Orange Football

There were plenty of milestones at Auman Stadium on Friday night.

DeVante’ Pettiford officially became the first Black head coach in Orange High football history.

Sydney Rogers became the first female player to score a point in Orange High football history.

Khawan Bobbitt played his final game against Orange, and there’s no one connected with Orange football that will miss him.

Bobbitt, who has played quarterback and running back for South Granville since he was a freshman, scored three touchdowns and as the Vikings used a smothering ball control offense to score the final 26 points and defeat Orange 33-10 on Friday night in Hillsborough.

It was South Granville’s third win over the Panthers since 2019, a year where Bobbitt was a freshman quarterback running the triple option. Bobbitt, who was moved to running back midway through the 2021 season by head coach Mike Hobgood, ran for 132 yards. In three career games against Orange, Bobbitt rushed for 250 yards and factored in on seven touchdowns, six of them on the ground.

Facing an Orange defense with ten new starters, South Granville averaged 8.8 yards per carry and punted once. Senior Sha’king Allah, who alternated with Bobbitt at running back, ran for 129 yards, his second career 100-yard game.

All of which belies the fact that Orange nearly led at halftime following a string of remarkable 4th-down conversions. South Granville scored on its opening possession when quarterback Charlie Vestal found Antoine Doyle for an 11-yard score. To start the second quarter, Orange starting quarterback Ty Walker hit Ja’Ki McDaniels for a 26-yard touchdown pass into the left corner of the end zone. Rogers became the first female player to score a point in Orange football history when she evened the game on an extra point.

After the Panthers forced the only South Granville punt of the game midway through the second quarter, it appeared the subsequent drive would stall out. Following a holding penalty and a sack by the Vikings’ Nehemiah Hunter, Orange faced a 3rd-and-33 from its own 36-yard line. Orange quarterback Hank Nunnery, who alternated with Walker, hit running back Nathan Sorrells for a 20-yard gain to return to the original line of scrimmage. On 4th-and-ten, Nunnery hit Sorrells again out of the backfield for a 17-yard gain for a new set of downs.

Orange converted yet another 4th-and-10 when Nunnery found Sorrells for a 20-yard fade pattern to the South Granville 5-yard line. Orange, which struggled in short-yardage situations, lost one yard on the next three running plays, leaving Rogers to become the first female in Orange football history to kick a field goal on a 25-yarder with four seconds remaining in the first half.

The announcement of Rogers’ accomplishment pumped energy into Auman Stadium that gave the partisan crowd reason to think Orange would win its first season opener since 2017. True to form, Bobbitt dashed that hope in one fatal swoop. Bobbitt initially struggled with Rogers’ ensuing kickoff, but picked it up and rumbled up the middle of the field to score on a 78-yard return. As Grayson Gaul tacked on the extra point, the vibrant enthusiasm once in the Panthers’ grandstand quickly evaporated as the Vikings’ led 14-10.

“This game can be a game of dominos, if you let it,” Pettiford said. “That one play, if it didn’t happen, we’d be going into the locker room with the lead. That one did take our momentum.”

South Granville’s ground game took over the second half, opening with a 6:14 drive in the third quarter that nearly ended with disaster. Bobbitt, Allah and Traevon White took turns carrying the ball on a 67-yard drive. After Allah punched the ball into the red zone, Vikings’ quarterback Charlie Vestel floated a pass for Antoine Doyle. It appeared that Sorrells picked off the pass as he fell to the ground, but the official ruled Doyle ripped the ball away from him, somehow without it hitting the ground. Doyle jaunted into the end zone much to the protests of the Orange sideline.

On the Panthers’ opening drive of the second half, they got a strong run from Jabari Albright, tacked on by a personal foul penalty, that carried the ball deep inside Vikings’ territory. Once the Panthers’ reached the Viking 24-yard line, Walker was sacked by Hunter, then was pressured into consecutive incompletions to lose the ball on downs.

Two plays later, Bobbitt delivered one, final blow to the Panthers, taking the ball on an end sweep and scoring on a 75-yard run down the Vikings’ sideline to increase the South Granville lead to 27-10. South Granville held the ball for the opening 5:49 of the fourth quarter, ending with a 12-yard touchdown run by Allah with 6:11 remaining.

Despite losing its first game, there were positive signs for Orange. Last year, on a dismal, muddy night in Creedmoor, the Panthers’ had only 15 yards total offense and one first down against the Vikings. On Friday night, they had 250 yards, nine first downs and crossed midfield on six of its seven drives.

“I was really proud of our offense,” Pettiford said. “I felt every time we had the ball, we had a chance to keep moving it and score. We have to get a little more polished. We have to cut down on our mistakes. Nathan Sorrells played a heck of a game tonight. He represented what Panther football is all about on offense and defense.”

Most memorable of all was Rogers, who became the first female football player in Orange history. Rogers, who won both her singles matches against Voyager Academy and Southern Alamance last week, scored Orange’s last four points. Last spring, she was a starting midfielder for Orange women’s soccer team, which reached the third round of the 3A State Playoffs for the first time ever.

“I love the intensity she brings,” Pettiford said of Rogers. “She is a heck of a kicker. I love the intensity she brings. When they said her name, the whole stadium lit up. I’m proud of what she brings she to this team.”

SOUTH GRANVILLE 33, ORANGE 10

SG–7 7 7 12–33

OR-0 10 0 0–10

SG–Antoine Doyle 13 pass from Charlie Vestal (Grayson Gaul kick)

OR–Ja’Ki McDaniels 26 pass from Ty Walker (Sydney Rogers kick)

OR–Rogers 25 FG

SG–Khawan Bobbitt 78 kickoff return (Gaul kick)

SG–Doyle 19 pass from Vestal (Gaul kick)

SG–Bobbitt 73 run (kick failed)

SG–Allah 12 run (kick failed)

RUSHING–SOUTH GRANVILLE 30-265 2 TD (Bobbitt 8-132 TD, Allah 21-129 TD, Travon White 1-4)
ORANGE 28-86 (Nate Sorrells 13-64, Jabari Albright 2-33, Ja’Ki McDaniels 5-11, Derk Yanko 2-2, Jaylen Starks 1-1, Walker 3-(-8), Hank Nunnery 2-(-16).

PASSING: SOUTH GRANVILLE (Vestal 3-7 41 yards 2 TD INT)

ORANGE: 17-25 181 TD (Walker 10-16 101 yds TD, INT, Nunnery 7-9 80 yds)

RECEIVING: SOUTH GRANVILLE (Doyle 2-31 2 TD, Nehemiah Hunter 1-10)

ORANGE: (Sorrells 8-76, Wynston Brown 2-51, McDaniels 3-37 TD, Shaun Beasley 2-8, Deandre Brown 1-9)

Joe Kiger: On July 26, Kiger won the Mod 4 Feature race at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont. Kiger, racing in the #12 Blalock’s Towing and Recovery car, starting on the outside flanked along pole-sitter Jon Fish. Kiger, who played linebacker/running back at Orange and graduated in 2020, passed Fish and cruised to victory. Andrew Weaver finished second.

Bryse Wilson: After several weeks with the Indianapolis Indians, Wilson returned to the Pittsburgh Pirates in mid-July. On July 17, Wilson faced the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in Denver. Wilson threw three-and-one-thirds innings and surrendered two runs off four hits with three strikeouts in a no-decision. The Pirates won 8-3.

On July 26, Wilson threw six innings in a 3-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Wilson gave up three runs off six hits. He struck out two with one walk.

Wilson is 1-6 with a 6.31 ERA with Pittsburgh this season. He will start against the Milwaukee Brewers tonight (Tuesday night) at 7:05 at PNC Park.

Mia Davidson: After playing for Triple Crown Colorado in the Canada Cup Softball Tournament in June, Davidson made her official professional softball debut with Athletes Unlimited last weekend. The unique format of Athletes Unlimited has players competing on teams as well as individually. A player can earn ten points for a single, 20 points for a double, 30 points for a triple, 40 points for a home run, ten points for a sacrifice bunt, and eight points for a walk or getting hit by a pitch. They also receive ten points for a stolen base and lose ten points when caught stealing. Each player receives ten points for each inning their team wins and 50 points for each game they win. At the end of every weekend, comprised of three-game series, the top four point getters become team captains. Each Monday, the captains select new teams for the upcoming weekend’s series. Last weekend, the first of Athletes Unlimited’s softball season, Davidson played for Team Eberle, captained by former Virginia Tech and Oklahoma State pitcher Carrie Eberle. Team Eberle went 2-1 for the weekend at the Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, IL. Davidson played designated player in all three games, away from her traditional role as catcher. In her first game, Team Eberle defeated Team Chidester 4-3. Davidson went 0-for-2, but earned 116 points after drawing a walk in the fifth and getting hit by a pitch in the seventh. Team Eberle got 50 points in the win and earned 50 inning points.

On Saturday, Davidson scored the only run in Team Eberle’s 1-0 win over Team Ocasio. Davidson had the first base hit of her professional career with a laser down the right field line. She scored off a single by former Wisconsin first baseman Kelsey Harshman. It was the first 1-0 game in Athletes Unlimited history. Davidson also walked and earned 138 points for the day.

On Sunday, Team Zerkle defeated Team Eberle 9-3. Davidson went 0-for-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch. She came away with 36 points. For the weekend, Davidson had 290 points and in 12th place overall.

In the Week 2 draft on Monday night, Davidson was once again selected by Team Eberle in the 12th round. At the end of week 1, Carrie Eberle leads all players with 452 points. Team Eberle will face Team Harshman on Friday night at 6:30. On Saturday, Team Eberle faces Team Mulipola at 2:30. On Sunday, Team Eberle faces Team Jaquish.

Joey Berini: Following the conclusion of the East Carolina Pirates baseball season in June, Berini spent the summer playing for the Holly Springs Salamanders of the Coastal Plain League. The Salamanders ended its regular season with an 11-5 loss to the Peninsula Pilots at War Memorial Stadium in Hampton, VA on Saturday. Berini, who played second base most of the season for Holly Springs, went 0-4 with a run scored. On Sunday, Holly Springs defeated the South Wake Shakes 8-2 in seven innings at Ting Stadium in an exhibition game. Berini hit his third homer of the season and finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Former Northern Durham pitcher Jackson Bishop, who graduated from high school in June, started for South Wake. Berini ended the season with a .239 batting average in 23 games with three home runs and seven RBIs.

Aidan McAllister: As he prepares to start his college career with Hofstra in February, McAllister spent the summer playing for the Carolina Disco Turkeys, a collegiate wooden bat summer team based in Winston-Salem. Among the highlights for McAllister came against the Greensboro Monarchs on July 16 when he went 2-for-3 in a 5-4 win for the Disco Turkeys at Truist Field in Winston-Salem. On July 28, McAllister had four RBIs as the Disco Turkeys won 12-4 over the Greensboro Yard Goats. The Disco Turkeys made its way to qualify for the All-American Amateur Baseball Association Tournament in Johnstown, PA. On Monday, the New Orleans Boosters defeated the Disco Turkeys 18-3. Carolina will face the Philly Bandits on Tuesday morning in the second game of pool play.

Kate Burgess: Burgess was named a captain for the UNC rowing team for the upcoming season. This past season, Burgess competed in nine races as a junior in 1V4 and 2V4. She finished first against UCF and second against Tennessee in the First Varsity 4+ boat at the UVA Invitational on March 26. Burgess was a starting center for the Orange women’s basketball team and also ran cross country.

Darius Satterfield probably envisioned a day like Tuesday afternoon when he was a student at Gravelly Hill Middle School, where he was the captain of the men’s soccer team. He led the Grizzlies to its first undefeated regular season. However, on Tuesday, Darius signed to play football at Elizabeth City State University. Shortly after he started his Orange soccer career under head coach Palmer Bowman, injuries derailed his career on the pitch. So he transitioned to American football, where he trained under former East Chapel Hill head coach Bill Renner. In two years, Satterfield became an accomplished punter, where he caught the attention of numerous recruiters. In addition to punting for Orange last season, he also raised money to fight childhood cancer. During the official signing ceremony at Orange High Gymnasium on Tuesday, Satterfield was joined by his mother Tomeka Ward-Satterfield along with his father Daron. Darius spent two seasons with the North Carolina Olympic Development program playing soccer. He will now take his considerable talents to the CIAA, where he will be a Viking.

For someone who coached the hardest nosed defenses in school history, Orange football coach Van Smith is quick with a light-hearted line.

Even while officially closing a chapter of his life that spanned nearly 14 years, Smith still cracks wise.

“Me and Mike Krzyzewski realized it was just our time and we’re going out together,” Smith, an ardent UNC fan, joked last week.

After five seasons as head coach, Smith informed his team that he would step down as head coach earlier this month. In June, he will officially retire as a teacher at Orange, where he presides over U.S. History courses.

When Orange’s season ended last October in a loss to Eastern Alamance, Smith didn’t know his career was over. It wasn’t a serious consideration until about six weeks ago.

“30 years is enough for anybody,” Smith said. “I’ve been going back and forth about it. It wasn’t until late January when I found out if I had enough time to retire. I talked with my family a lot and I couldn’t really decide what to do. I met with someone to determine where I was with my retirement. He gave me some options and I asked ‘If I decide to retire this year, when would I need to make up my mind?’ He said March.”

On the morning of March 1, after laboring over it with his wife Kathy and daughters Reagan and Kennedy, Smith told Orange Principal Jason Johnson and Athletic Director Mike McCauley of his decision so they would have time to find a replacement before spring practice started. He informed his assistants and the rest of the team later that day.

“I still love what I do,” Smith said. “I was pleasantly surprised that I could retire now instead of waiting a year or two. I was confronted with reality. So it happened in a whirlwind.”

After graduating from Elon University, Smith spent 16 years as an assistant coach at Graham High under head coach Pat Moser, starting in 1993. After a regional championship in 1999, the Red Devils won the 1-A State Championship over Northside in 2000 at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill. Moser retired after the 2004 season amid health concerns and spent time as a radio analyst.

In 2009, Moser, after losing substantial weight, returned to coaching at Orange, where he replaced Dickie Schock. Moser, Smith and McCauley would lead a resurrection of the Orange football program, which had only one winning season between 1993-2009.

Smith was the defensive coordinator of the Panthers for seven seasons under Moser. In that time, the Panthers won two consecutive Big 8 Conference championships, had five straight 10-win seasons. The Panthers hosted a state playoff game inside Auman Stadium for six consecutive seasons. From 2012-2017, Orange won 21 straight nonconference regular season games. In 2013, they defeated Northern Durham for the first time since 1968.

Moser’s final team at Orange was his best one, possibly better than his state title team in Graham. The Panthers went 11-0 for its first undefeated regular season since 1978. After losing to archival Southern Durham in five straight games (twice in the playoffs in 2014 & 2015), the Panthers throttled the Spartans 49-7 inside Spartan Stadium en route to the conference title. Smith’s defense was led by linebacker Payton Wilson (now at N.C. State), defensive end Stone Edwards (who played one season at Vanderbilt), linebacker Keyshawn Thompson (who led Campbell in tackles last season) and safety Rodney Brooks (who went on to Livingstone). Orange’s defense gave up only three touchdowns in eleven regular season games.

“If I had a gun to my head, I’d say that was the best defense I ever coached,” Smith said. “We had some great ones at Graham High School, but that Orange defense gave up 3.3 points per game. That was a fun group to work with.”

Moser retired after the 2016 season, which ended with a loss to Havelock in the second round of the 3A State Playoffs. Smith replaced him as head coach and won the Big 8 Championship in 2017. The Panthers defeated Hillside 31-20 on October 15, 2017 to end the Hornets’ 48-game conference winning streak. Late in that game, Orange running back Marvante Beasley suffered a hit that ended his career, leading to a touching and memorable scene of Hillside and Orange players kneeling in prayer together as Beasley was loaded onto an ambulance.

The following week in a victory at Cedar Ridge, Wilson tore his ACL on the opening kickoff, ending his season. The Panthers finished the season with a win over Chapel Hill to complete the conference championship, but the talent level was never as high again under Smith.

In the weeks since he announced his retirement, Smith hasn’t reflected on the championships over 30 years, though they’re memorable. It’s the relationships that come first in his mind.

“It’s funny how, at the end of the line, it seems to be true that the most important thing is the relationships you build along the way,” Smith said. “I haven’t really thought a lot about big games or big wins. I think about the great players we’ve had and the great coaches we’ve had. Even coaches we’ve gone against.”

In 2019, Smith was an assistant on the East/West All-Star Game, which included Orange linebacker Colin Guentensberger, now a walk-on at Appalachian State. Smith was recommended as an assistant by Wilmington Hoggard head coach Craig Underwood.

After this academic year ends, Smith will have more time for his daughter’s dance recitals. He recently traveled to Rockingham for one. He’ll also forever be a football fan. He’s awaiting the start of the revamped United States Football League for something to watch this spring, though he’ll probably find time to check out his former linebacker, Bryse Wilson, pitch for the Pittsburgh Pirates now that Major League Baseball will have a standard 162-game season.

Could Smith return to coaching? It would only seem natural. After all, Moser, the man who Smith worked alongside for 14 years, retired and returned

In fact, not even Smith’s wife is sure he’ll stay retired.

“I’m certainly not going to rule it out,” Smith said. “I mentioned it to my wife, who gave me a heavy eye roll. Though, as of right now, that’s not in the plans.”

Now, Smith will look to join the Lawn Chair Club, a group of former Orange coaches and players who watches games underneath a bank of lights along the visitor’s end of the stadium at Auman Stadium. Naturally, Moser leads the group.

Next season, he’ll have familiar company.

Kayla Hodges: After four seasons at Elon University as an All-Colonial Athletic Association midfielder in women’s soccer, Kayla Hodges has announced she will attend to Virginia Commonwealth University as a graduate transfer in 2022. In her final season with Elon, Hodges was named first-team All-CAA. Last season, she started all 17 games for Elon and scored three goals. Last spring, Hodges helped the Phoenix win its first-ever Colonial Athletic Association Tournament championship. In ten games, she was named second-team All-CAA. Hodges played 42 games in her career at Elon. She was also a factor in Elon fishing the 2021 season with a team-GPA of 3.693, the highest in team history. She will transfer to a VCU team that won the 2021 Atlantic 10 Conference regular season championship. The Rams finished 13-4 overall, 9-1 in the A-10. The Rams narrowly missed out on going to the NCAA Tournament, losing to St. Joseph’s 1-0 in the Atlantic 10 Championship game.

Payton Wilson: Joe Giglio of WRAL.com reported that Wilson will return for another season with the N.C. State football team. Wilson, who was an All-Atlantic Coast Conference linebacker in 2020, suffered a season-ending shoulder injury against Mississippi State on September 11. Wilson completed only one game this season as the Wolfpack finished 9-3. He was eligible to declare for the National Football League draft since he graduated from Orange High in 2018, longer than the three-year minimum period required by the NFL. He is still a redshirt sophomore with the Wolfpack. N.C. State will face UCLA in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego on Tuesday.

Connor Crabtree: The Richmond men’s basketball team will go into Atlantic 10 Conference play with a ton of momentum. The Spiders defeated N.C. State 83-74 in the Basketball Hall of Fame Shootout at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte on December 17. It was the first win over an ACC team for the Spiders since they defeated Boston College in November 2019. Crabtree came off the bench to play seven minutes. He didn’t score. Last Sunday, the Spiders knocked off Old Dominion 67-61 at the Robins Center in Richmond. Crabtree came off the bench to play six minutes and didn’t score. On Wednesday, the Spiders routed Bucknell 81-50 in its final game before Christmas. Crabtree played eleven minutes and scored five points. He also had four rebounds and two assists. Richmond went 6-0 in December with wins over Wofford, Northern Iowa and Toledo. The Spiders open Atlantic 10 Conference play against St. Joseph’s on Thursday.

Joey McMullin: The Sandhills Community College men’s basketball team ended 2021 with five straight wins in December. On December 15, Sandhills defeated Shooting for Greatness 108-78 in Pinehurst. McMullin came off the bench and scored 13 points in 12 minutes. McMullin shot 4-of-6 from the field and knocked down a three-pointer. He added three rebounds and one assist. On December 18, the Flyers defeated Thomas Nelson Community College 90-71. McMullin had 16 points for Sandhills, which improved to 10-4 overall. McMullin had 16 points along with a team-high eight rebounds. He shot 7-of-10 from the field, including scoring on his only 3-point attempt. The Flyers are ranked #10 in Division III of the National Junior College Athletic Association. They are also 1-0 in Region X of the NJCAA. Sandhills will travel to Davidson-Davie Community College in Thomasville on New Year’s Day.

Desean Motley: Following in his father’s footsteps, Desean Motley has been promoted to Associate head coach for the Division II Lees-McRae men’s basketball team. Motley was a guard for his father, former Orange men’s basketball coach Greg Motley, at Orange. He averaged 14 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Panthers. Motley played two seasons for Lees-McRae before he started his college coaching career during his senior year with the Bobcats. Lees-McRae is currently 5-2 in Conference Carolinas, 7-4 overall.

Damon Scott: The Shelby Golden Lions defeated the Wallace-Rose Hill Bulldogs 55-34 for the 2A State Championship at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh on Saturday. Damon Scott, a 1993 Orange High graduate and Cedar Grove native, is the running backs coach for the Golden Lions. In his sophomore season, Scott was the tailback for the most successful Orange football team of the 1990s. In 1991, Orange went 9-3 and defeated Hillside 14-8 in overtime on the final night of the regular season at North Carolina Central University to clinch a playoff spot, which was limited to 32 teams in 4A football (the highest of four classifications). Scott scored the game-winning touchdown for the Panthers, which included future Orange softball coach Eddie Davidson at fullback and current Granville Central men’s basketball coach Mike McDaniel at linebacker. The following week, Orange journeyed to Greenville and defeated J.H. Rose 23-6 in the opening round of the 4A State Playoffs. Scott was the leading rusher in the game. That was Orange’s only state playoff win of the 1990s and still the last time the Panthers won a playoff game when only four state champions were crowned in North Carolina football. After graduating from Orange, Scott became a I-AA (now Football Championship Subdivision) All-American running back with Appalachian State. He was a member of Appalachian’s 1995 Southern Conference championship team, which finished the regular season 11-0. The Mountaineers started the year with a win at Wake Forest and eventually defeated a Marshall squad led by Randy Moss on a snowy night at Edwards Stadium in Huntington, WV. In that 1995 season, two-thirds of Appalachian’s starting backfield consisted of Orange High graduates: Scott was at tailback for Coach Jerry Moore. The quarterback was Scott Satterfield, now the head coach at the University of Louisville. In his Mountaineers career, Scott rushed for 3,800 yards. He was inducted into the Appalachian State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014.

Emerson Talley: The most successful season in the history of Lenoir-Rhyne women’s soccer came to an end in the Final Four of the NCAA Division II tournament. #1 Grand Valley State defeated the Bears 3-0 at Weidner Field in Colordo Springs, CO. The Bears end the season 12-6-5. It was the first time ever that Lenoir-Rhyne made the Final Four. Talley, who is the all-time leading scorer in Cedar Ridge women’s soccer history, finished her freshman season playing in eight games for the Bears, starting two.

Connor Crabtree: The Richmond Spiders men’s basketball team returned to action by beating Toledo 72-69 at the Robins Center on Saturday. Crabtree came off the bench for the Spiders and played 18 minutes. He scored eight points off 3-of-6 shooting from the field. He went 1-of-2 from 3-point range. He also grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists. On Sunday, the Spiders defeated Northern Iowa 60-52 at the McLeod Center in Cedar Rapids, IA. Crabtree played three minutes for the Spiders against the Panthers. Richmond is 6-4 and is on a three-game winning streak. Crabtree will return to North Carolina next weekend. The Spiders will travel to Charlotte to face N.C. State at the Spectrum Center for the Basketball Hall of Fame Shootout on Friday.

Joey McMullin: Sandhills Community College easily defeated the Pfeiffer junior varsity team 115-79 in Misenheimer on Monday night. McMullin came off the bench to score 12 points in 20 minutes for the Flyers. McMullin shot 6-of-9 from the field. He also grabbed three rebounds and dished out three assists. Sandhills has now won three in a row. The Flyers are 8-4 overall. Thus far in his first season with Sandhills, McMullin is the second-leading scorer on the team, averaging 13.2 points per game. He’s also second on the team in field goal percentage at 52.7%. The Flyers will return to action to face Shooting for Greatness Academy on Wednesday in Pinehurst.

There was a defensive flavor among the Orange football honorees for All-Central Carolina Conference this year.

Senior nose tackle Kameron Harshaw, linebacker Jackson Wood, defensive end Connor Ray and sophomore offensive tackle Andre Hill were named first-team All-Central Carolina Conference. The official all-conference team was released by CCC Commissioner Michael Pennington on Monday.

Orange was also honored with the Sportsmanship Award based on a vote by the league’s coaches.

Harshaw led Orange with 27 tackles for loss this season. That included four sacks. In his second year on the varsity level, Harshaw started the season with ten tackles, five for a loss, against South Granville on August 20 in Creedmoor. In Orange’s 47-0 win over Granville Central on September 10, Harshaw had six tackles and two sacks. He amassed a season-high eleven tackles against Northwood on October 15.

Wood started every game at linebacker for the Panthers. He also occasionally played fullback. Wood had 59 tackles. That included 13 tackles for loss, which was tied with junior Jabari Albright for second-most on the team. He also rushed for 55 yards on 16 carries. Wood had ten tackles against South Granville. In Orange’s 26-14 victory over Person on October 7, Wood had a season-high four tackles for loss and ten tackles overall. He also recovered a fumble against Williams when he swiped a pitchout in the Bulldogs’ backfield in the fourth quarter. Last spring, during Orange’s 3-3 season shortened because of the pandemic, Wood had 36 tackles. He also scored two touchdowns, including one in the Panthers’ thrilling season-finale against Chapel Hill.

Ray, a senior, led the team with five sacks, two of them against Western Alamance on September 17 in Elon. Ray had 55 tackles, ten of them for a loss. He totaled nine tackles against Northwood, which was his season-high. The following week against Williams, Ray had eight tackles. He had two tackles for a loss in the victory over Granville Central. This was Ray’s third season as a varsity player. Last spring, Ray had 13 tackles in five games. He also saw time as a wingback in Orange’s double wing offense.

Hill, a sophomore, was the only member of the Orange offense to be named All-Conference. He was also the only Panther underclassman honored. As Orange’s offensive line constantly changed almost on a game-by-game basis, Hill became a fixture at left tackle as the season progressed. Behind Hill, Orange’s offense had its three best games of the season against Chapel Hill, Person and Granville Central. Against the Tigers on August 27, Orange totaled 242 rushing yards.

Orange had its season-high of 314 rushing yards against Granville Central and finished with 412 yards total offense. In the win over Person, the Panthers got dual 100-yard rushing games from Ronald Cooper and Nate Sorrells and finished with 267 rushing yards overall.

Eastern Alamance quarterback Hunter Douglas was named the Central Carolina Conference Offensive Player of the Year. Douglas, a senior quarterback, threw for 2,252 yards and 14 touchdowns as the Eagles won the Central Carolina Conference and reached the quarterfinals in the 3A State Quarterfinals.

Eastern Alamance’s John Kirby was named the Central Carolina Conference Coach of the Year. After a season-opening loss to Eastern Randolph, the Eagles won ten straight games to finish the regular season. The Eagles defeated Havelock in the 2nd round of the state playoffs. Jacksonville knocked off Eastern Alamance in the regional semifinals in overtime last Friday.

Walter Williams junior linebacker Will Rhodes was named the Central Carolina Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Rhodes led the Bulldogs with 167 tackles and four sacks. Williams, under first-year head coach Patrick Stokes, finished 7-5, its first winning season since 2013.

Kessel Summers: Summers, who won over 100 matches in his Orange wrestling career, started in his second meet at Bluefield University on November 14. In the Averett University Open in Danville, VA, Summers went 2-2, reaching the quarterfinals before losing. On Sunday, the Rams participated in the King University Open in Bristol, TN.

Braden Homsey: The Division III Ferrum Wrestling team went 3-1 during the Star City Duals at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, VA on Saturday. Former Orange wrestler Braden Homsey won all four of his matches. Ferrum defeated #24 Ozarks 28-19, where Homsey pinned Cruz Partain in 3:40, which ensured a Panther victory. Homsey pinned Porter Trapp of Southern Virginia in 1:01 at 197 pounds. Ferrum defeated Southern Virginia 38-15. The Panthers defeated Apprentice 32-21. Homsey scored a technical fall over Robin Edens 26-8. The only loss on the afternoon for Ferrum came against Roanoke 25-16. Homsey did earn a major decision victory over Collin Milko 14-3. Homsey is 10-0 so far this season for the Panthers.

Trenton Gill: The #25 N.C. State football team rolled past Syracuse 41-17 at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh on Saturday night. It was actually a defensive struggle for most of the first half before the Wolfpack scored four touchdowns in the final 6:20 of the second quarter. Gill had three punts for an average of 36 yards. The longest was 42 yards. Two of them were downed inside the 20-yard line. Gill had eight kickoffs, only one of which was a touchback. The Wolfpack will face North Carolina on Friday night in the biggest matchup between the two schools in decades. N.C. State is now ranked #24. If State wins and Wake Forest loses to Boston College, then the Wolfpack will go to the ACC Championship game in Charlotte for the first time ever.

Keshawn Thompson: The Campbell football team’s season came to an end with a 20-17 overtime loss to Robert Morris on Saturday at Joe Walton Stadium in Moon Township, PA. In the final game of his career, Thompson had an interception in the fourth quarter, which set up the Camels for a chance to win the game on a 27-yard field goal. A facemask penalty pushed the attempt back to 42-yards, which came up wide right. Thompson had two tackles on the afternoon. Campbell ends the season 3-8, 2-5 in the Big South Conference. Thompson led Campbell with 78 tackles this season, including 24 unassisted and 54 assisted. He also had two interceptions.

Adam Chnupa: The Elon Phoenix football team ended the season strong with a 43-28 victory over #25 Rhode Island at Rhodes Stadium. The Phoenix ended the year 6-5, its first winning season since 2018. Chnupa didn’t play in the game, but played in each of Elon’s other ten games this season.

Connor Crabtree: Drake defeated the Richmond men’s basketball team 73-70 at the Drake Knapp Center in Des Moines, IA on Saturday. Crabtree came off the bench to play 13 minutes for the Spiders. He finished scoreless after attempting one 3-pointer. On Tuesday, the Spiders defeated Georgia State 94-78 at the Robins Center. Crabtree scored five points, including a 3-pointer. He also grabbed two rebounds. Richmond is 2-2 and will host Hofstra on Monday in Richmond.

Joey McMullin: Last week, the Sandhills Community College junior varsity team defeated the Methodist University junior varsity squad 107-46 in Fayetteville. McMullin scored 13 points and grabbed three rebounds for the Flyers, who improved its record to 5-2. On Saturday, Richard Bland College defeated Sandhills 82-76. McMullin, who started once again for Sandhills, finished with 13 points, two rebounds and two assists. In eight games thus far with the Flyers, McMullin had started ever game. He is averaging 15.5 points per game and shooting 54.5% from the field. In its final game before Thanksgiving, Sandhills will host Spartanburg Methodist on Tuesday in Pinehurst.