Orange Football

The Orange Panthers had its largest come-from-behind victory since 2014 on Friday night. The Panthers rallied from a. 13-0 deficit to beat Williams 21-13.. Orange linebacker Joe Kiger came up with an interception early in the third quarter that led to Omarion Lewis scoring the game-winning touchdown. Kiger had eleven tackles through the Panthers’ first two games. Orange ended a five-game losing streak with the victory over the Bulldogs. Kiger also had two carries on offense against Williams as a wingback. The Panthers travel to Linnny Wrenn Stadium to face Riverside High in Durham on Friday night. 

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A turnover and a touchdown.

That’s what Orange needed the most midway through the second quarter against former Five County Conference rival Williams on Friday night.

After Williams’ Alijah Richardson snapped off an 80-yard touchdown run to put the Bulldogs ahead 13-0, Orange Coach Van Smith noticed a discouraging but familiar look of despair on his player’s faces.

It’s common among teams on a five-game losing streak who haven’t won at home in nearly a year.

“They had that look of ‘oh no. Here we go again.'” Smith said.

The quirkiest game in recent team history ended with Orange (2-1) beating Williams 21-13 at Auman Stadium in Hillsborough. After Richmond’s run, Orange didn’t give up another point and won its first game of the season despite just 178 yards total offense.

Yet the turning point of the game wasn’t an explosive touchdown run, a blocked punt or even a 99-yard touchdown bomb.

It came when linebacker Owen Brimmer picked off a pass deep inside Williams’ territory late in the first half. That was promptly followed by something that could have only happened on Friday the 13th with a full moon overhead.

The subsequent Orange drive appeared to be just another series that would dissipate without a first down. Junior Nigel Slanker was set to attempt a field goal before Williams was whistled for back-to-back offside penalties.

Suddenly faced with a 4th-and-inches with the Williams’ 3-yard line, Smith inserted 270-pound nose tackle Courtney Edwards at fullback, who rumbled around left end for his first touchdown since his Pop Warner days.

“I can’t even remember the last time I had a touchdown,” Edwards said. “I love carrying the ball, though.”

Williams’ (2-2) offense was hamstrung after losing its top two quarterbacks to injury in the previous two weeks. Senior Kennedy Miles suffered a torn ACL in a win over Western Alamance on August 30. Backup Kalihal Currie was knocked out of last week’s loss to Eastern Alamance.

Bulldogs’ coach Jim McGill played three quarterbacks, alternating between junior Evan Breedlove and senior Shane Whitter (their leading tackler) for most of the game. Senior J.J. Rone started behind center, but didn’t play after the second series.

The lack of dependable throwing arms relegated Williams’ offense almost exclusively to quarterback keepers and handoffs to Richmond. They were held to 86 yards and three first downs in the second half.

Meanwhile, it didn’t take long for Orange to find that turnover with a touchdown.

Early in the third quarter, Orange senior linebacker Joe Kiger picked off a Breedlove pass near midfield. The Panthers, who went 0-for-6 on third down conversions in the first half, finally moved the chains on 3rd-and-six when quarterback Wyatt Jones found wingback Elliott Woods for eleven yards. It was Orange’s longest pass play of the game.

Facing a 4th-and-2 from the Williams 12-yard line, Jones executed a gorgeous read-option around left end and dove for the first down. Sophomore Omarion Lewis scored his second varsity touchdown on the next play from four yards. Slanker’s extra point gave Orange its first lead in the 2nd half this year at 14-13.

After Williams was called for a chop block on a touchback during the ensuing kickoff (Friday the 13th, you know), the Panthers watched as the Bulldogs shanked a nine-yard punt.

That led to the 4th quarter where some quiet leaders emerged for the Panthers. One of them was Woods, who had consecutive gains of eleven yards during Orange’s final touchdown drive. After Lewis converted a 3rd-and-5 with a nine-yard run to burst into the red zone, Jones bounced off Williams’ tacklers like he was a human pinball as he spun, shimmied and shook to the edge of the goal line. Two plays later, Jones snuck it across the goal line for his first rushing touchdown of the year.

Trailing 21-13, Whitter was inserted at quarterback and found leading receiver Kendrel Briggs for a 35-yard gain to the Orange 26-yard line. An unsportsmanlike penalty against the Panthers led to a first-and-goal at the 10-yard line.

That’s when Orange cornerback J.J. Torres made the last two big plays of the night in succession.

On 3rd-and-goal from the Orange 8-yard line, Williams ran a jet sweep for Briggs around left end. Torres read the play adroitly, stringing it out to the left sideline and drew a holding penalty against a Bulldog wide receiver.

Faced with 4th-and-goal from the 18-yard line, Torres picked off Breedlove’s final pass to start a long-awaited celebration along the Panther sideline.

After a scoreless first quarter, Williams took the lead off smoke and mirrors. On a double pass, Breedlove lateraled to Briggs, who hit Whitter for a 26-yard touchdown pass in the north end zone.

The Bulldogs’ consecutive offsides gaffes greatly benefited an Orange offense that largely struggled. Up to that point late in the first half, the Panthers registered only 65 yards.

But, as Smith said, they needed only a turnover and a touchdown to come away smiling in the end.

“I’ve been preaching to these kids since they were freshman that when you’re down two touchdowns, that’s just a touchdown and a turnover. Then you’re right back in this thing,” Smith said. “That’s always been our mentality.”

ORANGE 21, WILLIAMS 13

W—Shane Whitter 26 pass from Kendrel Briggs (Brennan Lagana kick)

W—Alijah Richmond 80 run (kick failed)

O—Cortney Edwards 4 run (Nigel Slanker kick)

O—Omarion Lewis 4 run (Slanker kick)

O—Wyatt Jones 1 run (Slanker kick)

RUSHING—WILLIAMS 29-194 TD (Richmond 15-148 TD, Whitter 10-31, J.J. Rone 3-11, Frank Anderson 1-4)

ORANGE: 42-148 2 TD (Lewis 20-61 TD, Elliott Woods 8-40, Jones 6-31 TD, Joe Kiger 2-8, J.J. Torres 2-4, Edwards 1-4 TD, Jake DeFranco 2-1, team 1-(-1))

PASSING—WILLIAMS 7-13 75 yards TD 4 INT (Briggs 1-1 26 TD, Breedlove 3-7 14 yds 3 INT, Whitter 3-3 38 yards, Rone 0-2)

ORANGE—Jones (3-13 30 yards 2 INT)

RECEIVING: WILLIAMS (Brings 4-40, Whitter 1-26 TD, Kyndall Haith 1-11, Richmond 1-(-2).

ORANGE—(Zyon Pettiford 2-11, Woods 1-19)

The third week of the fall sports season faced interruptions from Hurricane Dorian, which led to a unusually busy Friday night. Here are the best individual performances from Week 3 of the fall sports season, including Cedar Ridge volleyball winning its sixth straight match and an Orange sophomore running back who made an immediate impact in his varsity debut. If any coach has a nomination, please email hamlin37@hotmail.com to get your athlete included (looking at you women’s golf and cross country coaches!)

Cameron Lloyd: The first two-time inductee into the Hall of Awesome, Lloyd statistical line in Cedar Ridge’s 3-1 win over Northwood on Friday night was too much to ignore. Lloyd, a freshman, had 16 kills as the Red Wolves won its Big 8 opener in Pittsboro, beating the Chargers for the first time since 2015. Northwood had beaten Cedar Ridge six straight times. Even though she just started high school, Lloyd has quickly established herself as the Red Wolves top finisher. She has led the Red Wolves in kills in three straight matches and four of its last six.

Erin Jordan-Cornell: In its only game of the week, the Orange volleyball team defeated Roxboro Community School 3-0 in Hillsborough. Jordan-Cornell, a 6-1 freshman, had seven kills, tying for the team lead. Through Orange’s 5-3 start, Jordan-Cornell leads the team with 28 kills and 13 blocks. Orange will open Big 8 Conference play on Tuesday against the newest member of the league, Vance County, in Hillsborough.

Brandon Garcia: The game of the week was Wednesday night in Durham, where Cedar Ridge’s men soccer team had a wild 6-6 draw against the Durham School of the Arts. Garcia, a senior midfielder, notched a hat trick to continue his scoring streak to start the year. In addition to the goal, Garcia assisted on a goal by Dean Allen. Garcia started the year with the game-winning goal in Cedar Ridge’s 1-0 win over Hobbton. He also scored. a goal in a 5-1 victory over Eastern Alamance, and assisted on a marker by Reese Weaver in a 4-2 loss to Carrboro. Garcia has a five-game scoring streak going into Monday night’s tilt against Bartlett Yancey in Yanceyville.

Omarion Lewis: A sophomore running back for the Orange football team, Lewis sat out the season-opener against R.j. Reynolds. He didn’t play in the first half against South Granville, but he certainly jolted life into a lethargic Orange offense in the 2nd half. Lewis ran for 119 yards with a touchdown in his first varsity game. Lewis, who had been slated to play on the junior varsity before Friday, was the first Orange player to rush for 100 yards since Hunter Pettiford ran for 199 yards against Southern Durham on September 28, 2018.

Anne Morrell: The Cedar Ridge women’s cross country team participated in the Friday Night Lights Cross Country Festival at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville on Friday night. In a 26 team field, Cedar Ridge finished 12th. Morrell led the way for the Red Wolves with a time of 20:59.28, good enough for 65th place in a field of 215 runners. Cedar Ridge sophomore Zoe Wade finished right behind Morrell in 68th. Last season, Morrell helped the Red Wolves finished 2nd in the Mideast Regionals and qualified for the state championships. Cedar Ridge returns the bulk of last year’s team and is aiming for big things this fall.

Jera Hargrove: The sophomore, who was the Orange women’s tennis squad’s top singles player last season as a freshman, started the week with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Northwood’s #1 singles player. The Chargers held off the Lady Panthers 5-4. On Wednesday, Hargrove extended Chapel Hill’s top singles player, Lauren Bolzan, to three sets. After dropping the opening set 6-4, Hargrove won the second set 6-4, leading to a 10-point tiebreaker to determine the match. Bolzan captured that 10-8. Hargrove defeated Person’s Kaitlyn Wrenn in straight sets on August 29.

Elliott Sikes: On Tuesday night, the Orange men’s soccer team defeated Hillside 7-1. Elliott Sikes produced two goals and two assists against the Hornets. Orange improved to 3-1 before falling to Riverside on Friday night 4-2.

Jackson Schmid: The Division III Wheaton Thunder football team started its season with a 38-0 win over Monmouth (Illinois) at Zorn Stadium in Monmoth, IL on Saturday. Schmid, who was the quarterback for an undefeated Orange team in 2016, is now a safety with the Thunder. He recorded a career high two tackles on Saturday. Schmid, a junior, played three games for the Thunder last season.

Payton Wilson: N.C. State defeated Western Carolina 49-0 at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday. In his second college game, Wilson registered three tackles and a quarterback hit. He had six tackles in the season-opener against East Carolina last week.

Trent Gill: The 2017 Cedar Ridge graduate handled punting duties for N.C. State on Saturday. Gill had three punts for an 49.3 yard average. His longest punt was 58 yards, with two kicks inside the 20-yard line. Gill also had eight kickoffs with three touchbacks. The Wolfpack will take this week off, then return against Ball State on September 21.

Stone Edwards: After missing Vanderbilt’s season-opener against #3 Georgia on August 31st, the 2017 Orange graduate made his season-debut for the Commodores against Purdue at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, IN on Saturday. Edwards, who was listed as second-string defensive end on the Vanderbilt depth chart, wasn’t credited with a tackle. The Boilermakers defeated the Commodores 42-24.

Keshawn Thompson: The FCS Campbell Camels defeated Division II Shaw University 38-14 at Barker-Lane Stadium in Buies Creek on Saturday. Thompson was credited with two tackles. The Camels (1-1) return to action against Davidson on September 21.

Bryse Wilson: The day after making an appearance for the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday, Wilson returned to the Gwinnett Stripers of the AAA International League the next day. On Saturday, Wilson got the start as the Columbus Clippers defeated the Stripers 5-4 in Game 4 of the Governor’s Cup Semifinals at Huntington Park. The Clippers clinched the series three games to one and advanced to face the Durham Bulls in the Governor’s Cup Finals. Wilson went six innings in a no-decision. He surrendered ten hits and three runs. Gwinnett led 4-3 in the middle of the eighth, but couldn’t hold on to the lead. Gwinnett ends the season after a club record 81 wins. Wilson, who could return to Atlanta before the regular season ends, was named the Most Outstanding Pitcher for the Stripers last week. He finished 10-7 with a 3.42 in 21 starts for the Stripers this season. In his final ten starts, Wilson went 7-1 with a 3.12 ERA with 59 strikeouts and 13 walks.

Madison Wardlow: After graduating as Cedar Ridge’s career leading scorer in women’s basketball, Wardlow has enrolled at Guilford Technical Community College, where she plans to continue her basketball career. Wardlow was the first Cedar Ridge player to score over 1,000 points, a mark she eclipsed in February against Southern Durham.

Kayla Hodges: For the fifth time in five games, Hodges started for the Elon women’s soccer team in a 3-1 win over Richmond at President’s Field in Richmond, VA on Thursday. Hodges wasn’t credited with a shot on goal. The Phoenix are now 4-1 after going 3-10-4 in 2018.

Taylin Jean: The 2018 Cedar Ridge graduate made her college debut for Division II Limestone women’s soccer team on Thursday. North Georgia defeated the Saints 4-1 at the UNG Soccer Complex in Dahlonega, GA. Jean got her first college start in net and made three saves. Jean was the Big 8 Goalkeeper of the year her final two seasons at Cedar Ridge.

Brittany Daley: The Division III Greensboro College women’s soccer team won its third straight game over Southern Virginia 4-0 in Buena Vista, VA on Saturday. Daley, a 2018 Cedar Ridge graduate, started at centerback. She has started all four of the Pride’s games this year, playing 90 minutes twice. Greensboro is 3-1.

Jordan Rogers: On Saturday, Rogers started for Division III William Peace University. Agnes Scott defeated the Pacers 1-0 in Decatur, GA. The Pacers are 0-2 and will try to pick up its first win of 2019 against Hollins University at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary on Tuesday.

Lionel Reid-Shaw: The Division III Dickinson men’s soccer team suffered its first loss against Lebanon Valley 2-0 on Saturday in Annville, PA. Reid-Shaw entered the game as a reserve and has played in all three of Dickinson’s games so far this season. The Red Devils are 2-1.

Bailey Lucas: The Division III Meredith College volleyball team went 1-2 in the Washington & Lee Invite at the Duchossois Center in Lexington, VA on Friday and Saturday. The Avenging Angels defeated Southern Virginia 3-2 on Friday. Lucas had one kill, 17 assists and two digs against the Knights. On Saturday, Gettysburg defeated Meredith 3-2. Lucas finished with 19 assists and six digs. Washington & Lee also knocked off Meredith 3-2. Lucas had three kills, 18 assists, and four digs. The Avenging Angels are now 4-2.

They recovered two onside kicks within 13 minutes, picked up eleven first downs in the second half after getting only one in the first, and stumbled upon a potential star running back who led the team in rushing even though he wouldn’t have played if not for Hurricane Dorian.

And that was just the second half.

Yet even with all that going for them, the Orange football team couldn’t get its first win of the season.

South Granville (1-2) pushed past the Panthers 20-15 at Viking Stadium in Creedmoor on Friday night. Freshman quarterback Khawan Bobbitt, in just his second game after sitting out the Vikings’ loss to Sanderson last week, scored the game-winning touchdown with a four-yard carry out of the Vikings wishbone offense.

Bobbitt factored in on all three Granville touchdowns in its home opener. He finished with 76 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

After being totally dominated in the first half, Orange found a game changer in sophomore running back Omarion Lewis, who didn’t play in last week’s season opener against R.J. Reynolds and was absent during the first half against the Vikings.

In the second half, he sparked a lackluster Orange offense with 119 rushing yards on 12 carries and his first varsity touchdown.

The Panthers needed something after wingback and safety Machai Holt missed the game because of an injury suffered against Reynolds last week. Holt scored a touchdown, made an interception, blocked a field goal and an extra point against the Demons.

Yet if it wasn’t for Dorian, Lewis probably wouldn’t have seen the field Friday night.

Lewis, a sophomore, was penciled in by the coaching staff to play on the junior varsity. The Orange JVs were scheduled to host South Granville in its season opener on Thursday night, but the game was canceled on Tuesday ahead of forecasts calling for Dorian to bring rain across the Triangle.

Instead, Lewis found himself on the varsity Friday night playing his first game. Orange went from trailing 14-0 at the half with a measly 39 yards total offense in the opening two quarters to 194 yards total offense in the 2nd half with a chance to win late.

“He’s kind of been on the bubble as to where he’s going to be,” said Orange coach Van Smith. “We knew he’s got that spark, that strength. He has as good a vision as anybody about seeing things and hitting those holes. He kind of needed a tryout, so to speak.”

After a lethargic first half, Orange’s got a jolt when Cameron White returned the 2nd half kickoff 45 yards. Elliott Woods’ nine-yard carry set up Orange outside the Granville red zone, which the Panthers never came close to in the 1st half. Nigel Slanker kicked a 38-yard field goal to put Orange in the board.

The subsequent onside kick took a quirky bounds on the thick brush on the Vikings field, which doubles as its baseball outfield during the spring. Jayce Hodges made the recovery in front of a raucous Panther side to send the offense back on the field.

It set up Orange’s opening 49-yard touchdown drive, of which Lewis had 33 rushing yards. On third-and-goal from the Viking 14-yard line, quarterback Wyatt Jones found classmate Zyon Pettiford in the middle of the end zone.

Orange simply couldn’t stop Granville when it counted most. The Vikings finished 8-for-12 on third down conversions. Three of the four times they failed, they went on to convert on fourth down.

It was never anything fancy. Under Mike Hobgood’s wishbone offense, the Vikings biggest weapon was a simple toss sweep that burned Orange constantly.

The Vikings’ opening drive of the 2nd half came with 5:14 remaining in the third quarter, but they made it worth their while. With Bobbitt at quarterback, they converted one third down and two fourth downs, twice using the toss weep. Following Jaydon Crabtree’s four-yard run on a 4th-and-1, Bobbitt scored from four yards out. The extra point was wide right.

Orange still had its chances. Defensive end Khaleb Smith recovered a fumble at midfield. Lewis took over the final three plays of the drive with runs of eleven and four yards before scoring his first varsity touchdown from eight yards out.

The Panthers recovered yet another onside kick, this time with Jacob Chapman pouncing on the ball. Orange advanced to the Viking 36-yard line after a seven-yard bootleg by Jones, but the drive stalled after four incomplete passes.

Granville opened the game with a 13-play, 80-yard drive that took 6:53 off the clock. Bobbitt scored on a quarterback sneak from two yard away.

The last thing Orange needed from its offense was a three-and-out, which is exactly what happened. Granville scored on its next possession when Bobbitt found Bryson McCall for a 42-yard touchdown pass. Though McCall plays regularly, it was his first touchdown of the season.

Total offense in the first quarter: South Granville 85, Orange 3.

‘I was tickled to death with the defense,” Smith said. “After the first two possessions, I thought it was going to be 42-0 and they were eating the clock up. Our defense came back and held them to one score the rest of the way.”

Orange labored through the first half. A fumble recovery by linebacker Caulin Fansler helped the Panthers come up with its first stop.

Orange, which has now lost eight in a row, hosts Burlington Williams next Friday night.

“I was worried last week,” Smith said. “I feel better this week.”

South Granville 20, ORANGE 15

SG-Khawan Bobbitt 2 run (Jackson Erwin kick)

SG-Bryson McCall 42 pass from Bobbitt (Erwin kick)

O-Nigel Slanker 38 FG

O-Zyon Pettiford 14 pass from Wyatt Jones (kick blocked)

SG-Bobbitt 4 run (kick failed)

O-Omarion Lewis 8 run (pass failed)

RUSHING–ORANGE: 30-158 (Lewis 12-119 TD, J.J. Torres 5-21, Elliott Woods 5-19, Jones 5-3, Jacob Chapman 1-3, Joe Kiger 3-(-7).

South Granville: 53-251 2 TD (Malachi Flowers 14-87, Bobbitt 15-76 2 TD, Jaydon Crabtree 8-46, Ethan Josselin 3-26, Micah Wilkerson 10-23, team 3-(-3) McCall 1-(4))

PASSING: ORANGE: (Jones 7-16 TD 75 yards)

SOUTH GRANVILLE (Bobbitt 2-6 56 yards TD)

RECEIVING: ORANGE (Pettiford 3-24 TD, Kiger 2-31, Woods 1-14, Daniel Champion 1-6)

SOUTH GRANVILLE: McCall 1-42 TD, Dominic Deloatch 1-14

After helping the Gwinnett Stripers win a franchise-record 81 games and the International League’s Southern Division championship, Bryse Wilson has been named the Stripers’ Most Outstanding Pitcher.

As Gwinnett honored Wilson, he was promoted to Atlanta on Monday. Wilson entered Tuesday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays and tossed a scoreless sixth inning. He ran into problems in the seventh as Rowdy Tellez launched a solo homer over the left field wall. Wilson went one-and-one-thirds innings, and allowed four hits and two earned runs.

The Braves defeated the Blue Jays 7-2 for its sixth straight win. Atlanta now leads the Washington Nationals by six-and-a-half games in the National League East.

Wilson started 2019 in Atlanta. His latest promotion is his fifth stint with the Braves this season and seventh since 2018.

In his final six starts for Gwinnett, Wilson threw 40 innings and had a 0.90 ERA. He struck out 37 while conceding 31 hits. Opponents hit only .217 against him. Wilson had six quality starts and went 6-0 in that span, helping the Stripers rally past the Durham Bulls in the standings for its second division championship since moving to Georgia from Richmond, VA in 2009.

Gwinnett will start play in the Governor’s Cup Playoffs against the Columbus Clippers on Wednesday. Game one of the best-of-five series will be in Coolray Field in Larenceville, GA.

Scott Satterfield: 1991 Orange High graduate Scott Satterfield made his head coaching debut with the Louisville Cardinals on Monday night. #8 Notre Dame pulled away from the Cardinals 35-17 in Cardinals Stadium. It was Satterfield’s first game after five seasons at his alma mater, Appalachian State. In Boone, Satterfield led the Mountaineers to three consecutive Sun Belt Conference championships in its transition from the Southern Conference of the Football Championship Subdivision to the Football Bowl Subdivision. Satterfield was a quarterback at Orange and also played safety. In his high school career, the only varsity year he was healthy was 1990, when Orange went 7-3. Satterfield tore his ACL int he season-opener of the 1989 season at Eastern Alamance.

Satterfield went on to become an FCS (then I-AA) All-American at Appalachian State. As fate would have it, the top tailback on his offense was 1993 Orange graduate Damon Scott, who would also become an FCS All-American. Together, the two helped Appalachian win the 1995 Southern Conference Championship, beating a Marshall team that included future NFL Hall of Famer Randy Moss.

Satterfield also was the offensive coordinator at Florida International and quarterbacks coach at Toledo before returning to Boone, where he succeeded his mentor Jerry Moore as head coach.

Louisville hosts FCS Eastern Kentucky on Saturday night.

Kayla Hodges: The Elon women’s soccer team suffered its first loss of the season on Sunday. Furman defeated Elon 3-0 at Stone Soccer Stadium in Greenville, SC. Hodges started at midfield, as she has all of the Phoenix’s games so far this season. Elon is 3-1 and travels to Richmond on Thursday.

Brittany Daley: The 2018 Cedar Ridge graduate made another start for the Division III Greensboro College women’s soccer team on Sunday. The Pride defeated Bob Jones University 5-1 in Greenville, S.C. Greensboro is 2-1 and faces Southern Virginia University on Saturday.

As a new feature on Hillsboroughsports.com, we’ll honor the seven best performances from the previous week in fall sports. Last week was a solid one for Cedar Ridge and Orange volleyball. Cedar Ridge women’s tennis defeated Orange for the 11th straight time.

1. Olivia Ward: Won three matches for the Cedar Ridge women’s tennis team last week. She started with a thrilling three-set victory over Chapel Hill’s top singles player, Lauren Bolzan, 4-6, 6-4, and won 10-8 in a ten-point tiebreaker. The following day, Ward defeated Orange’s Jera Hargraves 6-1, 6-4, then teamed with Nora Sauers to win at #1 doubles and capture the dual match for the Red Wolves. The following day, Cedar Ridge edged Bartlett Yancey 5-4 at Red Wolves Tennis Courts. Ward captured her third win in four days, winning a match shortened to one set 8-5.
2. Cameron Lloyd The Cedar Ridge volleyball team won three road matches last week. On Wednesday, they defeated Durham School of the Arts 3-1 at Sykes Gymnasium in Durham. Lloyd, a freshman, finished with 18 kills and 18 digs. The previous week against the Durham School of the Arts in a 3-1 Cedar Ridge win, Lloyd had 15 kills, 18 digs and two aces.
3. Jose Beltran: On Wednesday, the Orange men’s soccer team scored three goals in a 13-minute span during the second half to rally and defeat Eastern Alamance 5-3. Beltran scored the first hat trick of his career, including the game-tying goal in the 62nd minute. Beltran also scored the opener for the Panthers in the 6th minute, and added another tally later in the 1st half as Orange won its home opener. The Panthers are 2-1 going into Tuesday night’s match at Hillside.
4. Kaitlyn Werden: In Orange’s stunning 3-1 volleyball victory over previously unbeaten Person, Werden had ten kills, ten digs two aces, two blocks and 21 assists. On Monday, night, Werden had five kills, two aces, three blocks, and ten digs in a 3-0 win over South Granville in Creedmoor. Orange defeated the Vikings again on Thursday night in Hillsborough.
5. Machai Holt: Though the Orange football team lost to R.J. Reynolds 47-24 in its season opener at Auman Stadium on Friday night, Holt was tremendous in the season-opener. He made an interception on the first play from scrimmage of the season. Holt finished the drive with a five-yard touchdown run. Holt also blocked an extra point, blocked a field goal, and led Orange players with 83 yards from scrimmage.
6. and #7 Anne Morrell and Zoe Wade: The Cedar Ridge women’s cross country team started its season at the Grizzly Grade-Level Growler at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex on Kernersville on August 24. It was the first of what could be a series of strong performances from the Cedar Ridge women. The event was divided into grade classes for each runner. Morrell won the race featuring exclusively juniors with a time of 13:02.00. She beat her nearest competitor by 27 seconds. Wade won the sophomore race, crossing the finish line at 13:20. Her teammate, Ruby Lapham, finished second in the sophomore race at 13:29. An honorable mention goes to Cedar Ridge freshman Sarah Fenwick, who won the two-mile freshman race at 13:20.