Cedar Ridge Football

Adam Chnupa: On Saturday, the Elon football team came from behind to defeat Rhode Island 38-13 in Meade Stadium in Kingston, RI. Chnupa, a former Cedar Ridge All-Big 8 football and baseball player, played on special teams as the Phoenix won its second straight game. This season, Chnupa has played in four games for Elon, who are now 4-4 overall, 3-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Phoenix host William & Mary for Homecoming next Saturday at Rhodes Stadium.

Keshawn Thompson: Among the wild games throughout the country on Saturday was Campbell’s 49-47 triple overtime win over Gardner-Webb at Spangler Stadium in Boiling Springs. Thompson, a redshirt sophomore who graduated from Orange in 2017, assisted on two tackles for the Camels. He also had a tackle for loss. Campbell is 6-1, 3-0 in the Big South. They travel to North Alabama next Saturday for a nonconference game.

Rodney Brooks: In the CIAA on Saturday, Winston-Salem State shutout Livingston 21-0 at Alumni Memorial Stadium in Salisbury. Brooks entered the game as a safety, made one tackle and assisted on two others. The Blue Bears fell to 4-4, 1-4 in the CIAA. They host Fayetteville State next Saturday.

Kevin Wright: In Rocky Mount, Division III Brevard defeated North Carolina Wesleyan 26-20 at Rocky Mount Stadium. Wright had one solo tackle and assisted on two others as the Battling Bishops fell to 3-4, 2-2 in the USA South Athletic Conference. Wright has played in four games for Wesleyan this season. The Bishops travel to Methodist next Saturday.

Lionel Reid-Shaw: On senior day for the Division III Dickinson men’s soccer team on Saturday, Reid-Shaw started at centerback as the Red Devils defeated Haverford 2-1 in Carlisle, PA. Reid-Shaw fired a shot on goal as Dickinson improved to 9-6, 5-2 in the Centennial Conference. On Wednesday, Reid-Shaw will play his final home game for Dickinson, who will host Muhlenberg on Wednesday night. Dickinson is in 3rd place in the Centennial Conference, one game in the loss column behind Franklin & Marshall.

Kayla Hodges: The Elon women’s soccer team suffered a tough loss on Thursday. Delaware defeated the Phoenix 2-0 at Grant Stadium in Newark, DE. Hodges, who had goals in three consecutive games coming into the game, started at midfield and fired a shot on net. The Phoenix had only three shots on net in the game. Elon is 11-4-2 overall, 5-2-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association. Elon is now tied with Delaware for third in the loss column in the CAA.

Taylin Jean: The Division II Limestone women’s soccer team defeated Southern Wesleyan University 2-0 at Saints Field in Gaffney, SC on Saturday. Jean posted her seven shutout of the season. She started and played 52 minutes before being replaced by Paige Renkosik, who was among eight seniors who played their final home game. Jean is 8-6 as the goalkeeper of the Saints this season. Limestone is 7-2 in Conference Carolinas. They’re in 3rd place in the league, two games behind Mount Olive for 1st place.

Brittany Daley: On Senior Day for the Division III Greensboro College women’s soccer team defeated North Carolina Wesleyan 2-0 at Pride Field on Saturday. Daley started again at centerback. She has started all 17 games for Greensboro. The Pride ended the regular season 12-4-1, 6-1-1 in the USA South Athletic Conference. They will be the top seed for the USA South Athletic Conference Tournament, which starts later this week.

Jordan Rogers: The William Peace women’s soccer team defeated Averett University 3-0 at Campbell Stadium in Danville, VA on Saturday. With the victory, the Pacers set the program record for most wins in a season. Rogers, who graduated from Orange in 2018, started her 18th game of the season for Peace. The Pacers are now 7-10-1, 3-5 in the USA South. The Pacers will also start play in the USA South Conference Tournament this week.

Lili Henry: On Friday night, two former Hillsborough volleyball players squared off against each other again. Lili Henry, who graduated from Cedar Ridge in 2018, suited up for Division III Methodist against Meredith. The Avenging Angels defeated the Monarchs 3-1 on scores of 21-25, 25-13, 25-22 and 25-7. Henry had 15 assists, one ace, one kill and two digs. Methodist is 6-16, 5-9 in the USA South.

Bailey Lucas: Lucas played all four sets for Meredith against Methodist. She finished with 16 assists and five digs. The Avenging Angels are 16-7 overall, 10-2 in the USA South. Meredith is tied in the loss column with Averett for 1st place in the conference.

For the better part of the last decade, Southern Durham has been one of the most dominant teams in central North Carolina. But now, in 2019, after two surprising back-to-back losing seasons, the Spartans are back among the state’s elite – and on Friday night in Durham, Southern showed that it absolutely is a team to be reckoned with in the 3A state playoffs in a few weeks. Cedar Ridge came to town hoping to play spoiler and uproot one of the best seasons in recent Southern history, but the Spartans (8-1, 5-0 Big 8) scored 20 points within the first four minutes and dominated an outmatched Cedar Ridge (1-8, 1-4) squad from start to finish, 54-0. It was the eighth straight win this year for Southern, and the third loss by shutout for Cedar Ridge. 

Even in the face of such a strong team with very few flaws, Cedar Ridge sure didn’t look scared. The Red Wolves looked calm as ever during warmups and never looked like giving up even in the dying moments of the game itself, but, in all fairness, this was always going to be an uphill battle – and that was evident from the opening series. The usually sure-handed Isaiah McCambry fumbled on the first play from scrimmage, and, three plays after that, Southern punched it in on a two-yard score from running back Logan Harper. 

But that was only the beginning. On the ensuing kickoff, Sincere Lecraft hit return man Elijah Whitaker at the 15-yard line, spun him around, ripped the ball away like a vice grip, and jogged down the sideline with the ball, escorted by an entourage of teammates for the strip-and-score. McCambry was pummeled on the next Cedar Ridge possession and coughed the ball up again, and, two plays later, Omari Smith hit top receiver Xavier Rhodes on a quick in, and Rhodes did the rest, evading tacklers and racing 40 yards for the touchdown. The Red Wolves looked up at the small endzone scoreboard: it read 20-0, and four minutes hadn’t even gone by.

Southern wasn’t done. Later in the first, punter Zach Holmes had to scramble to field a poor snap and right after he found the ball Lecraft found him for a tackle for loss on fourth down, and Harper soon scored again to make it 27-0. Cedar Ridge punted on all three of its possessions in the second quarter, and Southern scored on two of their own, one on a bullet of a touchdown pass from Smith to Cinsere Clark, and the other on a 25-yard touchdown run almost unimpeded from Smith himself. Mercifully, the first half came to an end with the home team on top 41-0.

Sure, the running clock was in effect for the entirety of the second half, and sure, the Spartans had nothing more to prove in a game that was no longer in doubt, but the Red Wolves’ defense still showed marked improvements after the halftime break. But even with that said, the Southern offense was just too strong, and the Spartans were able to add an eight-yard touchdown run on a fourth-and-goal from linebacker Jaki Brevard, his first career score, as well as a 96-yard touchdown run from safety Jacquez Warren – a remarkable play where Warren somehow dodged tacklers in his own end zone, and ended up in the other end zone in a matter of seconds. The final score at Spartan Stadium on this night was 54-0, the most lopsided loss in a season that has featured a few of them. 

But as always, there were bright spots for Cedar Ridge. Aiden Seagroves showed some more flashes as the newly appointed number two running back. Jake Mergenthal and Desi Raspberry both recorded their first career catches. Zach Holmes ran a long-awaited fake punt, where the former quarterback baffled the Spartan defense by hitting Whitaker for a big gain on fourth down from midfield. Braxton Mergenthal added another note on the ledger of his excellent Cedar Ridge career by picking off a poor Smith pass in the backfield in the second half. Whitaker and the rest of the Red Wolves blocked John Paulino’s final PAT. And above all else – and yes, this too sounds trite and hard to conceptualize, but it’s true – the Red Wolves never gave up. Even on that Warren TD run with just minutes to go in the game, it’s not like the Red Wolves turned around and let him walk in from 96 yards out – they nearly tackled him around his own goal line, and from there, he was just simply too fast and did the rest himself. At that point, all the Red Wolves could do was tip their collective caps for a job well done.

For Southern, this was just another step towards a perfect conference season – and with matches with Chapel Hill and East left on the ledger, it would be stunning if the Spartans don’t finish this undefeated conference season off. For Cedar Ridge, Friday night was a night to forget, but the Red Wolves will have one more chance to create a night to remember when they host Orange for Senior Night and the football edition of the Hillsborough Rivalry at Cedar Ridge next Friday at 7 PM. Even with all the losses, all the injuries, the trials and the travails that Cedar Ridge has had to suffer this year in its return to varsity football, a win against Orange, a team with legitimate playoff aspirations after a legendary victory on Friday, might help make the 2019 season feel a whole lot better. 

Colin Guentensberger: On Saturday, #24 Appalachian State defeated Louisiana-Monroe 52-7 at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone. The Mountaineers improved to 6-0, 3-0 in the Sun Belt Conference. It was the first time that former Orange Panther Colin Guentensberger suited up for the Mountaineers. Guentensberger is a freshman walk-on. He didn’t see action on Saturday. Guentensberger was the Hillsboroughsports.com Player of the Year in 2018. He was second on the team with 100 tackles and also had 23 receptions, behind only Zyon Pettiford.

Payton Wilson: On a dismal day for N.C. State, Wilson had a career-high nine tackles for the Wolfpack in a 45-24 loss to Boston College in Chestnut Hill, MA. Wilson had one-half tackle for loss. He was tied with Louis Acceus for 2nd on the team in tackles. Through seven games, Wilson third on the team with 35 tackles, including three-and-a-half for loss.

Trent Gill: The former Cedar Ridge kicker had six punts for N.C. State against the Eagles. Gill had an average of 45.5 yards. His longest was 62 yards, one of three punts over 50 yards for Gill. Three punts were downed inside the 20. Gill also had three kickoffs that totaled 173 yards. N.C. State will take this week off and travel to Wake Forest on November 2.

Keshawn Thompson: The FCS Campbell Camels defeated Hampton 31-16 at Barker-Lane Stadium in Buies Creek on Saturday. Thompson returned to action after missing the Presbyterian game on October 5. Thompson assisted on two tackles. After losing the season opener at Troy, Campbell has won five in a row and is 2-0 in the Big South Conference. The Camels travel to Gardner-Webb next Saturday.

Rodney Brooks: Shaw defeated Livingston 27-20 in CIAA action at G. Williams Complex in Raleigh on Saturday. Brooks had three tackles for the Blue Bears. Livingstone falls to 4-3, 2-3 in the CIAA. The Blue Bears will return to Salisbury and take on Winston-Salem State on Saturday.

Kevin Wright: The 2018 Cedar Ridge graduate had five tackle as Division III North Carolina Wesleyan lost to Averett 41-24 at Frank Campbell Stadium in Danville, VA on Saturday. The Battling Bishops are 3-3. They will host Brevard next week in Rocky Mount.

Brittany Daley: Two former Hillsborough products played against each other as Division III Greensboro College defeated William Peace University 3-0 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. Daley, who played at Cedar Ridge, started her 15th game of the season for Greensboro. The Pride sit atop the USA South Conference with a 5-0-1 record. They are 11-3-1 overall.

Jordan Rogers: Rogers started at wingback for Peace against Greensboro. Peace falls to 6-9-1, 2-4 in the USA South.

Lili Henry: The Division III Methodist volleyball team split in their tri-match at North Carolina Wesleyan in Rocky Mount on Saturday. The Monarchs defeated Wesleyan in five sets on scores of 14-25, 26-24, 21-25, 25-9 and 15-5. Henry had a season-high 25 assists for Methodist. She also had nine digs and one ace as Methodist improved to 4-15, 3-8 in the USA South. Earlier in the day, Averett defeated Methodist 3-1 on scores of 25-17, 18-25, 25-15 and 25-19. Against the Cougars, Henry had 12 assists, one ace and seven digs. Methodist returns home to face Pfeiffer at the Riddle Center in Fayetteville on Tuesday.

Bailey Lucas: The Division III Meredith volleyball team won both its matches inside Weatherspoon Gymnasium in Raleigh on Saturday. The Avenging Angels swept Pfeiffer 25-9, 25-22 and 25-22. They also defeated Greensboro in five sets on scores of 15-25, 25-20, 25-15, 23-25 and 15-8. Lucas played in both matches for Meredith. Against Greensboro, Lucas had two kills, 18 assists, 13 digs and 3 aces. In the sweep of Pfeiffer, Lucas had one kill, 12 assists and one dig. Meredith is 15-7, 9-2 in the USA South. The Angels travel to North Carolina Wesleyan on Tuesday.

by John Franklin

My middle school baseball coach always told me, “Everyone loves a winner” or “Everyone at the game has a good time when you’re winning”.

Coach, you got that right.

If you came to last Friday night’s varsity football game at Cedar Ridge Stadium, a good time was had by all during the Red Wolves’ 20-19 victory over Chapel Hill – especially when you break a winless drought of 785 days.

I seriously hate talking about myself, but have to explain.

During the game, outside of the normal announcements of plays, yardage, ball spot, penalties, etc. – I have incorporated something that is becoming a new trend. In the vast collection of music files on my laptop, I also have a batch of …. Sound Effects.

What!? Sound effects? Seriously!? – ABSOLUTELY! I’m not playing them all game long, just a few clips here and there for fun, and even some drama. With many of these clips – My inner pro wrestling fan comes out.

To start each game, I go back to circa 1997 when the faction known as the nWo (or New World Order) Wolfpac would come out to the song, “Don’t Turn Your Back on the Wolfpac”.

To the pure football fans, I’m certain you’re thinking I’m turning the game into a circus. But in reality, it’s something I’ve embraced to make the game more fun. The response I got from the Red Wolf faithful is that they’re embracing it too. For example, when Isiah McCambry emphatically charges 15 yards for a first down or Will Berger completes a long pass to a receiver to acquire a first down, or any play that results in a first down, cue up the 16-time World Heavyweight Champion, “Nature Boy” Ric Flair and his signature cry of “WHOO!!!”

I procured this simple two-second clip, and it’s caught on. Every time Cedar Ridge tallies a first down, I’ll strike up “Naitch”. The great thing about this, the Red Wolf fans respond with their own rendition of “WHOO!!!!” every time I cue up a trio of Ric Flairs. Then again, it caught on with the opposing fans too. Last season during the JV game and in this year’s varsity game against Chapel Hill, the Tiger fans would mock the Wolf Pack from their section by returning the Ric Flairs in their condescending way.

Afterwards, I’ll play something that they’re not expecting. “Oh YEAH!” I’ve played another legend in “Macho Man” Randy Savage; cartoon legend Daffy Duck with his traditional laugh; and even went to hip-hop legend Flavor Flav and his traditional “Yeah, Boyee!!” For big time rushes, you may even hear another hall of famer in Michael Hegstrand (you know him better as Road Warrior Hawk) in his trademark saying, “What a Rush!”, or the Roadrunner “MEEP MEEP”.

Oddly enough, the Pack will say these same things in response.

For the dramatic effect, I use a clip that makes Jeff Hamlin happy. The AC/DC tenor bell. That’s right, the big BONG you hear at the beginning of “Hell’s Bells” is my go to sound when rallying up the crowd on 3rd and 4th down defensive plays. This is reminiscent of 3rd & 4th down plays at UNC and Appalachian State that uses the same sound.

When a penalty flag appears upon a play, and no one knows who it’s against, I’ll play the familiar “Doink Doink” that’s synonymous with the Law & Order franchise. It definitely gets people’s attention as to who’s moving forward or backwards.

But when the Red Wolves cross into the end zone for a touchdown or conversion, kick a successful field goal, score a safety, or win the game, I’ll sound the horn. This comes from the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes, whose goal horn is tied into the late Warren Zevon’s hit song, “Werewolves of London”.

Again, I’m not trying to make sporting events into farces, but sporting events were made to be fun. All that I’m trying to do is add to a very fun atmosphere. When growing up in Marion and attending games at McDowell, we didn’t have these effects. Despite very vocal, if not rabid, fans, we would create our own effects and traditions.

Which reminds me. If you’ve come to volleyball matches inside Cedar Ridge Arena, you may have heard some of the aforementioned sounds. The students have also become very extemporaneous in their enthusiasm as it has assisted the Lady Wolves to their best season since 2015. It all started with a Cedar Ridge student shouting “OH YEAH!” (In similarity to the Kool-Aid Man), when an opposing team would serve or receive a serve.

It’s been fun this season on New Grady Brown School Drive, and I’m certain more fun is coming down the road. I for one am glad to come along for the rid

By Tim Hackett

Last week in Hillsborough, something just felt different. Now, that sounds trite and impossible to conceptualize, but it was true – and last week, with a well-stocked and well-dressed Homecoming crowd on hand, Cedar Ridge turned that magical feeling into its first varsity win in close to 800 days. This week in Chapel Hill, everything once again just felt a little different – but the Red Wolves quickly realized that, this time around, different meant bad. 

With that mystical Homecoming magic now working against them, Cedar Ridge (1-7, 1-3 Big 8) went three-and-out on its first four drives, threw four interceptions, had two touchdowns wiped out due to penalties, and were simply outplayed by an East Chapel Hill (1-7, 1-3) team that hadn’t won at the varsity level in almost exactly a year. The Wildcats keyed in on the Red Wolves’ offensive gameplan early, and, from there, all it took was a few mistakes from the visitors and a few big plans from the hosts to help the Wildcats to a comprehensive 33-12 victory that snapped a ten-game losing streak dating back to October 12 of last year. 

A week ago, the Tigers and the Red Wolves were so methodical and successful moving the ball that each team had one possession in the first quarter and just three full possessions in the first half. That wasn’t the case this week: Cedar Ridge had four possessions in the first quarter alone, but didn’t pick up a single first down. Zach Holmes only had to attempt three punts last game. He had four in the first quarter in this one. On the other side, East Chapel Hill also produced three punts and two three-and-outs in the first quarter, but the Wildcats also produced an Anton Enoch quarterback keeper for a one-yard touchdown, set up by a massive connection from Enoch to his brother Anthony a few plays before. 

From that point until halftime, the Cedar Ridge defense was rock solid. East had three possessions in the second quarter – one ended in a three-and-out, one ended in a Desi Raspberry end zone interception, and one ended the half. But in that same span, East still managed to score 13 points with their offense watching from the sidelines. 

The Red Wolves were finally able to move the ball to begin their first drive of the quarter, but only because they fooled the Wildcat defense with the same trick play that won them the game against Chapel Hill last week – a Will Berger right-side toss to Isaiah McCambry ended up a handoff to K.J. Barnes running an end-around from right to left. Last week that got the Red Wolves two points, this week it got them about 45 yards and put McCambry in position to find the end zone on another right-side toss – only for the score to be called back due to a penalty. Facing a third-and-goal from the 15, Berger opted to pass for Barnes staring at one-on-one coverage, but ZaMail Vaughn won the individual battle and came away with a pick in the end zone to stop the threat. 

The Cedar Ridge defense promptly forced a three-and-out, and a bad East punt placed the Red Wolves right around midfield. But on the very first play, Berger tried to quickly hit Barnes on the left sideline, but the pass was too high and Barnes, volleyball setter-style, tipped the ball in the air with both hands. It fell perfectly into the hands of Zaion Vaughn, who redeemed himself for his poor punt by racing the pick back 46 yards to the house. A great return of the ensuing kickoff put Cedar Ridge right back at its own 45, but just a couple of plays later new quarterback Elijah Whitaker zipped a risky pass to the right flank that his receiver never saw – but Zaion Vaughn did see it, and he returned this pass about 60 yards to the house. The next Red Wolves possession saw Barnes ejected and while Raspberry was able to help save face by picking off Enoch in the end zone, the damage was done: the Wildcats led 20-0 at the break. 

Perhaps energized by the Homecoming festivities or the prospect of holding a halftime lead, the Wildcats struck instantly in the second half, with Anton Enoch once again connecting with Anthony on a 37-yard rainbow of a touchdown pass over the defense. Nicholas DeMasi doinked the PAT in off the left upright – it really was that kind of night. Cedar Ridge punted once and went four-and-out once in the third quarter, but McCambry opened the fourth with a two-yard score to finally get the visitors on the board. Vaughan Lanier missed the extra point, but any sniff of a Cedar Ridge comeback was instantly snuffed out when Zaion Vaughn caught Ian Kavanaugh’s low kickoff right in the gullet and freight trained his way for a 75-yard kickoff return. 

ZaMail Vaughn got back in on the action by picking off Berger again on the next drive, this time off a drop by Tyler Roberts, and East gifted Cedar Ridge the ball right back with botched snap on the next play, the Red Wolves simply ran out of time. The visitors marched down the field, helped by a couple of strong runs from Aiden Seagroves, to set up another McCambry score, but that too was wiped out due to a penalty – it really was that kind of night. For some reason the clock kept running during the final few minutes, but no one made any protest. East Chapel Hill deserved the win, and it got the win, 33-12.

Cedar Ridge probably should have been the favored team against the winless Wildcats, but, in truth, the Red Wolves were playing at a disadvantage from the get-go. Now that certainly doesn’t fully excuse the result, but it does go a ways towards explaining it. With a few key contributors present but not dressed and still other starters not even present, Cedar Ridge was playing short-handed, and that severely restricted the Red Wolves’ depth on both sides. Once Barnes was tossed, Cedar Ridge became more one-dimensional on offense than they were before, and the Wildcats’ defensive front stonewalled McCambry all evening. It remains to be seen if Cedar Ridge will get any of those missing players back any time soon, but, if not, those who are there will need to regroup in a hurry: up next is conference title frontrunner Southern Durham, and the Red Wolves will have to be ready to go if they want to avoid this kind of night again.