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It would be inaccurate to say the Orange-Cedar Ridge girls game was just as physical as the Army-Navy football game it coincided with on Saturday afternoon.

But only slightly inaccurate.

Players hit the floor with reckless abandon so often, one may have wondered if the officials would throw a flag for targeting. In the third quarter, Cedar Ridge’s leading scorer, Carrie Davis,  had to go under concussion protocol following a midcourt collision for a loose ball.

In the end, Orange won 42-34 after holding the Red Wolves scoreless in the final 4:44. The Panthers (5-0, 1-0 in the Big 8) are off to their best start ever under head coach B.J. Condron, now in his fourth season.

Kaylen Campbell led Orange with ten points, while Lauren Cates and Icez Barnett added seven. Davis led Cedar Ridge (3-3, 0-1) with ten points.

Davis hit a three-pointer to give Cedar Ridge a 34-32 lead with 4:44 remaining, the seventh lead change of the second half. Barnett’s lay-up with 2:47 remaining put Orange ahead for good.

The two teams have now split the last six meetings.

“We knew coming in that this was going to be a battle,” said Condron. “It’s like that anytime Orange and Cedar Ridge play. I think we managed the game well in the end by hitting free throws.”

Clinging to a 35-34 lead with 2:14 remaining, the Panthers went 7-of11 from the foul line down the stretch.

Free throws turned out to be Cedar Ridge’s undoing. The Red Wolves went 5-from-20 from the foul line.

“That was the difference in the game,” said Cedar Ridge Coach Felton Page. “You’re not going to win too many ballgames like that.”

Orange jumped out to a 12-4 lead after two early field goals from Bethlyn Early and a three-pointer from Campbell.

The lead would extend to 17-5 before Cedar Ridge mounted a charge. Guard Taylin Jean scored all five of her points during a 13-4 Red Wolves run to close out the second quarter, narrowing Orange’s lead to 21-18 at the half.

Cedar Ridge’s Jasmin Lee scored her only field goal of the day to give the Red Wolves it’s first lead of the day with 1:36 remaining in the third quarter, while Miracle Page knocked in a three-pointer in the waning second to put the Red Wolves ahead going into the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter had five lead changes and two ties. After Campbell started the stanza with a trey to put Orange ahead 30-28, Davis tied the game with a one-handed runner. Barnett and Cates had key steals during the Cedar Ridge dry spell that ended the game.

Orange’s Mia Davidson and Early finished with seven rebounds. Campbell and Barnett each had three steals.

Orange has three games this week. They face Southern Alamance at home on Tuesday at 5:30, followed by a road trip against East Chapel Hill on Wednesday, also at 5:30. They continue conference play with another home game against Northern Vance on Friday at 6.

Cedar Ridge hosts Northern Vance on Tuesday at 6, then travels to Southern Durham on Friday at 7.

ORANGE–Grace Dively 5, Kaylen Campbell 10, Icez Barnett 7, Lauren Cates 7, Mia Davidson 2, Bethlyn Early 6, Adalyn Fleming 2, Janea Myers 1, Mary Beth Dobbins 2.

CEDAR RIDGE–Yolanda Simpson 4, Miracle Page 6, Carrie Davis 10, Taylin Jean 5, Madison Wardlow 4, Natalia Garay 1, Jacori Walton 1, Jasmyn Lee 2, Abby Lloyd 1.

Anyone watching Orange and Carrboro’s pregame warm-ups knew the Jaguars were in for an uphill battle.

Orange starting guards, both freshmen, appeared to be nearly as tall as Carrboro’s starting center Neel Mahadevan. From the moment Orange center Logan Vosburg tossed in a 3-pointer just :36 into the game, the result was all but determined.

Vosburg scored 22 points, even without playing the fourth quarter, as Orange climbed back to .500 with an 87-46 victory over the Jaguars. Connor Crabtree, who also sat out the fourth quarter, finished with 16. Freshman Joey McMillin added 13 while Mitch Portman scored 12.

Orange surged out to a 33-14 lead at the end of the first quarter and was never challenged. Coach Greg Motley used most of the game to let four football players, all of whom joined the team last week after Orange’s playoff lost to Havelock, continue to gain basketbal conditioning. Morgan Paschall, Devondrez Moore, Ryan Sellers and Kendall Whitted received the most minutes they’ve played this season.

Sellers came out strongest with seven points in the fourth quarter, which was played with a running clock after the deficit exceeded 40 points.

The Panthers travel to Cedar Ridge on Saturday for its Big 8 Conference opener at 3:30.

ORANGE-Marquis Phelps 3, Mitch Portman 12, Connor Crabtree 16, Logan Vosburg 22, Joel McMillin 13, Eli Haithcock 5, Kendall Whitted 2, Morgan Paschall 5, Ryan Sellers 8, Treshon Richardson 2.

CARRBORO-Jake Melville 3, That Htoo 6, Cole Phillips 16, Zach Anderson 5, Neel Mahadevan 6, Shamel Partridge 5, Jared Porter 2, Caleb Jones 3,

With the return of four players to the lineup after the sudden conclusion of football season, the Orange boys basketball team found its footing with two victories over the course of 48 hours.

The Panthers defeated Southern Alamance 76-58 in Mebane on Wednesday night behind 30 points from Connor Crabtree. Senior Logan Vosburg added 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, along with 13 rebounds.

This week marked the varsity debuts of Ryan Sellers, Devondrez Moore, Eli Haitchcock, and Kendall Whitted, all of whom reported directly to basketball practice on Monday after Orange’s football season ended last week against Havelock. Senior Keshawn Thompson, who came off the bench last season, also is back.

Despite the return of upperclassmen, freshman Joey McMullin continued a strong start to his Orange career. In only his third game, McMullin finished with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting on the field, including 3-of-4 from three point range.

With the win over the Patriots, Orange evened its record to 2-2. The opening two losses came two weeks ago during the HighSchoolOt.com Season Tip-Off at Millbrook High School, where the Panthers played with only ten players, three of whom were freshman.

Orange returns to Millbrook on Saturday to face the Wildcats in the 3rd Annual Millbrook Winter Showcase. Tipoff is at 6PM in Raleigh.

A second consecutive Big 8 Individual Conference Championship was more than enough for Cedar Ridge’s Ian Elliott to be named the Big 8 Male Runner of the Year on Wednesday.

Elliott, a senior, earned the honor for the second consecutive year. He finished first in three separate events this year, including the Big 8 Championship at Chapel Hill High School. His time of 16:42.28 edged out Chapel Hill’s Ryan Combs by eight seconds.

On top of that, he ran while the temperature was 89-degrees—in mid October.

“It was a lot grittier this year,” said Elliott, who won the 2015 Big 8 championship at Pittsboro’s Northwood High. “I feel like I’m good running in the heat. We put in a lot of miles during the summer. Although I knew this would feel awful, it’s just running.”

Elliott also set his personal best time of 16:30 at the Adidas XC Challenge at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.

Through plenty of success during his high school years, Elliott doesn’t see cross country in his immediate future.

“I’m not looking to run competitively in college,” said Elliott. “I’d love to stay in shape and run for a club. Maybe run a “Fun Run 5K.” Maybe take a race every now and then just to see where I’m at. I think after this upcoming track season, I’ll be done with competitive running.”

Two Orange runners earned at-large spots: Andrew Sollars, who had the highest finish for the Panthers in the Big 8 Championships, and Sam Rasinske.

On the girls side, Cedar Ridge’s Elizabeth Zarzar was named to the All-Conference team following a third place finish at the Big 8 Championships. Last month, Zarzar was honored with the WRAL Extra Effort Award.

“I was proud of my run that day, especially because of the heat,” said Zarzar. “I didn’t get my personal record. My time was still a lot better than I thought it was.”

Like Elliott, Zarzar runs indoor and outdoor track. Last spring, she finished 3rd in the Big 8 Conference in the 3200 meters. She also finished 3rd in the region in the same event.

Also making the All-Big 8 Conference from Cedar Ridge was Julie Averette, who finished eighth in the 3A Mideast Regionals with a time of 20:31.

For Orange, Adalyn Fleming made All-Big 8. Flemming, who started basketball season with Orange on Tuesday in a season-opening victory over East Chapel Hill, finished first in Orange’s opening home meet on September 7th against Burlington Williams. After finishing 11th in the Big 8 Championships, she came in 13th at the Mideast Regionals.

Earning At-large sports for Orange in girls cross country was Ava Heffernan.

The Orange Panthers undefeated run through the Big 8 Conference has resulted in honors for its top defensive player and its outgoing head coach.

One day after receiving his 11th scholarship offer from Virginia Tech, Orange junior linebacker Payton Wilson has been named the Big 8 Defensive Player of the Year.

Additionally, Orange Coach Pat Moser earned Big 8 Coach of the Year honors in an email released by conference officials Wednesday morning.

Wilson, who has also received offers from UNC, N.C. State, Duke, Penn State, Appalachian State, East Carolina, Maryland, Wake Forest, Virginia, and Vanderbilt, led the Panthers defense with 127 tackles, 39 tackles for loss. He also registered 13 sacks, second only to Ryan Sellers’ total of 15.

Wilson also had five punt returns for touchdowns. He didn’t start returning punts until the 3rd week of the season, when he scored on the first punt return he ever had in a varsity game against Riverside. In Orange’s 49-7 win over Southern Durham, Wilson broke the game open with two punt return touchdowns.

While the Big 8 doesn’t name players for specific positions, Wilson could have just as likely earned an all-conference spot on offense, as well. Playing wingback and wide receiver, Wilson finished with 756 rushing yards, as well as 13 receptions for 305 yards. He had a total of 16 touchdowns (six rushing, four receiving, five punt returns and an interception return against Cedar Ridge).

This was Wilson’s first full season at the varsity level. He suffered a broken ankle on the first day of practice during his sophomore season, forcing him to sit out eight games.

Moser guided the Panthers to its 5th consecutive 10-win season, which ended Friday in the 2nd round of the 3-A state playoffs. Dating back to Orange’s opening in 1963, the school had only one 10-win season before Moser joined the Panthers in 2008.

The Panthers had its first undefeated regular season since 1978 behind a defense that yielded just five touchdowns in a 12-1 season. Going into its final game of the season against Havelock, Orange held 10 of its 12 opponents to under 100 yards total offense. Even in defeat against the Rams, Orange held Havelock to a season-low 14 points on 293 yards.

Moser, who announced plans to retire before the end of the season, ends his career at Orange with a record of 58-26. He guided Orange to two consecutive Big 8 Championships (in 2015, Orange was awarded the outright championship after Southern Durham forfeited its last game due to use of an ineligible player). In 2014, he guided Orange to a 13-2 season, the most wins in a season in school history.

To listen to the Orange-Fike game, go to Jeff Hamlin on Facebook. The link is there. Sorry for the confusion!

For nearly 20 years, Greg Motley has had to focus on coaching one team at Orange.

This year will be unique because he’ll be coaching two teams. The one he has now, and the one who he’ll have at the beginning of 2017. If not sooner.

The Orange team that took the floor on Tuesday night in the HighSchoolOT.com season tipoff against Leesville Road had ten players. Of those, eight played. Three of those were freshman who would be playing on the junior varsity under normal circumstances.

These aren’t normal circumstances. Orange is without Ryan Sellers, Devondrez Moore, Jackson Schmid, and possibly two other players who are still playing football. If Orange makes a deep run in the playoffs, those players may not see the hardwood until after Christmas.

Motley has known this for over a month and prepared accordingly for Tuesday night. To paraphrase the infamous words of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at the height of the Iraq war, Motley went into the game with the army he had, not the army he might have wanted.

Orange almost won anyway.

Leading 59-58 with 3:58 remaining, the Panthers, which played with a six-man rotation,  got tired down the stretch trying to defend Leesville Road’s three-guard lineup. The Pride finished the game on a 18-8 run to defeat Orange 76-66.

Leesville Road advanced to Saturday’s championship game against Riverside. Orange will face Roseville Saturday at 12:30.

As expected, Orange was led by its two leading scorers from last season. Connor Crabtree, who signed with UNC-Asheville last week, had 28 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field. Center Logan Vosburg finished with 14 points and eleven rebounds. In his first varsity game, Mitch Portman had 13 points while freshman Joey McMullin had ten.

The Pride was led by Jalen Benjamin’s 25 points while D.J. Horne added 19.

Orange led 27-21 with 4:21 remaining in the first half behind Crabtree’s 12 first half points. But Leesville Road finished the half on a 11-1 run to take a 31-28 lead.

The lack of depth along Orange’s first line led to the Pride getting 19 offensive rebounds, leading to 68 field goal attempts compared to Orange’s 41. The Panthers had one offensive rebound. Vosburg had little help on the boards. He grabbed eleven rebounds, while the rest of the team had eleven combined.

The Pride’s pressure defense forced 23 Orange turnovers while LRHS committed only seven.

After Saturday, the Panthers play its first home game on Tuesday, November 29th against East Chapel Hill. It will be a varsity doubleheader, starting with the girls game at 5:30.

It’s impossible to have a defense that’s yielded only three touchdowns all season without a good secondary. That’s what Orange safety Keshawn Thompson has delivered to the team this season. Thompson is not only excellent in coverage, but he’s a threat at the line of scrimmage to blitz. Thompson has made 17 tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. He was also named the Extra Effort Award Winner from WRAL’s Tom Suiter last month.

Orange Panther of the Week: Keshawn Thompson

Keshawn Thompson has been the anchor of the Orange secondary during its undefeated romp through the regular season. The senior safety has made 17 tackles for loss, two interception and two fumble recoveries this season. This video featured appearances by Kendall Whitted and Payton Wilson after Orange defeated Oxford Webb in its regular season finale.