Month: November 2017

In the endless amount of box scores that flow through a high school basketball season, Cedar Ridge’s line score against Rockingham County stands out.

The Red Wolves scored 8 in the first quarter, ten in the second…and was held to a single bucket in the third.

Then they scored 28 in the fourth.

It was almost enough for its second win of the season on Tuesday night in Wentworth, but the Cougars held on for a 52-48 victory. Rockingham County is now 3-1. Jake Miller paced all scorers with 22, the only Cougar in double figures.

Khalil Barnett triggered the run by scoring all 16 of his points in the fourth quarter. Terrence Crawford had 13.

As Coach Clay Jones searches for scorers on his young team, he may have found one with sophomore Chris Tinnen, who came off the bench to hit a key 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, which put Cedar Ridge within three points after trailing 33-18 at halftime.

Tinnen’s three-pointer aided a cold shooting night for the Red Wolves, who finished 3-of-18 behind the arc. Cedar Ridge was 41% from the field.

“We didn’t play well for three quarters,” said Cedar Ridge Coach Clay Jones.”

Crawford added seven rebounds for Cedar Ridge, who falls to 1-3 on the season. Cedar Ridge travels to Magratha Chambers Court in Durham on Friday night to face Riverside.

After becoming the first freshman to qualify for the state tournament, Cedar Ridge freshman Ivy Garner has been named to the All-Big 8 team for girls tennis.

Garner was the number one singles player for a Cedar Ridge team that finished third in the Big 8 Conference. In a stacked Big 8 conference which featured 3A Eastern Regional Champion East Chapel Hill and perennial power Chapel Hill, Garner provided a steady presence for the Red Wolves, who finished 13-6, 11-4 in the Big 8. Garner was at her best during the 3A Mideast Regionals, where she advanced to the championship match.

Garner won her opening singles match over April Harrington of Grays Creek 6-1, 6-0. In the quarterfinals, Garner knocked off Emma Hilburn of Northern Guilford 6-1, 6-0. In the semfinals, Garner won a the only three-set match of the championship round, beating Northern Guilford’s Emily Callahan 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.

In the 3A state tournament, Garner was the #2 seed from the Big 8. Garner was also a member of Cedar Ridge’s top doubles team with Olivia Ward.

Joining Garner on the All-Big 8 team from Cedar Ridge was senior Kate Milner, who was the #3 singles player. Milner was also a force in doubles with partner Brianna Celine. Milner and Celine qualified for the 3A Mideast Regionals. This is the 2nd time that Milner has made all-conference. As a junior, Milner helped Cedar Ridge win its first Big 8 Championship in school history and advanced to the 3rd round of the 3A State Dual Team playoffs.

Cedar Ridge senior Maddie Warner and sophomore Olivia Ward were named as Honorable Mention performers.

The Orange Panthers had two players make the All-Big 8 team. Senior Caroline Branan spent the season as the #1 singles player for the Panthers. Emma Williamson was the #2 singles player.

Orange’s Payton Clayton was named Honorable Mention.

After advancing the Big 8 Championship and advancing to the state championship match, East Chapel Hill swept the individual awards. The Wildcats’ Savannah Bright was named Big 8 Player of the Year. Wildcats coach Nick Walker, a native of Caldwell who previously coached at Orange and Stanford Middle School, was named Big 8 Coach of the Year.

You would think that a team that loses 57% of its scoring from last season would struggle come out of the gates.

And, for at least one night, you would be wrong.

Sophomore Joey McMullin struck for a career-high 37 points as Orange easily put away the North Carolina School of Science and Math 85-70 in the season-opener at Jim King Gymnasium on Monday night.

McMullin wasted no time is letting everyone know what type of night it would be when he scored 18 points in the first quarter, including four 3-pointers as Orange jumped out to a 26-16 lead.

Senior Mitch Portman added twelve. Morgan Paschall, trying to regain his basketball legs 17 days after football season ended, finished with ten, including 7-of-9 shooting from the foul line in the fourth quarter alone.

Orange had to replace arguably the greatest player in school history in Connor Crabtree, who initially signed with UNC Asheville but is now playing at Hargrove Military Institute. Paired with Logan Vosburg, the 2016-17 Panthers won the first conference regular sesaon championship in 16 years and advanced to the fourth round of the 3A state playoffs before Crabtree broke his right ankle against Triton.

That wasn’t a problem against the Unicorns, who fell to 2-3.

Orange Coach Greg Motley scheduled his team’s first game several weeks later than other teams around the state. The reasoning behind that decision was Orange has made deep football playoff runs in recent years. Last season, while Orange made the 2nd round of the state playoffs, Motley had ten players available for the season opener against Leesville Road, and four of those were JV callups.

This year, Orange football was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Motley played no less than six players who were 17 days removed from the gridiron.

Orange hosts Lee County in Hillsborough on Thursday night at 7:30.

NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND MATH: Caleb Pigues 26, Robert Landry 12, Andrew Rust 5, Moeshe Ikechukwu 6, William Leary 11, Geoffrey Fylak 5, Lucas Embry 6.

ORANGE: Machai Holt 7, Mitch Portman 12, Eli Haithcock 2, Morgan Paschall 12, Joey McMullin 35, Jason Franklin 2, Matt Atherton 3, Kendall Whitted 8, Zyon Pettiford 1, Ryan Sellers 1.

Last season, the Orange women’s basketball team opened 21-0 en route to the Big 8 Regular Season championship, followed by the Big 8 Tournament championship.

With the loss of seven seniors who are scattered everywhere from Starkville, Mississippi to Raleigh to Hartford, Connecticut, it’s too early to say if a similar fate awaits the 2017-18 edition of the Lady Panthers. All that’s certain right now is Orange is 1-0 and junior Lauren Cates is a big reason why.

Cates scored 17 points as the Panthers defeated the North Carolina School of Science and Math 55–44 in the season opener at Jim King Gymnasium in Hillsborough on Tuesday night. Janea Myers added 13 while Icez Barnett scored twelve.

Orange outrebounded the Unicorns 19-10 and created 13 turnovers. Junior point guard Grave Dively and Namron Chapman each corralled four rebounds.

The Panthers roared out to a 20-11 lead and led 41-20 at the half. Shannon Hunter led the Unicorns with 16 points.

Despite workouts throughout the summer to prepare for the loses of top scorer Kaylen Campbell (now at Trinity College in Hartford), leading rebounder Mia Davidson (now a catcher at Mississippi State) and center Bethlyn Early, plus the leadership of Adalyn Fleming, Jazlyn Watson and Mary Beth Dobbins, there was only so much practices could do to prepare Orange for an actual game.

“We definitely played with some nervousness early,” said Orange Coach B.J. Condron. “We got into a little foul trouble, but some reserves stepped up and gave us some valuable minutes. We got to see a lot that we need to work on moving forward.”

Orange hosts Lee County Thursday night at 6.

NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND MATH—Faith Merrit 3, Kaylah Davis 3, Aneesha Manocha 10, Christina Alperi 3, Laila Barnes 6, Shannon Hunter 16.

ORANGE—Janea Myers 13, Icez Barnett 12, Lauren Cates 17, Grace Dively 9, Nashyra Wilkins 8, Jala Rainey 1, Grace Andrews 6.

After making the state playoffs for the third straight years, two Orange Panthers have been named to the 2017 All-Big 8 volleyball team.

In addition, Cedar Ridge’s Sarah McCuiston was named to the All-Big 8 squad.

For Orange, senior Bailey Lucas and sophomore Emma Clements were named to the 14-person squad. Lucas had 141 kills, 42 aces, ten blocks, 110 digs, and placed 2nd on the team with 278 digs. Lucas had a 40% kill percentage, the highest among players with at least 60 kills on the season.

Clements led Orange in two categories: kills with 202, aces with 61. Her kill percentage was 38.3%. She was second on the team with 256 digs. Clements also had six total blocks. Orange finished 13-11, 6-8 in the Big 8 Conference. In the opening round of the state playoffs, Orange lost to eventual Eastern Regional champions Chapel Hill.

McCuiston, a junior, led Cedar Ridge with 123 kills, tops on the team. She also had a team-leading 36 blocks.

Even though Chapel Hill was one set away from winning the 3A state championship, Northwood swept the conference awards. Northwood’s Cera Powell was named the Big 8 Player of the Year while Steve Thomas took Coach of the Year honors.

Chapel Hill finished 14-0 in the conference, 17-6 overall and lost to North Iredell 3-2 for the state championship.

In regards to Honorable Mentions, Orange senior Faith Foushee was honored. So was senior co-captain Caroline Compton. For Cedar Ridge, juniors Juliann De Jesus and Rachel Tucker was also on the Honorable Mention list.

Last Tuesday, Orange 182-pound wrestler Josiah Ramirez became the 42nd Panther to record 100 wins in his career. Ramirez clinched the milestone by pinning Riverside’s Chuma Ubezonu in 1:13. Last season, Ramirez made it all the way to the 3A individual state championship match at 170 pounds, where he fell short of the title. For his senior year, Ramirez wants to earn state championships on several levels as he gears up for this week’s Jim King Invitational at Orange starting Friday.

Orange senior Gavin Wiggins has plenty to aim for in his final season wrestling for the Panthers. He wants to win a championship at the Jim King Invitational next Saturday. He hasn’t forgotten about the Panthers crushing loss to Piedmont in the 3A State Dual Championship last season in Murphy, something he would like the entire team to atone for this year. Wiggins has opened the season 3-1, including a pin of Sanderson’s Eli Kays in 1:02 in the season-opening dual match, a 76-6 Orange victory.

During Orange’s Thanksgiving Duals last Tuesday, Orange heavyweight Daylan Alston received a stiff challenge from Southeast Guilford’s Jonathan King. Alston prevailed in double overtime 8-6 to improve to 5-0 on the season. Alston also pinned Northwood’s Abraham Pena in :17 and received a forfeit victory against Riverside. Alston is gearing up for the Jim King Invitational starting Friday at Orange.

To conclude a whirlwind week that included a lavish trip to Notre Dame, decommitting from UNC and the subsequent predictable social media backlash from countless people living in their parents’ basements, Payton Wilson added another superlative to his storied Orange high career.

Wilson was named the Big 8 Conference Defensive Player of the Year on Friday for the second consecutive season. Wilson was the ultimate utility player for the Panthers in his senior season. In addition to starting nine games at linebacker, Wilson started four games as quarterback, served as punt returner and finished the season tied for the team lead with 15 receptions.

Despite missing essentially the final three games of the season (he suffered a torn ACL during the opening kickoff against Cedar Ridge, the penultimate game of the regular season), Wilson still led the team with 103 tackles and 21 tackles for loss. He had ten sacks, an interception (returned for a touchdown against Rolesville) and a fumble recovery.

Wilson was one of eleven Orange players to make the All-Big 8 squad. Also making the team for Orange:

Marvante Beasley: The senior running back had 977 yards and eight touchdowns. In all seven games he played, Beasley rushed for over 100 yards. His season, and possibly career, ended when he knocked out of the Hillside game on October 13 when he was carried off the field on a stretcher. An MRI later revealed his had a bruise on his spinal cord, jeopardizing his hopes of playing in college. Beasley, who was walking around without pain during last week’s Orange Thanksgiving Duals wrestling meet, is currently seeking a second medical opinion.

Ryan Sellers: A defensive end for the past three years, Sellers will be remembered as an anchor for some of the most accomplished Orange defenses in school history. In 2017, he led Orange with 24 tackles for loss and eleven sacks. Earlier this month, Sellers took a recruiting trip to East Tennessee State, which resurrected its program in 2015 under former UNC head coach Carl Torbush.  Sellers is currently gearing up for basketball season, which starts Monday.

Noah Rogers: Orange’s most accomplished two-way player, Rogers started as a nose guard on defense and a left guard on offense. He finished with 44 tackles and eight tackles for loss. Rogers will best be remembered for his junior season, when he teamed with Sellers and current Vanderbilt Commodore Stone Edwards to form a defensive line that yielded just six points in the second half during the entire regular season.

Jeremiah Bailey: Possibly the biggest revelation of the season, Bailey was a reserve defensive end. He became a regular starter at right guard and frequently played both ways during the Big 8 portion of the schedule. One of six Orange juniors to make All-Big 8.

Milton Purcell: A junior linebacker/wide receiver, Purcell finished with 39 tackles, five tackles for loss and four interceptions. Perhaps the emotional leader of the team, Purcell’s interception return for a touchdown against Hillside sewed up a win that ultimately led Orange to its third consecutive Big 8 Championship and handed Hillside its first loss in conference play since 2010. Purcell also scored perhaps the most adventurous touchdown of the season in the waning moments of the first half at Rolesville. With the clock ticking, Purcell returned the ball to the referee while struggling to get his shoe on, got the play from quarterback Rodney Brooks, then caught a touchdown.

Eryk Mercado: Tied for the team lead with four interceptions and led the team with five pass break-ups. Told teammates the night before the Northern Durham game he would make an interception against the Knights, then did just that the following night.

Jett Satterfield: The son of former Orange fullback Trent Satterfield and nephew of Appalachian State football coach Scott Satterfield, Jett transitioned from a wingback in Pat Moser’s single-wing offense to a linebacker who became the second-leading tackler on the team with 74. He also had 11 tackles for loss. Figures to be instrumental in his senior year.

Colin Guentensberger: A junior who started as a linebacker in Orange’s 3-5-3 defense. Guentensberger was fourth on the team with 61 tackles, eleven for a loss. Become more of a presence as a skill player late in the season after Wilson’s injury. Scored a receiving touchdown vs. Chapel Hill.

Hunter Pettiford: Another two-way player who was third on the team with 64 tackles. Became part of a two-way backfield after Beasley’s injury. Rushed for 262 yards and four touchdowns in his first full season at the varsity level.

Francisco McKinley: Named the Big 8 Kicker of the Year. While it may have been overlooked, McKinley may have provided the most dramatic moment of the season when he kicked a 26-yard field goal with 1:29 remaining, which was the game-winner against Southern Durham, a 16-15 Orange win in the Big 8 opener. Just minutes earlier, McKinley injured his right knee when Southern blocked a punt deep in Orange territory.

Three Cedar Ridge Red Wolves make the All-Big 8 team.

Jacob Gravitte: The senior linebacker piled up 106 tackles for the Red Wolves, leading the team. Gravitte was a three-year varsity starter who was also All-Conference during his junior season, when Cedar Ridge went 6-5, its first winning season in six years.

Freddy Francis: Originally a wide receiver, Francis had a baptism by fire as a first-year quarterback after an injury to starter Phillip Berger. Francis started the final eight games of the season behind center, throwing for 477 yards and four touchdowns.

Thomas Upchurch: The junior linebacker had 62 tackles, second on the team. Also on offensive lineman.

Making honorable mention All Conference: Taison Farrington and Eli Haithcock for Orange. Kevin Wright and Aidan Poole for Cedar Ridge.

In a disappointing 70-65 loss to Durham School of the Arts on Tuesday night, Cedar Ridge guard Khalil Barnett had a double-double with 12 points and ten rebounds. The Red Wolves led for most of the first half, but couldn’t overcome the Bulldogs height advantage. DSA outrebounded the Red Wolves 33-29. Cedar Ridge returns to action on Friday night to host Jordan Matthews.