A turnover and a touchdown.
That’s what Orange needed the most midway through the second quarter against former Five County Conference rival Williams on Friday night.
After Williams’ Alijah Richardson snapped off an 80-yard touchdown run to put the Bulldogs ahead 13-0, Orange Coach Van Smith noticed a discouraging but familiar look of despair on his player’s faces.
It’s common among teams on a five-game losing streak who haven’t won at home in nearly a year.
“They had that look of ‘oh no. Here we go again.'” Smith said.
The quirkiest game in recent team history ended with Orange (2-1) beating Williams 21-13 at Auman Stadium in Hillsborough. After Richmond’s run, Orange didn’t give up another point and won its first game of the season despite just 178 yards total offense.
Yet the turning point of the game wasn’t an explosive touchdown run, a blocked punt or even a 99-yard touchdown bomb.
It came when linebacker Owen Brimmer picked off a pass deep inside Williams’ territory late in the first half. That was promptly followed by something that could have only happened on Friday the 13th with a full moon overhead.
The subsequent Orange drive appeared to be just another series that would dissipate without a first down. Junior Nigel Slanker was set to attempt a field goal before Williams was whistled for back-to-back offside penalties.
Suddenly faced with a 4th-and-inches with the Williams’ 3-yard line, Smith inserted 270-pound nose tackle Courtney Edwards at fullback, who rumbled around left end for his first touchdown since his Pop Warner days.
“I can’t even remember the last time I had a touchdown,” Edwards said. “I love carrying the ball, though.”
Williams’ (2-2) offense was hamstrung after losing its top two quarterbacks to injury in the previous two weeks. Senior Kennedy Miles suffered a torn ACL in a win over Western Alamance on August 30. Backup Kalihal Currie was knocked out of last week’s loss to Eastern Alamance.
Bulldogs’ coach Jim McGill played three quarterbacks, alternating between junior Evan Breedlove and senior Shane Whitter (their leading tackler) for most of the game. Senior J.J. Rone started behind center, but didn’t play after the second series.
The lack of dependable throwing arms relegated Williams’ offense almost exclusively to quarterback keepers and handoffs to Richmond. They were held to 86 yards and three first downs in the second half.
Meanwhile, it didn’t take long for Orange to find that turnover with a touchdown.
Early in the third quarter, Orange senior linebacker Joe Kiger picked off a Breedlove pass near midfield. The Panthers, who went 0-for-6 on third down conversions in the first half, finally moved the chains on 3rd-and-six when quarterback Wyatt Jones found wingback Elliott Woods for eleven yards. It was Orange’s longest pass play of the game.
Facing a 4th-and-2 from the Williams 12-yard line, Jones executed a gorgeous read-option around left end and dove for the first down. Sophomore Omarion Lewis scored his second varsity touchdown on the next play from four yards. Slanker’s extra point gave Orange its first lead in the 2nd half this year at 14-13.
After Williams was called for a chop block on a touchback during the ensuing kickoff (Friday the 13th, you know), the Panthers watched as the Bulldogs shanked a nine-yard punt.
That led to the 4th quarter where some quiet leaders emerged for the Panthers. One of them was Woods, who had consecutive gains of eleven yards during Orange’s final touchdown drive. After Lewis converted a 3rd-and-5 with a nine-yard run to burst into the red zone, Jones bounced off Williams’ tacklers like he was a human pinball as he spun, shimmied and shook to the edge of the goal line. Two plays later, Jones snuck it across the goal line for his first rushing touchdown of the year.
Trailing 21-13, Whitter was inserted at quarterback and found leading receiver Kendrel Briggs for a 35-yard gain to the Orange 26-yard line. An unsportsmanlike penalty against the Panthers led to a first-and-goal at the 10-yard line.
That’s when Orange cornerback J.J. Torres made the last two big plays of the night in succession.
On 3rd-and-goal from the Orange 8-yard line, Williams ran a jet sweep for Briggs around left end. Torres read the play adroitly, stringing it out to the left sideline and drew a holding penalty against a Bulldog wide receiver.
Faced with 4th-and-goal from the 18-yard line, Torres picked off Breedlove’s final pass to start a long-awaited celebration along the Panther sideline.
After a scoreless first quarter, Williams took the lead off smoke and mirrors. On a double pass, Breedlove lateraled to Briggs, who hit Whitter for a 26-yard touchdown pass in the north end zone.
The Bulldogs’ consecutive offsides gaffes greatly benefited an Orange offense that largely struggled. Up to that point late in the first half, the Panthers registered only 65 yards.
But, as Smith said, they needed only a turnover and a touchdown to come away smiling in the end.
“I’ve been preaching to these kids since they were freshman that when you’re down two touchdowns, that’s just a touchdown and a turnover. Then you’re right back in this thing,” Smith said. “That’s always been our mentality.”
ORANGE 21, WILLIAMS 13
W—Shane Whitter 26 pass from Kendrel Briggs (Brennan Lagana kick)
W—Alijah Richmond 80 run (kick failed)
O—Cortney Edwards 4 run (Nigel Slanker kick)
O—Omarion Lewis 4 run (Slanker kick)
O—Wyatt Jones 1 run (Slanker kick)
RUSHING—WILLIAMS 29-194 TD (Richmond 15-148 TD, Whitter 10-31, J.J. Rone 3-11, Frank Anderson 1-4)
ORANGE: 42-148 2 TD (Lewis 20-61 TD, Elliott Woods 8-40, Jones 6-31 TD, Joe Kiger 2-8, J.J. Torres 2-4, Edwards 1-4 TD, Jake DeFranco 2-1, team 1-(-1))
PASSING—WILLIAMS 7-13 75 yards TD 4 INT (Briggs 1-1 26 TD, Breedlove 3-7 14 yds 3 INT, Whitter 3-3 38 yards, Rone 0-2)
ORANGE—Jones (3-13 30 yards 2 INT)
RECEIVING: WILLIAMS (Brings 4-40, Whitter 1-26 TD, Kyndall Haith 1-11, Richmond 1-(-2).
ORANGE—(Zyon Pettiford 2-11, Woods 1-19)