left Appalachian State.

In the midst of all this, I though to myself “This is a weird way to make a living.”

Now, as I finish writing this in 70-degree temperatures on a calm night at the American Tobacco Campus, I can honestly say I can’t wait to feel that weird again.

Landon Riley: Liberty Baseball ended its year with a 10-7 record. The Flames defeated Kent State 7-2 on March 9 in Lynchburg, VA. Riley earned his second win of the season. He came out of the bullpen to throw two-and-two-thirds innings of shutout baseball. Riley faced eleven batters and scattered two hits and struck out two. It was a short but solid season for Riley. In seven appearances, he had a 2-0 record with four saves and a 1.46 ERA. In 12.1 innings, Riley had 15 strikeouts, allowed only three walks, six hits and two earned runs.

Bowen Collins: The Division II Lenoir-Rhyne men’s lacrosse team ended the year ranked #5 in the country. On March 10, the Bears defeated Assumption 17-12 at Moretz Stadium in Hickory. Collins scored a goal with 12:00 remaining in the game. Lenoir-Rhyne also defeated #1 Limestone 18-16 in the Crown Lacrosse Challenge at Hough High School in Cornelius on March 8. Collins scored two goals for the Bears, including a man-up goal in the second quarter to put the Bears ahead 7-4. He scored again with 36 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Collins ends the year with seven goals and six assists in seven games. Since he is a senior, Collins can take advantage of another year of eligibility that was extended by the NCAA on Friday after the rest of the season was canceled because of the Coronavirus.

Zach Wright: Wright had a goal for Division II Mars Hill in a loss to 19-8 loss to North Greenville on March 11 at Meares Stadium in Mars Hill. Wright scored an unassisted goal with 1:15 remaining in the third quarter. This season, Wright had four goals and two assists in eight games. He is also a senior.

Jaylin Jones: Jones assisted on a goal for Pfeiffer in a 16-8 loss to Guilford at Afmfield Athletic Center in Greensboro. Jones set up Quinn Becraft on a goal that reduced the Falcons’ deficit to 10-5 with 8:55 remaining in the third quarter. Jones, a junior, played in five games this year for Pfeiffer.

Luke Hernandez: The former Cedar Ridge Red Wolf also played for Pfeiffer against Guilford. Hernandez, a sophomore, saw action in Pfeiffer’s last three games, including a 23-6 win over Averett on March 7. Pfeiffer went 2-4 this season.

Tyson Wolter: The former Orange High lacrosse goalkeeper is now at Division III Guilford after transferring from Pfeiffer. On March 11, Wolter faced Pfeiffer after he replaced starter Jack Rogers. Wolter plays 6:36 and made four saves. A freshman, Wolter played in two other games this season for the Quakers.

Aidan Poole: The Division III Greensboro men’s lacrosse team defeated Hampton 15-11 at Pride Field in Greensboro on March 11. Poole, who was an All-Big 8 Conference player at Cedar Ridge, started on defense for the Pride. He assisted on a goal scored by Austin Abourjilie in the third quarter. He also had a ground ball and created a turnover. Greensboro was 4-3.

Kate Burgess: The UNC rowing team finished 3rd in the Clemson Carolina Cup on March 7 at Lake Hartwell in Clemson, SC. Burgess, a freshman who made the rowing team last fall, was on the Varsity 8 team that finished fourth in a five-team race at a time of 7:38.63. Kate Pierce paced the boat that Burgess was rowing, along with Charlotte Melgard, Gabrielle Labrazzi, Juliana Micchia, Hannah Davis, Zoe Sang, Nicole Van Liew and Neeva Wernsman Young. This was the first, and only, race of the spring for UNC’s rowing team.

Photo by Tracy Thompson

The Orange lacrosse team is off to its best start ever and won its Conference 9 opener decisively.

And now it may all be over.

That was a reality that the team disguised well during its 15-0 rout of Roxboro Community School in Person County on Friday night. The game started roughly five hours before the suspension of the spring sports season, mandated by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association, would go into effect because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Of course, no one on the field wanted the season to end Friday, but there sure was a sense of finality.

Orange Coach Chandler Zirkle was showered with a gatorade bath, hopefully with sanitized water, after the running clock ran out. Shortly afterwards, Roxboro Community School players gathered for two team photos–one for posterity, the other with as many zany faces as possible.

If the theme of the night could be summed up with one word, perhaps it wouldn’t be “finality” as much as “uncertainty.”

“It might be the off-season now,” said Orange senior Noah Davis, who finished with a goal and an assist. “We treated tonight as senior night and allowed a lot of seniors to get playing time. We were all a little bit upset about the news since we’re doing well this season. We think we can do well in the playoffs.”

This was Orange’s conference opener, after all. Openers aren’t supposed to end seasons.

“We really don’t know what’s going on,” said Orange senior Wyatt Jones, who has committed to play at Mercer. “We don’t know if we’re going to play anymore. We were just trying to make the most out of it tonight.”

If it was the end, Orange went out having fun, just as Zirkle wanted it.

After scoring two goals, Jones started playing with a longstick for the first time in his varsity career. By the fourth quarter, he was the goalkeeper. Jones was the final player to touch the ball in the game and joked he should have received credit for a save. Dylan Boyer and Caleb Davis, two of Orange’s top scorers, also took turns with the long pole.

All three of Orange’s goalkeepers played on the offensive end. There was even a goalkeeper-to-goalkeeper connection on Orange’s 13th goal when Chase Hawkins scored off an assist from Ethan Fortner. In fact, Forter, who earned the win in Wednesay’s thrilling game against J.H. Rose, had two assists.

Hawkins earned the win in the net. Malachi Bolton played most of the second half between the pipes.

Orange’s Seth Wolter scored the opening goal on an assist from Seth Davis with 9:32 remaining in the first quarter. Cy Horner assisted on consecutive goals from Boyer and Jones to boost Orange’s lead to 3-0. Davis, Jake Wimsatt and Nate Kaltz all scored goals in the first quarter.

Tom Wileman, Ryan Fedor and Jake Ray also scored for Orange. Hornet finished with four points, including one goal.

Once the lights were turned off at Roxboro Community School field on Friday night, there were hugs between teammates and coaches. Even though the season is only two weeks old, if this were a movie, it felt appropriate that “The End” would flash on the screen.

Orange’s players just hope it wasn’t the famous final scene.

“We’re one win away from having the best start of any Orange team ever,” Jones said. “It’s kind of sad. But hopefully we’ll play and get to 7-0 and maybe keep going.”

Orange senior midfielder Wyatt Jones played possibly his final game as a Panther on Friday night. Jones scored two goals in Orange’s 15-0 win over Roxboro Community School in Person County. The win puts Orange at 6-0, tying the best start in school history. Jones is the first Orange lacrosse player to sign with a Division I school. In December, Jones signed with Mercer. The North Carolina High School Athletic Association has suspended the spring sports season until April 6, leading to uncertainty whether Orange’s season will continue. The Panthers handled its game with the Bulldogs as senior night. After Jones scored two goals, he started playing as a long-stick midfielder. Then he shifted to goalkeeper, for the first time in his career, in the fourth quarter. Jones was also the starting quarterback for the Orange football team the past two years.

The Orange men’s lacrosse team won its Conference 9 opener against Roxboro Community School 15-0 on Friday night. Now, they hope it’s not the end. Going into the pandemic hiatus, which will last three weeks, Orange is 6-0 for only the second time in school history. Davis, who wrestled this season for Orange at 152 pounds, assisted on the opening goal from Seth Walter. Noah scored Orange’s tenth goal in the second quarter. The Panthers ended the week with three wins in four days. They defeated Heritage on Tuesday and J.H. Rose on Wednesday. Now Orange will spend the next three weeks hoping that their season will continue on April 6, when school will return to session in Hillsborough. For now, Orange is atop Conference 9, tied with Northern Durham at Cedar Ridge at 1-0. Davis was a junior when the Panthers defeated Northside-Jacksonville in the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs last season.