Orange football has had five straight seasons of 10 wins. The only thing missing in that span is a tough, early season test.

In the 90s, when they were the kings of Triangle football, Northern Durham coaches Ken Browning and successor Gary Merrill liked to schedule Garner or Millbrook just to get the Knights prepared for what life in November was truly like.

Tonight, Orange will get a taste of that

It’s been nearly five years since the Orange football team lost a regular season nonconference game. It was August 31, 2012 when Carrboro, of all teams, defeated the Panthers 27-19 at Auman Stadium in Hillsborough.

Since then, Orange has won 21 in a row against nonconference foes in the regular season, a school record. Orange is also riding a 17-game regular season winning streak.

All of that is at risk tonight against the Hoggard Vikings, an opponent that bears a strong similarity to the Havelock team that  ended Orange’s season last November in the 2nd round of the 3A state playoffs.

Like Havelock, Hoggard runs the spread, which hardly makes the Vikings unusual in that regard. Just about everyone is running some sort of spread offense nowadays, even Orange.

The Vikings finished 8-6 in 2016 in the 4A /3A Mideastern Conference. But what caught the attention of many football observers along the coast last week was the ease in which the Vikings handled Holly Springs 48-7 at Wilmington’s Scott Braswell Stadium.

Last season, the Golden Hawks defeated Hoggard 24-20 behind 394 rushing yards, including 373 yards and three touchdowns from senior Broderick Taylor.

Last week, Hoggard held Holly Springs to 115 yards on the ground. Granted, Taylor graduated and Holly Springs is rebuilding. But the fact is Hoggard will be the most difficult nonconference test for Orange since the Carrboro team that triumphed in Hillsborough five years ago.

Hoggard may also benefit from good timing. Orange is still working out the kinks in its new spread offense, installed over the summer by new coordinator Steve Burdeau. The Panthers put up 40 points against Northern Nash last week, but most of those touchdowns either came off long punt returns by senior Payton Wilson (244 returns yards, 393 all purpose yards), a fumble recovery for a touchdown by Colin Guentensberger or a fumbled snap by the Knights punter. In other words, Orange didn’t have a sustained drive ending in points until well after the game had been decided.

Orange has played undermanned teams during the early season in recent years, but that won’t be the case tonight. Hoggard senior linebackers McKenzie Frazier, Christian Hollar and Reece Moultan were dominant against Holly Springs last week. The Vikings’ offense scored on seven of ten possessions.

Hoggard also returns starting quarterback Josh Jones, who threw for 2,276 yards and 26 touchdowns while rushing for 645 yards. The top returning wide receiver is Tre Houser, who piled up 1, 028 total yards last season.

Wilson and classmate Marvante Beasley have made this season a personal mission since it is their final chance to win an elusive state championship. Tonight’s game will have a playoff atmosphere, even a week before Labor Day.

This is Orange’s only nonconference home game, one of only four dates in Hillsborough this year. The Panthers play their next three on the road and won’t see the lights of Auman Stadium again until October 6th against Northern Durham.

Plus, there’s playoff seeding. Most teams across the state play 11 games, but playoff records are determined by a 10-game schedule. If a team loses a nonconference game, it can simply be deducted off its record.

Orange doesn’t have that luxury this year since East Chapel Hill isn’t fielding a team. The Panthers will play ten games, and tonight’s game against Hoggard will count in the final playoff standings, win or lose.

For a team that’s won consecutive Big 8 Championships and 17 in a row during the regular season, the Panthers are going into uncharted waters tonight, even at home.

The Orange and Cedar Ridge volleyball teams became the first squads to play against the new Big 8 Conference on Thursday night, and the evening didn’t go as they wanted.

Orange lost a 3-2 heartbreaker to East Chapel Hill in Hillsborough on scores of 26-24, 23-25, 16-25, 25-16 and 15-9. It was the first loss of the season for the Panthers, who were playing its third match in four days.

Senior Avery Riley finished with 13 kills, two blocks and two digs for the Panthers (3-1, 0-1 in the Big 8), Sophomore Emma Clements registered two aces, eleven kills and 25 digs. Senior co-captain Caroline Compton had three aces, two kills, 22 assists and 13 digs. Co-captain Bailey Lucas came up with four aces, four kills, one block, 17 assists and seven digs.

Meanwhile in Pittsboro, Northwood remained undefeated by beating Cedar RIdge 3-1 on scores of 25-15, 25-22, 24-26 and 25-20. The Red Wolves fall to 3-2, 0-1 in the Big 8, while Northwood is 5-0 after its initial conference game.

On Monday, Cedar Ridge has another three-game week. It starts Monday with a road trip to Jordan, followed by a home game against Chapel Hill the following day. The Red Wolves finish the week at archrival Orange on Thursday night.

Orange travels to Eastern Alamance on Monday, then plays its second conference game at Hillside on Tuesday.

Through its first two games, Burlington Williams has lit up its opposition for 12 goals. The Bulldogs didn’t slow down against Orange.

Senior Enil Ferguson scored two goals as Williams (2-0-1) defeated Orange 4-1 in Burlington on Wednesday night. It was the first loss of the season for the Panthers, who were coming off a 9-0 win over Roxboro Community School.

Jorge Alfaro also scored for the Bulldogs, his team-leading fifth goal of the season. Brennan Lagana finished with a goal and an assist for Williams, who plays in the 3A Mid Piedmont Conference.

Junior R.J. Pherribo scored the only Orange goal on a penalty kick. Pherribo has scored three goals and two assists so far this season, leading the team with eight points.

Williams started the season with a 2-2 draw at Ragsdale, then routed Bartlett Yancey 10-1.

After Thursday’s rematch with Roxboro Community in Person County, Orange will have one more week to prepare for a rigorous Big 8 Conference schedule. The Panthers will travel to Linny Wrenn Stadium to face Riverside on Monday night, followed by a home game against Wake Forest.

The Panthers played to a scoreless tie against Riverside in Hillsborough last week, a match where Orange had six shots on net.

Orange’s opens conference play at East Chapel Hill on September 6.

The first Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week for 2017 is senior linebacker Jacob Gravitte, who led Cedar Ridge with seven tackles in the Red Wolves’ 21-6 victory over Carrboro last Friday. Gravitte also plays on the offensive line for Cedar Ridge, and stays quite busy during the summer when he isn’t preparing for football season.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Jacob Gravitte

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Cedar Ridge is 1-0 after last week’s win over Carrboro. Now comes a team that is unfamiliar to Red Wolves fans, but a team that hits close to home for Coach Scott Loosemore: Eastern Guilford. Loosemore used to coach the Wildcats. Eastern Guilford wiped out Northeast Guilford 44-0 last Friday night. Hillsborough sports.com will have coverage of the Red Wolves vs. the Wildcats on Friday night with Nathan Bernstein starting at 6:50.

Cedar Ridge Football Coach Scott Loosemore Discusses Friday’s Game at Eastern Guilford

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Our very first Cedar Ridge Interior Lineman of the Week is Cedar Ridge center Braxton Ragan. In the Red Wolves’ season-opening victory over Carrboro, Ragan graded the highest among the Cedar Ridge offensive lineman. It was Ragan’s first varsity game after two years at the junior varsity level. As Ragan prepares for his senior year, he concludes a summer where he’s been busy on the gridiron and his part-time job working as a mechanic.

Cedar Ridge Interior Lineman of the Week: Braxton Ragan

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Very quietly, Orange volleyball has done something it hasn’t accomplished in at least 11 years.

Win at Riverside.

The Panthers not only defeated the Pirates on Margratha Chambers Court on Wednesday night, but they swept them 3-0 on scores of 25-15, 25-21 and 25-17.

To say Orange’s luck against Riverside in Durham has been limited is an understatement. The Pirates had won the last four matches it hosted against Orange, conceding just three sets in the wins. Last year, Riverside swept Orange 30-28, 29-27 and 25-19.

The Panthers (3-0) were dominant on Monday behind a strong performance from Bailey Lucas, who amassed two aces, nine kills, six assists and seven digs. Caroline Compton had one ace, 15 assists, and five digs. Faith Foushee finished with one assist and eleven digs.

Senior Avery Riley added five kills. Sophomore Emma Clements chipped in 13 digs, which led the team.

With the win over the Pirates, the Panthers completed a sweep of Durham’s remaining 4-A teams. On Monday, Orange swept Jordan.

Orange starts Big 8 Conference play on Thursday night against new league rival East Chapel Hill in Hillsborough. The JV game is at 5 with the varsity game to follow shortly afterwards.

In a new look Big 8 Conference that added soccer powerhouse East Chapel Hill during the summer, it was vital for Orange soccer to have a show of force early this season to prove it could stand toe-to-toe with new competition.

So far, an experienced Orange team that returned leading scorer Jamar Davis has had a solid start to the season.

The Panthers are 1-0-2 after shutting out Roxboro Community School 9-0 on Monday night in Hillsborough. Davis scored his first two goals of the season and also had an assist. Junior R.J. Pherribo scored a goal and tallied two assists. Omar Landeros recorded a goal and an assist, as did senior midfielder Ewan McCallum. Luke Wirzba, Bryan Torres, Drew Jagentenfl and Jo Sances also scored goals for the Panthers, who notched its first win of the season. Cam Michalski, Noah Miller and Rohan Kasthuri also finished with assists.

Last Monday, Orange opened the season with a scoreless tie against Riverside. Davis, Pherribo and Jagentenfl were responsible for all six of the Panthers’ shots on net against the Pirates. On Friday, Orange traveled to Carrboro and came away with a 2-2 tie, despite taking the lead with 4:04 remaining off a goal by Jesus Chavez off a feed from Wirzba. The Jaguars, who played for the 2A Eastern Regional Championship last season, tied the game 30 seconds later.

Orange will play two games over the course of two nights starting tonight in Burlington, where they face Walter Williams. Then the Panters, coached by Palmer Bowman, travel to Roxboro for a rematch with Roxboro Community School on Thursday night.