Orange Men’s Lacrosse

The Orange lacrosse team won in the opening round of the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs on Monday night, defeating Terry Sanford 17-1. It was a big night for sophomores Joe Cady and Jake Wimsatt. Cady came away with five points, including a hat trick. Cady’s goal in the third period put Orange ahead 15-0. He also assisted on two goals by Brantly Porterfield in the second period. Wimsatt won every face off that he took in the game and scored a goal to open the second quarter. Wimsatt also assisted on Cady’s opening goal in the first quarter. Next up for Orange will be Northwood, who defeated the Panthers 17-6 on March 8. Wednesday’s game will be at Auman Stadium and will be the first time that Orange has ever hosted a second round playoff game.

Late in Monday’s win, a player wearing #40 for Orange found his way into the game. On the broadcast, Hillsboroughsports.com play-by-play man Jeff Hamlin didn’t have a #40 in his roster, so the player was dubbed “The Midnight Rider” on the broadcast. This was based off an angle from 1987 NWA Wrestling featuring Dusty Rhodes. In the aftermath of Monday’s game, the identity of the Midnight Rider was unveiled as Bryce Graham, who joined us for this interview. The revelation of the Midnight Rider in 2021 was much more sensical than the 1987 version.

Just days before the corona-versary, there was a reminder of what it was like to live again.

It came at Auman Stadium in the waning moments of the Orange lacrosse team’s thrilling comeback against stingy Chapel Hill, who led 9-4 with 8:54.

In a span of seven minutes and 25 seconds, Orange scored four goals, as many as they had scored in the first three quarters against the Tigers. With Orange in possession on a man advantage, the crowd rose to its feet at Auman Stadium and started to applaud as the Panthers tried to tie the game.

Orange mustered two shots, both of which missed Chapel Hill goalkeeper William Gunderson. The Tigers held on to win 9-8.

Ordinarily, that would have ended the night on a dour note. But not this night.

The Orange crowd, many of whom parents of players who wondered if they would be a season at all, stood and applauded some more. They savored a moment after a desolate, isolated year where moments of true emotion gave way to living in a vacuum.

Coming up tonight, the Orange men’s lacrosse team will look to make another memorable moment when it hosts its first state playoff game since 2017. The Panthers, who clinched the Conference 9 Championship on March 4, will face Terry Sanford in the opening round of the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs.

Since the program started in 2008, Orange has never won a state playoff game at home. There have been two playoff wins on the road, most recently at Northside-Jacksonville in 2019.

Cedar Ridge also made the field of 32. The Red Wolves will travel to face East Chapel Hill, the champions of Conference 10, at Dave Thaden Stadium. The Red Wolves’ regular season ended with a valiant effort in a 7-3 loss to Chapel Hill at Culton-Peerman Stadium on Thursday.

Orange received a #2 seed in the bracket released on Saturday morning. The winner of Orange/Sanford will face either Northwood or Swansboro on Wednesday. Last Monday, Northwood hammered Orange 17-6 in Pittsboro, the Panthers’ most lopsided loss of the season.

That’s what made the Chapel Hill comeback so important for Orange coach Chandler Zirkle, now in his fourth season. After being drubbed by the Chargers, Zirkle wanted to see if his team could stand toe-to-toe against one of the traditional powers in North Carolina lacrosse.

“I know a lot of the Chapel Hill players and they’re a really good team,” Zirkle said. “We have a really young team with nine seniors who are really talented. Then we have a bunch of freshmen and sophomores who didn’t get to play a junior varsity season. They’re really having to play with us right now at a really have level. Just getting back to this point was really good.”

Of interest for Orange against Terry Sanford is who will be goalkeeper? Last week, Zirkle convinced Chase Hawkins to come out of a self-imposed retirement. Hawkins, who earned the win in net against Northside-Jacksonville two years ago, played admirably against Chapel Hill before getting injured in the third quarter. Malachi Bolton had to finish the game.

Cedar Ridge was tied 3-3 with Chapel Hill at halftime on Thursday night. The Red Wolves leading scorer, junior Roman Oguntoyinbo, scored two goals and assisted on a tally by Holden Neal. But Chapel Hill’s 10-man ride proved to be too much for the Red Wolves to overcome in the second half.

Red Wolves goalkeeper Aiden Kehoe kept the Tigers scoreless in the first quarter, even though Chapel Hill dominated possession.

Cedar Ridge received an #11 seed. The winner of East-Cedar Ridge will face either Jacksonville or Vance Charter. Last week, the Red Wolves defeated Vance Charter on its Senior Night, which clinched 2nd place in Conference 9.

Monday’s game against East Chapel Hill will be Cedar Ridge’s first postseason appearance since 2018, when the Red Wolves traveled to J.H. Rose.

“My guys busted their butts out there,” said Red Wolves Coach Patrick Kavanaugh after the Chapel Hill game on Thursday. “Aiden played a heck of a game. That was one of the best defensive performances we’ve had in the last four or five years. We’ve had some pretty good defensive performances, but we were excellent against Chapel Hill. We can be proud of that. We’ve got some skill, but we got worn down. Nothing we saw from them surprised us. They played to their strengths.”

Braden Homsey: Now a junior for the Ferrum College wrestling team, Homsey competed in the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Championships at Xtreme Arena in Coralville, Iowa on Friday. Wrestling at 197 pounds, Homsey opened with a 16-1 technical fall victory over Greensboro College’s Khalil Belk. In the round of 16, Homsey dominated Scott Anderson of Elmhurst 12-2. In the quarterfinals, Cody Baldridge edged Homsey 3-2. In the consolation round, Logan Hagerbaumer of Millikin University defeated Homsey 13-9. Ferrum’s schedule was greatly impacted by the pandemic with only two dual matches. On February 6, Homsey won his senior night match against Shenandoah via forfeit. Homsey ended the year 6-2.

Adam Chnupa: After nearly upsetting the #1 ranked team in the Football Championship Subdivision on March 6, the Elon football team had a disappointing 38-14 loss to Richmond at Rhodes Stadium on Saturday. Chnupa had a tackle for the Phoenix, who fell to 1-3, 0-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Bryse Wilson: In his second spring training outing for the Atlanta Braves, Wilson threw three innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates last Tuesday at CoolToday Park in Sarasota, FL. He surrendered two runs, both earned, on four hits. Wilson struck out four and walked one in a no decision. Pittsburgh took a 10-1 win.

Phillip Berger: The winningest pitcher in Cedar Ridge history started for Division III William Peace in a 3-2 loss to Brevard in the second game of a doubleheader on Friday. He faced 18 batters over four innings with six strikeouts. He surrendered two runs off four hits in a no decision. Peace is 8-7 at will open play in the USA South Athletic Conference against Pfeiffer on Thursday.

Cooper Porter: The former Orange High utility man continues to play for the Pensacola State Pirates. In a doubleheader against Delgado Community College on March 6, Porter went 1-for-4 in a 9-2 loss for the Pirates. Porter started at 2nd base in the nightcap, which Pensacola won 2-1. Porter went 0-for-2. Porter has played in six games for Pensacola State.

Mia Davidson: Ole Miss took both games against #23 Mississippi State at the Ole Miss Softball Complex in Oxford, Mississippi over the weekend. In the Rebels 4-1 win on Sunday, Davidson went 2-for-3. On Saturday, where Ole Miss won 6-0, Davidson went 0-2.

Montana Davidson: Montana started both games at third base for Mississippi State against Ole Miss. She went hitless on both days. The Bulldogs are 15-7, 0-2 in the Southeastern Conference.

Tori Dalehite: The UNC Greensboro softball team opened Southern Conference action by taking the series against the College of Charleston at UNC Greensboro Softball Stadium over the weekend. Dalehite was a pinch runner in the opening game of Saturday’s doubleheader, a 9-1 Spartan victory. UNCG has now won 10 of its last 11.

Grace Andrews: Once again, Andrews faced her former Orange High teammate Jaden Hurdle when Andrews’ Catawba Valley Community College Red Hawks faced Patrick Henry Community College at Highland Recreation Center in Hickory on Sunday. Catawba Valley swept the doubleheader. In the second game, Andrews drilled a two-run homer to left center in the second inning, her fourth dinger of the year. Andrews opened the game with a sacrifice fly RBI to score leadoff batter Ashlyn Parsons. Andrews went 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs and two runs scored in a 17-8 win. The Red Hawks also took the opener 6-5, where Andrews went 0-for-3, r-3, but she knocked in Parons on another sacrifice fly in the 5th inning to put the Red Hawks ahead 3-2.

On Saturday, Catawba Valley swept Surry County Community College 5-1 and 11-3 in six innings in Hickory. In the opener, Andrews went 2-for-3 with an RBI in the third inning. Andrews also doubled in the first inning. In the nightcap, Andrews finished 2-for-3 with an RBI. In the first inning, Andrews singled to third to score Alleigh Himes. After she reached on a fielder’s choice in the third inning, Andrews scored on an error. In the fifth, Andrews singled to left. Catawba Valley has won six in a row and is 12-5 overall, 5-2 in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association.

Jaden Hurdle: Hurdle started at first base for Patrick Henry Community College in the opener against Catawba Valley on Sunday.

Dylan Boyer: The Division II Queen’s University men’s lacrosse team dominated Mars Hill 20-12 at Mears Stadium in Mars Hill on Saturday. Boyer assisted on three goals for the Royals, who have beaten the Lions five straight times. Boyer also had two shots, both on net. Queens improves to 3-2, 3-0 in the South Atlantic Conference.

Landon Riley: Coming off a sweep of UCF, the Liberty baseball team relied on former Orange star Landon Riley to finish out a victory over #18 North Carolina at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill on Tuesday night. Riley entered the game in the bottom of the ninth inning with the Flames leading the Tar Heels 8-7. After hitting UNC’s Danny Serretti, Riley got Tyler Causey to fly out to left field for the final out of the game. Liberty improved to 7-5. Riley has recorded a save in three of Liberty’s last four games. He has not allowed a run in six relief appearances this season. The Flames host North Alabama in Lynchburg, VA for a weekend series starting Friday.

Mia Davidson: Davidson hit a home run for the #23 Mississippi State softball team in its 10-4 win against Alabama State at Barbara Williams field in Montgomery, AL on Tuesday. For Davidson, it was her 58th career home run, tying her for 9th place in Southeastern Conference history. She also recorded her 150th career RBI in the process. She’s the fifth player in school history to reach that mark. Davidson finished 1-for-5 with 3 RBIs and two runs scored.

Montana Davidson: The Mississippi State third baseman went 1-for-3 against the Hornets with a double. She scored in the 2nd inning off a triple by Anna Kate Segars. Mississippi State has won six in a row.

Jalin Jones: The Division III Pfeiffer men’s lacrosse team defeated Ferrum College 16-8 on Sunday at W.B. Adams Stadium in Ferrum, VA. Jones, a former Orange High midfielder, scooped up three ground balls for the Falcons, who improved to 2-1.

Kayla Hodges: Because of the pandemic, college women’s soccer season will be contested during the spring this year. Last Friday, the Elon Phoenix defeated Division III Mount Olive 2-0 at Rudd Field in Elon. Kayla Hodges, the former Orange midfielder, started her junior season by starting for Elon. She had a shot on goal. The Phoenix will play its Colonial Athletic Association conference opener against UNC Wilmington at home on Saturday.

Taylin Jean: The Division II Limestone women’s soccer team started its season with a 2-1 loss to Newberry. Taylin Jean, the 2019 Big 8 Conference Goalkeeper of the Year at Cedar Ridge, made her season debut in the Saints’ 1-0 win over Queens last Thursday. Jean preserved the win after she replaced starter Katie Maher in the 64th minute. Jean made two saves as Limestone improved to 1-1.

Brittany Daley: Former Cedar Ridge centerback Brittany Daley started her junior season at Division III Greensboro College last month. The Pride are off to a 3-0 start. Daley has started each game, including a 2-0 win over William Peace in the season opener at Pride Field on February 13. Greensboro defeated North Carolina Wesleyan 2-0 at Scalf Stadium in Rocky Mount on February 21. Two days later, Greensboro defeated Averett University 1-0 in overtime. The victory over the Cougars was the 40th game in Daley’s Greensboro career. The Pride will face Methodist in Fayetteville on Saturday.

Jordan Rogers: Former Orange High soccer star Jordan Rogers has started her junior season for the Division III William Peace women’s soccer team. She started in the Pacers’ season-opening victory over Shaw 3-2 at WRAL Soccer Park in Raleigh on February 10. Rogers also started in the aforementioned loss to Greensboro College, where she fired her first shot on goal of the season. Peace defeated Averett 4-0 for its first USA South Athletic Conference victory of the season at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary on February 21. Rogers was credited with a shot against the Cougars. North Carolina Wesleyan defeated Peace 2-1 on February 27, a game where Rogers started and had another shot on goal. Rogers also started in losses to Meredith and Davidson.

Bailey Lucas: The Division III Meredith volleyball team started its season with a doubleheader against Averett on March 6. Lucas, a former Orange star now in her junior season with the Avenging Angels, started both matches. In the opening 3-1 loss to the Cougars, Lucas had 26 assists, two kills, and nine digs. Meredith won the second match 3-0, where Lucas tallied four kills, 23 assists and three digs.

HENDERSON—One week after his father claimed his 200th win as a lacrosse coach, Chandler Zirkle has his own coaching milestone now.

Zirkle, in his third season, has led the Orange lacrosse team to its first conference championship. It came during the winter, an anomaly for a spring sport. The fact it was the rainiest winter across the Triangle in 37 years only added to the unpredictability, forcing four conference games to be canceled.

On Thursday night, Orange defeated Vance Charter 16-2 to win the Conference 9 Championship at Jaguar Stadium at Vance County Middle School, formerly the home of Northern Vance High School.

It is Orange’s first-ever conference championship in lacrosse. It’s also Orange’s first outright conference championship in any sport since February 2019, when the Panther wrestling team won the Big 8 Championship (Orange’s softball team shared the Big 8 title with Cedar Ridge in May 2019).

Orange (6-1, 4-0) will make the state playoffs for the third straight time under Zirkle. In 2019, the Panthers defeated Northside-Jacksonville for its first postseason victory in four years.

Last year’s team almost certainly would have made the state playoffs, but the season was halted because of the pandemic with Orange sporting a 6-0 record, the best start in school history.

Last week, Zirkle’s father Franklin captured his 200th win at Leesville Road High. Franklin Zirkle, who has served as a college and high school official, captured the 2006 North Carolina Lacrosse Association State Championship at East Chapel Hill, several years before the North Carolina High School Athletic Association sanctioned men’s and women’s lacrosse as a sport.

Orange played its second game in as many days. On Wednesday, they rolled past Northern Durham 14-0 at Auman Stadium in Hillsborough.

Facing Vance Charter for the first time didn’t make for a dramatic matchup. After Orange rolled out to a 12-0 lead by halftime, leading scorer Ryan Merrill played sparingly in the second half. Merrill notched the first goal when he scooped up a ground ball on the thick grass at Jaguar Stadium and tossed it over the shoulder of Knights’ sophomore goalkeeper Lucas Satterwhite.

Merrill, who scored six goals against Cedar Ridge last Wednesday, finished with four goals and an assist. Cy Horner scored the final two goals of the first quarter, including one off a feed from Merrill to send Orange ahead 6-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Caleb Davis also had a hat trick for the Panthers. Davis assisted on goals from freshman Connor Kruse and Merrill in the second quarter, a frame where Orange added six more goals.

Longstick midfielder Duncan Grant tallied a goal in the first quarter. Kruse added two goals and an assist.

The entire second half was played with a running clock. Tigh Metheny scored on the doorstep off an assist from Joshua Crabtree for the Panthers’ first goal of the third quarter. Jake Wimsatt got a goal off an assist from Metheny.

Joe Cady and Noah Cunnngham scored for Orange in the fourth quarter.

Gavyn Sandlin registered both of Vance Charter’s goals in the fourth quarter.

While Orange’s run to the Conference 9 championship was filled with blowouts, Zirkle has been in the same boat as many other coaches in various sports dealing with defections because of the unusual sports calendar forced by the pandemic. Orange’s top goalkeeper, Ethan Fortner, hasn’t played lacrosse this winter because he’s practing for football. At times, Orange has played Katie Wolter, the younger sister of former Orange goalkeeper Tyson Wolter, between the pipes.

Freshman Kruse and Jace Womble, who played at Stanford Middle School last season, are getting regular minutes.

With the regular season set to expire next Friday, Zirkle spent part of this week arranging non-conference games to prepare his squad for the 3A/2A/1A/ State Tournament. The Panthers will travel to Northwood on Monday, then host perennial power Chapel Hill on Wednesday. There’s a possibility for a game against East Forsyth if everything aligns correctly.

For now, the Panthers can rest knowing that, in two weeks, they will host a state playoff game for the first time since 2016.

The Orange men’s lacrosse team captured its first conference championship in program history on Thursday night. The Panthers dominated Vance Charter 16-1 at Jaguars Stadium in Henderson to finish Conference 9 play 4-0. Orange accomplished winning the league despite losing some of the top players in program history last season, including Wyatt Jones and Caleb Jones. Freshman Connor Kruse, who played at Stanford last season, finished with two goals and an assist. Cy Horner finished with two goals. Because of the rainiest winter since 1984 in the Triangle, Orange has had numerous postponements and cancellations this season. Next week, the Panthers will play two non conference games to prepare for the 3A/2A/1A State Tournament. They will start with Northwood on Monday. Orange will also face Chapel Hill, and possibly East Forsyth if Mother Nature will cooperate.