Orange High School

Photo by Kim Petrdies

Orange 3, Walter Williams 2: The rain was enough to stop most outdoor sporting events on Monday. But it wasn’t enough to stop Yurim Tapia Mendez.

Orange’s striker had his first career hat trick to lead the Panthers past Walter Williams 3-2 at Springwood Park in Burlington. It was the Panthers second straight win over the Bulldogs and continued Orange’s best start in over a decade. They improved to 6-3, 1-1 in the Central Conference, beating a perennial power that won consecutive league titles in 2021 and 2022.

Mendez now has nine goals through the opening nine games of the season. He started the year by scoring the game-winning goal in Orange’s first-ever victory over Carrboro. In all, Mendez has three game-winning goals this season.

Mendez’s first came off a corner kick that was assisted by senior Joseph Lopez. His second goal was assisted by Brendan McDonald, which put Orange ahead 2-0 in the first half. Mendez completed the hat trick with a tally off a penalty kick.

Lucas Stroud scored in the first half for the Bulldogs, who fell to 6-4-1 overall, 1-1 in the Central Conference. With Orange leading 3-1, sophomore Aurelio Figueroa added a goal for the Bulldogs off an assist from Daniel Angel.

Orange sophomore goalkeeper Hector Garrido made four saves. Orange’s backline of Eben Petrides, Dallas Johnson, Logan Edwards and Jay Parker kept the Bulldogs from tallying a game-tying goal amidst a driving rain onto the turf field in Burlington.

Orange will face Cedar Ridge in the opening leg of the Hillsborough Derby on Thursday night at Panther Soccer Field.

Cedar Ridge 8, Person 0: Sophomore Niko James had his first career hat trick as the Red Wolves won its Central Conference opener in Roxboro last Wednesday.

James, who leads the Red Wolves with seven goals, notched the game-winner as Cedar Ridge improved to 2-3-2 overall. James also had the game-winning goal in the Red Wolves other win on the season against Eno River Academy on September 3.

Freshman Alex Rosales added two goals. He now has three on the season. In a testament to the Red Wolves youth after losing rising senior Dominic McNerney at the last minute, all of Cedar Ridge’s goals were scored by freshmen or sophomores.

Freshman Rodrigo Arellano added his second varsity goal for the Red Wolves. Sophomore Andy Tarija had a goal and an assist. Sawyer Smith, a sophomore, added his first varsity goal. Senior Edwin Huerta, who also wrestles for the Red Wolves, had two assists. Noah Koehler had an assist, as did senior Salomon Hernandez.

Goalkeeper Erik Galunas earned the clean sheet.

Western Alamance 2, Orange 0: Orange tested itself against the very best that the Central Conference had to offer last week and stood toe-to-toe with them. On a night of close calls, Orange couldn’t find one to go its way as they fell to the defending Central Conference champions in its league opener.

Following a scoreless first half, the Warriors earned a penalty kick on a borderline call on the edge of the Orange box with 19:47 remaining in regulation. Noah Barnett opted to go straightaway against Orange goalkeeper Hector Garrido, who made the save. Barnett led the Warrior charge on the rebound and chested the ball into an empty net.

Orange appeared to tie the game with 15:50 remaining when Tapia got the ball in on the goal line, but Warriors goalkeeper Eamon Hipps trapped the ball on the chalk of the goal line.

McNerney, the transfer from Cedar Ridge, added an insurance goal with 12:57 remaining on a gorgeous lead pass from Franky Maya. McNerney now leads Western Alamance with eleven goals.

Not to be outdone, Garrido made another save on a penalty kick in the final minutes of the second half. Garrido, who started Orange men’s basketball season-opener last year, is in his first year as the Panthers starting goalkeeper.

MEBANE–The public address announcer inside Tal Jobe Gymnasium ripped off Michael Buffer and bellowed “Let’s get ready to rumble” to conclude pregame festivities for Orange vs. Eastern Alamance volleyball on Tuesday night.

Orange did most of the rumbling.

The Lady Panthers concluded the first half of its Central Conference schedule with a 3-0 sweep of the Eagles on scores of 25-11, 25-6 and 25-15. It was Orange’s (7-6, 5-1 in the Central Conference) sixth sweep of the year.

Junior Ava Wilkerson finished with 15 kills while outside hitter Aubrey Jordan came away with seven kills. Setter Katie Silcott finished with 27 assists, eleven digs and four kills.

Playing with blowing fans on both ends of the court, Orange didn’t leave any room for suspense early on. The roared out to a 6-1 lead after an ace from sophomore Addison Guentensberger and a kill from Milleka Purcell, who earned her first varsity start. After the Eagles got to within 7-5, Orange took control with an 8-1 run that started when Wilkerson slammed down a spike onto the light brown hardwood off an assist from Silcott. Mariah Poole delivered consecutive aces to put Orange ahead 15-6. Wilkerson had an unassisted kill on set point.

Wilkerson had eight kills in the second set, which started with Orange leading 13-2. It wouldn’t get any closer as Poole delivered two more aces. The Lady Panthers scored the final four points with Wilkerson scoring consecutive kills to close out the set.

Eastern Alamance’s Kayden Manning gave the Eagles its first lead of the night when she scored a block on the opening point of the third set. Orange would easily overcome that with a 7-1 run, which included an ace from Abby Silinski and a kill from Sawyer White. Orange led 16-13 before they closed out the match with nine consecutive points. Guentensberger served Orange out and White had back-to-back kills leading up to match point.

Orange will travel to Western Alamance for a crucial Central Conference match on Thursday night.

Cedar Ridge 3, Roxboro Community School 0: Cedar Ridge honored seniors Charlotte Lowry, Ellie Miller, Alleah Fredrick and Leah Pritchard before sweeping Roxboro Community School on Monday night. The Red Wolves won on scores of 25-19, 25-18 and 25-13 to improve to 9-3 overall.

Junior Ellamarie Perel finished with nine kills, while outside hitter Claire Hargett had eight kills and five digs. Setter Mia Marty finished with eleven digs, 18 assists and four aces.

With Hargett serving, Cedar Ridge scored eleven consecutive points in the opening set to take an 11-1 lead. Hargett had four aces in that run, while Perel had two kills assisted by Marty. Roxboro’s Delayna Welch had consecutive aces during a 5-0 Bulldog run, but Cedar Ridge reeled off seven straight points behind an ace from Miller and a block from Kayla Stoll. Cedar Ridge built its lead up to 23-14 and withstood a late charge by RCS, who got three aces from Welch. Perel scored set point off a feed from Marty.

Hargett had six kills in the second set, where the Red Wolves jumped out to a 5-2 lead. The Bulldogs came back to even the frame at 11-11 after two aces from Cecelia Fitzgerald. Marty delivered consecutive aces to start a 7-1 Red Wolf splurge. Hargett and Fredrick had kills to push the Red Wolves lead to 18-14. Marty scored back-to-back points, including an ace to make it 24-18. An attack by the Bulldogs went wide on set point.

The two teams split the opening ten points in the third set before Cedar Ridge went on a 6-0 run. Hargett scored a block, followed by consecutive aces by Miller that made it 11-5. Pritchard closed out the match with two aces.

Midway through the Central Conference slate, the Red Wolves are in first place at 6-0. They will host Person on Thursday night at Red Wolves Gymnasium.

For the first time this year in the midst of one of the toughest schedules in the state, the Orange volleyball team has won consecutive games. On Tuesday night, the Lady Panthers swept Southern Alamance on scores of 27-25, 25-18 and 25-13. Sophomore Sawyer White finished with eleven kills, 12 digs and four assists as Orange improved to 6-5 overall, 4-1 in the Central Conference. Senior libero Abby Silinski had 19 digs, two assists and two aces. Southern Alamance led most of the first set until Orange tied it at 18 after a block by Aubry Hodges. The Lady Panthers fought off a set point when Poole got a kill off an assist from Katie Silcott, which triggered a 4-1 run to finish the set. Ava Wilkerson gave Orange its first lead of the set off a powerful spike set up by Silcott. Orange would win the set 27-25. Coming up tonight, Orange will venture to Pittsboro to face Seaforth. Wilkerson had 12 kills in the second set, which Orange won 25-18, a set where Silinski had nine kills. Orange wrapped up the match by winning the third set 25-13. Poole had an ace on match point. The Panthers had ten aces against the Patriots. Last year, the Hawks won the Mid-Carolina Conference championship with a 12-0 record and are currently 9-1.

Orange volleyball’s Sawyer White & Abby Silinski discuss sweep of Southern Alamance

For the first time this year in the midst of one of the toughest schedules in the state, the Orange volleyball team has won consecutive games. On Tuesday night, the Lady Panthers swept Southern Alamance on scores of 27-25, 25-18 and 25-13.

The cracks are gone. The fading pine green courts have a bright, vivid shade of new paint. The lighting is bright enough to be see hundreds of yards away from the baseball press box.

Theses are the new Orange High tennis courts, which received renovations at the end of the men’s season in April. After spending the first three-and-half weeks of the season on the road, the Orange women’s tennis team  finally returned home on Monday and continued a stellar season.

The Lady Panthers defeated Eastern Alamance 7-2 in its first match after the reopening of their courts on Monday afternoon. Up to this point, Orange had played matches against in-county rivals Cedar Ridge and Eno River Academy at the Walker Tennis Complex in Mebane.

The last time the tennis complex had been refurbished was 2008. Cracks started to develop across all eight courts.

“It was just time,” said Orange men’s and women’s tennis coach Justin Webb. “For the past four years, the (Orange County) School Board had been looking at redoing the tennis courts. They just wanted to make sure they had the money and the resources to get it done.”

There is also new fencing and new drainage, which clears up some water issues that had been building in recent years. Plus, there’s an expanded walkway that is more handicap accessible. It came in handy on Wednesday night when Orange hosted Western Alamance as the mother of one of the Warriors got to sit comfortably in her wheelchair behind court 1 to watch her daughter’s doubles match.

“She came up and thanked me,” Webb said. “This walkway is big and allows people to get to the end courts. There’s a gate for American Disability Association accessibility. So I think those were some of the big things that needed to be fixed. And we got some new light posts.”

Following its wins over Eastern Alamance and Western Alamance, Orange remains just one game behind Walter Williams for first place in the Central Conference.

In 2022, Orange won its first-ever conference championship in women’s tennis with a heavy array of players who didn’t have tennis as their best sport, but they were stellar athletes. Sydney Rogers, Katelyn Van Mater, Isabel Jones and Makayla Davis were all starters who helped Orange reach the second round of the 3A State Playoffs.

This year, Orange has more multi-sport athletes who are regulars in Webb’s lineup. Molly Kruse, a junior who has played soccer the past two years, has been on Orange’s top doubles team with Shannon Sollars, one of only two seniors on a squad with 21 players.

Against the Eagles, Orange won 8-1, improving to 8-2 overall, 6-1 in the Central Conference. Freshman Kalynn Mason claimed two wins on the night. She defeated Madison Drewery 6-3, 6-4 at #2 singles. Mason teamed with Ellie Wilson to defeat Ryan Tanner and Claire Monroe 8-3. Orange won five singles matches to wrap up the dual match victory before doubles play started.

Wilson, a sophomore, won at #3 singles over Tanner 6-4, 6-2. Junior Oakley Gaddy won at #4 singles over Monroe 6-1, 6-2. Junior Casey Robinson knocked off Jayci White at #5 singles 6-0, 6-0. Adelyn Alvis, who runs track and field for Orange in the spring, won at #6 singles when her opponent retired after one set.

Sollars and Kruse won at #1 doubles over Camila Rosa and Monroe 8-0. At #3 doubles, Kyla Mehl and Alvis defeated White and Areli Silva Flores 8-0.

On Wednesday night, Orange defeated Western Alamance 7-2 to sweep the regular season series for the fourth straight year. The Lady Panthers will face Williams on Monday night in Hillsborough. The Bulldogs are 6-0 in conference play after edging Orange 5-4 on August 21 in Burlington. Williams is 7-0 on the year. Orange is the only team to win four individual matches against the Bulldogs this year.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior running back Ja’ki McDaniels. And the Defensive Player of the Week is linebacker Jayden Medley. On Labor Day weekend, the Orange football team defeated Chapel Hill 21-13. McDaniels had the first 100-yard rushing game of his career, going for 130 yards. He also scored three touchdowns as the Panthers defeated the Tigers for the first time since 2019. McDaniels scored the game-winning touchdown off a short pass from quarterback Hank Nunnery. Coming into this year, there was a hole in the running back position after three-year starter Nate Sorrells graduated to play at Mars Hill College. McDaniels, who had been a linebacker, asked head coach DeVante Pettiford to move to running back. Medley had eight tackles for the Panthers. The most critical defensive play of the night for Orange came when Medley picked off a pass in the first half and returned it 74 yards to the 15-yard line. As Chapel Hill was making a last ditch effort to tie the game, Medley tackled Tigers quarterback Josh Roberson at the 7-yard line on the last play of the game to preserve Orange’s 21-13 win. Medley is also a wrestler for head coach Spenser Poteat during the winter. Orange will travel to Montgomery Central on Friday night.

Orange Panther of the Week: Ja’Ki McDaniels; Defensive Player of the Week Jayden Medley

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior running back Ja’ki McDaniels. And the Defensive Player of the Week is linebacker Jayden Medley. On Labor Day weekend, the Orange football team defeated Chapel Hill 21-13. McDaniels had the first 100-yard rushing game of his career, going for 130 yards.

In a few years, if Orange can maintain its current levels of participation at the junior varsity level, they’ll be better prepared to win a battle of attrition.

It’s the battle that Vance County has dictated against the Panthers over the past two years. At another time, say in 2017, when the varsity roster was at 55 players Orange would have been equipped for the challenge.

On Friday night, with a roster of 29 players (but with a growing junior varsity team), the Vipers gradually worked its way past the Panthers.

Senior Jontavious Nile rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown while Antoine Doyle caught seven passes for 95 yards to lift Vance County over Orange 14-6 at Auman Stadium to ruin the Panthers’ home opener.

The Vipers held Orange to 145 yards total offense and seven first downs, but the Panthers had a chance late because of senior Deandre Brown. A wrecking ball on defense who finished with eleven tackles, Brown also scored Orange’s only touchdown midway through the fourth quarter on a three-yard plunge. Brown jump started the dormant Orange offense and the crowd when he roared up the middle for a 20-yard gain on a 3rd-and-19 from the Vipers 49-yard line. It was Orange’s only 3rd down conversion of the night.

Orange running back Ja’ki McDaniels ran up the gut for 21 yards to break into the Vance County red zone for the first time, leading to Brown’s first touchdown of his senior season.

Before that drive, Orange had been held to 70 yards and four first downs in the opening three quarters simply because the Vance County running game kept Orange’s offense off the field. The Vipers ran 35 plays in the first half. Orange ran 12.

Orange’s Keyshawn Farrington made a stop on Nile on 3rd-and-eight as Vance County went 3-and-out in its opening drive. After Orange couldn’t move the ball on its first series, the Vipers alternated between a spread setup and the old Power-I formation to control the ball on its next drive, a 14-play, 95-yard drive. Quarterback Javion Vines-Holder threw to Andre Perry for 12 yards on a 3rd-and-2, the first of three 3rd-down conversions on the Vipers opening touchdown drive. On a 3rd-and-12 from the Vipers 33-yard line, Vance County went to the perimeter to show off its speed advantage as Vines-Holder tossed a slip screen pass to Perry for 20 yards.

There appeared to be daylight for Orange after brown tackled Nile for one yard on 2nd-and-10. But on 4th-and-7 from the Panther 18-yard line, Nile took a handoff and followed blocks from halfbacks Maurice Jackson and Zion Thornton for an 18-yard touchdown run. Aidan Labra kicked the extra point to put the Vipers ahead 7-0.

The Vipers chewed up the majority of the second quarter clock with a 11-play drive that stalled out at the Orange 5-yard line when Panther linebacker Jayden Medley stopped Symahj Charles for a two-yard gain on 4th-and-3.

After the subsequent Vance County drive died out in Viper territory, punter Ayden Foster fielded the snap while on his knees, giving Orange the ball at the Viper 30-yard line with 38 seconds remaining in the first half. Orange dialed up a double pass that was intercepted by Vines-Holder, who is also a defensive back.

Vance County scored on its opening drive of the second half. Vines-Holder found Doyle on a 3rd-and-17 for 20yards to advance the ball into Orange territory. Vines-Holder hit Doyle again for a 10-yard touchdown pass on a slant.

Following Brown’s touchdown, Orange still had time to get the ball back, but the Vipers successfully ran out the clock with another time-draining drive to improve to 3-0.

Orange (1-2) will make its first-ever trip to Montgomery Central on Friday night. Last year, Orange shut out the Timberwolves 20-0 in Hillsborough.

It was better late than never for the Orange men’s soccer team in its first trip to Northern Durham’s new on-campus facility.

Thanks to some late heroics, the Panthers are now off to its best start since 2010.

After assisting on the game-tying goal in the 81st minute, junior Demetrius Holmes scored the game-winning goal with two minutes remaining in regulation as the Panthers defeated the Knights 2-1 last Wednesday.

After winning its final tuneup before the Central Conference opener, the Panthers are 5-2. Orange last started 5-2 in 2010, when they were a 2A team.

Northern scored its only goal just before halftime. William Mejia chipped in a pass from sophomore Derrick Corea to give the Knights the lead going into halftime.

Holmes scored in first varsity goal on August 28 against Eno River Academy. Brendan McDonald scored evened the game off a feed from Holmes, which was his first varsity assist.

Holmes scored the game-winning goal off a rebound. Sophomore Hector Garrido earned his fifth win, stopping four shots.

Orange has won three in a row going into its conference opener against Western Alamance on Wednesday night in Hillsborough. The Warriors recently added former Cedar Ridge All-Conference midfielder Dominic McNerney to its roster. McNerney has opened the year with eight goals and six assists for the Warriors, who are 6-1.

Cedar Ridge 2, Eno River Academy 0: Four weeks into the season, the Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team hasn’t played a home game and lost its top player to Western Alamance two days before the opener.

Last Tuesday, the Red Wolves found reason to believe when they defeated Eno River Academy 2-0 at soccer.com Soccer Complex in Efland. Niko James, who scored Cedar Ridge’s first goal of the season in a loss to Carrboro, scored the Red Wolves’ first game-winning goal of the season off an assist from Andy Tarija.

Rodrigo Arellano added another goal off an assist from Noah Koehler. Erik Galunas made five saves for his first clean sheet of the season.

Cedar Ridge will start Central Conference play at Person in Roxboro on Wednesday night.