The Cedar Ridge Women’s Cross Country team continued a successful season on Tuesday afternoon. The Red Wolves captured the Big 8 Conference meet at Orange High, which also featured Orange, Northwood and Eno River. Anne Morrell was the highest finisher for Cedar Ridge, coming in 2nd. The Red Wolves finished 2nd-7th to claim the top spot in the meet. Over the weekend in Greensboro, the Cedar Ridge women’s squad finished 2nd among 16 teams in the Greensboro Cross Country Invitational in Pleasant Garden. Morrell is joined by Allegra Hart, Allison Musty, Zoe Wade, Jill Myler & Ruby Lapham in this interview.

Cedar RIdge’s Anne Morrell & the Women’s Cross Country Team Discuss Victory at Orange

The Cedar Ridge Women’s Cross Country team continued a successful season on Tuesday afternoon. The Red Wolves captured the Big 8 Conference meet at Orange High, which also featured Orange, Northwood and Eno River. Anne Morrell was the highest finisher for Cedar Ridge, coming in 2nd.

On Tuesday, Orange held its only cross country event of the season at Auman Stadium. The Panthers welcomed Northwood, Cedar Ridge and Eno River. Northwood captured the boys race. It was senior day for Kyle Van Tubbergh, Sam Rasinske and Alberto Daniel. Last weekend, Van Tubbergh finished 38th at the Greensboro Cross Country Invitational. Rasisnke came in 66th. On September 25 at Chapel Hill High, Van Tubbergh had his best finish of the season, coming in 5th place in a meet that included Chapel Hill, Northern Durham and Southern Durham. Rasinske finished tenth. Van Tubbergh and Rasisnke discussed their goals for the rest of this season.

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On Friday night, Northern Durham and Orange will square off at Durham County Stadium, each with undefeated records in the Big 8 Conference.

It will be the first time they’ve faced off with unblemished league marks since 1991.

For the current generation, it’s hard to explain what Northern Durham football once was.  The incredible statistics that measure Northern’s dominance over the span of several generations can be reeled off to a mind-numbing degree. They won every PAC-6 Conference Championship from 1984-2001. From 1976-2000, they didn’t lose to another team from Durham County. From 1991-1996, didn’t lose a regular season game.

The numbers only tell a portion of the story. The first time I attended a Northern home game, I expected to pull up to a high school. Instead, I arrived to 10,000 seat Durham County Stadium, which was around 30 years old in the mid-80s. By current standards, a facility that grand might seem oversized for high school football, but it wasn’t back then. Especially during the early-90s, when Northern competed for state championships at a time when the North Carolina High School Athletic Association only awarded four state titles in football. For a player, competing under the lights in front 6,000 fans instantly created a big game atmosphere. And every year, Northern played in several big games, be it against teams from the PAC-6 Conference or in the 4A state playoffs.

In the 90s, when Duke football struggled just to win a game and North Carolina Central was Division II, Northern didn’t just feel like a high school team. They felt like Durham’s team.

Even when Northern wasn’t at home, they traveled like a successful college program. The teams that welcomed the Knights, regardless of whether they were in Henderson or Oxford or Chapel Hill, would see its biggest crowd of the year against the Knights. Part of that was home fans curious to see if their squad could slay the invincible giant. Part of that was Northern supporters.

The parents, coaches and staff carried themselves like it was a college program. In the press box, each member of Northern’s coaching staff, film crew, and radio crew work a Navy blue shirt. Northern’s gold and navy blue were just as synonymous in local circles as the garnet-and-gold of Florida State, which is an apt comparison.

When Florida State joined the ACC in 1991, they turned aside one challenge after another in winning nine consecutive ACC Championships. When Northern won every PAC-6 crown in the 90s, the dirty little secret is they weren’t the most talented team in the league each of those years. Sure, in 1993 when they won the 4A state championship, they lapped the field with players like quarterback Jason Peace, who would go on to play at UNC. Or Steve Carson, who played at Appalachian State or Charles Berry, who played under Mike O’Cain at N.C. State.

In the early 90s, a difficult set of challengers squared off against Northern. Arguably, some of them had more talent than Northern.

In 1990, Orange had quarterback Scott Satterfield, tailback Damon Scott and a solid defense. Hillside had an excellent signal caller named Antonio King, now the coach at Cedar Ridge. Chapel Hill had Bernardo Harris, who would go on to play at UNC and win a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens in 2000.

Each year, the challengers lined up like villains waiting to challenge Batman and Robin in the 1960s. And, just like the Riddler or Catwoman or the Joker, they would all be vanquished.

That’s because Northern didn’t just have talent. They also had head coach Ken Browning, who was so highly respected within coaching circles, he joined Mack Brown’s staff at UNC after winning the state title in 1993. Browning was an assistant for four different UNC coaches and was with the program at its zenith in 1997, when they started 9-0 before losing to eventual national champion Florida State.

In 1994, Gary Merrill replaced Browning and captured nine PAC-6 Championships, but times were changing. Riverside opened on the other end of northern Durham County in 1990, quickly taking some of Northern’s would-be talent.

In 2004, Merrill walked away from coaching after his wife Janet, who was an athletic trainer at Northern, was killed after being struck by a tractor-trailer while jogging in Hurdle Mills. Each of Merrill’s successors learned the hard way that trying to replace a legend was a thankless task.

Eventually, the talent level fell off as Durham County become more balanced. In 2010, while Hillside celebrated a 4A state championship under King, Northern had a winless season. They even lost at East Chapel Hill on a last-second field goal in front of then-UNC coach Butch Davis.

It’s been a long climb back to prosperity for the Knights. In 2013, Orange got its elusive victory over Northern in decisive fashion, 42-15. It was the Panthers first win over the Knights since 1968.

Ironically, the man who has led Northern back to prominence is John Hammett, who was on the staff of J.F. Webb in 1997 under former East Carolina offensive coordinator Don Murray. The Warriors ended Northern 69-game regular season winning streak in 1997 after a remarkable performance by future Duke star Ronnie Hamilton.

Last year, Orange and Northern tied for the Big 8 Championship, but the Panthers won decisively in a head-to-head matchup at Auman Stadium. Orange has beaten Northern four straight times, but now the Knights are undefeated.

In short, Northern has plenty to play for. They haven’t won an outright conference championship since 2003. Northern wants to bring the glory days back, and on Friday night, they could find it.

The Cedar Ridge JV team has now won two in a row after rolling past Northwood 60-0 on Monday night in Pittsboro. Freshman William Berger had another strong game behind center for the Red Wolves. Cedar Ridge now prepares for Homecoming night against Chapel Hill this Friday night at Cedar Ridge Stadium.

Cedar Ridge QB William Berger Talks Northwood Win

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The Cedar Ridge JV Football team returned to action in impressive fashion on Monday night in Pittsboro. The Red Wolves defeated Northwood’s JV team 60-0 to improve to 2-2 on the season. Cedar Ridge will prepare for Homecoming this Friday night at Cedar Ridge Stadium. They face Chapel Hill.  Hillsboroughsports.com’s Curran Campbell discusses the win with Cedar Ridge Football Coach Antonio King.

Cedar Ridge Football Coach Antonio King Talks 60-0 Win Over Cedar Ridge

The Cedar Ridge JV Football team returned to action in impressive fashion on Monday night in Pittsboro. The Red Wolves defeated Northwood’s JV team 60-0 to improve to 2-2 on the season. Cedar Ridge will prepare for Homecoming this Friday night at Cedar Ridge Stadium. They face Chapel Hill.

Yes, this is a repeat. Hunter Pettiford won the Orange Panther of the Week after rushing for 128 yards against East Chapel Hill. On Friday night, he set a new career high with 199 rushing yards and two touchdowns as Orange defeated Southern Durham 27-17 for the third consecutive time. Hunter now has rushed for 414 yards and four touchdowns this season. On Friday night, Orange faces Northern Durham at Durham County Stadium with 1st place in the Big 8 Conference on the line. Hunter wanted to credit his offensive line of Owen Aquino, Dari’ius Mankins, Juan Navarro, Brody Andrews and Robert Bray for the blocking which led to him winning this award. 

Orange Panther of the Week: Hunter Pettiford (again)

Yes, this is a repeat. Hunter Pettiford won the Orange Panther of the Week after rushing for 128 yards against East Chapel Hill. On Friday night, he set a new career high with 199 rushing yards and two touchdowns as Orange defeated Southern Durham 27-17 for the third consecutive time.

For the first time this year, we’re dividing the Cedar Ridge Red Wolves of the Week between Alana Lutz and Rachel Quade, both seniors on the women’s tennis team. Last week, Cedar Ridge defeated Orange 8-1, the eighth consecutive time Cedar Ridge has defeated Orange in women’s tennis. Lutz, competing at #2 singles, won her match 6-1, 6-0. Quade, at #4 singles, captured her match 6-3, 6-3. Lutz teamed with Olivia Ward to win at #1 doubles 8-1. Quade teamed with Brianna Cellini to win at #2 doubles 8-6. Congratulations to Alana and Rachel as they look to qualify for regionals during the Big 8 Women’s Tennis tournament later this month. 

Cedar Ridge Red Wolves of the Week: Alana Lutz & Rachel Quade

For the first time this year, we’re dividing the Cedar Ridge Red Wolves of the Week between Alana Lutz and Rachel Quade, both seniors on the women’s tennis team. Last week, Cedar Ridge defeated Orange 8-1, the eighth consecutive time Cedar Ridge has defeated Orange in women’s tennis.

Garrett Cloer: While he didn’t start at wide receiver for the first time this season, Garrett Cloer played in Cornell’s 43-24 victory over Sacred Heart at Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca, NY on Saturday afternoon. It was the Big Red’s first win of the season. Cloer, who played quarterback at Orange, started at wide receiver in the Big Red’s opening two games of the season, losses to Delaware and Yale. Next week, Cornell hosts Harvard.

Eryk Brandon-Dean: The former Orange High running back rushed for 14 yards on four carries as Division III Guilford lost its homecoming game to Bridgewater on Saturday afternoon at the Armfield Athletic Center in Greensboro. The Quakers are now 1-2. Brandon-Dean played in two of those games, rushing for 45 yards on 12 carries. Guilford travels to face Randolph-Macon in Ashland, VA next Saturday.

Brittany Daley & Jordan Rogers: Daley, who graduated from Cedar Ridge last summer, went head-to-head with a former high school rival on the college pitch on Saturday. Daley currently plays centerback with Greensboro College, who faced William Peace University at Pride Field. Jordan Rogers, who graduated from Orange in June, started for Peace. Greensboro defeated Peace 3-0 in both team’s USA South Athletic Conference opener. Daley was credited with a shot. Rogers, who scored her first college goal last week, has started all seven games this season for the Pacers. Greensboro is now 8-0. Peace, who was held without a shot on goal, is now 2-4, 0-1 in the USA SAC.

Lionel Reid-Shaw: The Dickinson Red Devils men’s soccer team defeated Ursinus 5-1 in Collegeview, PA. Reid-Shaw got another start for Dickinson and was credited with a shot. Dickinson is now 6-3-1, 3-1 in the Centennial Conference. Reid-Shaw, who graduated from Orange in 2016, has started every game this season for Dickinson. On Tuesday, Dickinson will face Misericordia.

Lili Henry: The Methodist volleyball team split two matches during a tri-match at Mary Baldwin University in Staunton, VA on Saturday. Methodist swept Mary Baldwin 3-0 in the opening match (25-9, 25-20, 25-22). Henry, who graduated from Cedar Ridge in 2017, assisted on 40 of the Monarchs’ 50 kills. Henry also had six digs. Meredith defeated Methodist 3-1 (16-25, 25-14, 27-25, 28-26). Henry finished with 45 assists against the Avenging Angels, as well as one ace and six digs. Methodist is now 8-3 overall, 1-0 in the USA South Athletic Conference.

Bailey Lucas: Also in the tri-match at Mary Baldwin, Lucas played for Meredith in its second match against Mary Baldwin. She had a dig as the Avenging Angels defeated the Flying Squirrels 3-0. After sweeping both of Saturday’s matches, Meredith has won six in a row and is 11-3 overall. Meredith starts a three-match homestand on Tuesday with a match against William Peace. They also host Salem on Thursday.

Jordan Lloyd: Division III Brevard College hosted a USA South Athletic Conference tri-match on Saturday afternoon at Boshamer Gymnasium. LaGrange defeated Brevard 3-1 (25-15, 21-25, 25-17, 25-9). Lloyd, who graduated from Orange in 2017, finished with five kills, two aces, seven digs and one block. Maryville (Tennessee) defeated swept Brevard 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-22). Against the Scots, Lloyd finished with five kills and six digs. Brevard is now 0-14, 0-4 in the USA South Athletic Conference.

Orange Senior Jake DeFranco has made big special teams plays throughout the season. DeFranco, the Panthers’ free safety, returned a punt 34 yards during the 2nd quarter of Orange’s 27-17 victory over Southern Durham on Friday night. On the first play of the 3rd quarter, DeFranco picked off a pass, leading to running back Hunter Pettiford’s first touchdown of the game. DeFranco, who transferred from Cedar Ridge over the summer, will now prepare to face undefeated Northern Durham next Friday at Durham County Stadium. 

Orange Safety Jake DeFranco Talks Win over Southern Durham

Orange Senior Jake DeFranco has made big special teams plays throughout the season. DeFranco, the Panthers’ free safety, returned a punt 34 yards during the 2nd quarter of Orange’s 27-17 victory over Southern Durham on Friday night. On the first play of the 3rd quarter, DeFranco picked off a pass, leading to running back Hunter Pettiford’s first touchdown of the game.