Jeff Hamlin

Gattis Hits Six Aces, LaNier Six Kills as Orange Spikes Hillside 3-0; Chapel Hill Shuts Out Cedar Ridge 3-0

Playing for the 2nd consecutive night, the Orange volleyball team earned its first Big 8 Conference win of the season in Durham.

The Panthers (5-1, 1-1 in the Big 8) hammered Hillside 3-0 at Hornets Gymnasium on scores of 25-12, 25-4 and 25-13. Orange racked up a whopping 21 aces against the Hornets, including junior Meg Gattis finishing with six. Sophomore Emma Clements came away with three.

Senior co-captain Carolina Compton finished with two aces, two kills, 12 assists and three digs. Kaitlyn Werden had two aces, four kills and five assits. In addition to her six aces, Gattis added a kill and five digs. Faith Foushee led Orange with seven digs.

In Hillsborough, the news wasn’t as good for Cedar Ridge. Defending Big 8 Conference champion Chapel HIll defeated the Red Wolves 3-0 on scores of 25-12, 25-17 and 25-16. Tigers sophomore Kaya Merkler came away with an astounding 25 kills as CHHS improved to 5-3, 2-0 in the Big 8.

Cedar Ridge falls to 4-3, 0-2 in the Big 8.

Orange will host Cedar Ridge on Thursday night inside Jim King Gymnasium.

Pagnanelli, De Jesus Lead Cedar Ridge Past Jordan 3-0

With two Orange County rivals coming up later this week, Cedar Ridge found the right time to end its two-game losing streak.

The Red Wolves swept Jordan 3-0 in Durham on Monday on scores of 25-16, 25-18 and 25-9. Macy Henry had a complete evening with 24 assists, one solo block, two aces and six digs. Juliann De Jesus finished with six kills. Tori Zielke led the team with seven kills, while senior Alexa Pagnanelli came away with eight digs and six aces.

As a team, Cedar Ridge had four solo blocks, 15 aces and 25 kills to improve to 4-2.

After a 3-0 start, the Red Wolves lost to Bartlett Yancey, then fell to Northwood in its Big 8 Conference opener.

The Red Wolves will face a stiff test against Chapel Hill on Tuesday night in Hillsborough before taking on Orange in Jim King Gymnasium on Thursday.

Lucas, LaNier Combine for 19 Kills as Orange Volleyball Sweeps Eastern Alamance

The usual suspects stepped up as Orange volleyball bounced back from a disappointing five-set loss to East Chapel Hill.

The Panthers received big nights from senior co-captains Bailey Lucas and Carolina Compton to sweep Eastern Alamance 3-0 in Mebane on Monday night. The Panthers won on scores of 25-19, 25-15 and 25-14. Orange is now 3-0 on the road this season after wins at Jordan and Riverside last week.

Compton has two aces, 26 assists and four digs. Liz LaNier finished with three aces, nine kills, one block, two assists and two digs. Lucas came away with four aces, ten kills, twelve assists and two digs. Sophomore Emma Clements led Orange with ten digs, while Faith Foushee added nine.

In the season opening win against the Eagles, LaNier finished with ten kills against only one error.

Orange (4-1, 0-1 in the Big 8) returns to conference action tonight with its first conference game at Hillside since the early 2000s. The Panthers host archrival Cedar Ridge on Thursday night.

Garner, Ward, Milner Earn Wins as Cedar Ridge Tennis Wins Conference Opener 8-1

With a critical match against Chapel Hill looming, Cedar Ridge’s defense of its Big 8 Girls Tennis Championship is off to a good start.

The Red Wolves put away Northwood 8-1 on Monday afternoon in Pittsboro. Ivy Garner improved to 3-1 on the season with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Sam Sparrow, who played for the Big 8 singles final last season against teammate Faith Peoples. Olivia Ward claimed a 6-1, 6-1 win at #2 singles. Kate Miler won at #3 singles 6-1, 6-0 over Sophie Cook.

Nora Sauers got a 6-2, 6-4 win over Korinne Fuller. Maddy Werner defeated Suzanne Earnshaw 6-2, 6-3.

Garner and Ward won the #1 doubles match 8-1 over Sparrow/Atkins. At #2 doubles, Milner and Sauers defeated Cook and Fuller 8-5. In #3 doubles, Brianna Cellini and Werner got a 8-5 win over Courtney Fisher and Earnshaw.

The Red Wolves improved to 3-1, 1-0 in the Big 8. Last week, they defeated Person 9-0 in its only match of the week.

On Wednesday, Cedar Ridge hosts Chapel Hill. Last season, the Red Wolves swept the Tigers for the first time in school history en route to the conference title and a trip to the 3rd round of the 3A state playoffs.

Riverside Blanks Orange Soccer 3-0; Davis, Torres Score Hat Trick in 6-0 OHS Win vs. RCS

After starting its season two weeks ago with a scoreless tie against Riverside, Orange became the first team to lose to the Pirates this season.

On Monday night, Riverside (1-2-1) received goals from Anthony Argueta, Omar Cruz and Eric Garcia to blank the Panthers 3-0. Reese Powell earned the clean sheet in net for Riverside, his 2nd of the season. Orange is now 2-2-2 with a game at Wake Forest coming up on Wednesday night.

On Thursday night, the Panthers defeated Roxboro Community School for the 2nd time in four days 6-0. Senior striker Jamar Davis came up with his first hat trick of the season. It was the third hat trick of his career. Davis scored four goals against Bartlett Yancey last season, as well as a three-goal game in a 10-1 win over Northern Vance.

Junior Bryan Torres notches his first hat trick against the Bulldogs, as well. Torres put up seven goals last season and has four goals this season.

Orange will start conference play at East Chapel Hill next Wednesday.

Orange’s 17-Game Regular Season Winning Streak at Risk Against Hoggard

Orange football has had five straight seasons of 10 wins. The only thing missing in that span is a tough, early season test.

In the 90s, when they were the kings of Triangle football, Northern Durham coaches Ken Browning and successor Gary Merrill liked to schedule Garner or Millbrook just to get the Knights prepared for what life in November was truly like.

Tonight, Orange will get a taste of that

It’s been nearly five years since the Orange football team lost a regular season nonconference game. It was August 31, 2012 when Carrboro, of all teams, defeated the Panthers 27-19 at Auman Stadium in Hillsborough.

Since then, Orange has won 21 in a row against nonconference foes in the regular season, a school record. Orange is also riding a 17-game regular season winning streak.

All of that is at risk tonight against the Hoggard Vikings, an opponent that bears a strong similarity to the Havelock team that  ended Orange’s season last November in the 2nd round of the 3A state playoffs.

Like Havelock, Hoggard runs the spread, which hardly makes the Vikings unusual in that regard. Just about everyone is running some sort of spread offense nowadays, even Orange.

The Vikings finished 8-6 in 2016 in the 4A /3A Mideastern Conference. But what caught the attention of many football observers along the coast last week was the ease in which the Vikings handled Holly Springs 48-7 at Wilmington’s Scott Braswell Stadium.

Last season, the Golden Hawks defeated Hoggard 24-20 behind 394 rushing yards, including 373 yards and three touchdowns from senior Broderick Taylor.

Last week, Hoggard held Holly Springs to 115 yards on the ground. Granted, Taylor graduated and Holly Springs is rebuilding. But the fact is Hoggard will be the most difficult nonconference test for Orange since the Carrboro team that triumphed in Hillsborough five years ago.

Hoggard may also benefit from good timing. Orange is still working out the kinks in its new spread offense, installed over the summer by new coordinator Steve Burdeau. The Panthers put up 40 points against Northern Nash last week, but most of those touchdowns either came off long punt returns by senior Payton Wilson (244 returns yards, 393 all purpose yards), a fumble recovery for a touchdown by Colin Guentensberger or a fumbled snap by the Knights punter. In other words, Orange didn’t have a sustained drive ending in points until well after the game had been decided.

Orange has played undermanned teams during the early season in recent years, but that won’t be the case tonight. Hoggard senior linebackers McKenzie Frazier, Christian Hollar and Reece Moultan were dominant against Holly Springs last week. The Vikings’ offense scored on seven of ten possessions.

Hoggard also returns starting quarterback Josh Jones, who threw for 2,276 yards and 26 touchdowns while rushing for 645 yards. The top returning wide receiver is Tre Houser, who piled up 1, 028 total yards last season.

Wilson and classmate Marvante Beasley have made this season a personal mission since it is their final chance to win an elusive state championship. Tonight’s game will have a playoff atmosphere, even a week before Labor Day.

This is Orange’s only nonconference home game, one of only four dates in Hillsborough this year. The Panthers play their next three on the road and won’t see the lights of Auman Stadium again until October 6th against Northern Durham.

Plus, there’s playoff seeding. Most teams across the state play 11 games, but playoff records are determined by a 10-game schedule. If a team loses a nonconference game, it can simply be deducted off its record.

Orange doesn’t have that luxury this year since East Chapel Hill isn’t fielding a team. The Panthers will play ten games, and tonight’s game against Hoggard will count in the final playoff standings, win or lose.

For a team that’s won consecutive Big 8 Championships and 17 in a row during the regular season, the Panthers are going into uncharted waters tonight, even at home.

 

 

East Edges Orange Volleyball in Big 8 Opener; Northwood Tops Cedar Ridge in Pittsboro

The Orange and Cedar Ridge volleyball teams became the first squads to play against the new Big 8 Conference on Thursday night, and the evening didn’t go as they wanted.

Orange lost a 3-2 heartbreaker to East Chapel Hill in Hillsborough on scores of 26-24, 23-25, 16-25, 25-16 and 15-9. It was the first loss of the season for the Panthers, who were playing its third match in four days.

Senior Avery Riley finished with 13 kills, two blocks and two digs for the Panthers (3-1, 0-1 in the Big 8), Sophomore Emma Clements registered two aces, eleven kills and 25 digs. Senior co-captain Caroline Compton had three aces, two kills, 22 assists and 13 digs. Co-captain Bailey Lucas came up with four aces, four kills, one block, 17 assists and seven digs.

Meanwhile in Pittsboro, Northwood remained undefeated by beating Cedar RIdge 3-1 on scores of 25-15, 25-22, 24-26 and 25-20. The Red Wolves fall to 3-2, 0-1 in the Big 8, while Northwood is 5-0 after its initial conference game.

On Monday, Cedar Ridge has another three-game week. It starts Monday with a road trip to Jordan, followed by a home game against Chapel Hill the following day. The Red Wolves finish the week at archrival Orange on Thursday night.

Orange travels to Eastern Alamance on Monday, then plays its second conference game at Hillside on Tuesday.

 

Burlington Williams Hands Orange Soccer 1st Loss 4-1

Through its first two games, Burlington Williams has lit up its opposition for 12 goals. The Bulldogs didn’t slow down against Orange.

Senior Enil Ferguson scored two goals as Williams (2-0-1) defeated Orange 4-1 in Burlington on Wednesday night. It was the first loss of the season for the Panthers, who were coming off a 9-0 win over Roxboro Community School.

Jorge Alfaro also scored for the Bulldogs, his team-leading fifth goal of the season. Brennan Lagana finished with a goal and an assist for Williams, who plays in the 3A Mid Piedmont Conference.

Junior R.J. Pherribo scored the only Orange goal on a penalty kick. Pherribo has scored three goals and two assists so far this season, leading the team with eight points.

Williams started the season with a 2-2 draw at Ragsdale, then routed Bartlett Yancey 10-1.

After Thursday’s rematch with Roxboro Community in Person County, Orange will have one more week to prepare for a rigorous Big 8 Conference schedule. The Panthers will travel to Linny Wrenn Stadium to face Riverside on Monday night, followed by a home game against Wake Forest.

The Panthers played to a scoreless tie against Riverside in Hillsborough last week, a match where Orange had six shots on net.

Orange’s opens conference play at East Chapel Hill on September 6.