Orange Football

It’s finally feeling like fall.

This year, it also feels like playoff anticipation is alive and well again across Hillsborough after a relatively quiet 2018 at Cedar Ridge. Last academic year, only the Cedar Ridge softball team made the state playoffs among sports that determine their champions through a routine knockout tournament (the Cedar Ridge men’s and women’s cross country teams did qualify for the state championship meet)

This week, the Cedar Ridge volleyball team will officially make the state playoffs for the first time since 2015 when the brackets are unveiled online by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.

Orange will also be included in the field of 64. Not only that, but the Lady Panthers have a chance to be the winningest volleyball team at Orange this decade with a win over Northern Durham on Tuesday.

This Friday, Olivia Ward will represent Cedar Ridge women’s tennis in the 3A State Championships at the Burlington Tennis Center. Details about Ward qualifying for the state championships are detailed below.

On Monday, the 3A Central Golf Regionals will be held at Greensboro National Golf Club. Orange’s McKenzie Hawks and Sarah Durham will be competing and attempt to qualify for the 3A State Championships. Hawks and Durham will be the only golfers in Hillsborough competing in the regionals. The top three teams automatically qualify for the 3A State Championships with the three best scores. The top 17 individuals not on a qualifying team (which Orange falls into since they’re only taking two players) can also qualify for the state championships.

Here’s this week’s Magnificent 7. As always, we’ll have the announcement of the Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week and the Orange Panther of the Week later this week.

Olivia Ward: For the second year in a row, Olivia Ward has qualified for the 3A Women’s Tennis State Championships. In a thrilling match on Friday afternoon at the Burlington Tennis Center, Ward defeated Orange sophomore Jera Hargrove in the 2nd round of the 3A Mideast Regionals. Ward won 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 to establish herself as the most established women’s tennis player in school history. Ward started the day with a victory over a player from Terry Sanford 6-0, 6-1. In Ward’s freshman year, Cedar Ridge won the 2016 Big 8 Championship. As a junior, she teamed with Alana Lutz to qualify for the 3A State Championships in doubles, where they lost to the eventual state championship tandem of Natalie Lutz and Madelynn Frye of Kings Mountain. Ward will start play in the State Championships on Friday as the #4 seed from the Mideast. She will face the champion of the Midwest Region in the opening round.

Nicholas Frank: Scored the final goal in regulation as the Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team defeated Orange 3-2 in penalty kicks on Monday night. Frank, who notched a brace in the first game between the two teams last month, also scored the game-winning penalty kick as the Red Wolves took another step toward qualifying for the state playoffs for the first time since 2017. Cedar Ridge is 6-10-1 overall, 4-7 in the Big 8 Conference.

Julie Altieri: Yet another week where a freshman Cedar Ridge freshman makes the Magnificent 7. On Thursday, Altieri had 26 assists, five digs, five aces and one block as the Red Wolves swept Vance County in Henderson. Altieri leads the team with 78 aces and 552 assists for the Red Wolves, who are scheduled to conclude its regular season at Southern Durham on Tuesday (though Southern forfeited against Orange on Thursday due to a lack of available players).

Jera Hargrove: Last week’s Orange Panther of the Week won her first match in the Mideast Regionals over the top singles player from Eastern Alamance on Friday at the Burlington Tennis Center in straight sets. It’s the second time in the opening two years of Hargove’s athletic career that she has qualified for regionals. She missed qualifying for states by two games. Hargrove was the #1 singles player for the most successful Orange women’s tennis team this decade. The Lady Panthers finished 11-8.

Kaitlyn Werden: Finished with six kills, three aces, one block, 15 digs and 22 assists in Orange’s five-set thriller at Roxboro Community School on Friday. Werden also had 10 assists and five digs in the loss to Chapel Hill. Combined with Orange’s forfeit win over Southern Durham, the Lady Panthers have won 15 games this season. If they defeat Northern Durham on Tuesday, this Orange team will have more wins than any other Panther volleyball squad this decade.

Machai Holt: Scored two touchdowns in the Orange football team’s 40-30 loss to Vance County on Friday night in Henderson. Holt leads Orange with seven touchdowns. He paced the Panthers with 48 rushing yards and 23 receiving yards against the Vipers. The previous week against Northern Durham, Holt had 111 of Orange’s 144 yards of total offense.

Elliott Sikes: Blasted the game-tying goal for the Orange men’s soccer team in the waning minutes to send the Cedar Ridge game into extra time. Sikes is 2nd on the team with five goals on the season. Orange travels to Chapel Hill on Monday.

It’s finally feeling like fall.

This year, it also feels like playoff anticipation is alive and well again across Hillsborough after a relatively quiet 2018 at Cedar Ridge. Last academic year, only the Cedar Ridge softball team made the state playoffs among sports that determine their champions through a routine knockout tournament (the Cedar Ridge men’s and women’s cross country teams did qualify for the state championship meet)

This week, the Cedar Ridge volleyball team will officially make the state playoffs for the first time since 2015 when the brackets are unveiled online by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.

Orange will also be included in the field of 64. Not only that, but the Lady Panthers have a chance to be the winningest volleyball team at Orange this decade with a win over Northern Durham on Tuesday.

This Friday, Olivia Ward will represent Cedar Ridge women’s tennis in the 3A State Championships at the Burlington Tennis Center. Details about Ward qualifying for the state championships are detailed below.

On Monday, the 3A Central Golf Regionals will be held at Greensboro National Golf Club. Orange’s McKenzie Hawks and Sarah Durham will be competing and attempt to qualify for the 3A State Championships. Hawks and Durham will be the only golfers in Hillsborough competing in the regionals. The top three teams automatically qualify for the 3A State Championships with the three best scores. The top 17 individuals not on a qualifying team (which Orange falls into since they’re only taking two players) can also qualify for the state championships.

Here’s this week’s Magnificent 7. As always, we’ll have the announcement of the Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week and the Orange Panther of the Week later this week.

Olivia Ward: For the second year in a row, Olivia Ward has qualified for the 3A Women’s Tennis State Championships. In a thrilling match on Friday afternoon at the Burlington Tennis Center, Ward defeated Orange sophomore Jera Hargrove in the 2nd round of the 3A Mideast Regionals. Ward won 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 to establish herself as the most established women’s tennis player in school history. Ward started the day with a victory over a player from Terry Sanford 6-0, 6-1. In Ward’s freshman year, Cedar Ridge won the 2016 Big 8 Championship. As a junior, she teamed with Alana Lutz to qualify for the 3A State Championships in doubles, where they lost to the eventual state championship tandem of Natalie Lutz and Madelynn Frye of Kings Mountain. Ward will start play in the State Championships on Friday as the #4 seed from the Mideast. She will face the champion of the Midwest Region in the opening round.

Nicholas Frank: Scored the final goal in regulation as the Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team defeated Orange 3-2 in penalty kicks on Monday night. Frank, who notched a brace in the first game between the two teams last month, also scored the game-winning penalty kick as the Red Wolves took another step toward qualifying for the state playoffs for the first time since 2017. Cedar Ridge is 6-10-1 overall, 4-7 in the Big 8 Conference.

Julie Altieri: Yet another week where a freshman Cedar Ridge freshman makes the Magnificent 7. On Thursday, Altieri had 26 assists, five digs, five aces and one block as the Red Wolves swept Vance County in Henderson. Altieri leads the team with 78 aces and 552 assists for the Red Wolves, who are scheduled to conclude its regular season at Southern Durham on Tuesday (though Southern forfeited against Orange on Thursday due to a lack of available players).

Jera Hargrove: Last week’s Orange Panther of the Week won her first match in the Mideast Regionals over the top singles player from Eastern Alamance on Friday at the Burlington Tennis Center in straight sets. It’s the second time in the opening two years of Hargove’s athletic career that she has qualified for regionals. She missed qualifying for states by two games. Hargrove was the #1 singles player for the most successful Orange women’s tennis team this decade. The Lady Panthers finished 11-8.

Kaitlyn Werden: Finished with six kills, three aces, one block, 15 digs and 22 assists in Orange’s five-set thriller at Roxboro Community School on Friday. Werden also had 10 assists and five digs in the loss to Chapel Hill. Combined with Orange’s forfeit win over Southern Durham, the Lady Panthers have won 15 games this season. If they defeat Northern Durham on Tuesday, this Orange team will have more wins than any other Panther volleyball squad this decade.

Machai Holt: Scored two touchdowns in the Orange football team’s 40-30 loss to Vance County on Friday night in Henderson. Holt leads Orange with seven touchdowns. He paced the Panthers with 48 rushing yards and 23 receiving yards against the Vipers. The previous week against Northern Durham, Holt had 111 of Orange’s 144 yards of total offense.

Elliott Sikes: Blasted the game-tying goal for the Orange men’s soccer team in the waning minutes to send the Cedar Ridge game into extra time. Sikes is 2nd on the team with five goals on the season. Orange travels to Chapel Hill on Monday.

Machai Holt had two touchdowns in Orange’s loss to Vance County on Friday night. Omarion Lewis had a 40-yard catch-and-run touchdown reception from quarterback Wyatt Jones in the fourth quarter. Orange also had three interceptions and has surpassed its takeaway total from last year. Enjoy highlights from the game courtesy of Thompsonteamfilms.com

Colin Guentensberger: On Saturday, #24 Appalachian State defeated Louisiana-Monroe 52-7 at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone. The Mountaineers improved to 6-0, 3-0 in the Sun Belt Conference. It was the first time that former Orange Panther Colin Guentensberger suited up for the Mountaineers. Guentensberger is a freshman walk-on. He didn’t see action on Saturday. Guentensberger was the Hillsboroughsports.com Player of the Year in 2018. He was second on the team with 100 tackles and also had 23 receptions, behind only Zyon Pettiford.

Payton Wilson: On a dismal day for N.C. State, Wilson had a career-high nine tackles for the Wolfpack in a 45-24 loss to Boston College in Chestnut Hill, MA. Wilson had one-half tackle for loss. He was tied with Louis Acceus for 2nd on the team in tackles. Through seven games, Wilson third on the team with 35 tackles, including three-and-a-half for loss.

Trent Gill: The former Cedar Ridge kicker had six punts for N.C. State against the Eagles. Gill had an average of 45.5 yards. His longest was 62 yards, one of three punts over 50 yards for Gill. Three punts were downed inside the 20. Gill also had three kickoffs that totaled 173 yards. N.C. State will take this week off and travel to Wake Forest on November 2.

Keshawn Thompson: The FCS Campbell Camels defeated Hampton 31-16 at Barker-Lane Stadium in Buies Creek on Saturday. Thompson returned to action after missing the Presbyterian game on October 5. Thompson assisted on two tackles. After losing the season opener at Troy, Campbell has won five in a row and is 2-0 in the Big South Conference. The Camels travel to Gardner-Webb next Saturday.

Rodney Brooks: Shaw defeated Livingston 27-20 in CIAA action at G. Williams Complex in Raleigh on Saturday. Brooks had three tackles for the Blue Bears. Livingstone falls to 4-3, 2-3 in the CIAA. The Blue Bears will return to Salisbury and take on Winston-Salem State on Saturday.

Kevin Wright: The 2018 Cedar Ridge graduate had five tackle as Division III North Carolina Wesleyan lost to Averett 41-24 at Frank Campbell Stadium in Danville, VA on Saturday. The Battling Bishops are 3-3. They will host Brevard next week in Rocky Mount.

Brittany Daley: Two former Hillsborough products played against each other as Division III Greensboro College defeated William Peace University 3-0 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. Daley, who played at Cedar Ridge, started her 15th game of the season for Greensboro. The Pride sit atop the USA South Conference with a 5-0-1 record. They are 11-3-1 overall.

Jordan Rogers: Rogers started at wingback for Peace against Greensboro. Peace falls to 6-9-1, 2-4 in the USA South.

Lili Henry: The Division III Methodist volleyball team split in their tri-match at North Carolina Wesleyan in Rocky Mount on Saturday. The Monarchs defeated Wesleyan in five sets on scores of 14-25, 26-24, 21-25, 25-9 and 15-5. Henry had a season-high 25 assists for Methodist. She also had nine digs and one ace as Methodist improved to 4-15, 3-8 in the USA South. Earlier in the day, Averett defeated Methodist 3-1 on scores of 25-17, 18-25, 25-15 and 25-19. Against the Cougars, Henry had 12 assists, one ace and seven digs. Methodist returns home to face Pfeiffer at the Riddle Center in Fayetteville on Tuesday.

Bailey Lucas: The Division III Meredith volleyball team won both its matches inside Weatherspoon Gymnasium in Raleigh on Saturday. The Avenging Angels swept Pfeiffer 25-9, 25-22 and 25-22. They also defeated Greensboro in five sets on scores of 15-25, 25-20, 25-15, 23-25 and 15-8. Lucas played in both matches for Meredith. Against Greensboro, Lucas had two kills, 18 assists, 13 digs and 3 aces. In the sweep of Pfeiffer, Lucas had one kill, 12 assists and one dig. Meredith is 15-7, 9-2 in the USA South. The Angels travel to North Carolina Wesleyan on Tuesday.

HENDERSON–For the first time in weeks, Orange had something that they had been completely bereft of.

Momentum.

They had rallied from a 20-0 deficit after yet another awful start on the road with 17 consecutive points against Vance County. After Elliott Woods scored his third touchdown of the year early in the third quarter, Jake DeFranco picked off a pass, giving Orange a chance to take the lead in pursuit of its first road win in exactly 364 days.

Then they squandered it all away in record time.

The Panthers proceeded to get called for four personal foul/unsportsmanlike conduct penalties after Woods’ touchdown, which killed its rhythm and poise.

Samein Burwell made sure the Panthers never regained it.

After a Nigel Slanker punt, Burwell tossed to Kemarrous Jones for a 19 yard touchdown pass on 2nd-and-goal.

On the night he was crowned Homecoming King, Burwell threw for a career-high 406 yards and five touchdowns to push Vance County over Orange 40-30 at Viper Stadium.

Burwell also rushed for the Vipers’ only touchdown on the ground. His previous career high of 369 yards came against J.F. Webb on September 6. Vance County (7-1, 3-1) tied Northern Durham for second place in the Big 8 Conference. The Vipers travel to Durham County Stadium next Friday.

Orange needed a win to keep hopes of a winning season alive. Instead, a clearly frustrated Coach Van Smith walked to the team bus agitated about his defense yielding a season-high 494 yards, his team’s overall lack of discipline (102 yards in penalties) and the increasing likelihood of sitting home during the state playoffs for the second year in a row.

“We are completely not in a good mental state right now as a group of young men,” Smith said. “We started the game about as bad as you can possibly start a game.”

Orange’s Machai Holt rushed for 48 yards and two touchdowns. With Orange trailing 20-0, offensive coordinator Marty Scotten opened things up in the second quarter. That led to senior quarterback Wyatt Jones tying his season-high with ten completions for 102 yards.

Kemarrous Jones, who came into the game with 12 receptions on the year, finished with seven catches for a career-high 139 yards and two touchdowns. Late in the third quarter with the Vipers backed up to its own 10-yard line, Burwell found Jones on a slant for a 84-yard gain, stopped by a hustling Joe Kiger at the goal line. Burwell found Davonte Evans over the middle for a two-yard score moments later.

Orange, which has dropped five straight road games, got off to another bad start. The Vipers drove 79-yard on its opening drive. Burwell found William Hawkins on a 36-yard gain for Vance’s first of many trips into Panther real estate. On 3rd-and-6, Burwell found Jones for a 13-yard touchdown. Burwell and Jones hooked up again on the ensuing two-point conversion.

On the Vipers’ second drive, Phadol Jordan caught a 49-yard touchdown pass from Burwell. Kicker Khalil Kingsburgy followed with what may or may not have been an intentional onside kick, which was recovered by Vance’s Ta’Quon Lions.

The Orange defense stood on the following possession, but proceeded to fumble on its next two possessions. The second fumble took place at the Orange 9-yard line, recovered by Demarius Harris. Burwell scored on a 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard line.

Orange started its rally on a 11-play, 67-yard drive. Jones hit Holt for a 16-yard pass. On 3rd-and-4, Holt bounced off his own offensive line and stretched around left end for a touchdown.

The Panthers’ Will Torain recovered a fumble by Jordan on the next Viper possession. Slanker kicked a 31-yard field goal to narrow Vance’s lead to 20-10 at halftime.

Holt scored on a three-yard run late in the third quarter.

In the final stanza, Orange’s Joe Kiger picked off a Burwell pass. On the next play, Jones hit Omarion Lewis on a 40-yard catch-and-run touchdown.

In the final two minutes, Orange drove to the Viper red zone trailing 40-30. But Jones’ pass for Kiger was picked off by La’Maurice Bridges.

The Panthers return home to face Northwood next Thursday for Homecoming, but the sting of this loss was evident on the faces of players and coaches, alike.

Two months ago, Orange stood toe-to-toe with Eastern Alamance during a scrimmage in Mebane, where each team scored the same amount of touchdowns. Now, the Eagles are the #8 team in the state. Orange is on its way to a second straight losing season.

“We’re better than a five-win football team,” Smith said. “We just have to get out of our own way. We completely stripped the momentum away from ourself. We want to win. But we have a lot of issues with our discipline. It’s got to change.”

VANCE COUNTY 40, ORANGE 30

O– 0 10 14 6–30

VC-14 6 14 6–40

VC—Kemarrous Jones 7 pass from Samein Burwell (Burwell to Jones)

VC—Phadol Jordan 49 pass from Burwell (pass failed)

VC-Burwell 1 run (pass failed)

OR—Machai Holt 5 run (Nigel Slanker kick)

OR—Slanker 31 FG

OR—Elliott Woods 9 run (Slanker kick)

VC—Jones 19 pass from Burwell (pass failed)

VC—Rashad Evans 2 pass from Burwell (Burwell to K.Jones)

OR–Holt 3 run (Slanker kick)

VC—Noah Terry 70 pass from Burwell (pass failed)

OR-Omarion Lewis 40 pass from Wyatt Jones (pass failed)

RUSHING: VANCE COUNTY 18-10 (Evans 8-16, Terry 2-1, Burwell 8-(minus 7) TD.

ORANGE: 35-148 3 TD (Holt 12-48 2TD, W. Jones 4-44, Woods 10-27 TD, Lewis 9-29)

PASSING: VANCE COUNTY (Burwell 21-30 406 5 TD 3 INT) ORANGE 11-31 163 TD, 2INT (W. Jones 13-26 141 TD 2INT, Slanker 1-3 22)

RECEIVING: VANCE COUNTY (K. Jones 7-139 2 TD, William Hawkins 4-75, Jordan 3-59 TD, Terry 2-75 TD, Kevon Burton 2-39, Evans 2-17 TD, Ta’Quon Lyons 1-2)

ORANGE: (Lewis 3-55 TD, Woods 3-38, Cam White 3-11, Joe Kiger 2-28, Holt 2-23, Zyon Pettiford 1-8)

The Orange junior varsity football team won its final home game of the season on Thursday night. The Panthers defeated Vance County 38-24. Orange led 24-0 at the half. Sophomore cornerback Elton Dodds nearly scored on a pick six on the Vipers’ first possession of the second half and was tackled at the five-yard line. Brendon Worsham scored a touchdown in the 2nd half for Orange. Jared Weaver started at quarterback for Orange. The Panthers are now 4-2. They will travel to Pittsboro to face Northwood next week. Then the Panthers will travel to Culton-Peerman Stadium to face Chapel Hill in the regular season finale on November 8. 

Morgan Paschall: On Thursday night, Paschall announced on Twitter that he has received a scholarship offer from North Carolina A&T to play football and run track & field. Paschall added he would start attending Durham Technical Community College in January in order to become accepted at A&T. Paschall didn’t play football in his senior year at Orange. In his junior season, he ran for 542 yards and scored three touchdowns to help the Panthers win the Big 8 Championship. In two seasons with the varsity team, Paschall was also a linebacker. Paschall won several events in the 100 and 200 meters and the long jump at various track events in his junior season.

Stone Edwards: The 2017 Orange graduate has played only one game for the Vanderbilt football team so far this season. Edwards underwent ankle surgery during the summer. His only game this season came in Vanderbilt’s loss to Purdue on September 7. Edwards is a redshirt sophomore defensive end who was listed as the second-string defensive end before the Commodores’ season-opener against Georgia on August 31.

Taylin Jean: Jean posted another win as goalkeeper for the Division II Limestone women’s soccer team on Wednesday night. Limestone defeated Lees McRae 2-0 at Saints Field in Gaffney, S.C. Jean started as goalkeeper and was replaced in the 65th minute with the Saints’ leading 2-0. She made one save. Jean is 6-5 this season for the Saints. Limestone is in fourth place in the Carolinas Conference with a 5-2 mark. They are also 5-0 at home. The Saints travel to face Emmanuel College in Franklin Spring, GA on Saturday.

Brittany Daley: The 2018 Cedar Ridge graduate started for the Division III Greensboro College women’s soccer team in a 8-0 rout of Mary Baldwin at Pride Field in Greensboro on Wednesday night. Daley, a sophomore, has started all 14 games for the Pride this season. The Pride is 10-3-1, 4-0-1 in the USA South Conference. They are tied in the loss column with Pfeiffer for 1st place. They travel to Cary to face William Peace University on Saturday. Speaking of which….

Jordan Rogers: Salem College defeated William Peace women’s soccer 2-1 at Varsity Field in Winston-Salem on Wednesday. Rogers started her 15th game of the season, playing wingback. Peace is 7-7-1, 2-3 in the USA South.

Lili Henry: Salem College defeated the Methodist University volleyball team 3-0 at Varsity Gymnasium in Winston-Salem on Wednesday night. Once again, Henry led the Monarchs with 12 assists. She also had eight digs and an ace. Methodist falls to 3-14, 2-8 in the USA South Conference. This weekend, the Monarchs travel to Rocky Mount for a tri-match against North Carolina Wesleyan and Averett College.

Kate Burgess: The UNC rowing team is scheduled to start its season in the Head of the Charles in Boston on Saturday. As mentioned in a previous post, Burgess made the team as a walk-on this fall.

Lauren Cates: While fall sports dominate the headlines right now, the Wake Tech Community College women’s basketball team will start its exhibition season next week. Lauren Cates, who graduated from Orange in June, will suit up for the Eagles when they host Division III Meredith on Tuesday night. Wake Tech’s starts the regular season on November 4 against Caldwell College and Technical Institute.

The Orange football team starts the final quarter of its season on Friday night against Vance County in Henderson. Orange is 2-5, 1-2 in the Big 8 Conference. For center Brody Andrews, its the start of a critical stretch because he wants to make the state playoffs for the first time in his career. Andrews has played varsity football since his sophomore season at Cedar Ridge, then transferred to Orange in 2018 after the Red Wolves didn’t field a varsity squad. Dari’us Matkins rarely takes a play off for Orange. He starts as a guard on offense and a tackle on defense. He has become one of Orange’s most reliable interior linemen. You can hear Orange vs. Vance County starting at 6:45 with C&R Ski & Outdoor pregame show on Friday night. Kickoff between the Vipers and the Panthers will be at 7. 

Friday night was disappointing for Orange after Northern stormed out to a 14-0 lead and defeated the Panthers 31-14. On the positive end for Orange, wingback Machai Holt scored two touchdowns. Shayne Thompson of Thompsonteamfilms.com edited together the highlights of the game, presented by Durham’s Auto Mart in Durham. Enjoy the footage while Orange gears up for its first-ever trip to Vance County this Friday, which you can hear on Hillsboroughsports.com starting at 6:45 with the C&R Ski Outdoor pregame show.