Orange Football

Kayla Hodges: Hodges was one of the seniors honored by the Elon women’s soccer team before last Sunday’s game against Towson at Rudd Field. Hodges fired two shots, including one on net, but the Tigers defeated Elon 1-0. The Phoenix are 6-5-1 overall, 1-2-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association. They face Northeastern this afternoon at 1PM in Boston.

Taylin Jean: The former Cedar Ridge goalkeeper returned to action for Division II Limestone on Saturday. The Saints defeated Coker 4-0 at Saints Field in Coker, S.C. Jean entered the game to start the second half and made one save, which was Coker’s only shot of the game. Limestone is 8-2-1, 4-2-1 in the SAC. They will host Tusculum on Wednesday.

Emerson Talley: On Wednesday, Talley played the entire second half as the Lenoir-Rhyne women’s soccer team defeated Mars Hill 5-0 at Meares Stadium. Talley fired the first shot in her college career. The Bears are 8-1-1, 6-1 in the South Atlantic Conference. They will face Tusculum in Greenville TN this afternoon at 2 PM.

Brittany Daley: The Division III Greensboro College women’s soccer team defeated William Peace University 3-0 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary on Saturday. Daley started and played her usual 90 minutes at centerback. The victory ended a six-game winless streak for Greensboro, who won the USA South Athletic Conference Southern Division championship last spring. On Tuesday, Methodist defeated Greensboro 1-0 at Pride Field. Daley started and played the distance. The Pride are 4-9-2 overall, 2-4-1 in the USA South Athletic Conference.

Jordan Rogers: The Greensboro College-William Peace matchup pit a former Cedar Ridge player against a former Orange player. Daley for Greensboro and Rogers for Peace. Rogers started as a wingback for the Pacers in the 3-0 loss and got off one shot. On Tuesday, Peace defeated North Carolina Wesleyan 1-0 at WakeMed Soccer Park. Rogers played all 90 minutes. Peace is 4-5-2 overall, 2-3-1 in the USA South Athletic Conference.

Joey McMullin: McMullin, who reached 1,000 points for his Orange High career, played his first game during a scrimmage with the Sandhills Community College Flyers on Wednesday in Pinehurst. Fayetteville Tech defeated Sandhills 84-79. McMullin hit two free throws with 1:24 remaining to tie the game at 76-76. McMullin played 19 minutes and scored nine points off 3-of-4 shooting from the field, including one 3-pointer. Sandhills will play Blue Lights College in a scrimmage on Wednesday.

Trenton Gill: The #22 N.C. State Wolfpack football team defeated Boston College 33-7 at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, MA on Saturday night. Gill was also the holder when Wolfpack placekicker Christopher Dunn kicked an extra point to become the Wolfpack’s all-time leading scorer. On a rainy night, Gill had six punts for a 46-yard averaged. His longest was 65 yards. Four punts were downed inside the 20-yard line. He had two punts exceed 50 yards. The Wolfpack will face Miami at Hard Rock Stadium in Coral Gables, FL next Saturday night.

Keshawn Thompson: For the third time this season, the former Orange linebacker led Campbell in tackles. Thompson, who is a graduate student with the Camels, had eleven tackles (including one for a loss) and a pass breakup, but Monmuth defeated Campbell 34-17 in a battle for first place in the Big South Conference at Barker-Lane Stadium in Buies Creek. Campbell will host Kennesaw State next week for Homecoming. The Camels are 3-3 overall, 2-1 in the Big South.

Bailey Lucas: The Division III Meredith College volleyball team is on a five-match winning streak. On Saturday, the Avenging Angels swept a quad match at Mary Baldwin University in Staunton, VA. Meredith defeated Southern Virginia 3-1 on scores of 25-21, 25-21, 17-25 and 25-18. Lucas started for the Angels and had a team-high 23 assists, along with one kill and two digs. Later, Meredith defeated Mary Baldwin 3-0 on scores of 25-16, 25-16 and 25-9. Once again, Lucas led the team with 13 assists. She also had three digs. On Wednesday, Meredith defeated Methodist 3-0 at the Riddle Center in Fayetteville on scores of 25-16, 25-23 and 25-17. Lucas started once again and had 16 assists, along with two kills and seven digs. Lucas is second on the team with 318 assists. Meredith is now tied for second place in the USA South Athletic Conference South Division with Averett with a 5-2 record. William Peace is in first place at 7-0.

PITTSBORO–In the post-Pat Moser era of Orange football, the Panthers’ most competitive rivalry has been with Northwood.

In March, the Chargers prevailed 10-7 when Aidan Laros scored all of Nortwood’s points (a touchdown, the extra point and a field goal). In the fall of 2019, Orange trailed 24-6 before Machai Holt and Omarion Lewis triggered a comeback and the Panthers won 31-30 in overtime at Auman Stadium.

On Friday night, both Orange and Northwood met again, this time as members of the Central Carolina Conference. It wasn’t nearly as dramatic.

The Chargers used its power-I offense to dominate a battle of attrition, reducing Orange’s manpower to a nub and prevail 34-6 in front of a packed grandstand at Charger Stadium. Northwood (4-3, 2-1 in the Central Carolina Conference), which got all 363 yards of its offense on the ground, was led by senior tailback Jalen Page, who ran for 162 yards. Senior backup Ryan Hilliard rushed for 137 yards and three touchdowns the Chargers beat the Panthers for the second time in seven months.

The only positive aspect for Orange was that linebacker Jake Wimsatt was Northwood’s leading receiver. You read that right. With 6:46 remaining in the first quarter, after Orange punter Darius Satterfield booted a 47-yard punt to back the Chargers up to its own 4-yard line, Wimsatt picked off a pass from Northwood quarterback Carson Fortunes and returned it 13 yards for a touchdown.

Orange finished the first quarter with a 6-0 lead. They held Northwood without a first down and had just 12 yards total offense in the opening 12 minutes.

From the start of the second quarter to the end of the night, Northwood outgained Orange 351-67. Using a running game that was as successful as it was repetitive, the Chargers ran 52 plays in the final three quarters compared to Orange’s 21.

“It was the same old story,” said Orange coach Van Smith. “We play a team like that’s so big up front and we’re not big. We just got hammered on both sides of the ball.”

After being stymied by Orange’s defense, led by tackles for losses by Kameron Harshaw and Connor Ray, Page opened the second quarter with a 14-yard gain by Page on its first play from scrimmage for the Chargers’ initial first down of the game. From that point forward, Northwood scored on five of its next seven drives. The only two exceptions came when the Chargers took knees to end the first and second halves.

“They had a power formation with two tight ends and just started pounding away,” Smith said. “There wasn’t much we could do.”

Northwood faced a 4th-and-8 from the Orange 34-yard line where Fortunes ran around left end on a designed keeper for eleven yards. Freshman Gus Ritchey scored on a 12-yard burst up the middle to tie the game.

The Chargers took the lead with 2:41 remaining in the first half off a 7-play, 63-yard drive. After Paige gained ten yards on 2nd-and-7, Fortunes scored on a 2-yard quarterback sneak. Holder Jack Spotz threw to backup quarterback Kirk Haddix on the 2-point attempt to put the Chargers ahead 14-6.

Despite starting two drives in the opening quarter inside Northwood territory, the Panthers didn’t chain together two first downs in the same series all night. The Panthers finished with only three first downs, one of which came when quarterback Jared Weaver threw to wide receiver Wynston Brown for a 24-yard gain after the final points had scored.

Northwood opened the second half with a 14-play, 88-yard drive. Hilliard had four consecutive carries to cross the 50-yard line, and scored the first of his three touchdowns from ten yards out. Hilliard added touchdown runs of 28 and six yards in the fourth quarter.

Orange (2-6, 1-2) is now guaranteed its fourth consecutive non-winning season. They will travel to face Walter Williams in a nonconference game next week in Burlington. The Bulldogs defeated the Panthers 28-0 on September 24 in Hillsborough in Orange’s CCC opener.

NORTHWOOD 34, ORANGE 6

ORA–6 0 0 0-6

NWD–0 14 6 14-34

ORA-Jake Wimsatt 12 INT return (pass failed)

NWD-Gus Ritchey 8 run (Illegal forward pass penalty)

NWD-Carson Fortunes 2 run (Jack Spotz to Kirk Haddix)

NWD-Ryan Hilliard 10 run (run failed)

NWD–Hillard 28 run (Michael McGraw kick)

NWD–Hillard 6 run (McGraw kick)

RUSHING: ORANGE 20-27 (Ronald Cooper 8-19, Nate Sorrells 5-10, Jared Weaver 4-0, Jackson Wood 1-0, Omarion Lewis 1-(-1), Nate Hecht 1-(-1))

NORTHWOOD: 56-363 (Jalen Page 22-162, Ryan Hilliard 17-137 3 TD, Ritchey 5-36 TD, Fortunes 7-20 TD, Nathaniel Haley 2-8, Stephen Lane 1-3, Spotz 1-1, Will Smith 1-(-4))

PASSING: ORANGE (Weaver 5-11 63 yards, Ty Walker 0-1 INT)

NORTHWOOD (Fortunes 0-6 INT)

RECEIVING: ORANGE (Sorrells 3-32, Winston Brown 2-31)

For more of Jacques photos from college and high school sports, go to jacquesonthesidelines.com.

This week’s Orange Defensive Player of the Week is senior linebacker Jackson Wood. Last week in Orange’s 26-14 win over Person, Wood had ten tackles, tied with Kameron Harshaw for the team lead. Wood had four tackles for loss, including a huge stop on Person quarterback Cole Garrett on 4th-and-3 from the Person 41-yard line in the first quarter. On the next play, Orange running back Ronald Cooper scored a touchdown. This season, Wood is second on the team with 43 tackles. He is third on the squad with ten tackles for loss. In addition to playing football, Wood is a fan away from the gridiron. He is a staunch fan of the Virginia Tech Hokies and has had the honor of being in Blacksburg to watch the famed “Enter Sandman” entrance inside Lane Stadium. On Friday night, Wood and the rest of the Orange Panthers will travel to a familiar place: Charger Stadium. The Panthers will face Northwood. The last two games between the Panthers and the Chargers have been nailbiters. Orange won in overtime in the fall of 2019, while Northwood held off Orange by a field goal last year in Pittsboro. This is the second straight year where Wood has been honored as the Defensive Player of the Game. He earned the same accolade in a win over Cedar Ridge last year.

There’s an old saying that 12 plays decide every football game. With every game that Orange and Cedar Ridge wins, we like to take a look back at the 12 plays that decided the game for a feature we call the Dire Dozen. For this edition, we’ll look at Orange’s win over Person, which was the first time in 21 years they’ve met as conference rivals. The victory was Orange’s first in the Central Carolina Conference.

Play #1. Orange ball, 4th-and-10 from the Person 49-yard line.

This was the opening possession of the game where Orange got a first down off a 14-yard run by Nate Sorrells, which was forbidding. After the drive stalled out at midfield, Panther Punter Darius Satterfield had his best effort of the night with a 44-yarder down to back Person up to its 4-yard line. It forced the Rockets to climb uphill early.

Play #2. Person ball, 3rd-and-4 from the person 46-yard line.

It was a good game for Orange’s linebackers. Jackson Wood finished with 10 tackles, four of them for a loss. Senior Brendon Worsham had eight tackles. Outside linebacker Jake Wimsatt made the first of several big plays on the night when he stopped Person’s Daveon Marner for a three-yard loss after the Rockets had driven 39 yards away from the shadow of its own goalposts.

Play #3. Orange ball, 1st-and-10 from the Orange 41-yard line

This was the first of four consecutive touchdown drives for Orange. Sophomore running back Nate Sorrells had the longest run of his varsity career with a 59-yard touchdown. It would lead to Sorrells’ first career 100-yard game, and he broke the century mark before halftime. Key blocks came from offensive linemen Worsham and Acoya Isley.

Play 4. Person ball, 4th-and-3 from the Person 41-yard line

Person was without its top running back in Jerry Oakley, who had over 880 yards through the first seven games. Oakley was injured at the end of the Northwood game. The Rockets cycled through running backs the whole game, but after Marner was stopped for a 3-yard loss on first down, Person opted to go for it on 4th-and-3 with quarterback Cole Garrett. This season, Garrett has rushed for over 100-yards twice. On this play, linebackers Ronald Cooper and Jackson Wood, along with Kameron Harshaw, plugged the hole and sent Garrett down for no gain.

Play #5. Orange ball, 1st-and-10 from the Person 41-yard line.

Another one-and-done. This time it was junior Ronald Cooper, who had the biggest game of his career. Cooper would take a toss from quarterback Jared Weaver and ran around right end for a 41-yard touchdown, his second score of the season.

SECOND QUARTER

Play #5: Orange ball, 3rd-and-5 from the Orange 36-yard line.

Orange’s lead was narrowed to 12-7 after Garrett scored on a 7-yard touchdown drive in the preceding series to open the second quarter. Midway through the second quarter, this was only the second 3rd down that Orange faced in the game. Jared Weaver found Wynston Brown over the middle. Brown ducked a Person safety and outran everyone else for a 64-yard touchdown pass, the longest play from scrimmage this year for the Panthers.

Play #6: Person ball, 2nd-and-10 from the Person 41-yard line.

With Orange leading 19-7, linebacker Connor Ray came up with the first of two Orange takeaways when he pounced on a loose ball after a botched handoff by the Rockets.

Play #7: Orange ball, 1st-and-10 from the Person 11-yard line.

This was the most methodical touchdown drive of the night for Orange. After Ray’s fumble recovery, Sorrells and Cooper handled the ball for six straight plays. After Sorrells broke into the Person red zone with an eleven-yard gain, Cooper scored the Panthers’ final touchdown of the night with an eleven-yard score.

THIRD QUARTER

Play #8 Person ball, 1st-and-10 from the Person 20-yard line

Person ended the first half with a touchdown when Garrett threw to Daejon Hodge, a junior varsity callup. After having its lead reduced to 26-14, it was important for Orange to come out with a big play defensively. That’s what junior linebacker Jabari Albright did on the first play from scrimmage in the second half. After Satterfield sent the 2nd-half kickoff into the end zone for a touchback, Albright sacked Garrett for an 6-yard loss.

Play #9: Person ball, 1st-and-10 Person 22-yard line.

Orange caught a bad break on the preceding play when Ray intercepted a pass from Garrett, but it was called back because of a roughing the passer play. After Person got the ball back, Cooper made another big play, this time on defense when he sacked Garrett for a 9-yard loss. It was the third time in four snaps that Garrett was sacked.

Play 10: Person ball, 3rd-and-7 from the Person 48-yard line.

Orange had its best game from its pass rush this year. Kameron Harshaw and Jackson Wood pressured Garrett on this play, which led to Jake Wimsatt coming up with the interception.

FOURTH QUARTER

Play 11: Person ball, 4th-and-goal from the Orange 4-yard line

The Rockets got into the Orange red zone trying to cut Orange’s lead to one score. An offside penalty against Orange put the ball at the Panther 6-yard line, but the Rockets committed a key delay of game penalty. It led to a 4th-and-goal from the Orange 4-yard line, where Wimsatt made another big play where he tackled C.J. Hill out of bounds on a reverse. This was the last Person drive of the game.

Play 12: Orange ball, 2nd-and-11 from the Orange 7-yard line.

Cooper finished a big night with a 48 yard run to help the Panther run out the clock and clinch its seventh straight win over the Rockets.

The resumption of the Orange-Person series also marked the return of something that has been sorely missing from Panther football this season.

Big plays.

In the first conference game between Orange and Person in 21 years, it was junior running back Ronald Cooper and sophomore Nathan Sorrells that stole the show. Cooper rushed for a career-high 141 yards and two touchdowns, while Sorrells added 112 yards and two touchdowns as Orange defeated Person 26-14 on Thursday night at Auman Stadium.

It was a quirky game where Orange (2-5, 1-1 in the Central Carolina Conference) scored touchdowns on four consecutive possessions in the first half, then was shut out in the second half despite two trips inside the Person red zone. The Rockets played without top running back Jerry Oakley, who had amassed 834 yards and six touchdowns before being injured late in last week’s game against Northwood in Roxboro.

Orange’s top rusher, Omarion Lewis, was largely absent. Sorrells and Cooper filled the void as the Panthers registered 328 yards total offense en route to its first-ever Central Carolina Conference win.

Dating back to non conference games from 2013-2018, Orange has beaten the Rockets seven straight times.

“I’m just so impressed with our young men on the team,” said Orange coach Van Smith. “As much as a struggle as the season has been, the expectations coming into the season haven’t quite formulated like we thought they would. But the players, for the most part, haven’t gotten down on each other and they haven’t gotten down on themselves. They haven’t gotten down on the coaching staff. They keep working hard. They speaks to the character of the young men.”

Sorrells, Cooper and wide receiver Wynston Brown triggered a series of explosion plays that had been sorely missing all year. In the first quarter, after linebacker Jake Wimsatt threw down Person running back Daveon Marner for a three-yard loss on the Rockets’ opening drive, Sorrells rushed around right end 59 yards behind the blocks of Brendon Worsham and Acoya Isley and streaked down the near sideline for the first touchdown with 3:44 remaining in the first quarter to complete a one-play drive. That became the theme of the night.

On its next series, Person (2-5, 0-2) opted to go for it on 4th-and-3 from its own 41-yard line late in the first quarter, but Rocket quarterback Cole Garrett was shoved down at the line by Cooper (who plays a wide assortment of positions on defense) and senior Jackson Wood. On the very next play, Cooper took a pitchout from quarterback Jared Weaver and rushed 41 yards for a touchdown, the second of his varsity career.

“Ronald has the speed and the quickness,” Smith said. “I know it has probably been a little frustrating for him, though he hasn’t indicated that, but he’s played defensive back. He’s played safety, he’s moved from inside linebacker to outside linebacker. He’s just bounced around and I know that can be frustrating for a young player. But there are so many things he can do.”

Person struck first to open the second quarter when Garrett scored on a read-pass option up the middle on 4th-and-goal from the 7-yard line.

On the next Orange drive, quarterback Jared Weaver competed his only pass of the night, but it was memorable. On 3rd-and-5, Weaver hit former starting quarterback Wynston Brown on a five-yard slant, which quickly became a 64-yard slant after Brown turned on the afterburners and outran the entire Person secondary. Darius Satterfield’s extra point put Orange ahead 19-7.

Orange senior linebacker Connor Ray pounced on a Person fumble minutes later. That led to Orange’s final touchdown, where Cooper galloped up the line untouched from 11-yards out.

Of course, things are never easy for Orange. Person added just enough drama with eight seconds remaining in the first half when Garrett found freshman Daejon Hodge, a junior varsity callup who was only eligible because this week’s JV game between Orange and Person was canceled, on a 20-yard pass on 1st-and-17. Hodge ran past Elijah Danley into the right pylon of the end zone to reduce Orange’s lead to 26-14 at halftime

That’s the way the scored stayed for the rest of the night, though both teams threatened. Garrett was sacked three times on Person’s opening drive of the second half, by Cooper, Wood and Danley. Orange moved the ball to the Person 6-yard line, and opted to go for it on 4th-and-2, but Weaver’s pass missed Wood in the end zone.

Jake Wimsatt made two strong defensive plays that ended any serious Person threat in the fourth quarter. After the Rockets drove 42 yards near midfield, Wimsatt picked off a Garrett pass and just a got a foot inbounds before fading into the Orange sideline.

In its only sustained series in the fourth quarter, the Rockets moved into the Orange red zone after a 37-yard run by Garrett, where Orange senior safety Elton Dodds made a touchdown saving tackle. By this point, Person had largely run out of running backs with starters Daveon Marner and C.J. Hunt out with injuries. Hodge, the JV callup, became the go-to guy.

On 4th-and-goal from the 4-yard line, Person ran a reverse that wound up in the hands of wide receiver Chad Raglin, who had not touched the ball all night. Wimsatt stayed home along the far sideline and made a tackle for loss to end.

After having the game move to Thursday night due to expected rain on Friday, Orange will get an extra day of rest to prepare for Northwood next Friday in Pittsboro.

ORANGE 26, PERSON 14

PER–0 14 0 0-14

ORA–12 14 0 0-26

ORA–Nathan Sorrells 59 run (run failed)

ORA–Ronald Cooper 41 run (run failed)

PER–Cole Garrett 7 run (Orlando Gonzalez Bello kick)

ORA–Wynston Brown 64 pass from Jared Weaver (Darius Satterfield kick)

ORA–Cooper 11 run (Satterfield kick)

PER–Daejon Hodge 20 pass from Garrett (Gonzalez Bello kick)

RUSHING-PERSON: 45-235 TD (C.J. Hunt 10-67, Garrett 13-64 TD, Hodge 7-46, Daveon Marner 6-34, Kiryce McCain 7-32, Chad Raglin 1-(-2), team 1-(-6))

ORANGE 30-262 4 TD (Cooper 9-141 2 TD, Sorrells 9-112 TD, Omarion Lewis 5-6, Jackson Wood 2-5, Nate Hecht 1-1, Jared Weaver 2-0, Jabari Albright 1-(-1), team 1-(-2)

PASSING: PERSON: (Garrett 1-7 20 TD, INT)

ORANGE: (Weaver 1-6 64 TD, INT)

RECEIVING: PERSON (Hodge 1-24 TD)

ORANGE (Wynston Brown 1-64 TD)

It was a night of explosion plays for Orange in its 26-14 win over Person on Thursday night at Auman Stadium. Junior running back Ronald Cooper and sophomore wingback Nathan Sorrells had dual 100-yard rushing games, with both men setting career highs. Cooper finished with 141 yards and two touchdowns. Sorrells would up with 112 yards and a touchdowns on just nine carries. In the first quarter, Sorrells set the tone with a 59-yard touchdown run, the longest of his varsity career. On Orange’s next drive, Cooper rushed for a 41-yard touchdown, just moments after he and Jackson Wood stopped quarterback Cole Garrett on a 4th-and-3 from Person 41-yard line. In the second quarter, Orange quarterback Jared Weaver hit wide receiver Wynston Brown for a 64-yard touchdown pass. That was the longest play from scrimmage this season for Orange. Cooper would add another touchdown late in the second quarter. Orange finished with 326 yards total offense, its second best output of the season. It was their seventh straight win over Person and Orange’s first in the new Central Carolina Conference.

It was all defense for Orange in the second half of its 26-14 win over Person on Thursday night at Auman Stadium. Senior Jackson Wood has several big stops on Person quarterback Cole Garrett. In the second quarter, senior linebacker Connor Ray jumped on a loose ball, which set up Orange’s final touchdown of the night from junior running back Ronald Cooper. Person threatened several times in the third quarter to narrow Orange’s lead, but junior linebacker Jake Wimsatt came up with two big plays. The first was on an interception in the fourth quarter at the Orange 47-yard line. The second came on Person’s final serious drive after the Rockets had driven to the Orange 4-yard line. On 4th-and-goal, Wimsatt tackled Person wide receiver Chad Raglin on a reverse, which ended the drive and ensured Orange’s first Central Carolina Conference win. It was Orange’s seventh straight victory over Person, and it was the first conference game between the Rockets and the Panthers in 21 years. Orange will look to continue the momentum when they face Northwood in Pittsboro next week.