Month: February 2018

As quickly as winter sports ended in Hillsborough last week, the spring sports season begins Wednesday with games involving six different teams from Cedar Ridge and Orange.

If there’s no rain.

Unfortunately, after a picturesque 62-degree sunny day on Tuesday, there’s a chance of rain for Wednesday and Thursday. The good news forecasts call for a sunny, if cold, weekend.

* The Cedar Ridge Boys Lacrosse team, fresh off winning the 3A/2A/1A Eastern Regional Championship last May, will debut at Apex Friendship. The Red Wolves will have to replace their top two scorers from last season in Jack Widman and Sean Tobin. Widman, who had been a member of the varsity team since his sophomore season, scored 59 goals and 33 assists in his senior season. Tobin finished 2017 with 45 goals and 18 assists. The Red Wolves will also have to find a way to replace Carter Danku (21 goals), defenseman Cole Bullard (20 goals) and Kelsey Acome (12 goals). On the bright side, Cedar Ridge returns Nick Bachelder, who is a three-year performer that scored 20 goals and 13 assists last season.

* The Orange Baseball team will face Voyager Academy at 5 o’clock on Wednesday afternoon at Panther Field. After losing pitcher Bryce Wilson (who was an South Atlantic League All-Star in 2016) and catcher Brad Debo (now a sophomore starter with N.C. State), the Panthers went 14-13 last season and became among the most unlikely playoff success stories under veteran head coach Dean Dease. Following a 12-12 regular season, Orange upset South Johnston 4-2 in Four Oaks, then edged Southern Lee 2-1 in the 2nd round of the state playoffs. The Panthers nearly made the state quarterfinals, going into the seventh inning leading West Brunswick 1-0 before the Trojans’ Garrison Gause hit a solo home run to tie the game. It was only the 2nd home run of the season for WBHS, who eventually won the game in eight innings. The Panthers lost top starter Derek Lindaman, but return several players who signed with local schools during the summer. Sophomore Cooper Porter inked a scholarship agreement with N.C. State. Third baseman Caige Clayton  committed to Barton College in Wilson. Second baseman Jason Slaughter agreed to attend Belmont Abbey. The promising part of the postseason for Orange was the pitching of underclassmen like Will White, who ended the season with a complete game playoff win over Southern Lee. The Panthers also have Jaydin Poteat returning, who has been the leadoff hitter and centerfielder the past two seasons. Poteat lead the team in batting average, hits, runs, and at-bats last season. Shortstop Joey Berini, who started as a freshman, returns at shortstop after hitting .274 in 2017.

HillsboroughSports.com will broadcast Orange’s season opener against Voyager Academy live on Wednesday afternoon.

* The Cedar Ridge softball team hosts powerful Eastern Alamance on Wednesday at 6 PM. Taylor Barnes returns as the starting pitcher for the Red Wolves. Junior Kara Wagoner hit .419 last season and led the team with 18 hits. Also returning is junior Taylor Raul, who hit .341 with two home runs and 7 RBIs. Another junior, Tionna Carter, played third base last season. In 2017, Carter hit .400 with 12 RBIs and two home runs.

Mia Davidson: After being named the Gatorade North Carolina Softball Player of the Year in May, Mia Davidson has hit the ground running in her first weeks playing at Mississippi State. In her first college game (which was the Bulldogs’ season opener against Mississippi Valley State), Davidson caught a perfect game thrown by Holly Ward. Davidson was named the SEC Rookie of the Week on February 12th after hitting .667 on the opening weekend of the season. In the Bulldog Kickoff Classic, Davidson went 8-for-12 with two home runs, two doubles and a walk. She scored a team-leading six times over the first weekend of play with five RBIs. Over this past weekend, Mississippi State went 3-2 in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Springs, California. The Bulldogs lost the opener to #17 Arizona State 3-1, but rebounded later that night to beat #23 Nebraska 9-0 in five innings. On Friday, MSU defeated #16 Oklahoma State 9-4, a game where Davidson went 2-5 with two runs scored. On Saturday in a 6-4 victory over San Jose State, Davidson hit her fourth home run of the season during a four-run 5th inning. The Bulldogs ended the weekend with a 4-1 loss to Cal State Fullerton, where Davidson went 1-for-3. Overall, Davidson is leading the team with a .469 average, starting all 15 of the Bulldogs’ games. She leads the team with five doubles, four home runs and 13 RBIs.

Brad Debo: The N.C. State Baseball team swept Furman over the weekend at Doak Field in Raleigh to improve to 7-1. On Saturday, former Orange catcher Brad Debo went 1-for-4 with an RBI in a 9-2 Wolfpack victory. This season, Debo has started seven games, hitting .292 with five RBIs.

Jordan Toney: The former Orange pitcher now plays for UNC-Pembroke. He earned a victory on February 3rd in a 14-3 win over Shepherd. Toney threw five innings, striking out five while scattering four hits and yielding three runs. Toney has also appeared in two other games this season. He got a no-decision against Indiana University of Pennsylvania, tossing three-and-two-thirds innings, giving up eight hits and seven runs, all earned. On Sunday, Toney tossed two innings in relief, yielding four hits and three earned runs as the Braves won 13-11. UNC-Pembroke, which plays in the NCAA Division II Peach Belt Conference, is 11-1.

Brandon Andrews: A year after leading the Cedar Ridge baseball team to its first winning season since 2010, Andrews is now playing with Nicholls. Last Monday, Andrews made his debut in a 14-7 win over Stony Brooks, throwing two-and-a-third innings in relief. Andrews gave up two hits and an earned run.

Zach Wright: Now a sophomore attacker with the Mars Hill lacrosse team, Wright scored two goals as the Lions defeated Shorter 17-6 on Saturday in Rome, Georgia.

Quinlan Blackmon: Also a former Orange lacrosse star playing with Mars Hill, Blackmon collected three ground balls against Shorter. Blackmon is a Hurdle Mills native who is a long stick midfielder for the Lions.

Bowen Collins: A former Orange High lacrosse star, Bowen Collins is now a junior for Lenoir-Rhyne. He scored his first goal of the season last week in an 11-6 win over Malloy.

Rachel Peel: A former Orange softball star, Peel now plays for Meredith. She has appeared in four games this season, going 0-for-9 at the plate.

This gyms around Hillsborough will be quiet for the rest of this month. That’s a far cry from last year.

Last year, of the four high school teams in Hillsborough, three made it to the state playoffs. The Orange boys advanced to the state quarterfinals behind Connor Crabtree and Logan Vosburg. The Orange girls opened the season with 21 straight wins and earned the Big 8 Regular Season and Tournament Championships, advancing to the the round of 16 in the state 3A playoff before losing to Rockingham County. The Lady Panthers ended the year 26-2.

The Cedar Ridge girls team surprised everyone by advancing to the 2nd round of the 3A state playoffs, beating Cleveland in the opening round. The Red Wolves hosted Corinth Holders in the round of 32, losing 38-34 in overtime.

Fast forward a year. The Orange boys finished 9-16 after a difficult season which saw injuries to its two star guards in the final three weeks, as well as the resignation of two assistant coaches. The Orange girls were forced into a rebuilding season after the loss of seven seniors, including four starters. They finished 11-15 despite advancing to the Big 8 semifinals last week after upsetting Cedar Ridge in the opening round 39-27. Hillside, the eventual Big 8 Tournament champion, ended Orange’s season 65-26.

At 14-11, the Cedar Ridge girls team were the only local squad to make the state playoffs. On Tuesday night, the Red Wolves will travel to Greenville to face D.H. Conley in the opening round of the field of 64.

The Vikings (18-9) finished second in the 4A/3A Eastern Carolina Conference, behind only 4A squad South Central. Last week, Conley reached the Eastern Carolina Conference Tournament Championship game, where they lost to South Central 59-43. The Vikings defeated South Central on February 8th 60-55 during a season-long five-game winning streak.

Cedar Ridge arrives to the postseason on a three-game losing streak. When the Red Wolves have scored over 40 points this season, they’re 12-0. In their last win over Northern Durham, junior Madison Wardlow scored 17 points, while Taylin Jean had ten points. The Red Wolves lost reserve guard Logan Woody against Northern after she hit her head on the floor diving for a loose ball. Woody had to be taken off the floor on a stretcher. She hasn’t returned to action since.

Wardlow has been the leading scorer for the Red Wolves this season, averaging 12 points per game. Simpson, a senior, is the main post presence, averaging six points and six rebounds per game.

The Red Wolves have almost certainly played its final home game of the season. Cedar Ridge is the #27 seed for the state playoffs (Conley is a #6 seed). The winner of the game faces the winner of #11 Terry Sanford vs. #22 Northeast Guilford on Thursday night.

One year after Bobby Shriner ended his high school coaching career at the Greensboro Coliseum with Payton Wilson winning the 3-A state championship at 220 pounds, two more Orange High wrestlers will go for their own state titles on Saturday.

For the second year in a row, 3-A Mideast Regional Champion Josiah Ramirez has reached the state championship finals. On Saturday at the Greensboro Coliseum, Ramirez defeated Chase Hamlin of Northwest Cabarrus 6-3 in the semifinals. Earlier in the day, Ramirez pinned Chanden Morgan of Kings Mountain in 5:18. Last year, Ramirez advanced to the finals of the 170 state championship, where he lost to J.C. Ciaramella of Marvin Ridge 12-7. Ciaramella handed Ramirez his only loss this season. However, Ciaramella was injured during last week’s Western Regional Tournament and had to forfeit his opening match on Friday.

In his 157th and final match for Orange, Ramirez will face Finley Allen of Terry Sanford, who is 35-3 on the season.

Also at 182 pounds, Cedar Ridge’s Colin Davis reached the state semifinals after defeating Topsail’s Noah LaValle 10-3. However, Allen pinned Davis in 1:38. Davis, now 22-5, will go for 3rd place on Saturday. He awaits the winner of Ruther Oxce of Southern Guilford vs. Ben Austin of Piedmont in the consolation semifinals.

Orange senior Braden Homsey, who also claimed a regional championship last weekend at Chapel Hill High, maintained his undefeated record on Friday by beating Kaleb Hendren of Hunter Huss 13-3. In his three matches in the state tournament, Homsey has won by either technical fall or major decision. On Thursday, he started with a 17-2 tech fall over Alexander Choma of West Johnson. In his quarterfinal match on Friday, Homsey defeated James Price of Piedmont 13-4, his second win over Price in less than two weeks. Homsey, now 39-0 this season, will face Tyrie Houghton of Weddington for the state championship. Houghton, who was the runner up for the 182 state championship in 2017 after losing to Northwood’s Hunter Queen 7-6, is 58-0 this season.

A day after winning his opening round match over Zachary Lesnar 4-1, Orange junior Avery Jenkins fell in the state quarterfinals to Paul Searcy of North Henderson 5-4. Searcy improved to 52-0, and eventually advanced to the state final. Jenkins lost his subsequent consolation match to Jashoua King of Northern Guilford 2-0 to end the season 30-11.

Two other Orange grapplers are still alive in the consolation brackets in their respective weight classes. Senior Bailey Hawkins won three matches on Saturday. After losing his opening round bout to Ethan King of Northern Guilford 3-2 in sudden victory, Hawkins pinned Jakob Burkett of Statesboro in 4:50 in his opening consolation match. Hawkins earned a 9-3 decision over Phifer Ozimek of J.H. Rose 9-3. On Saturday, Hawkins will face Jordan McKinney of Northern Cabarrus in the consolation quarterfinals.

At 138 pounds, junior Levi Anderson has won consecutive matches after dropping his opening bout to Brandon Reisen of West Brunswick. Anderson defeated Jonathan Dalton, the Western Regional Champion, 4-2 in his opening consolation match. Anderson followed that victory with a 6-4 decision win over Stephen Barnard of West Henderson. Anderson will take on Nicholas Vasquez, the Eastern Regional Champion, on Saturday morning.

After winning the 3A Mideast Regional Heavyweight Championship last weekend, the wrestling career of Orange’s Daylan Alston ended on Friday with a 3-1 loss to Piedmont’dsd Luis Oropesa on Saturday. On Thursday, Alston dropped his opening round match to Southern Guilford’s John Oxce 7-4. Alston’s 116th and final victory of his Orange career came with a pin of Cleveland’s JaNathan Coward in :37. Alston, who was also an All-Big 8 offensive lineman in football, concludes his Orange career with a record of 116-30.

Colin Davis is one win away from making the 3-A State Wrestling Tournament for the second year in a row. On Friday night at the Mideast Regionals at Chapel Hill High, Davis defeated Hsernay Day of Northern Durham in :25. in the quarterfinals, he pinned Collin Va Cleave in :39. On Saturday afternoon, Davis faces Matt Ceparano of Southern Alamance in the semifinals.

Braden Homsey is the only Orange wrestler to win every individual tournament he’s competed in this year. On Friday night at the Mideast Regionals, he got off to a strong start with consecutive pins in his opening two matches to advance to the semifinals. Homsey pinned Walker Stewart of Burlington Williams in 1:34. In the quarterfinals, Homsey pinned E.J. Hagwood of Western Harnett in 1:43. On Saturday afternoon, Homsey faces Chapel Hill’s Bradley Kenyon in the semfinals. The winner advances to the state tournament in Greensboro next weekend.

Orange 132-pound senior Bailey Hawkins is one win away from making the 3-A State Wrestling Tournament for the second consecutive year. On Friday night at the Mideast Regionals at Chapel Hill High, Hawkins started the night with a technical fall win over Jose Chahuiz of Burlington Williams 15-0. In the second round, Hawkins defeated Zach West of Southern Guilford 14-3. On Saturday afternoon at approximately 4, Hawkins will take on Matthew Bivens of Eastern Guilford in the semifinals. Hawkins is now 32-4 on the season.

Cedar Ridge’s Darius McLeod opened the 3-A Mideast Regionals on Friday night with a goal of advancing to the state championship meet next weekend in Greensboro at 126 pounds. He started by defeating Marcus De La Rosa of Northern Durham 8-4. In the 2nd round, Fred Lewis of Western Harnett added another win to his undefeated season, defeating McLeod 5-0. McLeod can still reach the state tournament with a 3rd place finish. On Saturday morning, McLeod faces Zachary Gierson of Gray’s Creek at Chapel Hill High.

There will be other wrestling matches for the 12 Orange High seniors who came up short against Piedmont for the 3A State Championship on Saturday.

In fact, almost all of them will be back on the mat on Monday morning at Orange High, preparing for the Mideast Regionals that start on Friday. Josiah Ramirez and Braden Homsey are favorites to reach the state tournament.

But after 52 dual match victories over the past two years, they will never wrestle as a team again. That’s why the tears flowed at the Greensboro Coliseum Fieldhouse a little more on Saturday afternoon.

If anything, Saturday’s loss to Piedmont may have been more disappointing than last year, when Orange led 29-17 with four matches remaining and was one takedown away from beating Piedmont to take its fifth state championship. Instead, Piedmont rallied for wins in the last three matches to win 29-27 in Monroe.

That memory stayed in the minds of Orange wrestlers for the rest of the year, even after Orange captured the 3A Individual Team Championship at the State Tournament two weeks later. The buzzword throughout the week around the Orange wrestling room was “redemption.” Plus, there was a sense of finality. The 12 seniors, who came up together after a disappointing loss to Eden Morehead two years ago in the 2nd round of the state playoffs, were competing for each other for the final time.

Orange couldn’t have asked for a better start. Josiah Ramirez pinned Travis Murphy in 1:31, and the large Orange contingent exploded. At 220, Braden Homsey remained undefeated with a major decision over James Price 17-9.

Then things quickly fell apart. Piedmont won seven straight matches, starting at heavyweight when Luis Oropesa defeated Daylen Alston 9-6. Just as they did last year, Piedmont controlled the lighter weighs to take the state title. Tripp Collins started things at 106 by pinning Kessell Summers in 3:59.

At 113, Bailey Wicker edged Mitchell Askew 6-3 to give Piedmont a 12-10 lead it would not relinquish. At 120, Nathan Huntley, who earned a huge victory last year against Orange when he defeated Askew, shut out Justin Hutchins 4-0.

Angelo Gilvary knocked off Gavin Wiggins 8-1 to put Piedmont ahead 18-10. Colby Funderburk, the hero of last year’s state championship match when he defeated Noah Davis 18-2 to seal the title, decisioned Bailey Hawkins 7-3 at 132. Mason Fisher pinned Malcolm Phillips in 1:34. Kylan Thomas pinned Orange’s Marion Manduiano at 4:22 to earn Piedmont its third Dual Team State Championship and second consecutive title.

Levi Anderson won a match at 145 for Orange.

It was a cruel ending that the same team that handed Bobby Shriner his last dual match loss also gave Spenser Poteat his first. But even harder for Orange is how it ends for 12 seniors who have earned four conference championships, two regional titles and an individual state championship.

However many victories Orange wrestling has gathered over the past 27 years, the quality of the young men involved have proven to be the program’s legacy, which will continue to get passed down. When it does, that will make the sweet times sweeter.