Jeff Hamlin

It came longer than Coach Chris Walker is used to, but Cedar Ridge found a way to earn its first win of the season on the road.

Seth Maile was the hero on Tuesday night as Cedar Ridge defeated Graham 3-2. Maile notched the game-winning goal on a penalty kick and also assisted on the other two goals.

Dean Allen scored the opener for the Red Wolves. Than Aung notched the equalizer as the Red Wolves improved to 1-5. Cedar Ridge starts its Big 8 Conference slate tonight at Northwood at 6:30. The Chargers, also in its conference opener, are 1-5, as well.

When Orange travels to Rolesville for the first-ever football game between the two teams on Friday night, the Rams will be in a similar position that Orange was in during 2016: playing two games within hours of each other.

Rolesville defeated East Wake on Labor Day 13-8 in Wendell, a game that couldn’t have started much worse for the Rams. On its first possession, the Rams threw an interception returned for a touchdown by Jeremy Ethridge. On its second possession, starting quarterback Rasran Amon was tackled for a safety. In other words, the Rams’ offense gave up minus-8 points on its opening two possessions. Then it nearly got catastrophic when Warriors defensive lineman Jonathan Staten forced a fumble that was scooped up by teammate Xavier Williams, who appeared to be in the clear for a touchdown return, except Williams dropped the ball at the end of a 27-yard return. East Wake drove to the Rolesville 14-yard line, but opted to go for it on 4th-and-9 instead of kicking a 31-yard field goal to predictable results.

Trailing 8-0, Rolesville coach Wilson Helms inserted 6-3 sophomore Noah Douglas at quarterback, and the Rams found rhythm for the first time all year (Rolesville opened the season with losses to Cleveland 58-37 and Clayton 41-6.) The Rams relied on running back Kishawn Bobbit, who started the game as a 3rd-down back, then played more since he was easily the most versatile player in a Rolesville uniform. Bobbit finished with the first 100-yard game of his career.

After Douglas’ insertion into the game, Bobbit had more room to run because Douglas’ ball-handling ability on play action was much sharper. That’s where the game turned around as Rolesville scored 13 unanswered points for its first win of the season.

It doesn’t hurt that the Rolesville offensive line, while not agile, could probably lead the Northern Conference in rebounding. Sophomore left tackle Jonathan Adomo stands 6-4, right tackle Bryant Miller is 6-5 and right guard Josh Seats is 6-2. Nonetheless, East Wake gained pressure on the Rams throughout the game.

Coming off a rugged 26-6 loss to Wilmington Hoggard  (ranked #7 in the Associated Press 4-A polls released Wednesday), Orange finds itself in the unaccustomed position of being outmanned. The Panthers played Rodney Brooks, Payton Wilson, Marvante Beasley, Noah Rogers, Hunter Pettiford and Milton Purcell on offense and defense on a roster that isn’t as deep as years past. Coach Van Smith blames the problem on a junior class that’s smaller than other grades, but it could pose a problem against a 4-A Rolesville team that lists 95 players on its roster (Orange has 48). Another 4-A team in Riverside is awaiting Orange next week.

For years, Orange players privately wondered how playing a stiff nonconference test in August would make them better. Now, after suffering its earliest regular season loss since 2012, Orange will finally find out, albeit after a week off to heal the bruises after a physical game where several players rarely got a play off.

Offensively, the question for Orange is can they find another playmaker outside of Wilson and Beasley? Wilson was held to four touches against Hoggard, who did everything in its power (and succeeded) to keep the All-State candidate from beating them. Orange had only five passing yards against the Vikings. They had zero in the 2nd half at a time when the Panthers were desperate to throw the ball since they were trailing the entire way.

PREDICTION: Orange 20, Rolesville 9. 

While lacking the solid pass rush of years past (so far), Orange is still solid up front. Overall, Orange has the better athletes who are used to playing on a big stage for conference championships. It will be interesting to watch how the Panthers deal with early adversity after the last four Orange squads started 4-0.

The term in tennis is “double bagels.” No, it’s not what you order with cheese strata and coffee during Breakfast at Wimbledon. It’s when a singles player wins two consecutive sets 6-0 in a singles match.

On Tuesday, Cedar Ridge had no less than four players take double bagel wins over crosstown rival Orange.

#1 singles player Ivy Garner, sophomore Olivia Ward, senior Kate Millner and sophomore Brianna Cellini all earned 6-0, 6-0 wins as the Red Wolves defeated the Panthers 9-0 at Panther Tennis Courts. At #4 singles, Nora Sauers won her match 6-1, 6-2, while Maddy Werner captured the most competitive battle of the day, earning a 6-3, 6-2 victory.

Red Wolves Coach Lennie Corbett played some reserves in doubles, pairing Hannah Johnson with Cellini at #2 for an 8-2 victory. Rachel Quade played her first match of the year, teaming with Natalie Marochak for an 8-3 win at #3 doubles. Garner and Ward swept #1 doubles 8-0 to make quick work of the Panthers, who were coming off its first win of the season against Hillside the previous Wednesday.

Cedar Ridge is now 3-2, 2-1 in the Big 8. They host Northern Durham on Thursday in Hillsborough. Orange looks to bounce back with a home match against Northwood on Thursday.

Cedar Ridge picked up where they left off against its crosstown rivals on Tuesday, putting away Orange 9-0 at Panther Tennis Courts. Cedar Ridge improves to 3-2, 2-1 in the Big 8 after wins by Olivia Ward, Ivy Garner, Kristi Lescinski, Rachel Quade and Katie Watkins, to name a few.

We’re backtracking on Orange Panther of the Week. This was the award meant to be given for week #1 of the season, when Payton Wilson had 393 all-purpose yards against Northern Nash in Orange’s 40-6 win over Northern Nash. Wilson discusses trying to rebound from the loss to Hoggard with this Friday’s game against Rolesville.

On the day he turned 17 years old, Marvante Beasley was kind enough to take time and discuss preparations for Friday’s game at Rolesville. Marvante has rushed for over 100-yards in each of the first two games, but it coming off a loss to Hoggard two weeks ago.

Four games into the Big 8 season, it’s clear where Orange volleyball stands in the race for a 3-A state playoff birth.

They’re ahead of Cedar Ridge and Hillside, but behind conference favorite Chapel Hill, East Chapel Hill and Northwood.

The Chargers defeated the Panthers 3-1 on Tuesday night at Jim King Gymnasium in Hillsborough. Northwood improves to 8-1, 3-1 in the Big 8 on scores of 26-24, 22-25, 25-12 and 26-14.

Orange, which had a three-game winning streak come to an end, falls to 6-2, 2-2 in the Big 8.

The fourth set was a battle with nine ties and four lead changes. Northwood’s middle hitter Emily Nettles had the entire offense centered around her spiking. She had four kills in Northwood’s final six points, including the go-ahead point after Orange evened the fourth set at 24-24. Nettles also nothed the kill on match point.

For Orange, Emma Clements had two aces, eleven kills and 16 digs. Carolina Compton had one ace, one kill, 24 assists and eight digs. Bailey Lucas finished with three aces, three kills, nine assists and seven digs. Senior Avery Riley recorded ten kills.

Orange will have two games in two days starting on Thursday at Chapel Hill. They travel to Roxboro Community School on Friday night.

Cedar Ridge’s 1st conference match against Northern Durham didn’t have their desired result. The Knights defeated the Red Wolves 3-1 in Red Wolves Gymnasium on scores of 25-9, 25-11, 21-25 and 25-21.

Cedar Ridge, now 4-5, 0-4 in the Big 8, travels to East Chapel Hill on Thursday.

Our new feature on Hillsboroughsports.com takes a look at how graduates from Orange and Cedar Ridge High Schools are doing at the college and professional levels. If you have any updates on athletes that slip through the cracks, feel free to contact us at hamlin37@hotmail.com.

Bryse Wilson: The former Orange High right-hander finished his first full professional season on Labor Day with the Rome Braves of the South Atlantic League. He threw three hitless innings against the Columbia Fireflies on Monday, striking out six while walking one before a crowd of 2,077 at State Mutual Stadium in Georgia. The Braves won the game 4-2 as Wilson had a no-decision.

Last week, Wilson was named the South Atlantic League’s Right Handed Pitcher of the Year. He made the South Atlantic League All-Star team, leading Rome with a 2.50 ERA. Wilson completed the year 10-7, striking out 139 while walking just 37 in 26 starts. Statistically, Wilson’s best performance of the season came on July 8th when he threw a five-hit shutout against the West Virginia Power, his only complete game of the season. Wilson struck out seven and walked no one, hurling 69 strikes on 109 pitches.

Lindsay Thompson: After being a member of the Cedar Ridge volleyball team that won 52 games over the course of three years, Thompson is now a defensive specialist with the Cape Fear Community College Sea Devils in Wilmington. CFCC, which plays in the Carolina Junior College Conference of the National Junior College Conference Athletic Association, is 2-0 after victories over Potomac State College of West Virginia and Central Carolina Community College. They also defeated North Carolina Wesleyan (an NCAA Division III team) in an exhibition game. Thompson has played in both of CFCC’s official matches. In her college debut against Potomac State, Thompson had two assists and five digs in a 3-2 victory. Against CCCC, Thompson played two sets as the Sea Devils swept the Cougars

Jordan Lloyd: After leaving White Cross during the summer to move to Transylvania County, Lloyd has played in two of Brevard College’s first three volleyball matches last weekend in the season-opening Pfeiffer Tournament in Richfield, NC. The Tornadoes lost its opening match against West Virginia St 3-0. Lloyd played in one set against the Yellow Jackets. Brevard, a D3 team, defeated Virginia Union and Pfeiffer on Sunday, both 3-0 victories. Against Pfeiffer, Lloyd recorded her first kill as a college player. She finished with two kills as Brevard finished second in the tournament.

Andie McKinnon: The 2015 Big 8 Player of the Year and 2016 Orange High graduate, McKinnon just started her sophomore season playing volleyball at Emory University in Atlanta. The Eagles, who play in Division III, opened the season going 2-1 in the Wittenberg University National Invitational in Springfield, Ohio over the weekend. In the opener, Emory defeated Johns Hopkins 3-1. Wittenberg, ranked #11 in D3, rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Eagles 3-2.  McKinnon saw her first action of the season on Sunday in a 3-2 victory over Illinois Wesleyan. She played all five sets and recorded 12 digs.

The Cedar Ridge boys and girls cross country teams starting their respective seasons at the 2017 Jungle Run at South View High School in Hope Mills on Saturday. Billed as “the Original Night-Time Race,” the Red Wolves had junior Rory Legg-Bell, senior Brian Finch, junior Grant (Alistair) Stewart and senior Josh Goularte record personal best times.

Legg-Bell finished the course at 17:36, coming in 40th overall among 207 runners. Finch recorded a time of 18:39, while Stewart crossed the finish line at 18:46. Goularte came in at 19:04. As a team, Cedar Ridge finished 17th among 26 schools.

R.J. Reynolds’ John Tatter finished first overall with a time of 15:27. Chapel Hill’s Ryan Combs was the only runner of the Big 8 finishing in the top ten, coming in eighth.

In the girls’ race, sophomore Laney Nissler was the fastest of the Red Wolves, registering a time of 22:00. Freshman Anne Morrell crossed the finish line at 22:14. Sophomore Allison Musty came in 65th at 22:21 while junior Abby Averette finished at 23:05. The Cedar Ridge girls finished 11th overall as a team.

Chapel Hill captured the girls race with 19 points. CHHS senior Katherine Dokholyan won the individual championship with a time of 18:46, while teammate Madi Marvin finished 3rd. Chapel Hill had four of the top six runners and six of the top nine.

Orange defeated Cedar Ridge in volleyball on Thursday night.

A year ago, those words were enough to send Orange fans rushing to the floor at Jim King Gymnasium, as it should have. It ended Cedar Ridge’s seven-game winning streak against the Panthers, a span of over four years.

On Thursday night, it was different. Of course, the crowd was larger than usual. That’s a given since two teams from Hillsborough are involved. But the circumstances were different this team.

For starters, Cedar Ridge wasn’t coming off a Big 8 conference championship like they were in 2015. That Red Wolves team played for the 3A Eastern Regional Championship.

Plus, there was a sense of finality for Orange last season. Seniors Jordan Lloyd, Mileah Shriner, Macy Hughes, Eva Porter, and Julia Lovingood  had gone their entire careers without beating Cedar Ridge. Last year’s match at Orange was their last chance.

This Orange team may be less experienced than last year, but they be more confident.

“I guess knowing Cedar Ridge’s record already from this season, we came in thinking we were the better team,” said Orange junior Liz LaNier. “They definitely put up a fight. They’ve definitely got some great girls on their team. In the end, I think we fought harder.”

The Panthers captured the match 3-1 on  scores of 23-25, 25-14, 28-26 and 25-20. Orange improves to 6-1, 2-1 in the Big 8. Cedar Ridge falls to 4-4, 0-3 in the Big 8.

It’s the first time since 2012 that Orange has claimed consecutive victories against their crosstown rivals.

The pivotal set in the match was the third, where Orange stormed out to a 7-1 lead on the strength of two kills by Avery Riley, each assisted by Faith Foushee. Cedar Ridge tied the set at 15-15, then took a 19-15 lead behind seven consecutive points while Kennedy Herold-Rhoe serving. Juliann De Jesus gave the Red Wolves the lead off a gorgeous sliding dig that cleared the net and found a empty spot on the Orange side. De Jesus added another point off a block, then followed with a kill assisted by Macy Henry.

Trailing 21-17, Orange scored seven consecutive points to take a 24-21 advantage. That run included Devyn Norman notching a kill off an assist from Caroline Compton and a spike by Emma Clements. LaNier scored a kill off an assist from Bailey Lucas to claim the set.

“We have a lot of problem rollercoastering,” said LaNier. “We’ll have moments of greatness, but then a few dips where we get down on ourselves. We’re doing a lot better pulling ourselves out of that. At that point in the match, we knew we had to finish it out.”

In the fourth set, Orange jumped to a 10-5 lead behind three aces from Lucas. Orange pushed the advantage out to 24-14 before the Red Wolves fought back with six consecutive points to make the Panthers sweat a little. Compton scored the game-winning hit on match point.

Compton finished with an ace, 29 assists and twelve digs. Emma Clements finished with three aces, nine kills and 21 digs. LaNier came away with an ace, 13 kills, a dig, a block and three digs.

“I guess it’s mostly communication with your setter,” said LaNier. “We have to figure out what play we’re going to run and if it’s different from the originally called play. You just have to go up knowing exactly what you’re going to do with it.”

Orange hosts Northwood next Tuesday in Hillsborough. Cedar Ridge will attempt to rebound when they welcome Northern Durham to Red Wolves Gymnasium. It will be the first-time ever that Northern Durham and Cedar Ridge have competed in a conference matchup in any sport.