Cedar Ridge High School

Two Cents from the Franklin Mint

by Jon Franklin

The Times, They Are a Changing

Let me first begin by apologizing for the abrupt hiatus in production of The Franklin Mint. As the times, they are a changing. Within my job in law enforcement, it’s required a lot of my time and attention to helping keep our communities safe. 

But as my job seems to ease up (for now), production can resume. As the times continue to change, so it appears the landscape of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association is also changing. 

In its’ annual meeting just a few months ago, the NCHSAA (or the Association) is seeking to add a 5A class. 

As new high schools throughout North Carolina continue to be built, the current four classification setup within North Carolina high school athletics continues to get more bloated. In my opinion, this landscape should have changed two or three realignment cycles ago. But in any event, the change seems to be coming, and I for one, am glad for it.

Since 2001, the Association has used a bifurcated football playoff system, causing the prestige of the football playoffs to tarnish. Since 2007, the Association expanded state playoffs in many sports to 64 teams, thinking North Carolina high school sports should be like the NCAA. Since, 2013, the Association has used the MaxPreps computer ranking system to seed teams for state tournament play – in criteria that continues to be more confusing than the BCS/College Football Playoff computer ranking system.

Because of these three areas, high school athletics in North Carolina have become so complicated. Before, they seemed to be so simple.

As of the last realignment cycle, there are 407 schools participating in the NCHSAA. Currently, schools are subdivided on a 20-30-30-20 basis. This means that schools in the top twenty percent in ADM (Average Daily Membership) were classified as 4A, the following thirty percent to 3A, the next following thirty percent as 2A, and the lowest twenty percent as 1A. With the advent of a 5A class, the classes could be evenly split five ways at twenty percent across the board. Thus, placing 82 teams in each classification. 

With an extra class, the benefits could range to the following:

1) Discontinuing the bifurcated football playoffs, resuming a singular, 32-team playoff with five state champions.

I don’t know about you, but I have never understood the logic of having two 32-team tournaments. In the 4A and 1A classes, there are approximately 75 teams in those classes, allowing 85% of the teams to actually qualify. In 2A and 3A there are roughly 125 teams apiece, causing a little more than half of these teams in qualifying.

In many cases, these football playoffs have featured mediocre to sub-standard teams featuring abysmal records, poor showings from said sub-standard teams, incurring injuries from teams playing in games that should have never been played as a result of the need for revenue. And yes, when you play twice the number of games in the tournament phase, you will get more money. 

In some years, teams with atrocious records robbed much better teams of better playoff seeds, first round byes, and second round home games. In some years, these bad teams actually bumped out far better teams from qualification. This should have been the other way around.

Before this crazy idea, North Carolina high school football featured a prestigious tournament that had tremendous games, brought huge crowds, and laid to rest as to who were the best teams in all of North Carolina.

2) Discontinuing the 64-team playoff in most team sports, returning to the familiar 48-team playoffs.

In the past, the one of the rewards for the eight best teams in the East and West, was a first-round bye. This allowed you a day or two off from practice, a chance to scout your sectional semifinal opponent, a chance to heal up from an injury, catch up on homework, or just catching up with friends and family. The other was hosting a home game in the second round.

If you were among the sixteen other schools, you had to play the extra game. This made your road much harder, but also sweeter if you were successful. 

Again, with more games, the Association receives more revenue. But at what expense?

At the surface, the expense seems to come at the safety of student-athletes. When playing unnecessary games, the propensity remains for student-athletes to become injured. 

With 82 teams in 2A through 5A, and 79 teams in 1A, there is no need for 64-team tournaments. If you continue to have them, you might as well allow EVERY team to play in the state playoffs, and that should NEVER happen.

3) Going to new cities and venues to play regional and state championship level events.

If you’re the cities of Charlotte, Greensboro or the other major cities in North Carolina, you must be salivating at the opportunity to host state championship events. With the Big Four schools (Duke, UNC, NC State, & Wake Forest) in a rotation, and the new 5A class forthcoming, some logical choices for a new championship venue could be the new Jerry Richardson Stadium (capacity 15,000 with future plans to expand up to 40,000) on the UNC-Charlotte campus or BB&T Stadium (capacity – 21,500) at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro. 

In basketball and/or Volleyball, Charlotte’s Halton Arena (capacity – 9,100) at or the Bojangles’ Coliseum (capacity – 8,600) are viable options as is the lower bowl of the Greensboro Coliseum (a former state championship location) and the adjacent Fieldhouse. Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium (capacity – 9,314), also a former state championship location in the 1970’s for basketball, is also worthy of consideration.

In baseball, one should consider the BB&T Ballparks in Charlotte and Winston-Salem (capacities – 10,200 and 5,500, respectively), First National Bank Field in Greensboro (capacity – 7,500), Durham Bulls Athletic Park (capacity – 10,000) or the new Segra Stadium (capacity – 4,786) in Fayetteville.

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With these facilities mentioned, now is the opportunity to move all regional championship events to neutral sites. If you have teams within a reasonable, yet equidistant distance from a college site, it makes perfect sense to play the regional championship game at that site. For example in the far west, 1A power Murphy and Robbinsville are perennial football contenders. Should they meet in the 1A Western Regional Championship game, move their regional site to nearby E.J. Whitmire Stadium on the campus of Western Carolina University. More closer to home, should Orange and Cedar Ridge make it to the 4A Eastern Regional Championship game, their game could be moved to either Durham County Memorial Stadium or O’Kelley–Riddick Stadium on the North Carolina Central University campus. 

With the pros, there are also cons.

With an extra class, there are some concerns such as:

1)Increased number of split-classification conferences.

Before the explosion in the number of high schools built across North Carolina in the past 20 years, the amount of true conferences (featuring all conference schools in a single classification) was very high. Now, that’s changed. With a 5A class coming into play, we may see very few conferences from one classification. In fact, the only true conferences may be in the major cities.

During the initial phase of the 2013-2017 realignment process, the Association hired Cary-based computer company SAS to perform a rough draft. SAS was directed to compile a list of conferences with at least six and no more than eight schools in a conference. SAS was also instructed to only make true conferences and no split conferences.

The result was mixed. Schools in and around the major cities could afford to have a full conference, while schools in more rural areas were driving great distances. For example, Cedar Ridge and Orange were placed in a 3A conference with East Chapel Hill, Eastern Alamance, Northern Vance, Southern Durham, and Oxford (J.F.) Webb. With a total drive of 65 miles from Mebane to Henderson, this conference was viable.

The inverse of this was a 4A western conference featuring Alexander Central, Lake Norman (Charlotte), McDowell, T.C. Roberson (Asheville), South Caldwell, and Watauga. In this conference, every road game was at least an hour’s drive away. The shortest from South Caldwell to Watauga at 38 miles or 1 hour away, the longest from Asheville to Mooresville at 126 miles or 2 hours, 4 minutes, and others in-between. 

Because of this and other similar situations, the Association nixed this idea.

But with a new class on the horizon, a true conference will become at a novelty. I do hope that with an abundance of split conferences that the split will only be of the classifications above and/or below. For example, 5A-4A, 4A-3A, 3A-2A, and 2A-1A. 

2)Increased travel during playoffs, causing an increase in fuel costs.

As mentioned in the previous point, fuel costs may go up. For small counties with limited budgets, bus fuel for extra-curricular activities will be at a premium. 

This was especially true when teams from opposite ends of the state met in the first round of the football playoffs. Some examples come to mind:

2006 1A West Quarterfinal: North Duplin at Cherokee – 366 miles; or 5 hours, 46 minutes.

2006 1A West First Round: North Duplin at Rosman – 353 miles; or 5 hours, 26 minutes.

2003 1AA West First Round: (Newton Grove) Hobbton at Cherokee – 351 miles; or 5 hours, 22 minutes.

2004 2A West First Round: South Columbus at Avery County – 276 miles; or 4 hours, 46 minutes.

2005 1AA West First Round: (Newton Grove) Midway at Avery County – 239 miles; or 4 hours, 11 minutes.

While these instances were primarily in the 1A and 2A divisions, I feel this could become a norm if there are not enough qualified teams. But hopefully with a reduced amount of teams in state tournaments, this would be a rare occurrence. In any event, the Association should never loosen standards to allow inferior teams to play in the state playoffs.

3)Increased classification appeals based upon geography.

At the recent NCHSAA Annual Meeting that prompted the new 5A class, Waynesville’s Tuscola High School (Average Daily Membership – 950) appealed to the NCHSAA in regards to its’ realignment as a 3A school. Citing a drop in enrolment and appealing the original ruling as a result of “irregularities and a lack of due process in the appeals process”, Tuscola asked to be reclassified as a 2A school like its fellow Haywood County school, Pisgah (Average Daily Membership – 968). Tuscola needed a two-thirds majority to overturn the original ruling, but fell 28 votes short. As of this writing, Haywood County Schools is pondering to accept the ruling or to file a legal challenge.

I can’t say that I blame Tuscola in appealing. But I do wonder why 28 other schools didn’t vote for them knowing their issues. Anywho, this could happen more frequently as the any new schematics that will dictate a school’s classification. If a school has dwindling numbers as a result of graduations, dropouts, transfers, etc., why couldn’t a school reclassify? There has to be a way for this to happen if major events take place. 

In my draft, Cedar Ridge is the third-least populated school in the 4A class, based on the 2017 ADM figures. It’s conceivable that Cedar Ridge could go to 4A or 3A depending on the ADM in 2022. Should a ruling be made that Orange County Schools and Cedar Ridge High School doesn’t like, they could appeal. I find it hard to keep a school in a classification, especially when a school has a large drop in attendance, putting its enrolment at the same level as the classification below them. 

CONCLUSION

We all knew this day would come at some point. But as North Carolina continues to grow, so will the NCHSAA. And as the NCHSAA grows, the bloated, yet painful tales that plagued the Association over the last 20 years should never happen again. As the times continue to change, so must the NCHSAA if they want to have the best high school competition in the Land – even if that means expansion, yet again.

When I was in the 7th grade and still a member of the Scouts, I was doing some work for the Personal Management merit badge. As I worked on completing the typical worksheets that those familiar with scouting know all too well, one of the requirements jumped out at me, and quite frankly, it’s the only thing I really remember about that badge: “choose a career you might want to enter after high school or college graduation” and “research the limitations of your anticipated career and discuss what you have learned about qualifications such as education, skills, and experience.” Me being me, my career of choice was, of course, broadcasting. Little did I know at the time, that the couple of hours I spent working on that assignment would be the beginning of my attempt to fulfill a lifelong dream.

Summer, 2017. I just received my driver’s license and could finally stopelying on my parents and my older friends to cart me around. Armed with a 2006 Honda Accord and a passion for sports, I walked into the News of Orange County office to see if they would be willing to take me on as an intern to report on Cedar Ridge’s upcoming football season. Then-editor Adam Powell along with soon-to-be editor Charlotte Wray took a chance; I was so grateful they did. I’d finally have my first experience in the field.

After a full season of doing photography, game write-ups, and interviews, primarily covering football and basketball, a new opportunity arose. Adam departed from the NOC for another job. Charlotte was running the paper almost by herself when, in mid 2018, the man arrived that would give me that opportunity I had been looking for for quite some time. My chance to begin play by play broadcasting had arrived. That man was Jeff Hamlin.

The first interaction I ever had with Jeff was not face to face–as a matter of fact, I pitched the idea of me starting to do play by play in the summer of 2018 via email. And without ever actually seeing the guy once in my life, I was given the opportunity to start broadcasting Cedar Ridge’s JV football games that fall.

My first shot came during the 3rd week of August. One problem–a family vacation in Lake Lure had me 4 hours from Cedar Ridge’s press box. I knew what I needed to do. I left the mountains to make my long awaited broadcasting debut, to turn around and make the drive back after the final whistle. Now, that debut did not exactly go as I had planned. I was one, a nervous wreck, and two, made some poor wardrobe choices. Being a strong believer in first impressions, I wore khakis and a button down to the game. It was about 90 degrees outside, plus at least 5 more in the press box. So there I was sweating bullets, trying to decode the hieroglyphics of what is probably the worst roster that had ever been uploaded to MaxPreps for the opposing Southeast Guilford Falcons. Not to mention, I was a dreadful broadcaster at that point, and anyone who listened to me then and still listens to me now, it’s obvious that I have come a long way.

While football progressed into basketball season everything was going swimmingly, I loved what I was doing and it seemed like nothing could stop me. Until it *almost* came crashing down (pun intended.)

En route to do play by play for an Orange basketball game at Northern Guilford in Greensboro, I managed to get myself into a three car wreck, totaling the aforementioned 2006 Honda Accord. This was certainly my lowest point of the athletic year, but my parents continued to support me in my efforts, despite my atrocious driving skills. Without the support network I have had at home from my parents and my sister who let me borrow her car in the interim as a means of transportation, the amount of basketball games we covered here at HillsboroughSports would have been significantly reduced.

But from the low points of my car accident, to my personal favorite moment I had the privilege of calling during Cedar Ridge’s 11-inning thriller in the first round of the 3A softball state playoffs that was capped off by Tionna Carter’s walk off single. I have had the honor to be able to say, there was not a single moment I spent calling games in which I did not enjoy being there.

This year has been the best year of my life so far, and for that I have a lot of people to thank. My parents, Jay and Amy Campbell for continuing their support of my broadcasting dreams even when I do miss dinner seemingly every other night. To my sister, Cailin Campbell, for even though she has never listened to a full broadcast of any one game I have called, is always willing to lend her support. To two of the best teachers I have ever had in Mr. Joshua Paterni and Mr. Roger Pena for their letters of recommendation to assist me in getting into my dream college. To Adam Powell and Charlotte Wray, for taking a chance on a 16 year old kid who just wanted to write about football. To all of the listeners over the airwaves, while I haven’t had the honor of being able to meet the majority of you, just know that I appreciate each and every one of you for lending me your ear, even if it was just for one game. Last but not least, I am ever so grateful to Jeff Hamlin, without whom I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to enjoy this year with all of you, nor the opportunity to have my first job that I have truly enjoyed doing every single minute of it.

With that, I will sadly be unable to broadcast games to the capacity I did this year while I continue my studies in Broadcast and Digital Journalism at Syracuse University in the fall. I will certainly be on the airwaves on occasion if given the opportunity while I’m back home on breaks, but I will miss having two or three nights a week where I get to go talk about sports without anyone telling me they’re tired of hearing it.

So let’s not call it goodbye Hillsborough, let’s just call it a see you later. This town, this website, and these people will always have a special place in my heart, and thank you again for joining me on this journey this year. As I say at the end of every broadcast “thank you all for listening tonight, this is Curran Campbell, signing off.”

The final Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week for the 2018-19 academic year is freshman Caroline Fowlkes. On May 17 at the 3A State Track & Field Championships at North Carolina A&T University, Fowlkes tied the school record in the pole vault when she cleared ten feet. She finished ninth overall. Last summer, Fowlkes moved to Hillsborough from Alabama. She comes from a family of pole vaulters. Her mother competed at the University of Florida, while her father was an athlete at the University of South Alabama. Fowlkes had four first place finishes during indoor track & field season last winter. Fowlkes’ classmate, Susan Smith, also qualified for the state championships and joined Caroline for this interview. 

Landon Riley: The 2017 Orange High graduate continues to flourish as a middle reliever at Liberty University. Over the weekend, Liberty won the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament in Conrad Park in DeLand, Florida. In a double-elimination tournament, Liberty played six games in a span of five days. After losing to Jacksonville 9-6 in ten innings on Thursday, the Flames reeled off four straight wins for their first-ever Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament Championship. In Saturday’s 5-2 win over Jacksonville, Riley earned his 2nd win of the season, replacing starter Garrett Price in the fifth inning. With Liberty needing a long relief effort to save up its pitching, Riley entered the game with Liberty trailing 2-0. He delivered four-and-one-thirds shutout innings. Liberty responded by scoring all five of its runs in the sixth inning for a 5-2 win and advance to the championship. The Flames defeated the host team, Stetson, twice to take home the title. Hours after the Jacksonville win, Liberty defeated Stetson 6-3 on Saturday, then beat the Hatters on Sunday 4-3.

It was Liberty’s first conference championship since 2013. On Monday, Liberty was placed in the Chapel Hill Regional of the NCAA Tournament. The Flames will face Tennessee on Friday night at 7 o’clock inside Boshamer Stadium. The top-seed in the Chapel Hill Regional is ACC Champion UNC, who will face UNC Wilmington on Friday afternoon to open the weekend. Tennessee defeated Liberty 7-1 on February 26 in Knoxville. Liberty is 7-3 against ACC teams this season, including two wins over Duke and Virginia Tech, and another against UNC.

Riley, a sophomore, now has 21 appearances this season. He is 2-0 with a 2.51 ERA with one save in 32.1 innings. 

Jamar Davis: Less than a year after graduating from Orange High, Davis has qualified for the National Track & Field Championships as a member of N.C. State. On Saturday in the NCAA East Preliminary in Jacksonville, FL, Davis set the personal record on his second attempt in the triple jump. Davis’ leap of 51-feet, five inches ranks eighth all-time in N.C. State history. It earned him his fourth top-ten finish in the triple jump during an event this season. The NCAA Championships will be held June 5-7 in Austin, TX. 

Brad Debo: Another 2017 Orange High graduate, Debo had a two-run single in the top of the ninth innings of N.C. State’s 6-5 win over Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament at Durham Bulls Athletic Park on Thursday night. The win ensured the Wolfpack would advance to the ACC Semifinals. Against the Demon Deacons, Debo went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs, including a RBI double in the 7^thinning. In Saturday’s 9-2 loss to Georgia Tech, Debo went 1-for-1 with three walks. The Wolfpack has made the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time in ten seasons. On Friday, they will face Campbell in the Greenville Regional at Clark-LeClair Stadium. The other half of the regional matches up East Carolina against Quinnipiac. The Wolfpack defeated the Camels 10-1 on February 27 in Buies Creek, but the Camels edged the Wolfpack 5-3 on May 7 in Raleigh. 

In 57 games this season, Debo is hitting .242 with four home runs and 39 RBIs. 

Marvin Jones: The Cedar Ridge graduate recently completed his sophomore season with the North Carolina Central Track and Field team. On May 2-4, Jones finished 4^thin the high jump in the MEAC Track & Field Championships. On May 12, Jones finished first in the high jump in the Mount Olive Final Qualifier with a leap of 2.04 meters. Jones had four first place finishes in the high jump this season and was named the MEAC Field Athlete of the Week on March 21. 

A long trip down east paid off for the Cedar Ridge softball team on Friday night. The Red Wolves defeated West Carteret 6-3 to advance to the 3rd round of the 3A State Playoffs. Tori Dalehite blasted a two-run homer in the 3rd inning. Takia Nichols drilled her team-high eighth home run of the season in the 4th. Tionna Carter laced a two-run double in the sixth with two out. Senior Kara Wagoner lined a RBI single in the 1st inning to score Taylor Ruhl. Kymberlie Thacker made several big plays at the plate and didn’t conceded a wild pitch. Pitcher Taylor Barnes earned her 18th win of the season, the most by any Cedar Ridge pitcher in school history. The Red Wolves won’t have to travel nearly as far for its next state playoff game. They will take a 10-minute drive to Mebane on Tuesday night for a showdown against Eastern Alamance, the Mid State Conference Champions. You can hear that game on Hillsboroughsports.com at 6:25.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is sprinter Zach Crane. On Saturday, Crane teamed with Vaughan LaNier, Brandon Garcia and Connor Blankford to finish 8th in the 4×800 relay at the 3A Mideast Regionals at Southern Lee High School in Sanford. Earlier this season, Crane finished 2nd in the 3,200 meters during a meet at Northern Durham, crossing the finish line at 11:52.1. Crane has been a member of Cedar Ridge’s 4×800 relay team for two consecutive years. He also has been a member of the Cedar Ridge indoor track team. Earlier this season, he set a new personal best in the 1,600 meters during the Big 8 Championships at Southern Durham High School.

In the longest playoff game in Cedar Ridge softball history, senior shortstop Tionna Carter laced a single to centerfield to score Taylor Ruhl in the bottom of the 11th inning to push the Red Wolves past West Johnston 4-3 on Tuesday night at Red Wolves Territory in the opening round of the 3A State Softball Playoffs. Carter’s single ended a long defensive stalemate where neither team scored for eight consecutive innings. The Red Wolves advance to Friday, where they will face West Carteret in Morehead City. Last season, the Red Wolves defeated West Carteret 10-0 in the 2nd round of the 3A State Playoffs in Hillsborough.