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While they’re only two games into their conference slate, the Orange volleyball team has established itself as the team to beat in the Central Carolina Conference. The Lady Panthers defeated crosstown rival Cedar Ridge 3-0 on scores of 25-18, 25-21 and 25-14. Orange ended Cedar Ridge’s 44-game conference winning streak, as well as the Red Wolves’ 31-game home court winning streak. Senior Ella Wimsatt made her final game inside Red Wolves Gymnasium a memorable one. She had 19 kills, tying her second-highest total of the year. She also had 12 digs. Sophomore Aubrey Jordan had 15 kills, her second-highest total of the year. Orange ended an eight-game losing streak to the Red Wolves. While conference play just started, Orange is already the only undefeated team in CCC play and stand alone in first place with a 2-0 league mark. On Thursday, Orange will start a string of two games in two days, both against teams from Roxboro. The Panthers will face Person on Thursday night in Hillsborough. It will be their first home game since August 15. On Friday night, the Lady Panthers will travel to Roxboro Community School, currently the #5 team in the 1A East RPI rankings. Orange is 8-3 overall.

Orange volleyball’s Ella Wimsatt and Aubrey Jordan discuss win at Cedar Ridge

While they’re only two games into their conference slate, the Orange volleyball team has established itself as the team to beat in the Central Carolina Conference. The Lady Panthers defeated crosstown rival Cedar Ridge 3-0 on scores of 25-18, 25-21 and 25-14.

One final time, Issac Marsh rode away from Auman Stadium a winner.

He wasn’t supposed to be on the sidelines to coach his Chapel Hill Tigers on Friday night. After undergoing shoulder surgery on Wednesday, Marsh could have simply stayed home and listened to the game while acting head coach Ryan Horton, a 2004 Chapel Hill High graduate and former quarterback, filled in as acting head coach.

But Marsh showed up at a game the day his father, L.C., was laid to rest 19 years ago. A mere shoulder injury wasn’t going to keep him from watching his last Chapel Hill team play against a cross-county rival, even if it meant staying in the press box as opposed to the sidelines.

Besides, Auman Stadium holds a special place for Marsh. It was the site of his first victory, a 49-0 victory over Orange in 2004. Less than six weeks before his debut, March was teaching summer school when he learned the previous head coach, Joe Wolfe, had resigned due to health reasons. Marsh was appointed interim head coach, and he’s been at the helm ever since.

Now, he’s the winningest football coach in school history. There have been extreme highs and amazing lows in between, but his final Chapel Hill team looks ready to send him out the right way.

The Tigers defeated Orange 42-7 on Friday night, Chapel Hill’s most lopsided victory over the Panthers since Marsh’s debut way back when. Senior quarterback Joshua Kelley, the younger brother of former Tigers signal caller Caleb Kelley, threw for two touchdowns and ran for a 33-yard score on the first play of the fourth quarter.

The Tigers (2-0) have beaten Orange four straight times.

It was a night to forget for the Panthers (1-1), who had three turnovers and two first downs in the first half. Only Nate Sorrells five-yard touchdown run with :32 remaining in the fourth quarter kept Orange from being shutout against the Tigers for the first time in 19 years.

“Honestly, we made too many mistakes,” said Orange coach DeVante Pettiford. “You can’t beat a team throwing three interceptions in the first half. We made a lot of dumb mistakes tonight. Sometimes, we were in man-t0-man and blitzing, we didn’t cover some of our guys up. We left the running back free. What we have to do is lock back in and pay attention to details. The small things got us tonight.”

Orange was held to 120 yards total offense. Of that, 78 yards came on the final drive. By that point, a running clock was already in effect after Kelley’s rushing score put the Tigers ahead 42-0.

Junior linebacker Nicholas Spremberg picked off a pass on Orange’s first drive. The Tigers converted three third-downs on its first touchdown drive. Kelley threw to Nik Demas on a 3rd-and-7 for a 13-yard pickup to penetrate the Orange red zone. On 3rd-and-7 from the Orange 17-yard line, Kelley hit Ethan Smith in the right corner of the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown.

On the final play of the first quarter, Orange quarterback Hank Nunnery found Kayden Bradsher for a 8-yard gain on second-and-five for a first down. The Panthers wouldn’t have another first down until early in the fourth quarter.

It appeared that Smith would score on defense after he picked off a Nunnery pass and returned it into the end zone on the first play of the second quarter, but a block in the back penalty called it back. But the touchdown wasn’t eliminated as much as it was delayed. Josh Roberson skirted around right end for an 18-yard touchdown with 10:33 remaining in the first half for his only touchdown of the night.

After the Panthers went three-and-out on its next drive, Chapel Hill faced a 3rd-and-8 from its own 44-yard line. The Panthers blitzed and got burned when Kelley threw a screen pass to Tyler Jackson, who won a footrace against the Orange secondary for a 56-yard touchdown catch-and-run. The extra point by Owen Kornstein put the Tigers ahead 21-0.

With 42 seconds remaining in the first half, Chapel Hill sophomore linebacker Prosper Miaigon scored on a 38-yard interception return.

The Tigers started the second half with a punishing drive of 9 minutes and 26 seconds where they overcame two penalties to score. It ended when James Lunsford punched in the ball from two-yards out on 4th-and-goal.

Pettiford learned after the game that this season would be Marsh’s final one.

“Coach Marsh is a great coach,” Pettiford said. “He’s put together a great team at Chapel Hill. I know in my entire time spent in coaching, they went from having a good varsity and a good junior varsity team. Then they went JV only (Chapel Hill didn’t field a varsity team in 2019). He’s built that thing back to the program you see now.”

CHAPEL HILL 42, ORANGE 7

CH–7    21    7     7 -42

OR–0     0    0     7-7

CH–Ethan Smith 17 pass from Joshua Kelley (Owen Kornstein kick)

CH–Josh Roberson 18 run (Kornstein kick)

CH–Tyler Jackson 56 pass from Kelley (Kornstein kick)

CH–Prosper Mbaigon 38 interception return (Kornstein kick)

CH–James Lunsford 2 run (Kornstein kick)

CH–Kelley 33 run (Kornstein kick)

OR-Nate Sorrells 5 run (Tyler Narold kick)

RUSHING– 29–144 3 TD (Roberson 13-81 TD, Kelley 5-28 TD, Smith 4-18, Jackson 5-13, Lunsford 2-4 TD). ORANGE: 19-41 TD (Sorrells 14-51 TD, Kayden Bradsher 1-5, Jaylen Starks 2-2, Daylin Ford 1-(-3), Hank Nunnery 1-(-13))

PASSING–CHAPEL HILL (Kelley 10-16 2 TD 159 yards) ORANGE (Nunnery (9-16 78 yards 3 INT)

RECEIVING–CHAPEL HILL (Jeffrey Sims 5-37, Smith 2-25 TD, Jackson 1-56 TD, Nate Kenan 1-25, Roberson 1-16)

ORANGE–(Crawford Farmer 7-50, Brandon Cummings 1-20, Bradsher 1-8)

The soccer games that stretched well into the night at Orange High will never be the same.

That’s where Mike McCauley spent plenty of time over the past seven years. As fans walked into Orange Soccer Stadium, McCauley would be the first person they’d see. He’d take tickets, charging $6 for admission for men’s and women’s soccer games, then would run the scoreboard as his workday stretched into a 12th, 13th and (if there was overtime) 14th hour.

It was just one of McCauley’s many duties after he replaced Earnie Price as Orange High Athletic Director in 2016. Usually, at this time of year, his teaching days would wind down. His focus would be on mowing fields and the next academic year, which always felt it was around the corner, even in early June.

On Monday night, McCauley passed away at Alamance Regional Medical Center in Burlington.

Last Wednesday, McCauley was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He had been absent from work last week, leaving his myriad of duties to several coaches and trainers. Two weeks ago, he was present when Orange senior Brianne “Breezy” Foster signed her letter of intent to play softball at Wake Tech, along with principal Jason Johnson.

McCauley arrived at Orange after he departed Graham High School, where he served as head football coach from 2004-2011. He served on the staff of football coach Pat Moser and defensive coordinator Van Smith (both previously at Graham High). The coaching combined with the talent of players like Payton Wilson, Bryse Wilson, Stone Edwards, Tay Jones, Keyshawn Thompson, Patrick Pettiford and Garrett Cloer produced the longest sustained success in Orange football history. Starting in 2012, Orange had six consecutive 10-win seasons and won three consecutive Big 8 Conference championships.

In 2016, McCauley transitioned away from the sidelines and into the role of athletic director after Price retired. Very quickly, he found himself having to replace local and statewide legends.

In March 2017, longtime wrestling coach Bobby Shriner retired after winning over 500 dual matches and five state championships. Shriner, whose son Nick is currently the head wrestling coach at Orange Middle School, nearly won a state championship in his final dual match against Piedmont High in Monroe. Spenser Poteat, who wrestled for Shriner, was chosen by McCauley as his replacement. Since then, Orange has maintained its standard of excellence, winning five conference championships and reaching the Eastern Regional Final of the Dual Team State Tournament each of the last two years.

Two months later, the Orange softball program that McCauley oversaw won the state championship, sweeping Piedmont in a best-of-three series at Dail Softball Stadium at N.C. State University. Mia Davidson, who would go on to become the all-time home run leader at Mississippi State University and the Southeastern Conference, was named tournament Most Valuable Player.

The following year, men’s basketball coach Greg Motley resigned after 20 years, but maintained his position as a teacher at Orange until eventually leaving for Southern Durham. Motley was the winningest head coach in school history, leading the Panthers to the state quarterfinals in 2017 behind forward Connor Crabtree and center Logan Vosburg. McCauley selected Derryl Britt from Warren County as a replacement. Last year, Britt was named Central Carolina Conference Coach of the Year after leading the Panthers back to the state playoffs for the first time in six years.

Also in 2018, Chandler Zirkle, a former player at East Chapel Hill, was hired by McCauley as the new lacrosse coach replacing David O’Neal. Zirkle, who added his father Franklin to the staff in 2021, has transformed the program into arguably the best in Orange County, including the Chapel Hill schools. The Panthers have won three consecutive conference championships and hosted the 3A/2A/1A Eastern Regional Championship games in 2022 and 2023.

McCauley also hired Justin Webb as tennis coach to replace Andy Brown. Last fall, the Orange women’s team won the first conference championship in school history. They reached the 3A State Dual Team Playoffs in 2022 and 2023.

“Coach McCauley was a tremendous supporter of our tennis program,” Webb wrote on Twitter Tuesday morning. “He helped us secure funding for numerous projects, no questions asked. He helped install signs to support our most recent successes. His service to the school and the athletic community was incredible.”

In May 2018, Dean Dease retired as Orange baseball coach. Jason Knapp, who served as a head coach at Walter Williams High in Burlington, was named Dease’s replacement.

“When he brought me in, he told me about how they expect uphold a program of integrity here,” Knapp said on Tuesday morning. “He told me about the expectations at Orange High, but he wanted to maintain a standard of excellence. Mike was a gentle giant. He was tall and muscular. But he didn’t need to raise his voice to get his point across. That’s why he was so well liked.”

Dease left Orange after winning 503 career games and the 2008 2A State Championship. Knapp has won three consecutive conference championships and just finished a 25-3 season, the most successful campaign since 2013.

Knapp’s first interaction with McCauley actually came years before both arrived at Orange. They talked on the football field whenever Williams and Graham squared off. Knapp was a position coach with the Bulldogs while McCauley was the head coach of the Red Devils.

They lived two miles from each other in Burlington.

“It’s a hard time right time now,” Knapp said as he sat watching the baseball field on Tuesday. “Everyone is devastated. You try to focus on work and exams, but then you walk past his office.”

Funeral arrangements for McCauley are incomplete at this time.

It was the greatest comeback in Orange baseball history. The Panthers were down 8-3 after they surrendered five runs in the top of the 10th inning to Triton. But Orange rallied for an incredible six runs in the bottom-of-the-10th to win 9-8 in the 2nd round of the 3A State Playoffs. Wyatt Hedrick smacked the game-winning single to score Cameron Guentensberger. Earlier in the inning, with Orange trailing 8-3, Horton drew a one-out walk, which started the comeback. Horton eventually scored when Ryan Hench was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Guentensberger had an RBI single in the first inning. In the 10th, he smacked a two-run single to left field. Guentensberger finished 4-for-5 with two RBIs. He also picked up the win on the mound. Hedrick had his first career three-hit game. He finished 3-for-5 with an RBI. Hedrick has been a part-time starter for most of this season, but now appears likely to see more time at second base. Orange will look ahead to Cape Fear on Tuesday night in Hillsborough. The Colts defeated West Carteret in Morehead City. Orange is now 24-2. That’s the most wins for the team in a single season since the 2013 squad when Bryse Wilson was a freshman. It was a special day for the Guentensberger family. In Boone, Cameron’s brother Colin, a former Orange High right fielder, graduated from Appalachian State.

No Title

It was the greatest comeback in Orange baseball history. The Panthers were down 8-3 after they surrendered five runs in the top of the 10th inning to Triton. But Orange rallied for an incredible six runs in the bottom-of-the-10th to win 9-8 in the 2nd round of the 3A State Playoffs.