Month: October 2022

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior Sydney Rogers. It has been a remarkable year for Rogers, who became the first female to score a point for the Orange football team when she kicked an extra point against South Granville on August 19. Earlier that month, Rogers started practice for the Orange women’s tennis team. This fall, the Orange tennis team won a share of the Central Carolina Conference championship. It is the first Orange team to win a conference championship in tennis in the history of the school. Rogers went 13-0 as a singles player this year. Last week, she qualified for the 3A Mideast Regionals in doubles along with Makayla Davis. Last spring, Rogers was a staring midfielder for the Orange women’s soccer team, which had the deepest run in the state playoffs in school history. Rogers scored seven goals in the regular season. She helped Orange defeat Hargett Central in the opening round of the state playoffs. In the second round, Rogers started and won several crucial 50-50 balls as Orange defeated Cape Fear in Fayetteville. Once fall ends, Rogers will prepare for her senior soccer season. She will spend the winter playing indoor soccer in preparation for next spring’s soccer season. 

Men’s Soccer: Orange 3, Northwood 2: Most likely, it was the Orange men’s soccer team’s final trip to Pittsboro for a conference game against Northwood. And the Panthers made it a trip worth remembering as they continue to march towards the state playoffs for the first time since 2017.

Just days after Emmanuel Mil Cruz scored in the final minute for the game-winning goal against Chapel Hill, Orange scored two goals in the final five minutes to stun Northwood 3-2 at Chargers Soccer Field on Monday night. It was the Panthers’ third straight win.

This time the hero was senior Dylan Silverman. With 1:09 remaining, Silverman took a pass from Bryan Membreno and fire a heatseeking missile from 23 yards away that went over the head of the Chargers goalkeeper and caught the roof of the net, setting off a wild celebration along the Orange sideline. It was Silverman’s first game-winning goal of the season and his second of the year. His previous goal came against Western Alamance on September 7.

Orange (10-8, 6-4 in the Central Carolina Conference) has won four in a row. They are now ranked #19 in the 3A East Region.

With 3:10 remaining, the Panthers evened the game off a corner kick sent in by Mil Cruz. The ball landed at the far post. Tyler Mann, the leading scorer on the team, dug the ball free from a Chargers defender and rolled it over the goal line from point-blank range. It was Mann’s tenth goal of the season and his 25th point.

Orange got the opening goal off a pass from Enzo Bruhns, who took a pass from Mann and sent it across with a side foot shot from 17 yards away. The Panthers completed a season sweep of the Chargers for the first time since the two teams became conference rivals in 2012.

Men’s Cross Country: In the final race before the Central Carolina Conference championship meet, Cedar Ridge’s Roman Morrell won his third race of the season at Red Wolves Cross Country course on October 11. Morrell, in his final cross country race at Cedar Ridge, finished first at 18:34.87 in a tri-meet with Orange and Person.

Red Wolves took the top three spots in the standings. Finishing in second was freshman Ryan Matthews, who crossed the finish line at 18:47.30. In third place was Henry Alexander (18:50.02).

Orange junior Gabriel Schmid finished fourth at 19:03.80. Cedar Ridge’s Edgar Ibarra came in fifth.

The Panthers’ Riley Potter came in sixth, while Don Wheelis was seventh.

Cedar Ridge finished with 19 points. Orange was second with 42 points.

Women’s Cross Country: Cedar Ridge’s Abigail Klaitman earned her first career first-place finish in Cedar Ridge’s meet on October 11 against Orange and Person. Klaitman, a sophomore, finished the 5,000 meter course at 22:40.71.

Red Wolves runners finished in the top four spots to help Cedar Ridge easily take the overall team victory. The Red Wolves finished with 17 points. Orange came in with 50 points while Person had 62.

4After Klaitman, senior Sarah Fenwick finished second at 23:41.02. Red Wolves freshman Payton Decker came in third at 24:29.30. Cedar Ridge sophomore Serena Summers crossed the finish line fourth at 24:56.30. Kaitlyn Horn was seventh at 26:01.96. Selene Galla and Sydney Lund finished ninth and tenth, respectively, for the Red Wolves.

Orange’s top finisher was Kayla Mehl, who came in eighth at 26:19.55. Kassi Scarantino, Sophia Schultz, Grace Pell, Caroline Cathey and Margaret Hales all finished in the top 15 for the Panthers.

The Central Carolina Conference men’s and women’s championship meet will take place on Wednesday at Lake Cammack Cross Country Course in Burlington.

There’s a long road to the 3A State Dual Tennis Championship.

But after Wednesday, the road may seem like a piece of cake considering the long trip that awaits the Orange women’s tennis team.

The Lady Panthers, who shared the Central Carolina Conference championship with Walter Williams, will take a four-hour road trip to Kill Devil Hills to face First Flight this afternoon. The pairings for the 32-team 3A State Dual Team Tournament were released on Monday afternoon by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.

The Lady Panthers, already with a school-record 18 wins against two losses, received an 11-seed. First Flight (10-1) tied with Holmes High for the 3A/2A Northeastern Coastal Conference championship with a 7-1 league mark.

The winner of Orange/First Flight will face the winner of Fike and Croatan in the second round.

Orange goes into the match on a school-record 14-match winning streak. The Lady Panthers last loss came against Williams on August 31 when they fell 8-1.

The dual tournament continues a busy period for the Lady Panthers. Last Thursday, they competed in the Central Carolina Conference Tournament at the Burlington Tennis Center. The conference tournament has ceased crowning a singles and doubles champion and is primarily an event to qualify players for the Mideast Regionals, which will take place this weekend.

Orange’s top doubles team of Shannon and Erin Sollars received a top-seed for the conference tournament and didn’t play any matches. Instead, they automatically qualified for the regional tournament.

The same applies to Cedar Ridge’s top singles player, Cameron Mayhew, who was the only Red Wolf to qualify for regionals.

The Orange doubles team of Makayla Davis and Sydney Rogers qualified for regionals. Davis and Rogers, seeded fifth, defeated Person’s Zita Tong and Kalei Stephens 6-0, 6-0 in the opening round. With a spot at regionals on the line, Davis and Rogers defeated Cedar Ridge’s Catherine Ballenger and Ella Caltabiano 6-4, 6-4. This season, Davis and Rogers were 9-4 as a team.

The Sollars sisters are 14-3 as a doubles team this season.

In the singles tournament, Cedar Ridge sophomore Adeline Cummings defeated Orange senior Madelyn Horn in the opening round 6-0, 6-1. Walter Williams Jaden Wilson knocked off Cummings in the second round. Cummings, a sophomore, ended her season with eleven singles wins.

Orange senior Isabel Jones opened the singles tournament with a victory over Isabel Baker 6-1, 6-0. In the second round, Eastern Alamance’s Rocio Rosa defeated Jones 6-3, 6-0.

Cedar Ridge’s doubles team of Ballenger and Caltabiano opened with a victory over a team from Eastern Alamance.

Mayhew, the younger sister of Cedar Ridge’s conference champion Josh Mayhew, will go into regionals with momentum. She started as the top singles player for the Red Wolves in each of the dual matches for the second half of the season. She defeated every #1 player from all the conference teams, including Walter Willams’ Abigail Brown, who retired in the second set of their match on October 10.

Williams earned the #1 seed into the 3A State Dual Tournament. They will host Harnett Central in the opening round on Wednesday.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior setter Julie Altieri. Last week, Altieri helped Cedar Ridge win its third consecutive regular season championship as the Red Wolves defeated Orange 3-0. Altieri holds two school record. She is the all-time assist leader in school history with 1,850 going into the semifinals of the Central Carolina Conference tournament on Tuesday night against Walter Williams. She also has 198 aces, the most in school history. Last season, Altieri was the setter for the 3A State Championship team, the first female team in Cedar Ridge history to win a state championship. She has been a four-year starter and has over a 4.0 grade-point average. Altieri has been a member of six championship teams in her accomplished Cedar Ridge career. In addition to the three regular season championships, she has won a Central Carolina Tournament championship, an Eastern Regional championship and the 3A State Championship. Altieri is looking to continue her career at the college level. Altieri will graduate in June along with her teammates Cameron Lloyd, Cameron Lanier, Grace Young, Melissa Benkowitz, Anaya Carter, Isabelle Sheppard and Lauren Cecil. 

On October 6, the Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team defeated Person 6-0 at Red Wolves Stadium. It was another strong game for senior Chris Mendez, who notched his second hat trick of the season against the Rockets. Mendez previously had another hat trick in a 8-0 win over Eastern Guilford on September 1 in Hillsborough. During his three years at the varsity level, Mendez has scored 24 goals for the Red Wolves. He finished out his junior season with a hat trick against Eastern Alamance. Sophomore centerback Solomon Hernandez had a career-high two goals for the Red Wolves. Hernandez brings a stellar defensive presence for Cedar Ridge that will be valuable as he continues his high school career. Hernandez scored his first varsity goal against Eastern Guilford. He was a regular performer last season as a freshman. Cedar Ridge will hold its senior night agains the Durham School of the Arts at Red Wolves Stadium on October 26. 

Joe Kiger: As the short-track racing season winds down, 2020 Orange High graduate Joe Kiger captured the checkered flag in the Smokey Dave’s BBQ Mod 4 Division race on October 8 at the Orange County Speedway. Kiger, who played football with the Panthers, won the 20-lap event.

Trenton Gill: If it’s Thursday Night Football, it means punting. Which made Trenton Gill a busy man last week for the Chicago Bears against the Washington Commanders. Gill had four punts for an average of 46.3 yards. His longest was 54 yards. One punt was downed inside the 20-yard line. Washington held on to defeat the Bears 12-7 at Solider Field.

Payton Wilson: Wilson had another strong game for #15 N.C. State in its 24-9 loss to #18 Syracuse at the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday afternoon. Wilson finished with eight tackles for the Wolfpack, second behind only Isaiah Moore. Wilson also had a quarterback hit. The Wolfpack fell to 5-2, 1-2 in the ACC. They will have this week off before turning to conference play against Virginia Tech on October 27 at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.

Keshawn Thompson: The Campbell Football team defeated Robert Morris 41-10 at Barker-Lane Stadium in Buies Creek on Saturday. Thompson finished with three tackles, including one-half of a tackle for loss as the Camels improved to 4-2, 2-0 in the Big South Conference. Campbell will travel to Jackson State, coached by Pro Football Hall of Fame Deion Sanders and ranked #6 in the Football Championship Subdivision, on Saturday.

Darius Satterfield: The Elizabeth City State University football team defeated Lincoln University of Pennsylvania 21-19 at Roebuck Stadium in Elizabeth City on Saturday. Satterfield finished with four punts for an average of 37 yards. He had one downed inside the 20-yard line and another for a touchback. Satterfield also had a tackle on one of his kickoffs that saved a potential touchdown by the Lions. The Vikings will host Virginia State next Saturday.

Braxton Mergenthal: Mergenthal played on defense for Division III Hampden-Sydney in its 37-26 win over Averett University on Saturday at Everett Stadium. Hampden-Sydney has won three of its last four games, is now 3-3, 2-1 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.

Emerson Talley: The Lenoir-Rhyne women’s soccer team defeated Coker 1-0 at Coker Athletic Field on August 12. Talley came off the bench to play 49 minutes for the Bears, who remain undefeated in the South Atlantic Conference at 7-0-2. They are 8-2-3 overall.

Lottie Scully: The Binghamton volleyball team stepped out of American East Conference play and dropped a match to Colgate 3-1 on scores of 22-25, 25-20, 25-23 and 25-18. Scully finished with three kills, 38 assists, one ace, four blocks and five digs. The Bearcats rebounded by beating Bryant University 3-0 at West Gym in Binghamton on Friday. Scully had one kill, 36 assists, one block and five digs. On Sunday, Binghamton won a thriller over the University of New Hampshire 3-2 on scores of 25-14, 20-25, 25-19, 21-25 and 15-5. Scully finished with five kills, a season-high 44 assists, one ace, three blocks and ten digs. Binghamton is 13-6 overall, 4-1 in the American East.

Avery Miller: The Pitt Community College volleyball team has won three in a row. The Bulldogs defeated Lenoir Community College 3-0 in Kinston on Wednesday. Miller finished with six kills, one ace, one dig and two blocks. On Saturday, Pitt CC swept a doubleheader. They started with a 3-0 sweep of USC Salkehatchie at Wake Tech Community College in Raleigh. Miller, who played one set, finished with one kill. Pitt completed the day with a 3-1 victory over Wake Tech. Miller finished with seven kills, five digs and one block. Pitt Community College is now 12-8 overall, 2-8 in Region X.

Joshua Jackson: Last week, Jackson announced he has joined Division III Brevard University. Jackson graduated from Orange in June. Over two years on the Orange men’s basketball team, Jackson averaged 3.7 points over 33 games. His junior year was limited to eight games because of the pandemic. Brevard will start its season against Bob Jones University on November 10 at Boshamer Gymnasium.

J.J. Thompson: Thompson was announced as a new assistant coach for the Orange men’s basketball team last week by head coach Derryl Britt. Thompson, who currently attends Durham Technical Community College, played three seasons at the varsity level with the Panthers. Last December, he had a career-high 27 points in a 67-59 win over Granville Central in the South Granville Holiday Tournament.