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There’s an old expression in football that 12 plays decide every game. This week, we’re revisiting a favorite feature on Hillsboroughsports.com: The Dire Dozen. Here are the 12 plays that decided Orange’s 21-13 win over Williams on Friday night, Orange’s largest come-from-behind victory since 2014.

1. Williams 1st-and-15 at the Orange 48-yard line early 1st quarter.

The return of Jake DeFranco as Orange’s free safety paid immediate dividends. DeFranco, a senior who missed the opening two games, made two important plays early as Williams played without starting quarterback Kennedy Miles (torn ACL) or backup Kalihal Currie (injured vs. Eastern Alamance)

2. Williams with a 4th-and-2 at the Orange 20-yard line.

The Bulldogs inserted Shane Whitter, who was selected to the North Carolina Shrine Bowl Team on Sunday night, at quarterback on its third season. Whitter, a middle linebacker who leads the team in tackles, attempted to sneak around right end on 4th-and-2. DeFranco had other ideas.

3. Orange moves into the red zone midway through the 2nd quarter.

Orange crossed the 50-yard line for the first time midway through the 1st quarter. Trailing 7-0, quarterback Wyatt Jones gained 17 yards on 2-and-9, then added nine more yards on a late hit penalty. While Orange didn’t score on this drive, it did set up the Panthers for a big finish to the quarter.

4. Williams 1st-and-10, leading 14-0, at its own 20-yard line with 2:57 remaining in the first half.

The biggest play of the game. Williams led 14-0 after an 80-yard touchdown run by Alijah Richmond. Orange punted with less than 3:00 remaining and despair started to creep in. Williams had just inserted Evan Breedlove at quarterback, which is when Owen Brimmer stepped in for his 1st career interception.

5. Orange 4th-and-inches from the Williams 4-yard line, late 2nd quarter.

The chain of events that led to Orange’s first touchdown was bizarre. After Brimmer’s interception, it appeared the Panthers would be content with a field goal attempt from Nigel Slanker. But Williams committed back-to-back offside penalties, leading to a 4th-and-inches from the 4–yard line. A field goal was no longer in Coach Van Smith’s game plan. Instead, he relied on 270-pound defensive tackle Courtney Edwards, who scored his first varsity touchdown. Orange trailed 13-7 at the half.

6. Williams 3rd-and-7 at its own 39-yard line, leading 13-7 early in the 3rd quarter.

Orange got the ball to start the second half, but went three-and-out. Once again, the Orange defense made a big play. This time, it was senior linebacker Joe Kiger.

7. Orange ball, 3rd-and-4 at the Williams 46-yard line.

Orange was 0-for-7 on 3rd down conversions up to this point in the game. Jones found Elliott Woods for a key 19-yard reception, which was actually the Panthers’ longest play from scrimmage in the 2nd half.

8. Orange 1st-and-10 from the Williams 4-yard line.

On the play before this one, Wyatt Jones converted a 4th-and-two by diving around left end on a read pass option (A rangy quarterback using his long reach to convert a 4th down in a big game. Imagine that!) On the next play, sophomore Omarion Lewis scored his 2nd varsity touchdown. This was Orange’s 14th point off turnovers in this game and would put them ahead for good.

9. Nigel Slanker touchback on subsequent kickoff

Slanker is off to a strong start as Orange’s triple threat kicker. He made all three extra points in this game, plus has two field goals from over 30 yards. With Orange leading 14-13, he didn’t give the Bulldogs the benefit of good field position.

10. Wyatt Jones scores on a quarterback sneak.

Early in the 4th quarter, Orange’s Lewis converted a 3rd-and-5 with a nine-yard run. Jones bounced off several tacklers to bring the ball close to the goal line on the next play, but came up just shore. Orange offensive linemen Brody Andrews and Dari’us Matkins helped blocked Jones into the end zone on 3rd-and-goal to put Orange ahead 21-13.

11. J.J. Torres forces a key holding penalty

Williams offense was tepid in the 2nd half until its final drive. Whitter found leading receiver Kendall Briggs for a 35-yard gain. The Panther were called for a unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, leading to Williams getting a 1st-and-goal from the 10-yard line. On 3rd-and-goal, Williams went back to Briggs on a jet sweep. Torres read the play just right and it led to a holding penalty that appeared to nullify a touchdown.

12. Torres seals the win.

On 4th-and-goal from the Orange 18-yard line, Torres sewed up the win with his first varsity interception.

Orange’s offense opened the scrimmage with a 8:31 opening drive, concluding with quarterback Wyatt Jones throwing to wingback Machai Holt for this touchdown.

Orange’s Elliott Woods scored two touchdowns, including this one late in the first half.

Orange’s Eli Spruill had an interception in the 2nd half, which led to Woods’ second touchdown. Spruill’s pick was set up by two tackles for loss. Y Kalen Moore.

Orange finished the game strong, including Woods’ second touchdown and a strong pass rush from Khaleb Smith.

Colin Guentensberger will surely look forward to the winters of Boone he’ll eventually endure this week as temperatures creep up in the mid-90s.

While Guentensberger played his final high school football game as an Orange Panther last November against Riverside, he still has one more tilt ahead of him. He will suit up in the East/West All-Star Game at Grimsley High School in Greensboro on Wednesday.

Guentensberger, who graduated last month, was selected for the All-Star game by Wilmington Hoggard head coach Craig Underwood. In 2017 and 2018, Underwood watched Guentensberger from the sidelines as Hoggard faced Orange.

“When Coach Underwood chose Colin to be on the team, he said he wanted Colin on his side, for once,” said Orange coach Van Smith.

Smith, who was chosen as an assistant for the East squad last summer, will spend the week in Greensboro as an assistant for East head coach Sport Sawyer, who has spent the past two years at Manteo High School.

Guentensberger, who was the Orange High Most Valuable Player in 2018, will become the first Orange player to suit up in the East/West All-Star Game for football since Garrett Cloer in 2015. Only three players from Orange have ever played in the East/West game, which dates back to 1949: Larry McDonald in 2008 and B.J. Cameron in 1998. McDonald, who went on to play for Orange’s 2A State Baseball Championship team, is now an administrative assistant for Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M.

The last athlete from Hillsborough selected for the East/West All-Star Game was Cedar Ridge’s Taylin Jean, who was chosen as a goalkeeper for the women’s soccer game.

In 2018, Guetensberger registered 100 tackles, second on the team behind fellow linebacker Jett Satterfield’s 107. Guentensberger was also 2nd on the team with 23 receptions for 327 yards and two touchdowns. Guentensberger caught the opening touchdown pass from Travis Ray against Eastern Guilford on October 26.

He also caught a 26-yard pass as Orange defeated East Chapel Hill 54-0 for its first win of the 2018 season. Guentensberger had a career-high four receptions for 67 yards against Northwood on October 19, a 24-7 Orange victory in Pittsboro.

Guentensberger also played varsity baseball for two seasons. Last season, he hit .292 for an Orange team that finished 2nd in the Big 8 Conference. He opened the season as the cleanup batter and had an RBI single in an 18-1 victory against Ragsdale in Jamestown. He went 2-for-3 with an RBI double as Orange defeated Chapel Hill 10-1 on April 25, its first win at Chapel Hill since 2015.

Smith’s appointment as an assistant coach comes after he completed his second year as Orange’s head coach. Previously, Smith was the defensive coordinator under former Panthers head coach Pat Moser, who retired in 2016. Smith was named as his replacement.

Smith was also an assistant coach at Graham High under Moser. He was also the head baseball coach of the Red Devils before moving over to Orange. This is just the latest All-Star game coaching assignment for Smith. In 2016, he was an assistant for North Carolina’s Shrine Bowl team.

Smith led Orange to the 2017 Big 8 Championship.

The Orange softball team is tied for first place in the Big 8 Conference after a thrilling 6-5 win over Northwood in eight innings. Freshman catcher Lauren Jackson lined an infield single to score Maddie Bartlett for the game-winning run. In the 7th inning, designated hitter Emma Puckett doubled to left field to score Olivia Ruff for the game-tying run. Orange was down to its last out before Puckett’s hit. Jackson finished 4-for-4. Orange is now 5-1 in Big 8 Conference play, even with Cedar Ridge. The Lady Panthers are scheduled to face Northwood on Wednesday in Pittsboro, then take on Chapel Hill in a doubleheader on Thursday. 

Orange sophomore guard Jason Franklin scored 15 points in the Panthers 83-39 victory over Cedar Ridge in a crosstown battle at Red Wolves Gymnasium on Tuesday night. Franklin was 3-of-5 from 3-point range and shot 5-of-9 from the field. Franklin’s career-high came on November 30 when he scored 18 points at Granville Central. After Orange earned its first conference win of the season against the Red Wolves, they now focus their attention on Chapel Hill, who come calling to Panther Gymnasium on Wednesday night. That game can be heard live on Hillsboroughsports.com starting at 6 with the women’s game.

If the standards for a technical foul that applied to Orange in the waning seconds of a tie game apply to the rest of high school basketball in North Carolina, head coaches may want to consider seat belts for their assistants immediately.

After leading 47-39 with 1:36 remaining, the Southern Lee Cavaliers finished the game with a 13-0 run to defeat the Panthers 50-47 inside Cavalier Gymnasium in Sanford on Wednesday night.

In its final nonconference game of the season, it appeared Orange was set to pull off its biggest win under Derryl Britt’s young tenure. They lead 50-45 with 1:00 remaining against a Southern Lee squad with a 10-3 record.

After Octavious Flack scored on a stickback basket with :50.1 remaining, controversy took over. Machai Holt missed the front end of a one-and-one. After Stewart Judd grabbed the rebound for Southern Octavious Flack was fouled on a three-point attempt by Joey McMullin, who contended Flack flopped. It McMullin’s fifth foul. Flank knocked down all three free throws to even the game at 47.

On the subsequent inbounds, Holt tried to dribble through a double team and fell to the floor. There was no whistle, leading to an immediate Orange protest from the bench. In the heat of the moment, a referee called a technical foul with ten seconds remaining in the game on an Orange assistant because he left his seat.

Southern Lee’s Khalil Ridges scored the game-winning point on a back-end of the technical free-throw. Se’Vion Clay sank two free throws with 6.5 seconds remaining, and Joey Franklin’s three-point attempt to tie the game fell short at the buzzer.

Flack led Southern Lee with 17 points, while Clay finished with 15. Mekai Collins had 17 to lead the Panthers, while McMullin had 12. Holt, coming off a career-high 33 points against Western Guilford on Saturday, finished with ten.

The final two minute ruined a solid quarter for the Panthers, where they took their first lead of the second half and held the Cavaliers to only two points in the opening 5:02. McMullin hit back-to-back field goals to vault the Panthers into a 41-37 lead.

It appeared Orange would cruise from there. Collins scored off a lay-in from a gorgeous dribble drive to put Orange ahead 43-37, which was followed by Clay being called for traveling. Holt scored off a field goal with 2:03 remaining. Collins’ free throw extended Orange’s lead to 47-39 with 1:36 left, but it would be Orange’s final points.

Orange, coming off a 5th place finish in the Eastern Guilford Holiday Hoops Tournament, struggled out of the gates. They didn’t score in the opening 4:05. Clay and Flack each scored eight points in the first half to put Southern Lee ahead 27-22 at halftime.

Midway through the third quarter, Collins had only five points, but scored Orange’s final nine points of the third quarter to narrow the Cavaliers’ lead to 37-33.

Wednesday’s game was the start of a stretch of five games in nine days for Orange. Their final 14 games will be Big 8 Conference contests, starting with a road trip to East Chapel Hill on Friday night. Hillsboroughsports.com will carry the Orange women’s game starting at 6, followed by the men’s game at 7:30.

(Editor’s note: This interview was shot before Orange’s season-opening win over Union Pines on Tuesday night) Icez Barnett was a sophomore when Orange won the Big 8 Conference Championship two years ago. It was the best season in Orange women’s basketball history. Led by Kaylen Campbell and Mia Davidson, the Lady Panthers opened the season winning 21 consecutive games, the Eastern Alamance Holiday Hoops Championship in Mebane and both the Big 8 regular season and tournament championship. Now, Icez is a senior and is ready to end her career on a high note. Orange started its season with a 48-39 win over Union Pines in Cameron on Wednesday night.

Orange senior guard Icez Barnett discusses start of senior season

(Editor’s note: This interview was shot before Orange’s season-opening win over Union Pines on Tuesday night) Icez Barnett was a sophomore when Orange won the Big 8 Conference Championship two years ago. It was the best season in Orange women’s basketball history.