Orange Football

Chapel Hill’s first win at Auman Stadium since 2004 didn’t end in with comfort, where the coaches played out the string to run out the clock before a celebratory and comfortable ride back to the southern end of the Orange County.

Rather, it was filled with every incredulous turn, strange play calling, false finishes and gutsy gambles that make the Chapel Hill-Orange rivalry so zany, unpredictable and downright fun.

Anyone who knows this rivalry would expect nothing less.

In front of a spirited group of Chapel Hill fans that included a large student section waving team flags, the Tigers (1-0) held on to defeat Orange (0-2) 27-21 on Friday night. Not to be outdone, the Orange fans turned out on Hawaii night where the expected gear. Even Orange trainer Emily Gaddy showed up in a Hawaiian lay.

In April, Chapel Hill kicker Nolan Westroom kicked a 40-yard field goal as time expired to lift Chapel Hill past Orange 24-22 in the regular season finale at Culton-Peerman Stadium. It preserved a share of the Big 8 Conference championship for the Tigers. On Friday night, it appeared that Orange was brewing for yet another dramatic comeback of its own. On a night where the humidity was 85%, the game was constantly halted because of players cramping up. It left the Tigers struggling to find enough capable bodies to hold onto a 27-14 lead it had built with 4:33 remaining. Orange had two chances to score the game-tying touchdown in the final three minutes of regulation. Both drives ended in turnovers.

Chapel Hill senior quarterback Caleb Kelly threw for two touchdowns, including one on the final play of the first half that vaulted the Tigers into the lead permanently. Kelly finished 9-of-18 for 140 yards and two touchdowns.

“This hurts as much as April,” said Orange Coach Van Smith. “Just too many mistakes. Golly, that’s the best quarterback we’ve seen in a long time. If we see another one better than that this year, it’s going to be freakin’ scary, because he’s dang good”

Orange has lost five straight home openers. Chapel Hill, which lost eleven straight times to the Panthers from 2009-2019, defeated Orange for the second time in four months.

If nothing else, the game was a dramatic improvement for the Orange offense, which labored through a poor season-opener at South Granville last week. Against the Vikings, the Panthers registered just 16 yards total offense and two first downs.

Orange’s Jared Weaver blocked a 37-yard field goal attempt by Chapel Hill kicker Taran Coyne Smith. That led to a 13-play, 71-yard drive where Orange converted four third-downs. It ended when senior running back Omarion Lewis broke two tackles to score on an 11-yard scamper into the end zone. Kicker Darius Satterfield took a snap from long snapper Jake Wimsatt on the extra point and ran it in to put Orange ahead 8-0.

Chapel Hill would score on its next three possessions. It started when senior Elijah Ayankoya returned the ensuing kickoff back 86 yards for a touchdown. Weaver blocked the extra point to keep Orange ahead 8-6.

The Tigers got the ball back with 1:06 remaining in the first half. Kelly threw to senior Josh Campos for a 41-yard pass to penetrate the Orange end zone. After three straight incompletions, Chapel Hill faced a 4th-and-10. Marsh eschewed another 40-yard field goal attempt, a decision that paid off handsomely. Kelly found Campos in the back corner of the end zone for a gorgeous 20-yard touchdown pass on the final play of the first half.

On the opening kickoff of the second half, Chapel Hill’s Tai Kirk recovered a fumble by Orange’s returner at the Panther 29-yard line. Kelly got into the red zone with an eleven-yard run, and later flipped the ball on a tap pass to wide receiver Anthony Muldrow, who curved up the middle of the line for a 5-yard touchdown. Drew Allen added the 2-point run as Chapel Hill increased its lead to 20-8.

“We couldn’t have had a more disastrous end to the first half and beginning to the second half,” Smith said. “I thought we were doing pretty well offensively in the first half before the kickoff returner.” It

Orange’s sophomore running back Nate Sorrells took over on the next drive. He started by returning the kickoff 31 yards. After Lewis converted a 3rd-and-2, Sorrells bolted around left end for a 35-yard run. Hecht would score his first touchdown of the season on a fullback dive to reduce Chapel Hill’s lead to 20-14.

Jabari Albright recovered a fumble late in the third quarter to start a drive at the Chapel Hill 49-yard line. The drive stalled out after consecutive penalties pushed Orange back to the 50-yard line.

The game turned on Orange’s opening possession of the fourth quarter. The Panthers were set to punt on a 4th-and-10 from its own 35-yard line. At this point, Orange called for a fake punt, where Hecht was stopped by Becket Yates and Palmer Blanchard after a 2-yard gain, which turned the ball over on downs to Chapel Hill deep in Orange territory.

“We had poor execution,” Smith said about the called play. “It was there. It was there. Wide open.”

Chapel Hill needed only six plays to score what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown. After Kelly started the drive with a 12-yard gain, Allen scored on a 1-yard plunge with 4:33 remaining.

Trailing 27-14, Orange needed something fast and they got it. Quarterback Wynston Brown found Sorrells for a nine-yard gain, and picked up 15 more yards after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Brown floated a screen pass to Sorrells for a 35-yard touchdown pass, scoring just 40 seconds after Kelly touchdown.

Orange forced Chapel Hill into its only 3-and-out of the game after Kelly was pressured into a incompletion on 3rd-and-11 by linebackers Connor Ray and Jackson Wood. Orange took over at its own 26-yard line, but on 3rd-and-9, Brown had the ball knocked free and recovered by Tiger defensive lineman Edward Bassett.

It appeared that the Tigers would simply run out the clock, but this wild night wasn’t going to end that meekly. Running back Cayden Forbes, who finished with 102 yards, fumbled at the Orange 16-yard line with 1:02 remaining. Orange’s Kameron Harshaw got the ball back and the Panthers incredibly got yet another chance to take the lead.

But there was no miracle on Friday night.

Brown marched the Panthers into Chapel Hill territory after a 11-yard pass to Sorrells, followed by another personal foul penalty. Chapel Hill’s Jeremy Breeze ended the struggle with an interception at the 30-yard line.

Orange will travel to Burlington to face Cummings next Friday.

CHAPEL HILL 27, ORANGE 21

CH 0 12 8 7-27

OR 0 8 6 7-21

ORANGE-Omarion Lewis 11 run (Darius Satterfield run)

CHAPEL HILL-Elijah Ayankoya 86 kickoff return (kick blocked)

CHAPEL HILL-Josh Campos 22 pass from Caleb Kelly (run failed)

CHAPEL HILL-Anthony Muldrow 5 pass from Kelly (Drew Allen run)

ORANGE-Nate Hecht 1 run (pass failed)

CHAPEL HILL-Allen 1 run (Taran Coyne Smith kick)

ORANGE-Nate Sorrells 35 pass from Wynston Brown (Satterfield kick)

RUSHING-CHAPEL HILL 32-132 TD (Cayden Forbes 20-102, Kelly 7-20, Allen 3-17 TD, team 2-(-7)

ORANGE-46-225 (Lewis 17-89 TD, Sorrells 6-57, Hecht 8-26 TD, Brown 6-20, Jackson Wood 4-19, Ronald Cooper 2-13, A’Mare Morgan 2-4, team 1-(-3))

PASSING–CHAPEL HILL (Kelly 9-18 140 yards 2 TD) ORANGE (BROWN 4-8 65 TD, INT)

RECEIVING–CHAPEL HILL (Campos 3-67 2 TD, Muldrown 3-27 TD, Kaire Ryland 1-28, Ayankoya 1-12, Jamazia Williams 1-6)

ORANGE–(Sorrells 3-56 TD, Lewis 1-9)

Kayla Hodges: After being a regular starter for the Elon women’s soccer team’s first Colonial Athletic Association tournament championship team last spring, Kayla Hodges scored her first college goal in the Phoenix’s season-opener against George Washington. In the 55th minute, Hodges scored off a corner kick when she chipped one in the net off an assist from Lily Harkes. Hodges, who started as a defensive midfielder, played 84 minutes as the Phoenix won 2-0 at Rudd Field in Elon. On Sunday, UNC Greensboro defeated Elon 1-0 at Rudd Field. Hodges earned another start and fired one shot. She played all 90 minutes. The Phoenix are 1-1 and will travel to Virginia Tech on Thursday. Hodges, a junior, started all ten games last year.

Bryse Wilson: Wilson was placed on the Injured List by the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 16. Pirates General Manager Ben Cherington says the move is mostly about rest from fatigue. At the time he was placed on the Injured List, Wilson had just started against the Milwaukee Brewers in a no decision. Counting his time with the Atlanta Braves, Wilson has thrown 48 and 2/3rds innings and has an 5.55 ERA.

The fall sports season is underway for women’s soccer. It will officially start for football, volleyball and men’s soccer next week. Here are some Cedar Ridge and Orange graduates who will be competing in colleges throughout the country this fall.

Payton Wilson: A second-team All-ACC linebacker with N.C. State last season, Wilson returns for his redshirt sophomore season after undergoing surgery on both shoulders. It kept him sidelines for spring practice. Wilson ranks third among returning ACC players in career tackles. He’s been named to the Butkus Award watch list for the nation’s best linebacker.

Trenton Gill: The former Cedar Ridge punter and soccer player is now a redshirt junior at N.C. State. Gill is N.C. State’s career leader in punt average with 46.3 yards–which is tied for the second-best mark among returning ACC punters. Gill’s has 4.997 career punting yards, which is 12 in school history. In 2020, Gill averaged 44.7 yards per punt, the fifth-best single-season mark in school history.

Keshawn Thompson: Thompson is now a graduate student with the FCS Campbell football team. Last year, Campbell played only four games in the fall and sat out the spring. Thompson totaled nine tackles. He started the season opener at Georgia Southern, a game where the Camels lost 28-27 when a two-point attempt in the waning seconds ended with an incomplete pass.

Adam Chnupa: The former Cedar Ridge linebacker returns to Elon’s football team as a redshirt sophomore. The Phoenix played last spring. Chnupa appeared in all six games and finished with six tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss. Elon will open against Wofford at Rhodes Stadium on September 4. It will mark the 20th anniversary of Rhodes Stadium.

Rodney Brooks: The Division II Livingstone Bears of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association didn’t play in 2020-2021 due to the pandemic. Brooks will return as a senior with the Bears. The 2018 Orange graduate had 16 tackles for Livingstone in 2019.

Trey Grizzle: The former Orange linebacker, who graduated in June, has enrolled at Division III Averett University. Averett will face Ferrum College in Virginia on September 4.

Taylin Jean: The 2018 Big 8 Goalkeeper of the Year at Cedar Ridge, Jean starts her junior year at Division II Limestone College. Last season, Jean earned a spot on the South Atlantic Conference Commissioners Honor Roll. She appeared in four games for the Saints between the pipes.

Brittany Daley: A former All-Conference player with the Cedar Ridge women’s soccer team, Daley enters her fourth season with the Division III Greensboro College’s women’s soccer team. Last season, Daley earned USA South All-Academic honors with a 3.9 GPA. Daley has played 45 games in her Greensboro career. Last year, she helped the Pride win the USA South East Division Championship, which was the only tournament the Pride was allowed to play in due to the pandemic.

Jordan Rogers: The Division III William Peace University women’s soccer team will open against Guilford College on September 1. Rogers, a former Orange star who is now a senior, has started all 37 games she’s played in for the Pacers in her career.

Bailey Lucas: Lucas enters her senior season with the Division III Meredith College volleyball team. Last season, Lucas appeared in 14 matches and had 108 digs. She led the team with 298 assists. The Avenging Angels open the season at Roanoke on September 1.

CREEDMOOR–90 minutes before kickoff for Orange High’s season opener on Friday night, the team retreated to the bus due to an oncoming thunderstorm.

After 75 minutes of unrelenting rain, the Panthers finally emerged from shelter to start warmups against South Granville, but apparently the offense was left behind on the bus.

Playing ten new starters in its second season opener in five months, the Orange offense put up a measly 17 yards total offense on a night where the execution for both teams was as sloppy as the weather. South Granville senior running back Micah Wilkerson, who came into the game with 3,276 career rushing yards, ran for 117 yards and two touchdowns as the Vikings pulled away from Orange 20-2 at Viking Stadium.

It was Wilkerson’s 16th career 100-yard game.

Orange’s anemic offense was eerily reminiscent of its pandemic-induced season-opener against Southern Durham in early March, which featured one misguided shotgun snap after another, leading to zero points and just 46 yards of total offense.

Kickoff was delayed by 30 minutes because of a rainstorm. Barely three minutes into the game, there was a 45-minute lightning delay, leading to an interminable night where spectators dealt with several rainstorms as both offenses struggled to hold onto the ball amidst the wet turf.

“We’re not a big, physically imposing team,” said Orange Coach Van Smith. “Look at our roster and our size versus those guys. They’re big and strong. They won this game on the front line on both sides of the ball, hands down.”

The only positive for the Panthers came from its defense. Starting eight seniors, the Panthers held South Granville to two first downs in the opening half. Orange forced two fumbles against Vikings junior quarterback Khawan Bobbitt. The first was created by senior Connor Ray and recovered by Brendon Worsham. Early in the second quarter, junior linebacker Jabari Albright pounced on a loose ball coughed up by Wilkerson.

On Orange’s second play from scrimmage, Viking defensive tackle Divon Dabney pounced on an errant toss to a running back at the Panther 14-yard line. Two plays later, Bobbitt scored on an option keeper from 13-yards, the 24th rushing touchdown of his career. Bobbitt walked into the right corner of the end zone on the 2-point attempt.

Orange’s only drive that gained traction all night came after the lightning delay on its second series. Omarion Lewis, who was out of action last spring, bolted out for a 20-yard gain, which proved to be the Panthers’ longest play from scrimmage. Orange would ultimately drive to the South Granville 28-yard line, but the series stalled after consecutive incomplete passes.

Two plays later, Worsham recovered Bobbitt’s fumble at the South Granville 22-yard line. With a chance to tie the game, Orange instead went relentlessly backwards with consecutive fumbles and two penalties. They wound up punting from midfield.

Late in the first half, Orange’s defense got a big stop from Nate Hecht and Jackson Wood, which led to Worsham returning a punt inside Viking territory. Two plays later, Malachi Batchelor recovered another Orange fumble.

Orange was held to three first downs.

After a quiet half from Wilkerson, he immediately established his presence to start the second half with a 24-yard run on the second play from scrimmage. On a 3rd-and-2, Wilkerson rumbled 35 yards inside the Orange 5-yard line, then dove into the end zone two plays later.

Running the triple option, South Granville established an offensive rhythm in the second half. The Vikings had 20 plays from scrimmage in the third quarter. Orange had three.

The Vikings ended a 16-play, 81-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown run by Wilkerson early in the fourth quarter.

Orange’s Kameron Harshaw and Connor Ray tackled Wilkerson in the end zone for a safety to prevent the Panthers from getting shut out.

“The speed of Friday night is much faster than Thursday night,” Smith said. “Your first game or two on varsity is a wake-up call. You need to get used to the speed of that level. We didn’t have as many scrimmages as we wanted. Not to make excuses, but some of our guys could have gotten used to what it’s like on Friday night to go against bigger and faster guys. It’s tough for anybody.”

SOUTH GRANVILLE 20, ORANGE 2

SG–Khawan Bobbitt 13 run (Bobbitt run)

SG–Micah Wilkerson 2 run (run failed)

SG–Wilkerson 5 run (kicked failed)

OR-Safety, Wilkerson tackled in end zone.

RUSHING: ORANGE 33-9 (Omarion Lewis 13-39, Nathan Sorrells 5-10, Jake Wimsatt 6-9, Wynston Brown 2-(-6), Ty Weaver 1-(-7), team 6-(-36)

SOUTH GRANVILLE: 44-160 (Wilkerson 23-117 2 TD, Bobbitt 11-37 TD, Traevon White 5-12, Sha’king Allah 3-(-2), Charlie Vestal 2-(-4)

PASSING-ORANGE 2-4 6 yards (Brown 1-3 2 yards, Weaver 1-1 4 yards)

SOUTH GRANVILLE (Bobbitt 1-4 6 yards)

RECEIVING: (ORANGE: Wimsatt 1-4, Sorrells 1-2)

South Granville (Wilkerson 1-6)

The spring football season was an exercise in learning for Orange’s offense.

The team had a total extreme makeover after the first week, when the starting quarterback left the team following a season-opening loss to Southern Durham. Coach Van Smith inserted linebacker Jayce Hodges at quarterback in preparation for a road trip to Northern Durham. That’s despite the fact that Hodges had not played quarterback since his 8th grade year at Stanford Middle School.

Over the subsequent four practices, offensive coordinator Marty Scotten engineered a crash course in the double wing offense. After years operating out of the shotgun, Orange resembled a 1940s service academy team moving at the pace of a chess match.

But it worked. Orange stunned Northern Durham 7-6, beating the Knights for only the fifth time since 1968.

Smith and Scotten used the pandemic-mandated spring season to teach their team how to crawl under the new offense. For 2021, they want to move closer to a sprint.

In a scrimmage against Riverside on Friday night at Auman Stadium in Hillsborough, the Panthers scored two touchdowns. Pacing was more rapid between snaps under starting quarterback Wynston Brown, who was the starter for Orange’s junior varsity squad last spring The Pirates, under the direction of former Cedar Ridge head coach Cory Lea, committed three turnovers and were held to three first downs.

The scrimmage, which didn’t start until 8PM because of excessive heat, was limited to 30 plays for each varsity offense.

With Brown at quarterback, Orange scored first. On the opening drive, sophomore running back Nate Sorrells had a 15-yard run, which set up Brown’s 25-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Brendon Worsham.

“We were trying to go faster,” Smith said. “It’s hard to simulate game speed in practice for both our offense and our defense. So we have a ways to go on that. We hope to get more crisp and pick up the pace as needed. If we can get to where we can go really, really fast, then it’s easier to slow it down when you have to. As opposed to when you go slow all the time, it’s more difficult to pick it up.”

Jared Weaver and Ty Walker played quarterback for Orange in its second and third series, respectively.

On Riverside’s opening drive, Orange had five tackles for loss because of errant snaps by the Pirate offense. Returning starting linebacker Jackson Wood, senior linebacker Connor Ray, nose tackle Nate Hecht, junior linebacker Jabari Albright and Worsham all had tackles for loss. Hecht recorded two more tackles for loss over the subsequent two Pirate drives.

Senior Elijah Danley, who was a long jumper for Orange’s track & field team last spring, had two interceptions, which helped keep the Pirates scoreless during the brief scrimmage.

In a run-oriented offense, returning senior Omarion Lewis could stand to benefit. Lewis, who didn’t play last spring, was Orange’s leading rusher in 2019 with 784 yards and eight touchdowns. On Orange’s second drive, Lewis brought back memories of his sophomore year with a 64-yard touchdown gallop, the longest play from scrimmage all night.

To start his senior year, Lewis will journey back to where it all began–practically by accident. On August 23, 2019, Lewis entered the game in the third quarter after an injury to starter J.J. Torres. Up to that point, the coaching staff had penciled Lewis in for the junior varsity. Those plans changed after Lewis rushed for 127 yards, all in the second half, as the Panthers nearly came back from a 14-0 halftime deficit. The Vikings won 20-15 behind freshman quarterback Khawan Bobbitt, who engineered South Granville’s triple-option attack and scored two touchdowns.

When Orange journeys to Creedmoor on Friday, they will be without linebacker Elliott Woods and defensive tackle Dari’us Watkins, who both graduated in June. Both had played varsity for three years.

Jake Wimsatt, a junior linebacker who was a face-off specialist for Orange’s lacrosse team last spring, was back working out on the gridiron this summer. He will be one of the new faces that Smith hopes can fill the gap.

“We’re a little bit thin at some positions and obviously we have some big shoes to fill,” Smith said. “We’re young at some spots. A lot of guys from last year’s junior varsity team are coming up. It was good to see how they would perform against another varsity team. I was pleased tonight. We have some ingredients to bake the cake. So we’ll see if we can bake the cake.”

Phillip Berger: The season of the Elizabethton River Riders of the Appalachian League ended on August 7 with a 4-2 loss to the Danville Otterbots at Northeast Community Credit Union Park. Berger ended the year 4-1 with a 3.68 ERA, including the first two wins in the history of the franchise. Despite being a middle reliever, Berger led Elizabethton in wins. In 22 innings, Berger had 19 strikeouts and nine walks. The last game that Berger pitched for the River Riders was on July 16 in a 13-10 loss to Pulaski at Calfee Park in Pulaski, VA. In two innings, Berger surrendered two runs off three hits. On July 10 against Johnson City, Berger threw three innings and surrendered two hits and one run with three walks. The Doughboys defeated the River Riders 6-5. The River Riders finished in second place in the Appalachian League’s West Division with a 26-22 record, six-and-a-half games behind the Greenville Flyboys, who captured the league championship with a 9-8 win over the Pulaski River Turtles in Greenville, TN. Berger will start his junior season at Division III William Peace University in Raleigh next week.

Joey Berini: The Asheboro Copperheads of the Coastal Plain League ended its season on July 30 with a 18-9 loss to the High Point-Thomasville HiToms at Finch Field in Thomasville. In 20 games, Berini hit .290 for the Copperheads with 20 hits and eleven RBIs. In a 9-7 win over the Forest City Owls on July 29, Berini went 2-for-4 and scored Asheboro’s final run off an error. Berini also had a single in the second inning and scored off a double by Will Stewart. On July 24 against the Holly Springs Salamanders, Berini went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Asheboro finished the second half of the season 12-10, five games behind the West Division champion, the Savannah Bananas. Savannah swept both halves of the West Division and captured the Pettit Cup with a 13-3 win over the Morehead City Marlins in game three of the best-of-three Coastal Plain League Championship Series.

Bryse Wilson: On Saturday, Wilson started his third game with the Pittsburgh Pirates. At PNC Park, Wilson got a no-decision in the opening game of a doubleheader against the Milwaukee Brewers. Over four innings, Wilson surrendered four runs on seven hits. Kolten Wong and Tyrone Taylor homered off Wilson. After Wilson left the game, the Pirates exploded for eight runs over the course of the fifth and sixth innings to win 14-4. In Wilson’s second start with Pittsburgh, Cincinnati edged the Pirates 3-2 at the Great American Ball Park. In six innings, Wilson struck out seven with one walk. He gave up six hits and three runs. Wilson is 0-2 with a 4.80 ERA.

Payton Wilson: Entering his redshirt sophomore season at N.C. State, Wilson was named to the Butkus Award watch list. The Butkus Award goes to the nation’s top linebacker. Last season, Wilson was named first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference. He ranked fourth in the Football Bowl Subdivision in overall tackles and 13th in tackles per game. Wilson was named ACC Linebacker of the Week three times. Semifinalists for the Butkus Award will be named November 1, with finalists named on November 22. N.C. State starts its season against South Florida on September 2 at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh. The Wolfpack will then journey to Mississippi State on September 11.

Trey Grizzle: Grizzle, who graduated from Orange in June, committed to Averett University, where he will play defensive end. Last season, Grizzle played defense and tight end. He has announced plans to major in biology. Averett is a Division III school out of Danville, VA.