Jeff Hamlin

A part of Cedar Ridge’s future, a soon-to-be graduate, and a name commonly seen across Cedar Ridge circles for postseason football awards are this year’s honorees for All-Big 8 Conference first-team for the Red Wolves.

Freshman wide receiver Mitchell Bonner, linebacker/wide receiver Jake Mergenthal and defensive end/guard James Larisa were named first-team All-Big 8 Conference last week.

Center and defensive tackle Michael Nicholson and defensive lineman Javon McKiver were named honorable mention All-Conference.

This season, Bonner started as a freshman for first-year head coach Corey Lea. Running out of a spread offense operated by quarterback Elijah Whitaker, Booner made several big plays throughout the six-game season for the Red Wolves on both sides of the ball. His playmaking ability garnered him the nickname “Mitchell Baller” from teammates and staff.

“Mitchell really stepped up as a freshman,” Lea said. “Led the team in kickoff returns, 2nd in tackles, and 3rd in receiving yards. He is going to be big for us next season.”

Mergenthal has been one of the names most synonymous with Cedar Ridge athletics over the past five years. Jake’s brother, Braxton, played football, basketball, baseball and lacrosse with the Red Wolves. During Braxton’s middle school years, he and Jake lived in Dusseldorf, Germany when their mother got promoted to project manager with Bayer-Crop Science, which develops crop safety products for farmers.

It led them away from Efland and into a whole new world. Braxton Mergenthal now plays college football with Division III Hampton-Sydney in Hampton, VA. In the winter of 2020, Braxton turned down offers from Division II Mars Hill and various Division III schools.

“I really proud of Jake,” Lea said. “He led the team in tackles and was our quarterback on the defensive side of the ball.”

Jake also played wide receiver when Whitaker needed a big option near the sidelines.

Larisa was possibly the most consistent player on Cedar Ridge’s defensive line. A constant threat on the pass rush, Larisa had an impressive outing against Vance County to conclude the season.

“James was a matchup nightmare at defensive end,” Lea said. “His speed really made a difference in making some big plays on defense.”

Cedar Ridge lost its starting quarterback during the first quarter of its season-opener against Northwood. Whitaker, who figured to alternate between running back and wide receiver, was forced to resume duties at quarterback, where he remained for the rest of the six-game season.

Among Whitaker’s most reliable protectors was Nicholson, a sophomore listed as 6-feet tall at 280 pounds.

“He was a rock of consistency along the offensive line,” Lea said. “He’s only going to get better.

McKiver turned into a late bloomer as the season went on, particularly defensively.

“He’s a real presence on the defensive line,” Lea said. “He is working hard to get bigger and stronger. Will be a force to be reckoned with next year.”

Cedar Ridge played its best games at the end of last season. In its season-finale, they led Vance County at halftime before the Vipers charged back and held on for a 20-14 win inside Red Wolves Stadium. Since then, Lea has focused on the future, which will include life in a new conference that includes Eastern Alamance, Western Alamance, Walter Williams and Person, as well as traditional Big 8 rivals Orange and Northwood.

“At the end of the season, we wanted to get better and we did,” Lea said after the Vance County game. “Hopefully, the changing climate of the pandemic will allow us to get back to normalcy in the weight room. To solidly create a culture that you have to do to get better. I’m excited about possibilities simply because we only had five seniors that played this season. Realistically, we were a very talented junior varsity team. But we were asking a lot of guys to take varsity reps straight out of middle school.”

On Tuesday night at Southern Durham High School, Orange senior Kessel Summers became the 48th wrestler in school history to win 100 matches. Competing at 132 pounds Summers won via forfeit over Vance County. Last winter, Summers qualified for the 3A State Championships with a 3rd place finish in the 3A Mideast Regional. In the State Championships at the Greensboro Coliseum, Summers pinned Havelock’s Nate Lucio in 5:52 in the opening round. Summers went on to pin Josh Meyers in the consolation round. It was the second straight year that Summers qualified for the 3A State Championships. Shortly after the season ended, the pandemic struck. For a time, Summers was left wondering if he would be stuck at 96 career wins since there was no guarantee there would be a wrestling season last summer. Though it has started late, Orange wrestling is 6-0 after wins over Southeast Guilford and Cedar Ridge at Orange High Gymnasium on Thursday night. On Tuesday, Summers and his fellow seniors will be honored on Senior Night when Orange hosts Northwood at 6PM. Congratulations to Kessel Summers on his 100th career victory.

David Waitt wasn’t sure what he had just done. Neither did his coach, Jason Knapp.

“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” Knapp said as he watched Waitt’s 1st inning fly ball to left field carry…and carry…and carry until it nearly hit Orange trainer Emily Gaddy’s car parked near the football field house beyond the left field wall.

Waitt, who has garnered an early reputation as a singles and doubles hitter, had his first varsity career home run. A three-run job, no less.

By the end of the night, Orange pounded out 19 hits against a weary Cedar Ridge pitching staff as the Panthers defeated the Red Wolves 19-9 in six innings at a windy Orange High Field on Wednesday night. Orange (3-0) is tied with Northern Durham for first place in the Big 8 Conference.

Obviously, it was a night of offense. Orange’s win couldn’t overshadow the most impressive performance in the career of Cedar Ridge leadoff batter Aidan McAllister, who launched two home runs, each to dead centerfield, in the opening two innings. McAllister scored three times and finished with three RBIs.

Waitt, a sophomore in his first year at the varsity level, finished 4-for-5 with 4 RBIs and three runs scored. His classmate, shortstop Jackson Berini, went 3-for-6 with an RBI and three runs scored. Conner Funk went 2-for-6 with two doubles and three RBIs.

“1-through-9, we’re solid,” Knapp said. “It’s as solid as a hitting lineup as I’ve ever had. We have the potential to get the ball over the fence and bust one open.”

Cedar Ridge (1-2), coming off a narrow loss to Chapel Hill on Friday, has drawn the short straw in terms of Big 8 Conference scheduling. Among the six teams in the league that are fielding teams week in and week out (Orange, Cedar, Northern Durham, Northwood, East Chapel Hill and Chapel Hill), the Red Wolves are the only one that haven’t had a forfeit win yet (Southern Durham and Vance County have forfeited all of its games thus far due to a lack of players). After a season-opening triumph at Northwood on April 27, Cedar Ridge has played three games in eight days, the most strenuous stretch for any Big 8 team. Coach Bryson Massey has used pitchers Will Berger and Cristian Macias in all three games.

Not that he wants to hear that.

“We don’t make excuses,” Massey said. “I tell our guys we don’t make excuses. Whether its the rain, the forfeits, whether we face everybody’s ace every time we roll out. We don’t make excuses for ourselves. We’re going to walk out and expect to compete every pitch of every game. We want to be the team that competes the hardest every night.

McAllister opened the night of offense with a solo blast to centerfield on the second pitch thrown by Orange starter Pierson Kenney (who improved to 2-0). After Bryce Clark walked and Garrett Ray was hit by a pitch, Macias reached on a bunt single down the third base line to load the bases. Catcher Tucker Cothran grounded a ball back to Kenney, who threw to catcher Davis Horton at the plate to retire Clark. Third baseman Marco Velazquez knocked in Ray with a sacrifice fly to centerfield to put Cedar Ridge ahead 2-0.

Orange responded with four runs in the 1st inning. Before Waitt’s three-run homer Berini reached on an error and scored off a single by Horton. That lead was short-lived, as well.

After B.J. Thornton reached on a one-out infield single in the top of the second, McAllister belted a 1-1 fastball over the centerfield wall to tie the game.

Orange sent 12 batters to plate in an 8-run 2nd inning. Berini led off with a single to right field, followed by Funk getting aboard on an infield error. Senior Will Walker lined a double down the left field line to bring in Berini. After Horton was intentionally walked, Waitt went opposite way with a soft liner to right field. Walked scored, and Horton slid in safely after the ball popped out of the glove of the catcher in a close play at the plate.

Jaren Sikes lined a RBI single to bring in Waitt. Tyler Lloyd walked, Berini singled and Funk reached on an error, which led to Lloyd and Berini coming in.

The only semblance of consistent defense came when Orange sophomore Joey Pounds entered the game to relieve Kenney in the fourth inning. At one point, Pounds retired seven consecutive Red Wolves, including striking out the side in the fifth inning. It was Pounds’ first varsity save as he riddled Cedar Ridge batters with his unique fastball that looks like a curve but really isn’t.

“It’s all over the place,” Knapp said. “It cuts, it tails. He’s got great movement. I’m awfully proud of him. I put him in a tough spot. He battled through some adversity with a few balks that were called. He pulled himself together and absolutely started dealing for a few innings.”

In the sixth, Clark doubled to left field. Centerfielder Garrett Ray knocked him in with a single.

Orange will host Northwood on Friday night. Cedar Ridge will return home to host Northern Durham on Friday.

“These guys compete,” Knapp said. “They work hard in practice. They’re always pushing each other and I was really proud of these guys tonight. They rang the bell and they answered some questions. People in the back were asking some questions about these guys, and they really came out and showed some things.”

An offensive barrage carried the Orange baseball team to a 19-9 win in six innings over crosstown rival Cedar Ridge on Wednesday night at Panther Field. Sophomore David Waitt lit the spark with a 3-run homer in the first inning, the first home run of his varsity career. Waitt went 4-for-5, including another RBI single in the second. Shortstop Jackson Berini went 3-for-6 with an RBI with three runs scored. All nine Panthers who started registered base hits and Orange finished with 19 hits against the Red Wolves. Waitt and Berini have been teammates for years on summer travel teams, as well as at Stanford Middle School, where they captured the 2019 Orange-Person Athletic Conference Northern Division Championship. Orange is 3-0 and will look to remain undefeated when they host Northwood on Friday night in Hillsborough. You can hear that game on Hillsboroughsports.com starting at 5:55.

Just weeks after ending the season with a classic game against Chapel Hill at Culton-Peerman Stadium, six Orange Panthers have been named to the All-Big 8 Conference squad for the 2021 season.

Linebacker/wingback Elliott Woods, wingback/cornerback Eric Brooks, offensive tackle Hayden Horne, linebacker/quarterback Jayce Hodges and cornerback/wingback J.J. Torres were all named to the first team. Also making the first team as punter was Darius Satterfield.

During a six-game regular season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Panthers finished 3-3. The record can’t begin to tell the tale of a team that had to reinvent itself offensively after the opening week of the season and was competitive with the Big 8’s best teams. It’s possible that Orange was two kicks away from making the state playoffs.

Woods led Orange with 65 tackles. Linebacker Jackson Wood was second on the team with 36 tackles. Against Northern Durham and Northwood, Woods scored Orange’s only touchdowns. He was also second on the team with 280 rushing yards.

The Panthers opened the year with a 20-0 loss to Southern Durham at Auman Stadium. In the ensuing week, quarterback Nigel Slanker left the team and transferred to Cedar Ridge, where he practiced but never played. Hodges became Orange’s starting quarterback and engineered a team that relied almost exclusively on the run for the remainder of the season.

After a crash course in the double wing the following week in practice, Hodges led Orange’s offense in a 7-6 upset of Northern Durham at Durham County Stadium. Woods scored the Panthers’ only touchdown early in the second quarter. He finished with 43 yards from scrimmage and five tackles. In addition to playing quarterback, Hodges started at linebacker, where he had six tackles, including two for a loss.

For the season, Hodges had 19 tackles and four tackles for loss. He also had an interception late in the first half against Vance County that set up a touchdown as the Panthers came from behind to beat the Vipers 22-8 on March 20.

Brooks, a senior, got better as the year went on in the new offense. In his final game at Orange, Brooks ran for a career-best 128 yards, his first-ever 100 yard games at the varsity level. Brooks scored a 2-point conversion with 24 seconds remaining to put the Panthers ahead of the Tigers 22-21. He led the Panthers with 309 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Against Vance County, Brooks scored three touchdowns. He also started at cornerback after starters Zahmir Watkins and Daniel Champion suffered injuries against Southern Durham.

With the greater reliance on an old-fashioned running game, Horne anchored the offensive line from his right tackle position. After a fumble-prone Orange offense was held to a measly 50 yards against Southern Durham, the Panthers had 151 yards the following week against a solid Northern Durham defense. Orange’s offense largely improved from that point forward. Horne and co-horts Brendon Worsham, Jaylen Partin, Jose Guzman and Dari’us Matkins helped the offense register 250 yards against Vance County, 270 yards against Cedar Ridge and a season-best 373 yards against Chapel Hill.

Torres started on offense and defense in several games. He rushed for 218 yards and scored one rushing touchdown against Cedar Ridge (his first came in the 2019 season opener against R.J. Reynolds). Torres had an interception against Northwood on the Chargers’ opening drive in their matchup on March 26 in Pittsboro.

In his first year as starting punter, Satterfield averaged 27.4 yard per punt. His longest punt was 53 yards and two of his kicks were downed inside the 20-yard line. Satterfield showed so much promise in his first season that, last week, he was invited to the Kicking World Kicking Camps National Showcase in Austin, Texas on December 4-5.

Making honorable mention All-Big 8 Conference from Orange was fullback/linebacker Jackson Wood, Trey Grizzle and Elijah Danley. Wood scored Orange’s last touchdown on the season against Chapel Hill. He also led the team with ten tackles for loss. Danley, a junior, had three interceptions on the season. Grizzle caught a touchdown pass in his final game for Orange agains the Tigers. He registered 19 tackles and six tackles for loss.

Orange was also honored with the sportsmanship award from the Big 8 Conference.

On Thursday, we’ll review the All-Big 8 Conference selections for Cedar Ridge and the rest of the Big 8 Conference awards.

Savannah Wynne broke her nose in the first inning of Orange’s playoff game on Monday night. She wanted to stay in anyway.

A passing thunderstorm that cut through Hillsborough hours before the first pitch between the Lady Panthers and Southwestern Randolph had created a bumpy outfield, despite the best efforts of Orange softball’s coaching staff that worked on the field right up past game time. Randolph’s Alley Lowe lined a 3-2 fastball through to the outfield, which took a sudden, violent hop off the grass and into Wynne’s face.

Immediately, blood started coming out of her nose, which was covered with a towel by Orange trainer Emily Gaddy right away. It was only after lobbying from Gaddy that Wynne agreed to be replaced by freshman Delaney Shaffer. But she told Gaddy “I’m going back in.”

And she did. In the fifth inning, Wynne was back in left field. Most players who return from injury in the middle of the game aren’t effective. Wynne, however, lined a double to right field to drive in Emma Puckett to continue building an Orange rally after Southwestern Randolph jumped ahead 6-0. The Cougars would hold on to win 7-5.

Afterwards, Wynne’s mother drove her to UNC Primary Care, where she walked in still wearing her uniform. Doctors had to glue the top of her nasal cavity back together. But she had to go back in the game because, well, as her mother says, “softball is in her heart.”

Chances are several Cedar Ridge players would have done the same thing.

In its final year in the Big 8 Conference, Orange rolled to the league title. They scored at least eleven runs in every game. Only one team came within nine runs of beating the Lady Panthers during the regular season.

Naturally, that team was Cedar Ridge. On April 15, it appeared Orange won on its way to its eighth straight win in dominant fashion. They led 9-2 going into the bottom of the seventh behind three runs scored by Carson Bradsher and two more from Serenity McPherson.

Then Cedar Ridge came up with a rally for the ages. They scored seven runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. For context, Orange had not surrendered four runs in a game yet, and they still didn’t until this past Monday night.

Cedar Ridge would have won if it wasn’t for the defensive reliability of Mary Moss Wirt, normally a second baseman who played third against the Red Wolves because Puckett was out of the lineup. Forgotten in the avalanche of runs that Cedar Ridge scored in the seventh was Wirt making the final out on a short grounder hit by Emma-Rae Sharp. Wirt, two steps in front of third base, fired to catcher Lauren Jackson, who retired Marlee Rakouskas.

The talk after the game among Cedar Ridge coaches, among other subjects, was “What if we played in a smaller ballpark?” For a brief moment, Red Wolf shortstop Ava Lowry appeared to win the game for Cedar Ridge with a long fly ball to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning. The only problem was she hit it to right center, which extends to 227 feet–the longest part of the stadium. The ball landed two feet shy of the wall and Lowry settled for a triple. Carson Bradsher made the final out of the inning to extend the game into the ninth, which led to another reminder of how bright the future of Hillsborough softball truly is.

Shaffer, a freshman who made just her second start, had the game-winning hit when she drove in Wirt in the ninth inning. Shaffer finished 4-for-5 with 3 RBIs. After her heroics at the plate, Shaffer made the game’s biggest defensive play in the bottom of the ninth when she caught a sinking popup off the bat of Alexandria Matthews at second base, then threw to first for a double play.

Years ago, Cedar Ridge 2nd baseman Tori Dalehite and Orange 1st baseman Jaden Hurdle started a tradition where they would pose together for a picture after every game they played against each other, regardless of who won. In 2017, Orange dominated the Red Wolves en route to the 3A State Title. In 2018, Cedar Ridge swept Orange on its way to the first softball conference championship in school history. Each time, the following morning, Dalehite and Hurdle would be on their mother’s Facebook feed, smiling with softballs in their hands and their arms around each other.

Last month, Cedar Ridge pitcher Hayley King and Orange’s Carson Bradsher continued the tradition.

For King, it’s been a tough 2021. In January, she lost her grandmother to COVID-19. Sherry Carter never missed any of Haley’s games. Not during the sweltering heat of summer travel ball, which usually included a new town every weekend. Not during the early games of a regular, non-pandemic season when the spectators are often bundled up amidst blustery weather like they’re at Lambeau Field, except it’s a softball diamond.

Against Orange, Haley’s grandfather brought along a t-shirt that Sherry wore to many of Haley’s games. Hayley kept that in her back pocket during games for the rest of the season. She rubbed it whenever she needed inspiration.

As the Cedar Ridge seniors gathered together on Friday night after its doubleheader sweep of Southern Durham, ShiLi Quade, Rakouskas, Matthews, Sharp, Reagan Ruhl, and Lajoan Stuart hoped that wouldn’t be the end. The Red Wolves ended the season with four straight wins, but the following day their hopes of a state playoff spot was dashed.

Cedar Ridge Coach Allen Byrd didn’t want to talk like it was the end on Friday night, but started to reflect on a group that help bring two Big 8 Conference championships and a 50-11 record since 2017 to the program.

“Those six kids devoted their lives to this program,” Byrd said. “They helped build this program. We played a little down this year. We’ve lost a lot over the last few years but they never gave up. It’s said it ended for them.”

The future is bright for both programs. Next season, Cedar Ridge third baseman Takia Nichols will be a senior, but her name is firmly embedded in the Red Wolf record books for generations to come. She’s already the all-time home run hitter, softball or baseball, in school history with 26 dingers after 42 career games. Her teammate, shortstop Ava Lowry, has already committed to play at North Carolina Wesleyan and will also return.

Orange only loses two seniors in first baseman Gracie Colley and third baseman Emma Puckett. Of Orange’s ten starters on Monday night, half of them were either freshmen or sophomores.

Combined with the fact that Orange, Cedar Ridge and Northwood will join a new league that includes defending 3A State Champion Eastern Alamance, powerful Western Alamance and longtime contender Person, 2022 may make this spring’s thrill ride look like a merry-go-round.