Orange Football

Kenan Thompson: As his football career at Campbell has officially ended, former Orange High linebacker Kenan Thompson has been nominated for a series of end-of-year honors. Thompson is a finalist for the Doris Robinson Award, presented to an athlete in the Football Championship Subdivision who excels on the football field, in the classroom and in the community. It is named in honor of the wife of legendary Grambling football coach Eddie Robinson. Thompson was also named to the Big South Conference All-Academic Team and the 2022 Academic All-District by College Sports Communicators. Currently, Thompson is pursuing his MBA. He is currently a graduate student at Campbell. In his final game with the Camels, Thompson had a tackle as Campbell defeated Delaware State 34-7 at Alumni Stadium in Dover, DL. Thompson ended the season with 25 tackles. He played in all eleven games for Campbell.

Payton Wilson: Wilson will play his final game for the #25 N.C. State Wolfpack in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl on December 30 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. The Wolfpack will face Maryland. It will be the first matchup between the Wolfpack and the Terrapins since Maryland left the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2014. Wilson made his final regular season game with N.C. State one to remember. On November 25, the Wolfpack stunned North Carolina 30-27 in double overtime at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill. Wilson led N.C. State with eleven tackles and one tackle for loss. Wilson also had two quarterback hits. Despite being down to its fourth-string quarterback at season’s end, N.C. State finished the regular season 8-4.

Trenton Gill: Gill continues his rookie season with the Chicago Bears of the NFL. On December 4, the Green Bay Packers held off the Bears 28-19 at Solider Field in Chicago. Gill had only one punt for 39 yards. On November 27, the New York Jets defeated Chicago 31-10 at MetLift Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. Gill had five punts for an average of 48.8 yards. His longest punt was 61 yards. On November 20, the Atlanta Falcons defeated the Bears 27-24 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Gill had four punts for an average of 40 yards per punt. One of them was downed inside the 20-yard line. His longest was 44 yards. Chicago is 3-10 and have lost six in a row.

Lottie Scully: Scully was named the American East Setter of the Week for the Binghamton volleyball team for the week of November 15. Scully, a freshman, had 33 assists, nine digs and two blocks in the Bearcats win over Bryant University. The win sewed up the Bearcats’ first-ever American East regular season championship. New Hampshire defeated Binghamton 3-0 in the American East Tournament championship game on scores of 30-28, 25-23 and 25-16. Scully missed that game, as well as the contest against St. John’s in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship. Scully was named second-team All-American East Conference. Scully had 788 assists, a team-high. She also had 187 digs.

Emerson Talley: The season of the Division II Lenoir-Rhyne women’s soccer team ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against #3 Columbus State. The Cougars defeated the Bears 1-0 at Walden Soccer Complex in Columbus, GA. Talley came off the bench to play 29 minutes, but the Bears couldn’t repeat its 2021 success, when they reached the Final Four for the first time in school history. This season, Talley played in 14 games. She didn’t score in 332 minutes of action. The Bears ended the year 12-4-3, 9-0-2 in the South Atlantic Conference.

Payton Wilson: In likely his final game at Carter-Finley Stadium, N.C. State linebacker had three tackles for loss against Boston College. For the day, Wilson finished with six tackles and one-half of a sack. The Eagles, who came into the game 2-7, stunned the #17 Wolfpack 21-20 with a touchdown with 14 seconds remaining. N.C. State will travel to face Louisville at Cardinals Stadium next Saturday in a matchup full of Hillsborough flavor. Louisville is coached by Hillsborough-native Scott Satterfield, who played quarterback and safety for Orange High. On November 5, N.C. State defeated Wake Forest 30-21. Wilson finished with seven tackles, including one for a loss. Wilson had one pass breakup. The Wolfpack is 7-3, 3-3 in the ACC.

Keshawn Thompson: The Campbell Fighting Camels football team lost its final home game of the season against Gardner-Webb 42-35 at Barker-Lane Stadium in Buies Creek on Saturday. Thompson, a graduate student at Campbell, had two tackles for the Camels. On November 5, Bryant University defeated Campbell 43-37 in Smithfield, RI. Thompson finished with four tackles. Campbell has lost four in a row and is 4-6, 2-3 in the Big South Conference.

Darius Satterfield: Elizabeth City State’s season ended on November 5 with a 54-8 loss to Chowan in Murfressboro. The Vikings end the season 2-8, 2-6 in the CIAA. Satterfield ended the season with 13 punts for an average of 35.5 yards. His longest punt for the season was 49 yards. One punt was downed inside the 20-yard line.

Braxton Mergenthal: On Sunday, the Division III Hampden-Sydney football team ended its season with a loss to #16 Randolph-Macon 38-17 at Lewis Everett Stadium in Hampden-Sydney, VA. Mergenthal played on special teams for Hampden-Sydney. On November 5, Shenandoah defeated Hampden-Sydney 23-7 at Shentel Stadium in Winchester, VA. Mergenthal had one tackle for the Tigers. Hampden-Sydney ends the season 5-5, 4-3 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.

Ivy Garner: The Liberty women’s soccer season came to a disappointing end in the championship game of the Atlantic Sun Tournament. Florida Gulf Coast defeated the Flames 4-3 in penalty kicks after the two teams played to a 1-1 tie in regulation. Garner started at forward and played 55 minutes, firing two shots. On October 30, the Flames defeated Eastern Kentucky in the Atlantic Sun semifinals 3-1. Garner started and played 39 minutes, firing one shot. Liberty, the regular season champions of the Atlantic Sun, finish the year 14-3-4 overall, 8-0-2 in the Atlantic Sun. Next year, Liberty will move to Conference USA. Garner, a freshman, ended the season with three goals and five assists in 18 games.

Emerson Talley: The Division II Lenoir-Rhyne women’s soccer team defeated Limestone 1-0 in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Tournament at Walden Soccer Complex in Columbus, GA. Talley, the all-time leading goal scorer in Cedar Ridge history, played eight minutes for the Bears. It was a measure of revenge for Lenoir-Rhyne. On November 4, Limestone defeated the Bears 2-1 in overtime of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament semifinals in Charlotte. It was the first time all year that Lenoir-Rhyne lost to an opponent from the South Atlantic Conference. The Bears finished the regular season 9-0-2 in SAC regular season play. Talley also played eight minutes against Limestone in the SAC Tournament. Lenoir-Rhyne faces #3 Columbus State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday afternoon.

Lottie Scully: The Binghamton volleyball team has clinched a share of the American East Conference regular season championship. On October 30, the Bearcats defeated Maryland-Baltimore County 3-2 in a five-set thriller at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Baltimore. Binghamton, who lost to the Terriers on October 7, captured the rematch 23-25, 26-24, 20-25, 25-20, 15-13. Scully had 64 assists, three kills and four digs. On November 4, Binghamton defeated the New Jersey Institute of Technology 3-0 at West Gymnasium in Binghamton (25-17, 25-14 and 25-14). Scully finished with 35 assists, four digs, one kill and one assisted block. On November 6, the Bearcats defeated the University of Albany 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-18) at West Gym. Scully had 26 assists, three kills, one ace, one block, and four assisted blocks. Binghamton wraps up the regular season against Bryant University on Sunday afternoon in Smithfield, RI. If Binghamton wins, they will capture the American East regular season championship outright.

Braden Homsey: The Ferrum College wrestling team started its season in the Mount Union Invitational in Alliance, OH on November 5. Homsey finished 2nd in the 197-pound tournament. Homsey scored a technical fall win in the quarterfinals over Kaleb Gelter of Mount St. Joseph 17-2. In the semifinals, Homsey defeated Ethan Fragoso, his teammate at Ferrum, 12-1. In the championship match, Michael Sullivan of Brockport held off Homsey 10-6. The Ferrum wrestling team is back in action at the Cougar Open at Averett University in Danville, VA on Sunday.

Colin Guentensberger: On Homecoming for Appalachian State, former Orange High linebacker Colin Guentensberger played in his first-ever game for the Mountaineers. Appalachian defeated Robert Morris 42-3 at Kidd Brewer Stadium. It was a long road for Guentensberger to suit up for the Mountaineers and see the first game action of his career. He suffered a torn ACL last year and spent much of 2022 recovering. Guentensberger, a senior walk-on, had one tackle against the Colonials. In 2018, Guentensberger was the leading tackler for Orange and manned the middle linebackers corps along with Jett Statterfield, whose uncle is current Louisville coach and former Appalachian State and Orange High quarterback Scott Satterfield.

Payton Wilson: Wilson had possibly his best game of the season in #24 N.C. State’s come-from-behind win over Virginia Tech on Thursday night. Wilson finished with seven tackles, including two sacks as the Wolfpack rallied from a 21-3 deficit to defat the Hokies for the first time during the tenure of head coach Dave Doeren. Wilson had two-and-a-half tackles for loss. N.C. State, now ranked #21 by the Associated Press, will face Wake Forest at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh on Saturday night.

Keyshawn Thompson: The Campbell Fighting Camels lost to North Carolina A&T 45-38 in Big South Conference action at Trust Field in Greensboro on Saturday. Thompson had one tackle for the Camels, who are now 4-4, 2-1 in the Big South. Campbell led 28-10 at the end of the first quarter.

Darius Satterfield: Elizabeth City State suffered a heartbreaking loss to Bowie State on Saturday at Roebuck Stadium in Elizabeth City. The Bulldogs’ Kwincy Hall returned a kickoff 88 yards with 52 seconds remaining for the game-winning touchdown. Satterfield was the placekicker for the Vikings. He scored three extra points. He also had five kickoffs, one for a touchback. Elizabeth City State is now 2-7, 2-5 in the CIAA.

Braxton Mergenthal: Division III Hampden-Sydney defeated Guilford College 28-21 on Homecoming for the Tigers. Mergenthal entered the game on defense for Hampden-Sydney, who are now 5-3. They’re 4-1 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.

Trenton Gill: For the first time in his NFL career, Gill played at AT&T Stadium against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday afternoon. Punting under the infamous world’s largest big screen, Gill averaged 50.8 yards on four punts. He had a 62-yard punt and had one downed inside the 20-yard line. The Bears are 3-5.

Ivy Garner: The top-seeded Liberty women’s soccer team has advanced to the Atlantic Sun Tournament championship game. The Flames defeated Jacksonville 3-0 in the quarterfinals on Thursday at Osborne Stadium in Lynchburg, VA. Garner assisted on the game-winning goal scored by McKinley Burkett in the second minute. Garner played 46 minutes. In the semifinals on Sunday, Liberty defeated fifth-seeded Eastern Kentucky 3-1. Garner played 39 minutes and had one shot. Liberty now has a 12-game unbeaten streak, a program record. The Flames will face Florida Gulf Coast on Friday night for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Kayla Hodges: Hodges soccer career has likely ended after Virginia Commonwealth was upset by St. Joseph’s in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament 1-0 at Sports Backers Stadium in Richmond, VA on Friday. Hodges didn’t play in the game. The Rams end the season 8-3-8. In her first season with the Rams, Hodges played eleven games with four starts. She had two shots.

Emerson Talley: The Division II Lenoir-Rhyne women’s soccer team ended the regular season with a 4-1 win over #12 Catawba to claim the South Atlantic Conference regular season championship. Talley played six minutes against the Hawks. On Saturday, the Bears defeated Newberry 1-0 in the opening round of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament at Moretz Sports Athletic Complex in Hickory. Lenoir-Rhyne will face Limestone in the semifinals on Friday afternoon.

Lottie Scully: The Binghamton volleyball team won a thriller over Maryland-Baltimore County 3-2 in Baltimore on Sunday. The Bearcats won on scores of 23-25, 26-24, 20-25, 25-20 and 15-13. It ended the Retrievers 23-match winning streak against America East Conference opponents. Scully had a season-high 63 assists for the Bearcats. She also finished with three kills, one block and four digs. Binghamton is 14-7 overall, 5-2 in the America East Conference. They will face the New Jersey Institute of Technology on Friday night.

Aaliyah Harris: The former Orange High point guard made her unofficial debut for the Division III women’s basketball team over the weekend in an exhibition game. Randolph-Macon was selected to win the Old Dominion Athletic Conference last week.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is junior running back Nate Sorrells. In addition, the Orange Defensive Player of the Week is senior Linebacker Jabari Albright. On Monday night, Sorrells rushed for a career-high 202 yards as the Panthers defeated Cedar Ridge 50-0 at Auman Stadium to retain the Victory Bell. In addition, Sorrells threw an 84-yard touchdown pass to Wynston Brown for the Panthers first home win of the season. Albright had two rushing touchdowns for the Panthers and rushed for a career-high 87 yards. In September, Sorrells rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns in a victory over Granville Central. Albright managed to bounce back from an ankle injury early in the season and was among the leading tacklers on the team this season. He played his final game for Orange against Eastern Alamance on Friday night. Sorrells didn’t even have football as his first sport. He started as a soccer player, hut moved over to the gridiron, where he’s been a steady presence on Orange’s offense for the past two years. Sorrells will start preparation for the 2023 season on Monday. 

There’s been plenty of changes to Orange football over the past year, but the Victory Bell will stay exactly where it’s been.

In a rivalry game postponed twice over the past month for weather-related reasons, the Panthers used a huge all-around game from junior running back Nate Sorrells to defeat Cedar Ridge 50-0 at Auman Stadium on Monday night.

The Panthers (2-7, 1-4 in the Central Carolina Conference) won its first home game of the season on Senior Night, where ten players won their final game at Auman Stadium. Among them was senior linebacker Jabari Albright, who earned time at running back in the second half and rushed for a career-high 92 yards and a touchdown.

The first varsity football game between the two crosstown rivals proved to be another frustrating night for the Red Wolves (1-8, 0-5), who gave the Panthers a tough junior varsity game last season when that was the only football team Cedar Ridge fielded. On Monday, the Red Wolves were held to 88 yard total offense and four first downs.

With the win, Orange retained the victory bell, awarded to the winner of the rivalry game which started 20 years ago when Cedar Ridge opened.

It was a night of firsts for Orange. Albright scored his first varsity touchdown, but it was senior safety DeAndre Jones who broke the game open. With nine seconds remaining in the first quarter, Cedar Ridge was in the midst of its best drive of the game when Jones intercepted a pass and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown. Sorrells run on the 2-point conversion put the Panthers ahead 14-0.

After Orange’s defense opened the contest with a 3-and-out against the Red Wolves’ offense, Orange opened with a 8-play, 43-yard drive where Sorrells had runs of eight, seven and 19 yards. On 3rd-and-goal, freshman Jaylen Starks notched his first touchdown of the season for the opening score.

Early in the second quarter, Sorrells jump started a drive with a 16-yard gain on first down, followed by an 11-yard pass from Nunnery to senior Shaun Beasley to cross midfield. After Nunnery flipped a tap pass to senior A’mare Morgan for a 19-yard pickup around right end, Sorrells scored his first touchdown with a three-yard run.

On the next Orange drive, Sorrells found senior Wynston Brown on a halfback option for an 84-yard touchdown pass, the longest play from scrimmage for the Panthers this season. To end the first half, Orange defensive back Xandrell Pinnix picked off a pass, his first interception of the season.

Orange opened the second half with Sorrells scoring on a 62-yard run, just moments after he had a 18-yard carry on the first play from scrimmage in the half.

In the fourth quarter, Morgan recovered a fumble in Red Wolf real estate. That set up Albright’s first touchdown run of five yards, his first touchdown of his varsity career.

On its final drive, Albright broke free and scored on a 35-yard touchdown run. DeAndre Brown added the two-point conversion for the final points of the night.

Cedar Ridge entered the game just three days after playing Walter Williams in Hillsborough on its senior night. Junior running back Tyler Fields had 58 yards rushing to lead the Red Wolves offense. The Red Wolves, who defeated East Chapel Hill in August, will face the Wildcats again at Dave Thaden Stadium on Friday night to close the season.

Orange, who had last Friday off, will travel to Eastern Alamance on Friday night to conclude the season. The Eagles have already clinched the CCC Championship after beating Northwood last Friday.

ORANGE 50, CEDAR RIDGE 0

CR–0 0 0 0-0

OR–14 14 6 16-50

ORANGE: Jaylen Starks 4 run (pass failed)

ORANGE: DeAndre Jones 75 interception return (Nate Sorrells run)

ORANGE: Nate Sorrells 3 run (run failed)

ORANGE: Wynston Brown 84 pass from Sorrells (Sorrells run)

ORANGE: Sorrells 62 run (run failed)

ORANGE: Jabari Albright 15 run (DeAndre Brown run)

ORANGE: Albright 35 run (D. Brown run)

RUSHING: CEDAR RIDGE 32-59: (Tyler Fields 14-58, Tom Crawford 7-25, James Este Wittinger 4-15, Rayshawn Page 1-(-5), Mason Cates 2-(-8), Keyshawn Mangum 2-(-12), team 2-(-14))

ORANGE: 26-311 4 TD (Sorrells (13-201 2 TD, Albright 4-92 2 TD, D. Brown 5-20, Starks 1-4 TD, W. Brown 1-2, Ty Walker 1-(-2), Hank Nunnery 1-(-6).

PASSING: CEDAR RIDGE (Crawford 2-8 27 yds 2 INT)

ORANGE: 6-12 156 yds TD (Nunnery 5-9 69 yds, Sorrells 1-1 84 yds TD, Walker 0-2)

RECEIVING: CEDAR RIDGE (Mangum 2-27)

ORANGE: (W.Brown 2-86 TD, A’mare Morgan 2-22, Crawford Farmer 1-37, Shaun Beasley 1-11)

The Orange football team grabbed its first home win of the season and retained the victory bell in the process. The Panthers defeated Cedar Ridge 50-0 for its first Central Carolina Conference win of the season. On a night where ten seniors were honored, junior Nate Sorrells led the Panthers with a career-high 201 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Sorrells broke the game open with his arm off a 84-yard touchdown pass to senior Wynston Brown, who scored on the longest play of his career. Linebacker Jabari Albright got some touches in the second half as a running back and had a career-high 92 yards rushing with two touchdowns. Senior A’mare Morgan made several vital defensive plays to help the Panthers with its second shutout of the season. Orange has defeated Cedar Ridge nine straight times and helped coach Devantae’ Pettiford earn his second career win. Orange will wrap up its season on Friday night with a trip to defending CCC Champion, Eastern Alamance. 

Joe Kiger: As the short-track racing season winds down, 2020 Orange High graduate Joe Kiger captured the checkered flag in the Smokey Dave’s BBQ Mod 4 Division race on October 8 at the Orange County Speedway. Kiger, who played football with the Panthers, won the 20-lap event.

Trenton Gill: If it’s Thursday Night Football, it means punting. Which made Trenton Gill a busy man last week for the Chicago Bears against the Washington Commanders. Gill had four punts for an average of 46.3 yards. His longest was 54 yards. One punt was downed inside the 20-yard line. Washington held on to defeat the Bears 12-7 at Solider Field.

Payton Wilson: Wilson had another strong game for #15 N.C. State in its 24-9 loss to #18 Syracuse at the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday afternoon. Wilson finished with eight tackles for the Wolfpack, second behind only Isaiah Moore. Wilson also had a quarterback hit. The Wolfpack fell to 5-2, 1-2 in the ACC. They will have this week off before turning to conference play against Virginia Tech on October 27 at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.

Keshawn Thompson: The Campbell Football team defeated Robert Morris 41-10 at Barker-Lane Stadium in Buies Creek on Saturday. Thompson finished with three tackles, including one-half of a tackle for loss as the Camels improved to 4-2, 2-0 in the Big South Conference. Campbell will travel to Jackson State, coached by Pro Football Hall of Fame Deion Sanders and ranked #6 in the Football Championship Subdivision, on Saturday.

Darius Satterfield: The Elizabeth City State University football team defeated Lincoln University of Pennsylvania 21-19 at Roebuck Stadium in Elizabeth City on Saturday. Satterfield finished with four punts for an average of 37 yards. He had one downed inside the 20-yard line and another for a touchback. Satterfield also had a tackle on one of his kickoffs that saved a potential touchdown by the Lions. The Vikings will host Virginia State next Saturday.

Braxton Mergenthal: Mergenthal played on defense for Division III Hampden-Sydney in its 37-26 win over Averett University on Saturday at Everett Stadium. Hampden-Sydney has won three of its last four games, is now 3-3, 2-1 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.

Emerson Talley: The Lenoir-Rhyne women’s soccer team defeated Coker 1-0 at Coker Athletic Field on August 12. Talley came off the bench to play 49 minutes for the Bears, who remain undefeated in the South Atlantic Conference at 7-0-2. They are 8-2-3 overall.

Lottie Scully: The Binghamton volleyball team stepped out of American East Conference play and dropped a match to Colgate 3-1 on scores of 22-25, 25-20, 25-23 and 25-18. Scully finished with three kills, 38 assists, one ace, four blocks and five digs. The Bearcats rebounded by beating Bryant University 3-0 at West Gym in Binghamton on Friday. Scully had one kill, 36 assists, one block and five digs. On Sunday, Binghamton won a thriller over the University of New Hampshire 3-2 on scores of 25-14, 20-25, 25-19, 21-25 and 15-5. Scully finished with five kills, a season-high 44 assists, one ace, three blocks and ten digs. Binghamton is 13-6 overall, 4-1 in the American East.

Avery Miller: The Pitt Community College volleyball team has won three in a row. The Bulldogs defeated Lenoir Community College 3-0 in Kinston on Wednesday. Miller finished with six kills, one ace, one dig and two blocks. On Saturday, Pitt CC swept a doubleheader. They started with a 3-0 sweep of USC Salkehatchie at Wake Tech Community College in Raleigh. Miller, who played one set, finished with one kill. Pitt completed the day with a 3-1 victory over Wake Tech. Miller finished with seven kills, five digs and one block. Pitt Community College is now 12-8 overall, 2-8 in Region X.

Joshua Jackson: Last week, Jackson announced he has joined Division III Brevard University. Jackson graduated from Orange in June. Over two years on the Orange men’s basketball team, Jackson averaged 3.7 points over 33 games. His junior year was limited to eight games because of the pandemic. Brevard will start its season against Bob Jones University on November 10 at Boshamer Gymnasium.

J.J. Thompson: Thompson was announced as a new assistant coach for the Orange men’s basketball team last week by head coach Derryl Britt. Thompson, who currently attends Durham Technical Community College, played three seasons at the varsity level with the Panthers. Last December, he had a career-high 27 points in a 67-59 win over Granville Central in the South Granville Holiday Tournament.