Orange Football

Following a long, contentious day, the Orange County School Board voted not to shut down all high school sports in Hillsborough, but spectators will be limited to two people per player for the next two weeks in all sports. Furthermore, spectators will be required to wear masks and no concessions will be sold at games during that period.

On Monday, a report from the Orange County Health Department was released that recommended shutting down all sports for two weeks due to the spread of the delta variant of COVID-19. The recommendation came after a study by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, which released a report last week that showed clusters among school sports teams accounted for 45% of all clusters in North Carolina middle and high schools.

However, Orange County Schools have reported just five cases of COVID-19 in its athletic departments this year. The Orange High volleyball team was forced to shut down for two weeks after its first game on August 17 against Jordan. They returned to action two weeks ago against Southern Alamance.

The proposal would have ceased all football activities from September 14-through-September 30, as well as offseason practices and workouts for men’s and women’s basketball, wrestling and competitive cheerleading.

The measure also would have forced volleyball, men’s soccer, and cheerleading to operate on a limited basis with modifications for both the participants and the spectators in order to reduce the risk of COVID-19.

The agenda at the Orange County School Board meeting was largely unknown by the public until Monday morning. It quickly made the rounds online and led to immediate backlash against the school board and the Orange County Health Department. By late Monday afternoon, protestors gathered outside Gravelly Hill Middle School in Efland to denounce the measure. It spilled over into a public comment session during the meeting that lasted in excess of an hour and ranged in subject matter from COVID-19 to Black Lives Matters flags. Chairwoman Hillary McKenzie repeatedly warned onlookers in the audience who voiced disapproval while the board discussed the measure.

The meeting didn’t adjourn until 10:30PM.

Board member Brenda Stephens expressed reservations about shutting down sports, but not other extracurricular activities. She also harkened back to last month’s board meeting, when the board opted not to require vaccinations for students in order to play sports, as well as play in band, act in drama and participate in other extracurricular activities.

“I have a level of discomfort with a lot of this,” Stephens said. “I don’t feel comfortable singling out just the athletes. I just don’t.”

The Orange football team will play its Central Carolina Conference opener at Western Alamance on Friday night in Elon. Orange will have a home game against Walter Williams on September 24. The measure that restricts fans is slated to end before Orange’s homecoming game on October 8th against Person at Auman Stadium.

The two-week limit on spectators will have an impact for Cedar Ridge volleyball, which was expecting a huge crowd next Monday for its rematch against D.H. Conley, the defending 3A State Champions. The Red Wolves defeated the Vikings 3-0 in Greenville on August 22.

Cedar Ridge’s junior varsity squad, which is the only football team the Red Wolves are fielding this year, is scheduled to remain on the road for the next two weeks with trips to Person this Thursday night and to Orange on September 30. The Red Wolves next home game is slated for October 7 against Eastern Alamance.

School board member Will Atherton also expressed reservations about shutting down all sports for two weeks.

“I have a high level of discomfort with doing this,” Atherton said. “Especially since (the football teams) have already played four games. I’ve talked with many coaches and parents. I just don’t see any support this.”

Atherton did support fans wearing masks and social distancing.

“That is something we should be doing and protecting our citizens, as well,” Atherton said.

“There has been tremendous risk in the lack of masking and the lack of social distancing at football games,” said board member Sarah Smylie. “I think that’s something that has to be addressed if we want to run these things safely.”

The release from the Orange County Health Department also contained vaccination rates for various fall sports in the Orange County School District. The vaccination rate among football players in Hillsborough at 53%. Tennis and cross country have an 83% vaccination rate, which are the highest among fall sports. Soccer is at 73%. Volleyball is at 60%.

Keshawn Thompson: It was a showdown between a former Orange Panther and a former Cedar Ridge Red Wolf at Barker-Lane Stadium in Buies Creek on Saturday. The Campbell Fighting Camels, featuring former Orange linebacker Keshawn Thompson, faced off against the Elon Phoenix, which included former Cedar Ridge linebacker Adam Chnupa. The Phoenix defeated the Camels 24-23. For the second week in a row, Thompson led Campbell in tackles with nine. Last week, Thompson was honorable mention for Big South weekly football honors. Campbell is 0-2. They will face Presbyterian on Saturday in Buies Creek.

Adam Chnupa: Elon is now 1-1 after the victory over Campbell. Chnupa played special teams for the Phoenix in the win. Elon will travel to Appalachian State on Saturday.

Payton Wilson: In N.C. State’s loss to Mississippi State on Saturday night at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, MS, Wilson suffered a shoulder injury. Wilson did register his first sack of the season. He finished with three tackles. There’s no word yet on whether Wilson will miss any action. Mississippi State defeated N.C. State 24-10. The Wolfpack were deprived of its first road win against an SEC team since 1977.

Trenton Gill: Former Cedar Ridge punter Trenton Gill was too busy for the Wolfpack’s liking against Mississippi State. Gill had seven punts on Saturday night. He averaged 43.6 yards per punt. His longest was 55 yards. One of the punts was downed inside the 20-yard line. The Wolfpack will host Furman on Saturday night at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.

Rodney Brooks: After missing the opening game of the season for the Division II Livingstone Blue Bears, former Orange quarterback/defensive back Rodney Brooks made his season debut on Saturday. Savannah State, an FCS team, crushed Livingstone 50-6 at Theodore Wright Stadium in Savannah, GA. Brooks, a safety, had four tackles.

Bryse Wilson: On Sunday at PNC Park, the Washington Nationals defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-2. Wilson suffered the loss for the Bucs. In four-and-one-third innings, Wilson surrendered five runs off seven hits and two walks. Luis Garcia, Alex Avila and Lane Thomas honored off of Wilson, who is now 2-7 this season with a 4.97 ERA. The Pirates travel to Miami next weekend.

Kayla Hodges: After a tight loss to N.C. State, the Elon women’s soccer team rebounded with consecutive wins last week. On Thursday, the Phoenix defeated Gardner-Webb 2-0 at Rudd Field in Elon. Hodges started and played all 90 minutes. On Sunday, the Phoenix defeated American University at Reeves Field in Washington, D.C. Once again, Hodges played the duration of the game and fired one of Elon’s ten shots against the Eagles. Through seven games, Hodges is tied for the team lead with two goals. Elon faces Furman on Friday in its final nonconference game of the year.

Brittany Daley: Emory University’s women’s soccer routed Greensboro College 6-0 in Atlanta on Saturday. Daley played all 90 minutes at centerback for Greensboro. The Pride will travel to Bridgewater on Wednesday.

Jordan Rogers: The Division III William Peace women’s soccer team has won two in a row. On Sunday, the Pacers defeated Ferrum 3-1 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. Rogers started at wingback for Peace. On Wednesday, Peace defeated Johnson & Wales University 2-0 in Charlotte. It was Rogers’ 40th game for Peace. The Pacers are 2-2. They will travel to Brevard on Wednesday.

Bailey Lucas: The Division III Meredith College volleyball team won two out of three matches over the weekend. On Friday, Christopher Newport defeated the Avenging Angels 3-1 on scores of 25-18, 24-26, 25-23 and 25-12 at Weatherspoon Gymnasium in Raleigh. For the first time this season, Lucas didn’t start for Meredith. She did finish with two kills, 14 assists and five digs. The Avenging Angels won both of its matches on Saturday. They opened with a sweep of Guilford on scores of 25-17, 25-8 and 25-22 at the Hermann Athletic Center in Raleigh. Lucas came off the bench and had 16 assists and one dig. Meredith defeated William Peace 3-1. Lucas led the Avenging Angels with 25 assists and seven digs. Meredith is 5-3 and will play a doubleheader against Brevard and Maryville on Friday in Brevard.

If you missed a little at Auman Stadium on Friday night, you missed a lot.

There was a career night from a senior running back, Orange’s first shutout win in three years, their starting quarterback threw his first varsity touchdown pass and there was a 37-yard touchdown pass from a tight end who is usually a cross country runner.

Needless to say, Orange’s first win of 2021 had its memorable moments. The Panthers (1-3) crushed Granville Central 47-0 at Auman Stadium. Senior running back Omarion Lewis rushed for a career-high 174 yards and two touchdowns, breaking his previous mark of 124 yards in his varsity debut against South Granville in 2019.

Senior Jared Weaver, who had played cornerback in Orange’s first three games, got his first start at quarterback. Weaver finished 4-for-4 for 95 yards and two touchdowns.

“I was happy for him,” said Orange Coach Van Smith. “He missed last spring and part of the summer. He got behind and it took him a while to get enough reps in. It was a good change of pace. The offense clicked for us and I was happy for him and the whole team.”

It was Orange’s first shutout win since they defeated East Chapel Hill 54-0 on September 21, 2018. Orange’s defense held Granville Central (0-4) to minus-19 yards. Central could only muster one first down and didn’t cross midfield.

Orange scored 14 points off turnovers. After Braden Homsey recovered a fumble, Lewis scored his first touchdown on a 28-yard scamper around right end with 2:31 remaining in the first quarter.

The Panthers piled up 402 yards total offense, easily eclipsing its previous season-high of 290 yards against Chapel Hill.

“We ran the ball really well,” Smith said. “We got outside and on the edge. Our backs got some good blocking from the offensive line. They sealed the edge and guys got on the second and third level. They were making the right cuts and knew when to get a foot on the ground and cut up the field. And when you run effectively, that opens up the passing game.”

Orange established its ground control game on its first series, a 10-play, 69-yard drive. The Panthers offensive line controlled the pace so thoroughly, they didn’t even face a third down. After Lewis rushed for 13 yards to invade the red zone, sophomore Nate Sorrells scored his second touchdown of the season with a five-yard run across the left corner of the end zone. Darius Satterfield ran a two-point play up the middle and Orange led 8-0 to start the rout.

Weaver had his first career touchdown pass when he found junior wingback Ronald Cooper on a 32-yard pass in the second quarter. After Jackson Wood picked off a pass, Cooper added another touchdown on a four-yard scamper to conclude the first half.

Before Wood’s interception, Kameron Harshaw had back-to-back sacks against Central quarterback Luke Sharon.

“Kameron caught fire,” Smith said. “He’s probably the fastest defensive lineman off the ball that we’ve had, particularly from the nose guard spot. When he catches fire, he’s awfully hard to block. He started making plays and that fired him up even more. He’s a good kid and I was happy for him.”

Lewis started the second half with a gorgeous 39-yard touchdown run with 10:16 remaining in the third quarter. The final touchdown came when Weaver found senior tight end Nick Pell, who ordinarily runs cross country. In fact, Pell passed up competing in the Friday Night Lights meet in Kernersville, one of the biggest in the state, to play football on Friday night. Pell comfortably hauled in the first varsity pass of his career, which was also his first touchdown.

Smith has had a soccer player kick a game-winning field goal with a conference championship on the line. Has he ever had a cross country runner catch a touchdown pass?

“I’ve never had a cross country runner play for me,” Smith said.

Orange will travel to Western Alamance to open Central Carolina Conference play next Friday.

ORANGE 47, GRANVILLE CENTRAL 0

GCHS–0 0 0 0-0

OHS–14 13 13 7-47

OHS–Nate Sorrells 5 run (Darius Satterfield run)

OHS–Omarion Lewis 28 run (kick failed)

OHS–Ronald Cooper 32 pass from Jared Weaver (Satterfield kick)

OHS–Cooper 4 run (kick blocked)

OHS–Lewis 39 run (Satterfield kick)

OHS–Nick Pell 37 pass from Weaver (kick failed)

OHS–Jabari Albright 1 run (Satterfield kick)

RUSHING: GRANVILLE CENTRAL: 18-(-51) (Ashton Applewhite (1-(-1), C.J. Alston 1-(-2), team 1-(-2), Ethan Kelly 1-(-7), Ryan Johnson 7-(-9), Luke Sharon 7-(-30).

ORANGE: 44-307(Lewis 15-174 2 TD, Sorrells 12-62 TD, Albright 4-24 TD, Cooper 5-21 TD, Nate Hecht 4-12, Jackson Wood 2-5, Jaki McDaniels 1-7, Connor Ray 1-2).

PASSING: GRANVILLE CENTRAL 5-13 13 yds INT (Sharon 5-10 13 INT; Alson 0-3)

ORANGE (Weaver 4-4 95 2 TD)

RECEIVING: GRANVILLE CENTRAL (Taisean Hester 3-19, Keandre Washington 1-7, Johnson 1-6)

ORANGE: (Pell 1-37 TD, Cooper 1-32 TD, Ray 1-20, Jake Wimsatt 1-6)

It was a night of first in Orange’s 47-0 win over Granville Central on Friday night at Auman Stadium. Senior Jared Weaver had his first varsity start at quarterback. He threw his first touchdown pass at the varsity level and finished 4-of-4 for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Junior running back Ronald Cooper caught his first touchdown pass, a 32-yarder, from Weaver. Later, Cooper added his first rushing touchdown on a four-yard run in the second quarter. In the second half, tight end Nick Pell caught his first pass in a varsity football game. Naturally, it was a 37-yard touchdown pass from Weaver. Pell is a cross country runner who passed up running in the Friday Night Lights Festival in Kernersville, one of the biggest meets in the state, just so he could play football. Orange put up a season-high in total offense in the win over Granville Central. Orange will venture into Central Carolina Conference play next week against Western Alamance in Elon.

Orange earned its first win of the season on Friday night at Auman Stadium. The Panthers held Granville Central to minus-19 yards total offense in a 47-0 win. Orange senior defensive tackle Kameron Harshaw came up with back-to-back sacks in the second quarter. Coming into the game, Harshaw was tied for the team lead with eight tackles for loss. Senior linebacker Connor Ray added to his total of four tackles for loss as Orange earned a victory to end a four-game losing streak. It was Orange’s final game before play in the Central Carolina Conference begins next week. Harshaw and Ray have been regular performers for the Panthers on defense the past two years. Next week, the Panthers will travel to Elon to face Western Alamance in its conference opener. Orange will go for its first road win since they defeated Northern Durham last March.

Bailey Lucas: The Division III Meredith Avenging Angels volleyball team opened its season with four matches in four days. Meredith started with a 3-1 win over Roanoke at the Cregger Center in Salem, VA. Meredith won on scores of 16-25, 25-10, 25-16, 26-24. Lucas started and played all four sets. She had 17 assists, an ace and four digs. On Friday, the Avenging Angels swept Geneva on tallies of 25-15, 25-23 and 25-6 to start play at the Marlin Invitational in Virginia Beach, VA at TowneBank Arena. Lucas led the team with 14 assists in the win over the Golden Tornadoes. She also had two digs. On Saturday, Virginia Wesleyan defeated Meredith 3-0. Lucas had nine assists and five digs. To end the weekend, the Avenging Angels defeated Mary Washington 3-1. Once again, Lucas led the team with 20 assists. She also registered six digs.

Bryse Wilson: Wilson returned from the injured list for the Pittsburgh Pirates in a start against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday. The White Sox defeated the Pirates 4-2. Wilson suffered the loss after he threw five innings. He surrendered four runs off six hits. Yasmani Grandal hit a solo homer off Wilson in the second inning. Jose Abreu lauded a solo homer off Wilson in the third. This season, Wilson is 2-6 with a 4.61 ERA.

Kayla Hodges: Hodges scored her second goal of the series for Elon in a 3-0 win over UNC Asheville on Thursday at Greenwood Field in Asheville. Hodges scored the game’s second goal off an assist from Abby Fusca in the 24th minute. She fired two shots against the Bulldogs. On August 26, Virginia Tech defeated Elon 7-1 at Thompson Field in Blacksburg, VA. Hodges started as a defensive midfielder. Elon is 2-2 and will travel to N.C. State later today (Sunday).

Brittany Daley: The Division III Greensboro College women’s soccer team suffered a loss to Roanoke 2-0 in its season opener on Wednesday. Daley, a former Cedar Ridge All-Conference selection, started her 37th game with Greensboro as a center back. It was her 40th game. On Saturday, Greensboro rebounded with a 2-1 win over Johnson & Wales University at Pride Field. Daley started for the Pride once again.

Jordan Rogers: Rogers started her senior season for the Division III William Peace women’s soccer team. On Wednesday, Guilford College defeated Peace 1-0 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. On Saturday, Randolph College shut out the Pacers 2-0. Rogers started both games as a wingback.

Keshawn Thompson: The former Orange defensive back led Campbell in tackles in its loss to Liberty at Williams Stadium in Lynchburg, VA. Thompson had a career-high 13 tackles for the Camels, who lost to the Flames 48-7 to open the 2021 season. This was Campbell’s first game since last fall. Unlike many FCS schools, the Camels didn’t play last spring. Next week, Campbell will host Elon.

Payton Wilson: To open his third season with the Wolfpack, Wilson had two tackles as the Wolfpack routed South Florida 45-0 at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh. Wilson had one-half tackle for loss as he was in and out of the lineup throughout the night. The Wolfpack will travel to Mississippi State on Saturday.

Trent Gill: N.C. State only punted three times against the Bulls. Gill, a former Cedar Ridge football and soccer player, had two of the punts for a 45-yard average. Gill’s longest punt was 45 yards. Both of his punts were downed inside the 20-yard line. Gill also had eight kickoffs, four of which were touchbacks. His average kickoff was 64.6 yards.

Adam Chnupa: Former Cedar Ridge linebacker Adam Chnupa started his redshirt sophomore season at Elon with a tremendous game against Wofford at Rhodes Stadium. The Terriers defeated the Phoenix 24-22 on Saturday. Chnupa made one tackle as the Phoenix dropped its opener.

Colin Guentensberger: Guentensberger, who led the 2018 Orange football team in tackles, suffered a torn ACL and MCL during practice with Appalachian State’s football team. Guentensberger is a junior walk-on with the Mountaineers.

For more shots from Jacques Morin, go to jacquesonthesidelines.com

In the midst of its most lopsided regular season loss in recent memory, the Orange football team (0-3) harkened back to its glory days to bring some amount of hope to a tenuous situation.

Cummings quarterback Tylek Oliver had put on a clinic against the Panthers in the first half at Cavaliers Stadium. He engineered five touchdowns in five drives against an Orange defense lacking in speed and size. Oliver’s only mistake came on the final play of the first half when he was sandwiched between an Orange defender and the ground.

The first half clock expired and Oliver’s teammates started to go to the locker room content with a 40-6 lead. Oliver didn’t get up. His only movement came from his legs and remained face down.

He remained that way for roughly 35 minutes.

The scene was reminiscent of a sequence across two nights of Van Smith’s first year as Orange head coach in October 2017. In a junior varsity game against Hillside, Thys Oldenburg suffered a brain injury. Oldenburg remained in a hospital for two months before he returned home just in time for the holidays.

The following night at Russel Blount Stadium in Durham, Orange running back Marvante Beasley was knocked unconscious following a run up the middle. As Beasley remained motionless on the ground for several minutes, Hillside coach Ray Harrison told his team to kneel in prayer for the Orange running back, an act of goodwill that scoured a noticeable amount of tension that had quickly built between the two teams.

With Oliver on the ground Friday night, Smith followed Harrison’s example four years later. The entire Orange team kneeled in prayer for Oliver just a few yards away from where he was treated before he was finally removed from the field on a stretcher. Oliver was carried off in an ambulance, around 20 minutes after halftime had expired.

“That run through my mind,” Smith said of the scenes from four years ago. “We’ve been there and knew what it was like. Our thought and prayers are with him and everyone else at Cummings.”

The game itself was the polar opposite of Orange’s last trip to Cummings in 2016, when the Panthers romped past the Cavaliers 48-0 behind touchdowns from Beasley, Payton Wilson and Ryan Puckett.

Five years later, the Cavaliers were the ones with the decided talent edge. Before he was carried off the field, Oliver threw four touchdown passes to wide receiver Dylan James. Cummings (2-0) defeated Orange 54-12, even with Oliver absent from the second half.

Oliver finished 13-of-19 for 231 yards and four touchdowns.

From the first play from scrimmage, when Oliver found James for a 39-yard pass to break into the Orange red zone, the Cavaliers left no doubt that it would be a long night for Orange. Cummings scored three touchdowns in the first quarter and didn’t even face a third down on any of the series.

“I think were were surprised by their speed early,” Smith said. “We froze like a deer in the headlights and it just snowballed from there. Just trying to find a ray of light. I think the kickoff return team got better because they got a lot of reps.”

Oliver’s first touchdown pass to James came on a slant from one-yard out with 9:33 remaining in the first quarter. Oliver’s most potent weapon was sophomore running back Jonathan Paylor, who has garnered plenty of attention on the recruiting trail. After Oliver hooked up with James o a 15-yard touchdown pass with 5:43 remaining in the first quarter, Paylor ran in the 2-point play to put the Cavaliers ahed 16-0 and they were just getting going.

Orange’s only offensive touchdown came midway through the second quarter. Senior running back Omarion Lewis concluded an 8-play, 55-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown run, his second of the year.

Without Oliver in the second half, Cummings’ stagecoach of an offense turned into a pumpkin. Oliver constantly fielded low shotgun snaps and had enough poise and skill to make big plays. Without a magician like Oliver, the Cavaliers basically turned the offense to Paylor, who simply fielded shotgun snaps seven yards from center and ran sweeps for much of the second half.

One errant snap was recovered in the end zone by Orange linebacker Jabari Albright for the Panthers’ last touchdown.

At one point, another poor snap turned into a scene straight from a 1992 Super Tecmo Bowl game with your best friend as a troll playing with the Los Angeles Raiders. Paylor had the ball go over his head. Doing his Bo Jackson impression, Paylor ran backwards 25 yards to get the ball, then ran forward to convert a 2nd-and-14. He ultimately scored a touchdown to finish the drive. Paylor ended the night with 137 yards rushing.

Orange hosts Granville Central next Friday in Hillsborough.

CUMMINGS 54, ORANGE 12

ORA—0 6 6 0-12

CGS–24 16 8 6-54

CGS–Dylantae James 1 pass from Tylek Oliver (Oliver run)

CGS–James 15 pass from Oliver (Jonathan Paylor run)

CGS–James 35 pass from Oliver (Paylor run)

CGS–James 10 pass from Oliver (Oliver run)

ORA–Omarion Lewis 11 run (kick blocked)

CGS–Paylor 69 run (Oliver to Zion Crawley)

ORA–Jabari Albright fumble recovery in end zone (kick failed)

CGS–Crawley 85 kickoff return (Paylor run)

CGS–Paylor 14 run (run failed)

RUSHING

ORANGE 43-113 –Lewis (18-51 TD, Nate Sorrells 9-36, Jackson Wood 3-22, Nate Hecht 3-13, Elijah Hanley 1-7, Darius Satterfield 1-5, Wynston Brown 4-2, team 4-(-21).

CUMMINGS 24-138 (Paylor 10-137 TD, Oliver 3-19, Marione Enoch 4-13, Johnniyus Sharpe 2-9, Devin Graves 1-0, team 4-(-50).

PASSING ORANGE 2-4 13 INT (Brown 2-3 13 INT, Ty Walker 0-1)

CUMMINGS: 15-23 224 yards 4 TD (Oliver 13-19 231 yards 4 TD, Enoch 2-2 (-7 yards), Paylor 0-1, team 0-1)

RECEIVING: ORANGE (Sorrells 1-11, Lewis 1-2)

CUMMINGS (James 6-124 4 TD, Paylor 4-51, Crawley 2-40, Enoch 2-8, Elijah Collins 1-1)