Jeff Hamlin

If you missed a little at Auman Stadium on Friday night, you missed a lot.

There was a career night from a senior running back, Orange’s first shutout win in three years, their starting quarterback threw his first varsity touchdown pass and there was a 37-yard touchdown pass from a tight end who is usually a cross country runner.

Needless to say, Orange’s first win of 2021 had its memorable moments. The Panthers (1-3) crushed Granville Central 47-0 at Auman Stadium. Senior running back Omarion Lewis rushed for a career-high 174 yards and two touchdowns, breaking his previous mark of 124 yards in his varsity debut against South Granville in 2019.

Senior Jared Weaver, who had played cornerback in Orange’s first three games, got his first start at quarterback. Weaver finished 4-for-4 for 95 yards and two touchdowns.

“I was happy for him,” said Orange Coach Van Smith. “He missed last spring and part of the summer. He got behind and it took him a while to get enough reps in. It was a good change of pace. The offense clicked for us and I was happy for him and the whole team.”

It was Orange’s first shutout win since they defeated East Chapel Hill 54-0 on September 21, 2018. Orange’s defense held Granville Central (0-4) to minus-19 yards. Central could only muster one first down and didn’t cross midfield.

Orange scored 14 points off turnovers. After Braden Homsey recovered a fumble, Lewis scored his first touchdown on a 28-yard scamper around right end with 2:31 remaining in the first quarter.

The Panthers piled up 402 yards total offense, easily eclipsing its previous season-high of 290 yards against Chapel Hill.

“We ran the ball really well,” Smith said. “We got outside and on the edge. Our backs got some good blocking from the offensive line. They sealed the edge and guys got on the second and third level. They were making the right cuts and knew when to get a foot on the ground and cut up the field. And when you run effectively, that opens up the passing game.”

Orange established its ground control game on its first series, a 10-play, 69-yard drive. The Panthers offensive line controlled the pace so thoroughly, they didn’t even face a third down. After Lewis rushed for 13 yards to invade the red zone, sophomore Nate Sorrells scored his second touchdown of the season with a five-yard run across the left corner of the end zone. Darius Satterfield ran a two-point play up the middle and Orange led 8-0 to start the rout.

Weaver had his first career touchdown pass when he found junior wingback Ronald Cooper on a 32-yard pass in the second quarter. After Jackson Wood picked off a pass, Cooper added another touchdown on a four-yard scamper to conclude the first half.

Before Wood’s interception, Kameron Harshaw had back-to-back sacks against Central quarterback Luke Sharon.

“Kameron caught fire,” Smith said. “He’s probably the fastest defensive lineman off the ball that we’ve had, particularly from the nose guard spot. When he catches fire, he’s awfully hard to block. He started making plays and that fired him up even more. He’s a good kid and I was happy for him.”

Lewis started the second half with a gorgeous 39-yard touchdown run with 10:16 remaining in the third quarter. The final touchdown came when Weaver found senior tight end Nick Pell, who ordinarily runs cross country. In fact, Pell passed up competing in the Friday Night Lights meet in Kernersville, one of the biggest in the state, to play football on Friday night. Pell comfortably hauled in the first varsity pass of his career, which was also his first touchdown.

Smith has had a soccer player kick a game-winning field goal with a conference championship on the line. Has he ever had a cross country runner catch a touchdown pass?

“I’ve never had a cross country runner play for me,” Smith said.

Orange will travel to Western Alamance to open Central Carolina Conference play next Friday.

ORANGE 47, GRANVILLE CENTRAL 0

GCHS–0 0 0 0-0

OHS–14 13 13 7-47

OHS–Nate Sorrells 5 run (Darius Satterfield run)

OHS–Omarion Lewis 28 run (kick failed)

OHS–Ronald Cooper 32 pass from Jared Weaver (Satterfield kick)

OHS–Cooper 4 run (kick blocked)

OHS–Lewis 39 run (Satterfield kick)

OHS–Nick Pell 37 pass from Weaver (kick failed)

OHS–Jabari Albright 1 run (Satterfield kick)

RUSHING: GRANVILLE CENTRAL: 18-(-51) (Ashton Applewhite (1-(-1), C.J. Alston 1-(-2), team 1-(-2), Ethan Kelly 1-(-7), Ryan Johnson 7-(-9), Luke Sharon 7-(-30).

ORANGE: 44-307(Lewis 15-174 2 TD, Sorrells 12-62 TD, Albright 4-24 TD, Cooper 5-21 TD, Nate Hecht 4-12, Jackson Wood 2-5, Jaki McDaniels 1-7, Connor Ray 1-2).

PASSING: GRANVILLE CENTRAL 5-13 13 yds INT (Sharon 5-10 13 INT; Alson 0-3)

ORANGE (Weaver 4-4 95 2 TD)

RECEIVING: GRANVILLE CENTRAL (Taisean Hester 3-19, Keandre Washington 1-7, Johnson 1-6)

ORANGE: (Pell 1-37 TD, Cooper 1-32 TD, Ray 1-20, Jake Wimsatt 1-6)

It was a night of first in Orange’s 47-0 win over Granville Central on Friday night at Auman Stadium. Senior Jared Weaver had his first varsity start at quarterback. He threw his first touchdown pass at the varsity level and finished 4-of-4 for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Junior running back Ronald Cooper caught his first touchdown pass, a 32-yarder, from Weaver. Later, Cooper added his first rushing touchdown on a four-yard run in the second quarter. In the second half, tight end Nick Pell caught his first pass in a varsity football game. Naturally, it was a 37-yard touchdown pass from Weaver. Pell is a cross country runner who passed up running in the Friday Night Lights Festival in Kernersville, one of the biggest meets in the state, just so he could play football. Orange put up a season-high in total offense in the win over Granville Central. Orange will venture into Central Carolina Conference play next week against Western Alamance in Elon.

Orange earned its first win of the season on Friday night at Auman Stadium. The Panthers held Granville Central to minus-19 yards total offense in a 47-0 win. Orange senior defensive tackle Kameron Harshaw came up with back-to-back sacks in the second quarter. Coming into the game, Harshaw was tied for the team lead with eight tackles for loss. Senior linebacker Connor Ray added to his total of four tackles for loss as Orange earned a victory to end a four-game losing streak. It was Orange’s final game before play in the Central Carolina Conference begins next week. Harshaw and Ray have been regular performers for the Panthers on defense the past two years. Next week, the Panthers will travel to Elon to face Western Alamance in its conference opener. Orange will go for its first road win since they defeated Northern Durham last March.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior tennis player Tea Jones. This season, Jones is 6-0 in singles action, even though this is her first year as a full-time starter under head coach Justin Webb. On August 26, Jones defeated Carrboro’s Caitlin Cabell 10-8. To start the season, Jones knocked off Carrboro’s Julianna Curry 8-3 as Orange started the season with a dual math victory over the Jaguars. Recently, Jones has worked overtime to get victories for the Lady Panthers. Last week in Orange’s Central Carolina Conference opener, Jones defeated Western Alamance’s Sarah McLaughlin 4-6, 6-2, 10-6. Then on Tuesday, Jones knocked off Cedar Ridge freshman Ella Caltabiano 3-6, 6-3, 11-9. On Thursday, Orange defeated Person 8-1 at Orange Tennis Courts. Jones teamed with fellow senior Jinkie Andrews to win at #1 doubles 8-1. Orange is 7-1 overall, 3-0 in the CCC. After its win over Person, Orange will travel to Pittsboro to face Northwood on Tuesday. They will host Riverside and Roxboro Community next week in Hillsborough.

Just last week, Riverside defeated the Orange men’s soccer team 3-0 at Linny Wrenn Stadium in Durham. On Thursday night, Orange turned the tables by beating the Pirates 3-0 at Orange Soccer Park. Senior co-Captain Jasper Tyll scored a goal and an assist for the Panthers. Junior Bryan Membreno added an insurance goal. Sophomore Enzo Bruhns, who was called up from the junior varsity squad this week by head coach Palmer Bowman, scored the first varsity goal of the season. Goalkeeper Connor McMurtry earned the clean sheet. It was the first home win of the year for Orange after victories over Henderson Collegiate at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, along with a 4-1 win at Graham last week. Orange is now 3-5. They will go for its first win in the Central Carolina Conference next week when they face Williams at home on Monday. Then Orange will travel to Cedar Ridge for the opening leg of the Hillsborough Derby next Wednesday.

As a former North Carolina Central wide receiver, Torrean Hinton watched with pride as his Eagles pulled a mild surprise in beating Alcorn State in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge on August 28.

He was probably envious of Central coach Trei Oliver’s ability to not only beat the Bulldogs, but to deftly sidestep the Gatorade shower from his own players once victory was secured.

Last Thursday night, Hinton wasn’t quite as swift as Oliver along the sidelines. But he was just as victorious.

After a difficult summer where Cedar Ridge announced it would not field a varsity football team, the Red Wolves defeated Bartlett-Yancey 21-18 in Yanceyville. In the waning seconds, Hinton tasted the same Gatorade bath as the last time Cedar Ridge won a varsity football game. That was in 2019 when the Red Wolves defeated Chapel Hill at Red Wolves Stadium.

Cedar Ridge running back Tyler Field scored two touchdowns and also had two interceptions for Cedar Ridge, who improved to 1-1. Quarterback Tom Crawford started the scoring with a touchdown pass to Luke Orstad to open the scoring. After Field scored a rushing touchdown, Field threw to Gavin Sher on the 2-point conversion to put the Red Wolves ahead 14-6. After the Buccaneers narrowed its deficit to 14-12, Cedar Ridge scored early in the fourth quarter off another touchdown from Field.

Brian Mazariegos added the extra point.

Mason Cates, Matt Turner, Mazariegos and Fields all had solid games for the Red Wolves.

Cedar Ridge opened the season on August 19 against Northwood inside Red Wolves Stadium.

Northwood, running a Power-I formation, held off the Red Wolves 20-6.

Cedar Ridge’s only touchdown came early in the second quarter when sophomore quarterback Tom Crawford threw to wide receiver Hayden Kirk for a 15-yard strikes down the left corner of the end zone. It concluded a 7-play, 56-yard drive which started with freshman Michael Charway running for eight yards. Cedar Ridge’s 2-point attempt failed and Northwood maintained an 8-6 lead.

Northwood, coming off a loss to Lee County, earned a touchdown on the next drive to go ahead 14-6.

“They did what they do,” said Hinton. “For my team not having a lot of scrimmages and a lot of bodies to go full 11-on-11, this was our first competition. The good thing about it was we got a lot of film. We’re going to learn from this. Northwood played its first game last week, but that’s what happens in football. The most important week is week 2. They had a chance to come out and execute their game plan.”

After going to Orange on September 30, the Red Wolves will finally return home to face Eastern Alamance on October 7.

“A lot of the plays we called, we haven’t done in live contact,” Hinton said. “Because we just didn’t have bodies. So a lot of stuff we called we just called to get it on film. So we treated it like a scrimmage, in some sense. The players lined up and played their hearts out.”

Angus Pritchard, Mason Cates and Rayshawn Page had strong games for the Red Wolves defensively against the Chargers.

Bryse Wilson: On Monday night, the former Orange High pitcher had possibly his best outing since he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in June. In six innings against the Detroit Tigers, Wilson conceded three runs off six hits. He struck out four and walked two. Wilson threw five shutout innings, but gave him all three of his runs in the sixth. Detroit’s Niko Goodrum had a two-run double to right to tie the game. Pittsburgh would eventually win with four runs in the seventh inning. Wilson earned a no decision. Of Wilson’s 83 pitches, 57 were strikes. Wilson is slated to start again this weekend when the Pirates face the Washington Nationals at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

Kayla Hodges: The Elon women’s soccer team fought tooth-and-nail against N.C. State at Dail Soccer Field in Raleigh on Sunday. The Wolfpack squeezed out a 1-0 victory over the Phoenix. The Wolfpack’s Jenna Butler scored the game’s only goal in the 59th minute. Hodges started for Elon and played all 90 minutes. Elon falls to 2-3. They will host Gardner-Webb at Rudd Field in Elon tonight.

Taylin Jean: Jean, the 2019 Big 8 Goalkeeper of the Year at Cedar Ridge, made her season debut for the Division II Limestone women’s soccer team on Sunday. Limestone defeated Francis Marion 5-0 at Hartzler Field in Florence, SC. Jean entered the game as a replacement goalkeeper for starter Katie Maher. In 26 minutes of action, Jean made one save. Jean is a junior who is majoring in Athletic Training at Limestone. The Saints are 2-0. They travel to Chowan on Thursday night.

Brittany Daley: The Division III Greensboro College women’s soccer team got back on the winning track with a 2-0 victory over Ferrum in Ferrum, VA on Tuesday. Daley, a former All-Big 8 Conference center back at Cedar Ridge, started in her 55th career game for the Pride. She helped goalkeepers Lindsay Fox and Hannah Rice earned the Pride’s first clean sheet of the season. Greensboro is 2-1 and will travel to Atlanta on Saturday to face Emory University. Last spring, Daley earned USA South All-Academic honors by earning a 3.9 GPA. In 2020, Daley played every minute in all eight games.

Bailey Lucas: The Division III Meredith volleyball team welcomed fans back to Weatherspoon Gymnasium in Raleigh on Tuesday night. Randolph-Macon defeated the Avenging Angels 3-1 on scores of 25-19, 14-25, 25-19 and 25-22. Lucas, a former Orange High All-Big 8 Conference performer, started her fifth match of the season for Meredith. She tallied 19 assists and six digs. Meredith will be back at home this Friday night against Christopher Newport University. The Avenging Angels are 3-2.

Scott Satterfield: Satterfield, a 1991 Orange High graduate who went on to play quarterback and went on to become the head coach at Appalachian State, started his third season as head coach at Louisville on Monday night. Ole Miss routed the Cardinals 43-24 at Mercedez-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The Cardinals were held scoreless in the first half against the Rebels, just the second time the Cardinals have not scored in the first half under Satterfield. Louisville will try to rebound when they host Eastern Kentucky at Cardinal Stadium on Saturday.

Alvis Whitted: Whitted, a 1993 Orange High graduate, started his second season as wide receivers coach with the Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday. Wisconsin, who is now ranked #18 in the country, fell to #11 Penn State 16-10 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, WS. Whitted formally served as an assistant coach with the Green Bay Packers and Colorado State. He started his coaching career as an assistant at Orange. Wisconsin will host Eastern Michigan on Saturday.

Antonio King: King, who was the head coach of the Cedar Ridge football program in 2018, is now the running backs coach for North Carolina Central. The Eagles stunned Alcorn State 23-14 in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge on August 28. The Eagles will travel to Marshall on Saturday at Edwards Stadium in Huntington, WV.

It’s been three weeks since the start of the season and the Cedar Ridge volleyball team still hasn’t lost a set.

Through the course of an 8-0 start, the Red Wolves have shown a propensity to win the pressure points in tight sets. Against Orange on Tuesday night, the second and third sets were filled with such crucial moments that define winners and losers.

Cedar Ridge swept Orange 3-0 on scores of 25-15, 28-26 and 27-25 at a crowded Red Wolves Gymnasium. The Red Wolves (8-0, 3-0 in the Central Carolina Conference) swept their crosstown rivals for the first time since September 29, 2015.

Cedar Ridge has now won 24 consecutive sets to open the season. They have sole possession of first place in the Central Carolina Conference.

Led by a boisterous Wolf Pack student section decked out in black, the bleachers were packed with fans representing both schools. The overflow crowd spilled out into the end zones and would have easily filled the few empty seats along the wooden rows in the bleachers.

“It’s our rival,” said Cedar Ridge junior Cameron Lloyd, who was honored before the game for reaching 500 career kills last week in a win over Person. “It’s crazy. It’s fun. Sometimes during the game, it’s like ‘Oh my God, I’m going to vomit.’ It just feels so amazing, whether you win or lose.”

Orange (3-1, 1-1), who has played the entire season without Big 8 Player of the Year Lottie Scully and junior All-Conference Erin Jordan-Cornell, had four set points to win the third. After Kinzy Rowney scored a kill on an assist from Caitlin Carden, Orange served for the frame leading 24-20. It led to the longest and wildest point of the match, where Red Wolves sophomore Graylinn Serge made three separate digs on attacks from Orange’s Avery Miller and Ella Van Tiem. Finally, Cedar Ridge’s Cameron Lanier finished the struggle with a spike off an assist from Julie Altieri.

Lloyd sent a changeup over the net and over the outstretched hands of two Lady Panthers for another point. Serge made another dig off an Orange spike, which Altieri quickly passed over the net into a vacant spot on the floor to cut Orange’s lead to 24-23. Junior Melissa Benkowitz notched an ace that bounced off the right corner of the court to even the set.

With the scored tied 25-25, Lanier scored off a block, and Lloyd earned match point on another kill.

It was the Red Wolves’ third win over Orange in their last four meetings.

The second set featured twelve ties and four lead changes. The Red Wolves bolted out to a 6-2 lead behind three early kills from Lloyd and an ace from Altieri. Orange rallied to tie with four consecutive points off back-to-back kills from sophomore Ella Wimsatt. After Rowney earned a kill off an assist from Carden, Orange took a 20-18 lead. The Red Wolves responded with five consecutive points, including a block from Lloyd, followed by a kill from Lloyd. The Panthers responded with three straight points, capped by an ace from libero Sadye Porter to even the set 23-23.

The Red Wolves had four set points in the second. The first of which was nullified after junior Allie Wilkerson tipped the ball over the net. With the set tied 26-26, Lloyd registered another block. Serge scored set point with an ace that bounced on the back line.

“They’re a good team,” said Orange coach Kelly Young. “I told my girls that these are the teams you want to play because they make you a better team. So we see exactly what we need to work on. We only get better from it.”

Orange will return home to face Person on Thursday. It will be the first conference game, in any sport, between the Rockets and the Panthers in over 20 years.

Cedar Ridge will travel to Eastern Alamance on Thursday. The Red Wolves will look to improve to 9-0, which would be the best start in school history.

To understand how Cameron Lloyd advanced so far, so quickly in her volleyball career, you have to understand that competitiveness runs through her family.

Her father, Joel, played basketball at Orange. After graduation, while he was still dating his soon-to-be-wife Sherry, he could be seen on sweltering summer nights in White Cross playing right centerfield in modified pitch softball. In the winter, there would be recreation basketball just behind the softball field. It was a league so rough and tumble, you had to present your x-rays to get a free throw.

Cameron’s sister, Jordan, wasn’t the tallest volleyball player. She wasn’t the hardest hitter. But she probably led the Big 8 Conference in floor burns diving for digs. Her focus and intensity helped lead Orange to the 3A State Playoffs. Jordan played two years with Brevard College.

As Cameron arrived at Cedar Ridge, the Red Wolves program had fallen from its peak. In 2015, Cedar Ridge won the Big 8 Conference Championship and went 24-3. They reached the Eastern Regional Championship match, where they fell to Asheboro in four sets.

Following the season, Charlie Oakley stepped down as coach. The Red Wolves went through three consecutive losing seasons. Cameron reached the varsity as a freshman with classmates Julie Altieri and Cameron Lanier.

Since then, Cedar Ridge has gone 35-7, claimed the 2020 Big 8 Championship, beaten nearby powerhouse Chapel Hill twice and has won 13 consecutive conference games.

On Tuesday night before an emotional contest against crosstown rival Orange, Lloyd was honored for her 500th career kill. Joel and Sherry Lloyd were joined in a pregame ceremony by volleyball coach Fiona Cunningham, Cedar Ridge Athletic Director Andy Simmons and Principal Dr. Carlos Ramirez.

“Cameron is always someone we can depend on,” said Cedar Ridge volleyball coach Fiona Cunningham, now in her second season. “She’s great in all six rotations on the court. What really makes or breaks the team when sets get tight is who takes the swings. Cameron is the best arm on the team.”

Cameron surpassed 500 career kills early in a win over Person on August 31. It is a school record.

Earlier in the day, Lloyd, Lanier, Julie Altieri and sophomore Graylinn Serge were all named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association Phenom watchlist. The list is designated for the top underclassmen who have received significant recognition for their outstanding volleyball play.

Last season, Lloyd led Cedar Ridge with 111 kills through an undefeated (limited to eight games due to the pandemic) regular season. In each of her first two years at Cedar Ridge, she has been named the team’s Most Valuable Player and to the All-Big 8 Conference team.

At Orange Middle School (formerly known as Stanford Middle School), Lloyd won an Orange-Person Athletic Conference championship as an 8th grader in 2017.

During her freshman year at Cedar Ridge, under then-head coach Anna Seethaler, Lloyd led Cedar Ridge with 346 kills. Altieri had 586 assists serving up finish after finish to Lloyd and Lanier, who finished with 193 kills as a 9th grader. The freshman triumvirate paced Cedar Ridge to a stunning victory over defending 3A State Champion Chapel Hill to open the Big 8 Conference season. The Red Wolves finished 2019 with its first winning record in four years and an appearance in the 3A State Playoffs.

Lloyd is a member of the Chapel Hill Volleyball Club. During the summer, she has traveled throughout the country for travel ball tournaments, as well as beach volleyball. She is a 12-time medal winner in the AVP/ESPL beach tournament. In 2019, Lloyd was the MVP of the Carolina Regional Tournament. She also earned the All-Star award at the AAU Junior Nationals.

Fittingly, Lloyd had the final kill on match point as Cedar Ridge defeated Orange in three sets on Tuesday night.