Orange Men’s Lacrosse

Photo by Tracy Thompson

The Orange lacrosse team is off to its best start ever and won its Conference 9 opener decisively.

And now it may all be over.

That was a reality that the team disguised well during its 15-0 rout of Roxboro Community School in Person County on Friday night. The game started roughly five hours before the suspension of the spring sports season, mandated by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association, would go into effect because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Of course, no one on the field wanted the season to end Friday, but there sure was a sense of finality.

Orange Coach Chandler Zirkle was showered with a gatorade bath, hopefully with sanitized water, after the running clock ran out. Shortly afterwards, Roxboro Community School players gathered for two team photos–one for posterity, the other with as many zany faces as possible.

If the theme of the night could be summed up with one word, perhaps it wouldn’t be “finality” as much as “uncertainty.”

“It might be the off-season now,” said Orange senior Noah Davis, who finished with a goal and an assist. “We treated tonight as senior night and allowed a lot of seniors to get playing time. We were all a little bit upset about the news since we’re doing well this season. We think we can do well in the playoffs.”

This was Orange’s conference opener, after all. Openers aren’t supposed to end seasons.

“We really don’t know what’s going on,” said Orange senior Wyatt Jones, who has committed to play at Mercer. “We don’t know if we’re going to play anymore. We were just trying to make the most out of it tonight.”

If it was the end, Orange went out having fun, just as Zirkle wanted it.

After scoring two goals, Jones started playing with a longstick for the first time in his varsity career. By the fourth quarter, he was the goalkeeper. Jones was the final player to touch the ball in the game and joked he should have received credit for a save. Dylan Boyer and Caleb Davis, two of Orange’s top scorers, also took turns with the long pole.

All three of Orange’s goalkeepers played on the offensive end. There was even a goalkeeper-to-goalkeeper connection on Orange’s 13th goal when Chase Hawkins scored off an assist from Ethan Fortner. In fact, Forter, who earned the win in Wednesay’s thrilling game against J.H. Rose, had two assists.

Hawkins earned the win in the net. Malachi Bolton played most of the second half between the pipes.

Orange’s Seth Wolter scored the opening goal on an assist from Seth Davis with 9:32 remaining in the first quarter. Cy Horner assisted on consecutive goals from Boyer and Jones to boost Orange’s lead to 3-0. Davis, Jake Wimsatt and Nate Kaltz all scored goals in the first quarter.

Tom Wileman, Ryan Fedor and Jake Ray also scored for Orange. Hornet finished with four points, including one goal.

Once the lights were turned off at Roxboro Community School field on Friday night, there were hugs between teammates and coaches. Even though the season is only two weeks old, if this were a movie, it felt appropriate that “The End” would flash on the screen.

Orange’s players just hope it wasn’t the famous final scene.

“We’re one win away from having the best start of any Orange team ever,” Jones said. “It’s kind of sad. But hopefully we’ll play and get to 7-0 and maybe keep going.”

Orange senior midfielder Wyatt Jones played possibly his final game as a Panther on Friday night. Jones scored two goals in Orange’s 15-0 win over Roxboro Community School in Person County. The win puts Orange at 6-0, tying the best start in school history. Jones is the first Orange lacrosse player to sign with a Division I school. In December, Jones signed with Mercer. The North Carolina High School Athletic Association has suspended the spring sports season until April 6, leading to uncertainty whether Orange’s season will continue. The Panthers handled its game with the Bulldogs as senior night. After Jones scored two goals, he started playing as a long-stick midfielder. Then he shifted to goalkeeper, for the first time in his career, in the fourth quarter. Jones was also the starting quarterback for the Orange football team the past two years.

The Orange men’s lacrosse team won its Conference 9 opener against Roxboro Community School 15-0 on Friday night. Now, they hope it’s not the end. Going into the pandemic hiatus, which will last three weeks, Orange is 6-0 for only the second time in school history. Davis, who wrestled this season for Orange at 152 pounds, assisted on the opening goal from Seth Walter. Noah scored Orange’s tenth goal in the second quarter. The Panthers ended the week with three wins in four days. They defeated Heritage on Tuesday and J.H. Rose on Wednesday. Now Orange will spend the next three weeks hoping that their season will continue on April 6, when school will return to session in Hillsborough. For now, Orange is atop Conference 9, tied with Northern Durham at Cedar Ridge at 1-0. Davis was a junior when the Panthers defeated Northside-Jacksonville in the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs last season.

It’s been another strong week for the Orange men’s lacrosse team. The Panthers started the week with a 13-8 win over Heritage in Auman Stadium on Tuesday. Junior Duncan Grant had two goals, but his biggest impact was felt defensively where he created nine turnovers. He also scooped up five ground balls as the Panthers improved to 4-0. On Wednesday, Orange faced its stiffest challenge of the season against J.H. Rose. The Panthers came away with a 12-11 win. Grant also had strong games in Orange’s opening win over Carrboro and a 17-5 victory over Southern Alamance on March 4. Orange will look to match the best start in school history on Friday when they’re scheduled to face Roxboro Community School in Person County. Face off will be at 5 o’clock.

The Orange lacrosse team is off to its best start in the three-year regime of head coach Chandler Zirkle. On Wednesday night at Auman Stadium in Hillsborough, the Panthers held on to defeat J.H. Rose 12-11. The game-winning goal was set up on the combination of Dylan Boyer and Caleb Davis, who have been teammates for three years on Orange as well as the Carolina Hilltoppers summer travel team. With the game tied 8-8, Boyer used a behind the back pass from the end zone. The ball went over the net and landed firmly in the pocket of Davis’ stick, who threw it in the net over the shoulder of the Rampants goalkeeper. Davis finished with three goals, while Boyer had three goals and three assists. Orange is 5-0 and will look to match the best start in school history when they face Roxboro Community School on Friday. It will be the Panthers’ Conference 9 opener.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is lacrosse midfielder Ryan Merrill. Last week, Merrill scored five goals as the Panthers opened its season with a 18-5 win over Carrboro. Merrill added two assists and had seven shots. He also created a turnover and grabbed two ground balls. On Wednesday, Merrill added two more goals as the Panthers defeated Southern Alamance 17-5 in Graham. Merrill tallied nine shots against the Patriots. The Orange lacrosse team is off to a 3-0 start and has outscored opposition 52-14 so far. The Panthers defeated Eastern Alamance 17-4 at Auman Stadium in Hillsborough on Friday night. Orange will return to action against Heritage at Auman Stadium on Tuesday night, then will host J.H. Rose on Wednesday.

Brandon Homsey: As a sophomore, Homsey has qualified for the NCAA Division III Wrestling Tournament. Competing for Ferrum College, Homsey finished third in the NCAA Southeast Regional at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, PA over the weekend. On Friday, Homsey lost his opening match to Washington & Jefferson’s Alex Donahue 3-1 in overtime. That left Homsey needing to win four matches to qualify for the national championships. He started Saturday by pinning Waynesboro University’s Adam Rigney. Homsey earned a 3-0 decision over Jack Bauer of Wilkes University, then rolled past Michael Reinhart of York University 7-1. Homsey received a medical forfeit against McDaniel College’s Anthony Wuest, then won a rematch over Donahue with a 10-0 decision in the third-place match. Homsey is 33-10 with four pins this season.

Landon Riley: The Liberty baseball team combined for its first no-hitter in 20 years when they defeated Marist 6-4 at Worthington Field on Saturday afternoon. Three pitchers participated in the no-no and Riley earned his first victory of the season in relief as the Flames won its fifth straight game. In two innings, Riley faced six batters and struck out three of them. Marist scored four runs on eight walks, three hit batters and an error, but no hits. On Friday, Riley earned his third save as the Flames defeated the Red Foxes 4-3. Riley retired four batters, striking out two and walked one. Liberty has won six in a row. They’re scheduled to host Elon on Tuesday in Lynchburg, VA.

Brad Debo: The #8 N.C. State baseball team swept all three games in the CambriaCollegeClassic at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis over the weekend. On Saturday, the Wolfpack defeated Purdue 6-0. Debo went 1-for-2 with a run scored. It was his only action of the weekend. N.C. State is 11-0.

Phillip Berger: Berger suffered his first loss at William Peace University against Greensboro College on Saturday. The Pride defeated the Pacers 11-8 at Ted Leonard Park in Greensboro. Berger threw two-and-two-thirds innings. He surrendered eight runs on six hits. He walked three and struck out three. Peace falls to 9-3, 1-2 in the USA South Athletic Conference after dropping two of three against the Pride.

Montana Davidson: The Mississippi State softball team won the Alex Wilson Memorial Tournament over the weekend, finishing 5-0 against UAB, Alcorn State, and UT Martin. On Sunday, the Bulldogs swept a doubleheader, beating Alcorn State 9-1 and UT Martin 6-1. Montana went 3-for-5 on the day, including going 2-for-3 against the Skyhawks. It was her second multi-hit game of the year. She tied her career high with four assists against the Braves. She went 1-for-3 with a run scored against UAB in a 16=6 win over the Blazers on Friday.

Mia Davidson: Mia made her first start of the season at third base during Mississippi State’s win over Alcorn State on Saturday. She eventually moved across the diamond to first base for the first time in her college career. Mia went 1-for-4 in Saturday’s game against the Braves, which extended her hitting streak to eight, the longest by any Bulldog this season. The streak was snapped the following day in Sunday’s win over the Braves when Mia went 0-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. On Friday, Mia went 1-for-4 with a double in the win over UAB. Mississippi State is 18-3 . They will host UT Martin on Monday afternoon.

Lauren Cates: The Wake Tech Community College women’s basketball team surprised Louisburg College 87-73 in its regular season finale on Saturday at the Taylor Center in Louisburg. Lauren Cates, a freshman for the Eagles, returned to the starting lineup and scored 16 points off 5-of-9 shooting from the field. Cates was 4-of-6 from three-point range. She also had eight rebounds and three assists as Wake Tech avenged a 14-point loss from January. Wake Tech completed the regular season 18-7. They will travel to the Region 10 Tournament in Martinsville, VA, where they will open against USC Salkehatchie on Thursday night at 6 PM.