Orange Men’s Lacrosse

Icez Barnett: Erskine defeated the Division II Chowan women’s basketball team 60-57 on Saturday in Due West, S.C. Barnett didn’t play. Last Tuesday, #21 Belmont-Abbey defeated Chowan 95-84. Barnett scored two points in three minutes. The Hawks are 4-16, 4-12 in Conference Carolinas.

Lauren Cates: The Wake Tech women’s basketball team edged Bryant & Stratton College 62-59 on Saturday at Maury High School in Norfolk, VA. Cates, who graduated from Orange in 2019, finished with four points, one rebound, two assists and two steals. She shot 1-of-5 from the field. On Wednesday, Louisburg College defeated Wake Tech 80-66 in a game where the two teams combined for seven technical fouls. Cates finished with six points. Wake Tech is 15-5 overall, 8-4 in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association.

Jamar Davis: The N.C. State indoor track & field team competed at the Texas Tech Invitational in Lubbock, TX over the weekend. Davis finished 11th in the triple jump with a leap of 15.38 meters.

Braden Homsey: Over the weekend, the Division III Ferrum Panthers wrestling team finished 16th at the Pete Wilson Invitational at Wheaton University in Wheaton, IL. Homsey came in 7th at 197 pounds, one of three Panthers to place individually. Homsey finished 5-2 with two pins in the tournament. This season, Homsey is 24-9 with two pins.

Next weekend will start the spring sports season for many college across the state. Hillsborough will be represented in baseball, softball and men’s lacrosse. Here are some of the local athletes that will return to action at colleges across the southeast.

Mia Davidson: The Mississippi State catcher was named a Preseason All-American by Softball America. Davidson, who led Orange to the 2017 3A State Championship, is 10th among active players with 45 home runs in her first two years in Starkville. She led Mississippi State in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, hits, runs, RBIs and total bases in 2019. Davidson was a top-10 finalist for USA Softball’s Collegiate Player of the Year in 2019.

Montana Davidson: Montana will join Mia Davidson for a Mississippi State team that hired Samantha Ricketts as its new head coach in the offseason. After Montana received a medical redshirt during her sophomore season due to a knee injury, she started all 58 games for the Bulldogs in 2019. As a redshirt sophomore, she hit .269 with seven doubles and 21 RBIs. Mississippi State will play Missouri State to start its season on Friday during a weekend series in Clearwater, FL. That series will also include N.C. State, Louisville, and Liberty.

Amy Stutzer: Stutzer, a 2019 Cedar Ridge graduate, will start her softball career at Division III Salem College in Virginia against Southern Virginia on February 14.

Brad Debo: This upcoming season will be the senior campaign for Debo, who was the catcher for four consecutive Big 8 Conference championship teams for the Orange Panthers. Last season for N.C. State, Debo appeared in 59 of the Wolfpack’s 61 games. He hit .242 with 47 hits, 16 doubles, one triple, four homers and 39 RBIs. The Wolfpack will start its season against James Madison on February 14.

Brandon Andrews: Andrews will start his junior season with the Nicholls Colonels against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in Thibodaux, LA on February 14. Andrews appeared in 24 games as a pitcher last season for the Colonels. He was 1-2 with a 3.24 ERA and two saves.

Jaylin Jones: The Division II Pfeiffer men’s lacrosse team has become Hillsborough south. There are three former Orange and Cedar Ridge players who will suit up for the Falcons this year. Jones will start his junior season in Misenheimer. In his sophomore season, Jones made six starts and played in 16 games. He scored two goals and added three assists for the Falcons.

Zach Berry: The former Cedar Ridge goalkeeper transferred from the Virginia Military Institute to Pfeiffer last season. In his only year at VMI, Berry was between the pipes for five games. He gave up seven goals in 55 minutes and made six saves.

Luke Hernandez: Also now at Pfeiffer. Hernandez played in one game for the Falcons last season. Pfeiffer faces Emmanuel in Franklin Springs, GA on Saturday.

Bowen Collins: A former star at Orange, Collins is now at redshirt senior at Division Lenoir-Rhyne. Last season, Collins played in 15 games for the Bears. He scored seven points with ten shots on goal.

Zach Wright: Now a senior at Division II Mars Hill, Wright had nine goals in 15 games last season. Mars Hill hosts Montevallo on Saturday.

Aidan Poole: A former defenseman at Cedar Ridge, Poole is now at Division III Greensboro College. Greensboro opens its season on February 15 against Virginia Wesleyan at Pride Field in Greensboro.

Payton Wilson: UNC defeated N.C. State 41-10 at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh on Saturday night. Wilson concluded his freshman season with the first interception of his college career, which led to a field goal from Chris Dunn in the 2nd quarter that evened the game 6-6. Wilson also led N.C. State with 14 tackles, including four solo. To conclude his freshman season, Wilson led the team with 69 tackles, one more than sophomore Tanner Ingle. Wilson had 36 unassisted tackles, second on the team. He had five tackles for loss and will likely be included in several year-end awards which will be announced in the subsequent days.

Trenton Gill: The former Cedar Ridge punter was busy during the 2nd half of the UNC game. He had six punts for a 48.3 average. His longest punt was 68 yards, his only attempt over 50 yards on the night. Two of his punts were downed inside the 20-yard line. Gill, who was named to the Ray Guy Watch list last month, was not named a semifinalist. He ends the year with 56 punts for an average of 47.6 yards per attempt. His longest of the year was 75 yards. 24 of the 56 punts were over 50 yards, and 16 of them were downed inside the 20-yard line.

Icez Barnett: Division II Mount Olive defeated Chowan 63-57 on Tuesday inside the Helms Center in Murfreesboro on Wednesday night. Barnett scored two points off 1-of-4 shooting from the field. She played ten minutes. Barnett also grabbed four rebounds and blocked three shots. On Saturday, UNC Pembroke defeated Chowan 55-51 at English E. Jones Center in Pembroke. Barnett played 20 minutes, the most of any of her six games thus far. She went 0-for-5 from the field and finished scoreless, but she did grab two rebounds and dish out an assist. The Hawks are 1-5 overall, 1-1 in Conference Carolinas. Chowan travels to Belmont Abbey on Tuesday.

Kaylen Campbell: The Division III Trinity women’s basketball team routed Sarah Lawrence 68-28 on Monday at Oosting Gymnasium in Hartford, CT. Campbell, a redshirt sophomore, scored seven points off the bench in 15 minutes. She shot 3-of-5 from the field, including 1-of-2 from 3-point range. Campbell also grabbed four rebounds, and was credited with two assists and a steal. The Bantams had a game scheduled against the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts on Sunday, but it was canceled because of winter weather. Trinity is 6-1, has won six in a row and closed out a stretch of seven games in ten days with the Sarah Lawrence win. They travel to Connecticut College on Thursday.

Lionel Reid-Shaw: The former Orange Panther ended his college soccer career with Division III Dickinson College last month. Johns Hopkins defeated Dickinson 2-0 in the semifinals of the Centennial Conference Tournament at Franklin & Marshall University in Lancaster, PA on November 9. Reid-Shaw started at center back. The Red Devils end the year 10-8. Reid-Shaw ends his career with 67 games played. He scored he only goal of his Dickinson career on his senior night game, a 3-1 victory over Muhlenberg on October 30. This season, Reid-Shaw played in 17 games, starting 13. He had one assist in his sophomore year.

While he’s been the starting quarterback for the Orange football team for the past two seasons, Wyatt Jones has had a goal of playing professional lacrosse.

Over the past year, the Premier Lacrosse League has become the latest underground darling among the sport’s faithful who hope it will fully establish lacrosse at the professional level.

While Jones’ professional hopes are still years away from being resolved, on Friday he officially achieved another milestone that will forever be his own.

Jones committed to Mercer University in Macon, GA. At the same time, he became the first Orange lacrosse player to commit to a Division I program.

“Wyatt is a special player,” said Orange Lacrosse Coach Chandler Zirkle, who also coached Jones on the Carolina Hilltoppers travel team. “He’s extremely competitive and works incredibly hard. I expect that he will do very well at the next level.”

Last season, Jones was voted third-team All-State as a midfielder. He helped the Panthers win a game in the state playoffs for the first time since 2015. Wearing his signature #19, Jones led the team with 39 goals. He added 17 assists and was second on the team with 56 points.

In Orange’s 17-13 victory over Northside-Jacksonville in the NCHSAA 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs, Jones scored four goals. It was the second state playoff win in team history.

In his sophomore season, Jones started as a midfielder as the Panthers finished 8-7 in Zirkle’s first year as head coach. Among the highlights that season was a 16-4 win over Riverside at Linny Wrenn Stadium in Durham, a game where Jones finished with four goals.

Jones’ announcement came one week to the day after his last football game, where he threw for two touchdowns in the Panthers’ 30-6 victory over Chapel Hill on Senior Night at Auman Stadium. Jones went 9-of-15 for 154 yards and two touchdowns against the Tigers. His final touchdown pass was a 44-yard strike to Elliott Woods, who was Jones’ favorite target this season.

This season, Jones threw for 1,164 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also ran for three touchdowns for an Orange team that finished 5-6.

Jones started all eleven games for the Panthers this season on the gridiron. In the season opener against R.J. Reynolds, Jones went 9-of-19 for 188 yards and two touchdowns. Against Vance County, Jones set a career-high with 13 completions for 141 yards and a 40-yard touchdown pass to Omarion Lewis.

He also scored the game-winning touchdown on a quarterback sneak against Walter Williams on September 13. Jones added rushing touchdowns against Southern Durham and East Chapel Hill.

Mercer started a men’s lacrosse team in 2011. It was the first such program in the state of Georgia. The Bears play in the Southern Conference against Jacksonville, Richmond, High Point, Furman, Air Force, Bellarmine, and VMI.

There are seven North Carolina prospects currently on the Mercer roster. The Bears are coached by Kyle Hannan, who will start his eighth season in February.

“Having a kid go on to do great things like that is huge for us in trying to grow a program,” Zirkle said. “It shows younger guys what is possible if they work hard.”

Payton Wilson: Florida State defeated N.C. State 31-13 at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, FL on Saturday night. In his fifth college game, Wilson had a career-high with seven tackles, including a sack of Seminoles quarterback Alex Hornibrook. Wilson also had a pass breakup. As Florida State pulled away in the second half, Wilson’s impact wasn’t lost on longtime Raleigh News and Observer sportswriter Joe Giglio.

As a redshirt freshman, Wilson is 3rd on the team with 23 tackles. He has three tackles for losses, tied for third on the Wolfpack.

Trent Gill: The former Cedar Ridge star had six punts for N.C. State against Florida State. Gill averaged 47.5 yards per punt. Two of the punts landed inside the 20-yard line. Two more went over 50 yards. Gill also had four kickoff, three of which went for touchbacks. Gill, who instructs current Orange kicker Nigel Slanker, is averaging 47.2 yards per punt on 20 punts this season. N.C. State is off next weekend. They return to action on October 10 against Syracuse in Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.

Keyshawn Thompson: The FCS Campbell Camels defeated Mercer 34-27 at Five Star Stadium in Macon, GA on Saturday night. Thompson, who was put on scholarship over the summer, played defense put didn’t record a tackle. Campbell is 3-1. They host Presbyterian in its Big South Conference opener next Saturday at Barker-Lane Stadium in Buies Creek.

Adam Chnupa: The 2018 Cedar Ridge graduate made his debut for FCS Elon on Saturday. #2 James Madison defeated the #24 Phoenix 45-10 at Rhodes Stadium at Elon. Chnupa, a redshirt freshman who was an All-Big 8 Conference football and baseball player at Cedar Ridge, entered the game in the fourth quarter. Elon, now 2-3, will travel to New Hampshire next Saturday.

Rodney Brooks: The Livingstone Blue Bears defeated Lincoln University (PA) 35-19 at Lions Stadium in Pennsylvania on Saturday. Brooks registered two tackles. Livingston is 4-0, 1-0 in the CIAA. They host Virginia Union next Saturday in Salisbury.

Kayla Hodges: The Elon women’s soccer team defeated UNC Wilmington 3-1 at Rudd Field in Elon in its Colonial Athletic Association opener on Thursday night. Hodges, who was featured on the front of the team’s program that night, assisted on the final Phoenix goal scored by Jessica Carrieri. Hodges, a sophomore, has started all ten of Elon’s games this year. Elon is 7-2-1 going into Sunday’s game against Hofstra in Hempstead, N.Y.

Taylin Jean: Division II Barton College defeated Limestone 2-0 at Bulldogs Athletic Complex in Wilson on Saturday. Jean started in net for Limestone. She made five saves in the loss.

Jordan Rogers: The Division III William Peace University women’s soccer team defeated Mary Baldwin 6-2 in its USA South Athletic Conference opener on Saturday at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. Rogers made her ninth start of the season, this time as a wingback. Peace is 4-4-1 overall, 1-0 in the USA South Conference.

Brittany Daley: The Division III Greensboro College women’s soccer team defeated Salem 2-1 in its USA South Athletic Conference opener at Varsity Field in Winston-Salem on Saturday. Daley started at centerback for the Pride, her tenth start of the year. Greensboro is 7-3.

Lilli Henry: The Methodist volleyball team had a tri-match in USA South Athletic Conference action on Saturday at the Riddle Center in Fayetteville. The Monarchs defeated North Carolina Wesleyan 3-1 to end the day. Averett started the afternoon by beating Methodist 3-1. In the Monarchs’ win over Wesleyan, Henry had 22 assists, seven digs and an ace. In Averett’s victory against Methodist, Henry finished with 12 assists, seven digs and an ace. Methodist is 2-9, 1-2 in the USA South.

The realignment of the new 3A/2A/1A lacrosse conferences raised some eyebrows across Hillsborough among players and coaches last week.

The North Carolina High School Athletic Association released new the new conference configurations last Thursday. Orange and Cedar Ridge remain paired together in Conference 9. The biggest surprise isn’t just who joined them, but also who didn’t.

Often, the NCHSAA will keep teams from an existing league evergreen for lacrosse, as well. However, Big 8 Conference members Chapel Hill, East Chapel Hill, Northwood and Southern Durham were split off into a new Conference 10. They were joined by Carrboro and Voyager Academy.

Orange and Cedar Ridge are joined in Conference 9 by fellow Big 8 member Northern Durham, and also J.F. Webb, Roxboro Community School, Vance Charter and Vance County.

The release of the new league brought this skeptical response from East Chapel Hill’s lacrosse Twitter account.

Unpopular Opinion: It was nice to have a (now former) Lacrosse Conference that was aligned to our #Big8 Conference… you know, like EVERY OTHER SPORT – made us feel like part of the whole. #PerpetuallyStartingOver @trianglelax @nclaxnews #nclaxscores pic.twitter.com/52WjRpld9x— East Lacrosse (@EastLax) September 12, 2019

Some of the players from both high schools in Hillsborough has a similar reaction.

One lingering question is will everyone in Conference 9 actually have a team?

Vance Charter opened in 2017. Though they offer 15 different sports, they have yet to do so for lacrosse. Vance County, formed after the consolidation of Northern and Southern Vance High Schools in 2018, joined the Big 8 Conference this summer. Even though Northern Vance had a lacrosse team in its final years, Vance County hasn’t fielded its first squad.

Roxboro Community School was slated to play in Conference 8 in 2019, but never made it to the league campaign. After playing four games, they disbanded, leaving Conference 8 to be contested among only Carrboro, Voyager and Webb.

It’s possible the NCHSAA was concerned about creating a league primarily consisting of schools that can’t be relied upon to complete a season or field a team. While Cedar Ridge and Orange are still young programs compared to their neighbors in Chapel Hill-Carrboro, they also have healthy participation and recent playoff success.

Cedar Ridge played for the 2017 3A/2A/1A State Championship. Last May, Orange defeated Northside-Jacksonville for its 2nd-ever state playoff win.

“Honestly, I was surprised,” said Cedar Ridge coach Patrick Kavanaugh about the new alignment. “Typically, the state has tried to keep the all sports conferences as in tact as possible. Obviously, splitting up East, Chapel Hill, Northwood and Southern out of our conference, they didn’t do that.”

For Cedar Ridge and Orange, it’s the exact opposite of conference stability that Chapel Hill and East Chapel Hill became synonymous for. The Tigers and the Wildcats were among the first teams in North Carolina to offer the sport in the late-90s. Long before it was sanctioned by the NCHSAA, Chapel Hill and East often met in the state playoffs when the sport was governed by the North Carolina Lacrosse Association, largely comprised of local head coaches. In fact, the Wildcats and the Tigers played for the 2006 State Championship at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.

Both Kavanaugh and Orange Coach Chandler Zirkle say they will continue to schedule Chapel Hill, East Chapel Hill and Carrboro for nonconference games.

“We’re going to keep playing all of those teams,” Kavanaugh said. “They’re longtime rivals, they’re good teams and they’re close. We’re lucky. Orange and Cedar Ridge don’t have to travel 90 minutes to get quality lacrosse games. I teach until 4 o’clock. I’m not going to schedule games on the east side of Raleigh or in Greensboro when I can get quality of games within 20 minutes of Hillsborough.”

Carrboro and Cedar Ridge met for the 3A/2A/1A Eastern Regional Championship in 2016 and 2017.

Zirkle, whose father Franklin is the coach at Leesville Road in Raleigh, also was taken aback by the new league.

“I was a little disappointed that we won’t be playing the same times that we have in the past,” Zirkle said. “They’ve all been really fun rivalries to develop the last few years. Our goal is still going to be to play them. Those rivalries won’t go away.”

However, Zirkle said the new league does offer new possibilities for his team.

“We’re excited about the new opportunity,” Zirkle said. “There’s new competition and some teams that we don’t see all the time. So we’re interested to see what’s the going to be like.”

Last year, the Orange lacrosse team came away disappointed after a lopsided loss to Northern Guilford in the state playoffs. On Wednesday night, it was completely different as the Panthers defeated Northside-Jacksonville 17-13 in the opening round of the 3A/2A/1A state playoffs. It was the 2nd state playoff win in team history. Dylan Boyer finished with four goals and two assists. Junior Wyatt Jones also scored four goals. Caleb Davis added the game-tying goal early in the 2nd quarter. Orange will travel to the coast again on Tuesday. This time, they will face Topsail, the 3rd seed from Conference One. Orange also got key contributions from Josh Mauer, who won 12 faceoffs.

The Orange lacrosse team won just its second state playoff game ever on Wednesday night in Jacksonville. The Panthers defeated Northside 17-13 in the opening round of the 3A/2A/1A NCHSAA State Playoffs. Sophomore goalkeeper Chase Hawkins made some vital saves as Orange outscored the Monarchs 6-1 in the 2nd quarter. The Panthers never trailed from that point forward. Hawkins started in lacrosse at Stanford Middle School and has continued to pursue it as his passion. On Tuesday night, Orange will make another trip to the coast to face Topsail in the 2nd round. The Pirates defeated First Flight 10-7 on Friday night.

The Orange lacrosse team defeated Cedar Ridge 14-12 on Thursday night at Red Wolves Stadium. Panthers midfielder Wyatt Jones opened the game by scoring the first two goals. He scored his third goal off an assist from Caleb Davis with 7.1 seconds remaining in the first quarter. The win pushed Orange’s record to 9-3, 2-1 in Conference 7. Jones has been a regular player for Coach Chandler Zirkle for the Carolina Hilltoppers travel team during the spring and summer. In addition, Jones is the starting quarterback for the Orange football team. 

A gritty, tenacious lacrosse battle between Orange and Cedar Ridge unfolded in dramatic fashion on Thursday night at Red Wolves Stadium. Orange’s Caleb Davis scored five goals in the second half as the Panthers defeated the Red Wolves 13-12 to complete a season sweep. Allen scored Orange’s first five goals in the second half. He also had three assists. The Panthers improved to 9-3 overall, 2-1 in Conference 7, one game behind East Chapel Hill for 1st place. Orange returns to action against Southern Durham on Monday night.