Orange Women’s Soccer

Natalie Chandler: UNC junior Natalie Chandler was named the winner of the 2019 NCAA Elite 90 Award for Women’s Soccer during the Tar Heels’ trip to the Final Four last weekend. The Elite 90 Award is given to the student-athlete with the highest grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA championships. Chandler has a 4.0 GPA as a health policy and management major. She is the fourth UNC women’s soccer player honored with the Elite 90 Award. Chandler was a two-time captain of the Orange women’s soccer team. She was named All-State in 2016 and 2017. She was the school valedictorian in 2017, as well as the Big 8 Conference Player of the Year. UNC reached the national championship match, where they fell to Washington State in penalty kicks.

Payton Wilson: During the N.C. State football team’s season-ending banquet last week, Wilson was honored with the Bill Cowher Award, given to the Linebacker of the Year. He was also honored with the Iron Wolf Award, an honor given to a player who returned from injury. As first responded by PackInsider.com, Wilson was the first freshman for N.C. State to lead the Wolfpack in tackles since 1988, and only the second rookie in team history since tackles started being recorded as a statistic in 1977. He finished with 69 tackles and five tackles for loss, despite starting only one game.

Marvin Jones: The North Carolina Central Eagles started its indoor track & field season at the JDL Kickoff Classic in Winston-Salem last Saturday. Jones, who graduated from Cedar Ridge in 2017, finished 2nd in the high jump at 2.05 meters, or 6 feet and 8.75 inches. Last spring, Jones captured the high jump championship at the Mt. Olive Final Qualifier. He finished 4th in the MEAC Outdoor Track & Field Championship on May 2. Jones also claimed the championship of the Charlotte 49ers Classic last March. He has also run in the 200 meters for the Eagles.

Braden Homsey: The Division III Ferrum wrestling team returned from Thanksgiving break with a 39-9 win over Southern Virginia at Swartz Gym on Tuesday. Homsey, wrestling at 197 pounds, defeated Matt Speelman 6-0. It was the Panthers’ final match before Christmas. Homsey is 10-3 on the season. Ferrum returns to action in the Citrus Invitational Tournament in Orlando on December 29-30.

Kaylen Campbell: The Division III Trinity women’s basketball team returned to action last weekend. The Bantams defeated Stevens Institute of Technology 80-62 at Oosting Gymnasium in Hartford, CT. Campbell came off the bench and had four points and two rebounds in ten minutes of action. Last Thursday, Trinity romped past Connecticut College 60-38 at Luce Fieldhouse in New London, CT. Campbell played 16 minutes. She finished with two points and five rebounds. Trinity has won eight in a row and will travel to Farleigh Dickinson University-Florham on Monday.

Lauren Cates: The Wake Tech Community College Eagles’ women’s basketball team returned to action this week. The Eagles defeated Johnson & Wales University 65-59 in Raleigh. Cates scored eleven points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range. A game scheduled for last weekend against Patrick Henry Community College was canceled. Wake Tech is 6-3, 3-2 in Region X. Cates is the 2nd-leading scorer for Wake Tech with 10.7 points per game. She’s shooting 31.7% from 3-point range. Wake Tech travels to Southwest Virginia on Saturday.

In this edition of Thanksgiving wishes, we hear from Orange’s Cooper Porter, Grace Andrews and Taylor Montague, along with Cedar Ridge’s Anaya Carter.

Taylor Montague committed to play women’s soccer at the University of Richmond during a ceremony inside Orange High Gymnasium on Thursday afternoon. Montague has spent the bulk of her high school career playing with the North Carolina Courage’ Academy in Cary. This fall, Montague played goalkeeper for the North Carolina Courage’s U-18/19 squad in the U.S. Soccer Girls DA Cup. She tallied a clean sheet. In the Courage’s 1-0 win over FC Virginia. So far this fall, Montague has started four games in net for the Courage. In September, she earned another clean sheet as the Courage defeated Weston FC 1-0 in Raleigh. Most recently, Montague earned a win as the Courage defeated the Cincinnati Development Academy 2-0 in Pineville. Montague will suit up for the Spiders starting next fall and become the latest women’s soccer product from Hillsborough to advance to the next level. That list includes former Orange High star Kayla Hodges, now at Elon University; Jordan Rogers, now at William Peace University; Taylin Jean, a goalkeeper at Limestone College who graduated from Cedar Ridge, and Brittany Daley, another Cedar Ridge graduate now at Greensboro College. 

Trenton Gill: In his first year playing for the N.C. State football team, 2018 Cedar Ridge graduate Trent Gill has been put on the watch list for the Ray Guy Award, presented to the college punter of the year. This season, as a sophomore, Gill has averaged 47.1 yards per punt. Of his 40 punts, eleven have been downed inside the 20-yard line. He’s had eighteen punts of over 50 yards, along with five touchbacks. Gill also handles kickoffs for the Wolfpack. At Cedar Ridge, Gill was an All-Big 8 Conference performer in football and men’s soccer. The Wolfpack will host #4 Clemson this Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.

Kayla Hodges: The Elon women’s soccer team had its season come to an end on Sunday in the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament. Top-seeded Hofstra defeated the Phoenix 3-1 on Sunday at Hofstra Soccer Stadium. Hodges started at midfield at fired one shot. After winning only three games in 2018, Elon went 12-6-2 this year. Hodges was named second-team All-CAA. She finished the year with four goals, two assists and ten points. Hodges, a sophomore, started all 18 games that she appeared in for Elon.

Taylin Jean: The Division II Limestone women’s soccer team ended the regular season with a 2-0 victory over King University at Parks Field in Bristol, TN on Sunday. Jean started as goalkeeper for the Saints and earned the win by making one save. She played 77 minutes. Limestone finished the regular season 9-8, 8-3 in Conference Carolinas. Limestone is the #4 seed in the Conference Carolinas Tournament, which starts on Friday. In the opening round, Limestone will host North Greenville University. In the regular season, Jean started all 17 games for the Saints in net. She went 9-8 with a 1.37 goals against average. She had six shutouts.

Lionel Reid-Shaw: The Division III Dickinson men’s soccer team finished its regular season on Saturday. Johns Hopkins defeated the Red Devils 4-1 at Homewood Field in Baltimore. Reid-Shaw, who scored the first goal of his four-year career last week, started for the Red Devils at centerback. Dickinson ended the regular season 10-7 overall, 6-3 in the Centennial Conference. The Red Devils earned a #3 seed for the Centennial Conference tournament, which starts Saturday at Franklin & Marshall University in Lancaster, PA. Dickinson will face Johns Hopkins, once again, in the opening round.

Madison Wardlow: Now playing for the Guilford Technical Community College women’s basketball team, Wardlow scored 28 points for the Titans in an exhibition game in Apex. Interestingly enough, one of the officials for the game was Felton Page, who was Wardlow’s high school coach. Page resigned as Cedar Ridge women’s coach in March. On a totally and completely unrelated note, Wardlow finished the game with one foul. Wardlow will officially start her career on Wednesday night at Methodist College in the Riddle Center in Fayetteville.

Lauren Cates: The 2019 Orange High graduate started her college career with the Wake Technical Community College Eagles on Monday night. Cates started and scored nine points as the Eagles defeated Caldwell Community College 57-47 in Raleigh. Cates was 3-of-11 from the field. All of her field goals were 3-pointers. Wake Tech continues its season at Fayetteville Technical Community College on Wednesday night.

Payton Wilson: It was another long day for the N.C. State football team on Saturday. #23 Wake Forest handled the Wolfpack 44-10 at BB&T Field in Winston-Salem. For the first time in his college career, Wilson led the Wolfpack with eleven tackles, including one for a loss. Wilson also had a pass breakup. A redshirt freshman, Wilson is now third on the team with 46 tackles. He’s also tied for third with 4.5 tackles for loss. N.C. State will face #4 Clemson next Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.

Trenton Gill: The 2018 Cedar Ridge graduate was busy for N.C. State on Saturday. Gill had eight punts averaging 46 yards per boot. Three of the punts went over 50 yards and two were downed inside the 20-yard line. His longest punt was 61 yards. Gill also had three kickoffs, two of which were touchbacks.

Adam Chnupa: Many people know Virginia Tech and UNC played the first college football game ever that ended with dueling two-point conversions in the fifth and sixth overtimes two weeks ago. On Saturday, Adam Chnupa played in the second for the FCS Elon Phoenix. William & Mary defeated Elon 31-29 in five overtimes at Rhode Stadium on the Phoenix’s Homecoming. Chnupa played special teams for Elon. The Phoenix are now 4-5, 3-3 in the Colonial Athletic Association. They host Maine next week.

Keshawn Thompson: The FCS Campbell Camels loss in heartbreaking fashion at North Alabama 25-24 at Braly Stadium in Florence, AL on Saturday. The Lions’ Joe Gurley kicked a 20-yard field goal as time expired. Thompson played the game on special teams for the Camels, whose six-game winning streak was snapped. Campbell is still undefeated in the Big South Conference (North Alabama will officially join the Big South in 2020. They’re a provisional FCS program this season after jumping up from Division II). Campbell hosts Kennesaw State next Saturday.

Rodney Brooks: Division II Fayetteville State defeated Livingstone 32-0 at Alumni Memorial Stadium in Salisbury on Saturday. Brooks made three tackles for the Blue Bears, including one for a loss. Livingston falls to 4-5, 1-5 in the CIAA. They end the season next week against Johnston C. Smith for Senior Day.

Kevin Wright: Division III North Carolina Wesleyan defeated Methodist 48-24 at Monarch Stadium in Fayetteville. Wright, a 2018 Cedar Ridge graduate, had two tackles for the Battling Bishops. Wesleyan is 4-4, 3-2 in the USA South Athletic Conference. They travel to Huntingdon next Saturday.

Taylin Jean: Mount Olive defeated Division II Limestone 2-1 at Saints Field in Gaffney, S.C. on Saturday in a showdown for first place in Conference Carolinas. Jean started as goalkeeper for the Saints once again and made two saves. Limestone is 8-8, 7-3 in Conference Carolinas . The Trojans wrapped up the Centennial Conference regular season championship with the victory.

Brittany Daley: The Division III Greensboro College women’s soccer team advanced to the USA South Conference Tournament semifinals on Saturday. The Pride defeated Huntingdon 2-0 at Pride Field in Greensboro. Daley started her 18th game of the season at center back. Greensboro will face Covenant in the semifinals at Maryville College in Tennessee on Friday.

Lili Henry: The Division III Methodist volleyball team ended its regular season on Saturday in a tri-match at the Riddle Center in Fayetteville. William Peace defeated the Monarchs 3-0 on scores of 25-20, 25-20, and 25-15. Henry had 13 assists, five digs and one ace against the Pacers. Earlier in the day, Greensboro College edged the Monarchs 3-2 on scores of 16-25, 25-22, 11-25, 25-16 and 12-15. Henry led the team with 29 assists, eleven digs and one ace. Methodist concludes the regular season 6-19, 5-11 in the USA South Conference. The Monarchs still play in the USA South Conference tournament with a road trip to William Peace on Tuesday.

Lionel Reid-Shaw: The 2016 Orange graduate picked quite a time to score his first career goal for the Division III Dickinson men’s soccer team. In the 65th game of his career, Reid-Shaw scored off a header in the 76th minute for the game-winning goal as the Red Devils defeated Muhlenberg in the final home game of the regular season for Dickinson at Miller Memorial Field in Carlisle, PA on Wednesday night. Reid-Shaw is a senior. The goal secured either a #2 or #3 seed for Dickinson in the upcoming Centennial Conference Tournament. Dickinson will travel to Johns Hopkins on Saturday.

Kayla Hodges: The 2018 Orange High graduate was named 2nd team All-Colonial Athletic Conference in women’s soccer on Thursday. This season, Hodges started all 17 games for Elon. She scored four goals and tallied two assists. Towards the end of the regular season, Hodges scored goals in consecutive games against William & Mary and Drexel. Hodges, a sophomore, helped Elon go from 3-10-4 in 2018 to 12-5-2 in 2019. On Friday night, the Phoenix defeated Northeastern 2-1 in the opening round of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament at Hoftra Soccer Stadium. Hodges started at midfield as Elon advanced to the semifinals of the CAA Tournament for the first time in program history. Elon will face top-seeded Hofstra on Sunday afternoon.

Taylin Jean: The Division II Limestone women’s soccer team dropped a tough 1-0 overtime decision to Catawba on Wednesday at Saints Field in Gaffney, S.C. Hodges, a 2018 Cedar Ridge graduate, started in net for the Saints and made five saves. She is now 8-7 this season. Limestone is 7-2 in Conference Carolinas, two games behind Mount Olive for 1st place. Jean has started every game for the Saints. They return home on Saturday to face Mount Olive.

Jordan Rogers: The Division III William Peace University women’s soccer team ended its season on Wednesday. Methodist defeated the Pacers 1-0 at Monarch SoccerPlex in Fayetteville in the opening round of the USA South Athletic Conference Tournament. Rogers started at wingback for the Pacers, who ended the season 7-11-1. It set a new program record for wins in a season. The team also made the USA South Tournament for the first time in team history. Rogers, a sophomore, started all 19 games this season for Peace and moved from midfielder to wingback. Last season, Rogers played 14 games for Peace.

Brittany Daley: The Greensboro College women’s soccer team didn’t play this week. They earned a bye to the quarterfinals of the USA South Athletic Conference Tournament after the Pride finished as the top-seed from the Eastern Division. Greensboro hosts Huntingdon on Saturday afternoon at Pride Field.

Lili Henry: The Division III Methodist volleyball team lost to Guilford College 3-1 at the Riddle Center in Fayetteville. Henry, who graduated from Cedar Ridge in 2018, led the Monarchs with 23 assists. She also had two aces and six digs. Methodist is 6-17 overall, 5-9 in the USA South Athletic Conference. They will host Greensboro and William Peace in a tri-match on Saturday.

Bailey Lucas: On Friday night, the Meredith volleyball team ended its regular season with a 3-1 win over Salem College at Varsity Gym in Winston-Salem. Lucas had a team-high 28 assists and 18 digs. The Avenging Angels finished the regular season 19-8, 13-3 in the USA South Conference. In a packed Weatherspoon Gym in Raleigh on Wednesday, William Peace defeated Meredith volleyball team 3-1 on scored of 17-25, 25-20, 25-23 and 25-19. Lucas, who graduated from Orange in 2018, played in all four sets for Meredith. She finished with a team-high 23 assists, 12 digs, and two kills. The loss knocked Meredith out of first place in conference play. They will go into the USA South Conference Tournament, which starts Tuesday, as the #2 seed.

Adam Chnupa: On Saturday, the Elon football team came from behind to defeat Rhode Island 38-13 in Meade Stadium in Kingston, RI. Chnupa, a former Cedar Ridge All-Big 8 football and baseball player, played on special teams as the Phoenix won its second straight game. This season, Chnupa has played in four games for Elon, who are now 4-4 overall, 3-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Phoenix host William & Mary for Homecoming next Saturday at Rhodes Stadium.

Keshawn Thompson: Among the wild games throughout the country on Saturday was Campbell’s 49-47 triple overtime win over Gardner-Webb at Spangler Stadium in Boiling Springs. Thompson, a redshirt sophomore who graduated from Orange in 2017, assisted on two tackles for the Camels. He also had a tackle for loss. Campbell is 6-1, 3-0 in the Big South. They travel to North Alabama next Saturday for a nonconference game.

Rodney Brooks: In the CIAA on Saturday, Winston-Salem State shutout Livingston 21-0 at Alumni Memorial Stadium in Salisbury. Brooks entered the game as a safety, made one tackle and assisted on two others. The Blue Bears fell to 4-4, 1-4 in the CIAA. They host Fayetteville State next Saturday.

Kevin Wright: In Rocky Mount, Division III Brevard defeated North Carolina Wesleyan 26-20 at Rocky Mount Stadium. Wright had one solo tackle and assisted on two others as the Battling Bishops fell to 3-4, 2-2 in the USA South Athletic Conference. Wright has played in four games for Wesleyan this season. The Bishops travel to Methodist next Saturday.

Lionel Reid-Shaw: On senior day for the Division III Dickinson men’s soccer team on Saturday, Reid-Shaw started at centerback as the Red Devils defeated Haverford 2-1 in Carlisle, PA. Reid-Shaw fired a shot on goal as Dickinson improved to 9-6, 5-2 in the Centennial Conference. On Wednesday, Reid-Shaw will play his final home game for Dickinson, who will host Muhlenberg on Wednesday night. Dickinson is in 3rd place in the Centennial Conference, one game in the loss column behind Franklin & Marshall.

Kayla Hodges: The Elon women’s soccer team suffered a tough loss on Thursday. Delaware defeated the Phoenix 2-0 at Grant Stadium in Newark, DE. Hodges, who had goals in three consecutive games coming into the game, started at midfield and fired a shot on net. The Phoenix had only three shots on net in the game. Elon is 11-4-2 overall, 5-2-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association. Elon is now tied with Delaware for third in the loss column in the CAA.

Taylin Jean: The Division II Limestone women’s soccer team defeated Southern Wesleyan University 2-0 at Saints Field in Gaffney, SC on Saturday. Jean posted her seven shutout of the season. She started and played 52 minutes before being replaced by Paige Renkosik, who was among eight seniors who played their final home game. Jean is 8-6 as the goalkeeper of the Saints this season. Limestone is 7-2 in Conference Carolinas. They’re in 3rd place in the league, two games behind Mount Olive for 1st place.

Brittany Daley: On Senior Day for the Division III Greensboro College women’s soccer team defeated North Carolina Wesleyan 2-0 at Pride Field on Saturday. Daley started again at centerback. She has started all 17 games for Greensboro. The Pride ended the regular season 12-4-1, 6-1-1 in the USA South Athletic Conference. They will be the top seed for the USA South Athletic Conference Tournament, which starts later this week.

Jordan Rogers: The William Peace women’s soccer team defeated Averett University 3-0 at Campbell Stadium in Danville, VA on Saturday. With the victory, the Pacers set the program record for most wins in a season. Rogers, who graduated from Orange in 2018, started her 18th game of the season for Peace. The Pacers are now 7-10-1, 3-5 in the USA South. The Pacers will also start play in the USA South Conference Tournament this week.

Lili Henry: On Friday night, two former Hillsborough volleyball players squared off against each other again. Lili Henry, who graduated from Cedar Ridge in 2018, suited up for Division III Methodist against Meredith. The Avenging Angels defeated the Monarchs 3-1 on scores of 21-25, 25-13, 25-22 and 25-7. Henry had 15 assists, one ace, one kill and two digs. Methodist is 6-16, 5-9 in the USA South.

Bailey Lucas: Lucas played all four sets for Meredith against Methodist. She finished with 16 assists and five digs. The Avenging Angels are 16-7 overall, 10-2 in the USA South. Meredith is tied in the loss column with Averett for 1st place in the conference.

Payton Wilson: On Wednesday, the Football Writers Association of America named Wilson to its Freshman All-American watch list. As mentioned in Sunday’s edition, Wilson is third on N.C. State’s football team with 36 tackles this season. He has three-and-a-half tackles for loss through six games. He’s also tied for second the team with three special teams tackles. Wilson is a 2018 Orange graduate who won the 2017 3A state championship in wrestling at 220 pounds. He was also a midfielder in lacrosse before leaving Orange in January 2018 to enroll early in Raleigh.

Chandler Compton: The 2016 Orange graduate played on senior night for the Wofford men’s soccer team in Spartanburg, SC on Wednesday night. Compton played eight minutes as the Terriers defeated VMI 3-0 at Snyder Field. It was Compton’s first game of the season for the Terriers. Wofford named John Tyson, a former assistant with Charlotte Independence of the United Soccer League, as its new head coach last December. The Terriers are 4-9-1 overall, 2-1-1 in the Southern Conference.

Lionel Reid-Shaw: Division III Gettysburg defeated Dickinson 4-2 at Clark Field in Gettysburg, PA on Sunday night. Reid-Shaw started for Dickinson at center back. The Red Devils are now 8-6, 4-2 in the Centennial Conference. Reid-Shaw has played in 13 games for Dickinson this year and started nine.

Kayla Hodges: Another goal for Hodges as Elon defeated James Madison 3-2 at Rudd Field in Elon on Sunday. Hodges tallied her fourth goal of the season in the 40th minute off a corner kick sent in by Hannah Doherty. Hodges has scored goals in three consecutive games. After a three-win season in 2018, the Phoenix is in the hunt for the Colonial Athletic Association Championship. Elon is tied with UNC Wilmington for second. Hofstra leads the CAA with a 5-0-2 mark with two games remaining in the regular season. Elon travels to Delaware Thursday night.

Taylin Jean: On Sunday, Jean claimed her seventh win of the season in net for the Division II Limestone women’s soccer team. The Saints defeated Emmanuel 3-1 in Stephen Athletic Complex in Franklin Spring, GA. Jean made eight saves for the win. On Wednesday night, Carson-Newman defeated Limestone 2-1, the Saints’ first home loss of the season. Jean started at goalkeeper for Limestone and made three saves. Limestone is 7-6 overall, 6-2 in Conference Carolinas. They fall one game behind Carson-Newman for 1st place in the league.

Brittany Daley: Pfeiffer defeated the Division III Greensboro College women’s soccer team 1-0 on Wednesday night at Pride Field in Greensboro in a battle for first place in the USA South Athletic Conference. Daley started her 16th game of the season for the Pride. Greensboro’s seven-game undefeated streak came to an end. The Pride are 11-4-1 overall, 5-1-1 in the USA South. They are tied with Pfeiffer in the loss column for first place. The Falcons are 7-1. However, Pfeiffer is ineligible for the USA South Tournament because they have reclassified as a Division III program (they were previously Division II).

Jordan Rogers: Division III Meredith defeated the William Peace women’s soccer team 2-1 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary on Tuesday. Rogers started her 16th game of the year for the Pacers. Peace is 6-10, 2-5 in the USA South.

Lili Henry: Division III Methodist volleyball team swept Pfeiffer in Merner Gym in Misenheimer on Wednesday night. The Monarchs never trailed in winning 25-20, 25-19, and 25-15. Henry popped up 20 assists for the Monarchs. Methodist improves to 5-15, 4-8 in the USA South.

Bailey Lucas: The Division III Meredith volleyball team swept North Carolina Wesleyan at Weatherspoon Gymnasium in Raleigh on Tuesday night. Lucas played in all three sets, finishing with 12 assists, six digs and two aces. Meredith is 16-7 overall, 10-2 in the USA South.

Colin Guentensberger: On Saturday, #24 Appalachian State defeated Louisiana-Monroe 52-7 at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone. The Mountaineers improved to 6-0, 3-0 in the Sun Belt Conference. It was the first time that former Orange Panther Colin Guentensberger suited up for the Mountaineers. Guentensberger is a freshman walk-on. He didn’t see action on Saturday. Guentensberger was the Hillsboroughsports.com Player of the Year in 2018. He was second on the team with 100 tackles and also had 23 receptions, behind only Zyon Pettiford.

Payton Wilson: On a dismal day for N.C. State, Wilson had a career-high nine tackles for the Wolfpack in a 45-24 loss to Boston College in Chestnut Hill, MA. Wilson had one-half tackle for loss. He was tied with Louis Acceus for 2nd on the team in tackles. Through seven games, Wilson third on the team with 35 tackles, including three-and-a-half for loss.

Trent Gill: The former Cedar Ridge kicker had six punts for N.C. State against the Eagles. Gill had an average of 45.5 yards. His longest was 62 yards, one of three punts over 50 yards for Gill. Three punts were downed inside the 20. Gill also had three kickoffs that totaled 173 yards. N.C. State will take this week off and travel to Wake Forest on November 2.

Keshawn Thompson: The FCS Campbell Camels defeated Hampton 31-16 at Barker-Lane Stadium in Buies Creek on Saturday. Thompson returned to action after missing the Presbyterian game on October 5. Thompson assisted on two tackles. After losing the season opener at Troy, Campbell has won five in a row and is 2-0 in the Big South Conference. The Camels travel to Gardner-Webb next Saturday.

Rodney Brooks: Shaw defeated Livingston 27-20 in CIAA action at G. Williams Complex in Raleigh on Saturday. Brooks had three tackles for the Blue Bears. Livingstone falls to 4-3, 2-3 in the CIAA. The Blue Bears will return to Salisbury and take on Winston-Salem State on Saturday.

Kevin Wright: The 2018 Cedar Ridge graduate had five tackle as Division III North Carolina Wesleyan lost to Averett 41-24 at Frank Campbell Stadium in Danville, VA on Saturday. The Battling Bishops are 3-3. They will host Brevard next week in Rocky Mount.

Brittany Daley: Two former Hillsborough products played against each other as Division III Greensboro College defeated William Peace University 3-0 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. Daley, who played at Cedar Ridge, started her 15th game of the season for Greensboro. The Pride sit atop the USA South Conference with a 5-0-1 record. They are 11-3-1 overall.

Jordan Rogers: Rogers started at wingback for Peace against Greensboro. Peace falls to 6-9-1, 2-4 in the USA South.

Lili Henry: The Division III Methodist volleyball team split in their tri-match at North Carolina Wesleyan in Rocky Mount on Saturday. The Monarchs defeated Wesleyan in five sets on scores of 14-25, 26-24, 21-25, 25-9 and 15-5. Henry had a season-high 25 assists for Methodist. She also had nine digs and one ace as Methodist improved to 4-15, 3-8 in the USA South. Earlier in the day, Averett defeated Methodist 3-1 on scores of 25-17, 18-25, 25-15 and 25-19. Against the Cougars, Henry had 12 assists, one ace and seven digs. Methodist returns home to face Pfeiffer at the Riddle Center in Fayetteville on Tuesday.

Bailey Lucas: The Division III Meredith volleyball team won both its matches inside Weatherspoon Gymnasium in Raleigh on Saturday. The Avenging Angels swept Pfeiffer 25-9, 25-22 and 25-22. They also defeated Greensboro in five sets on scores of 15-25, 25-20, 25-15, 23-25 and 15-8. Lucas played in both matches for Meredith. Against Greensboro, Lucas had two kills, 18 assists, 13 digs and 3 aces. In the sweep of Pfeiffer, Lucas had one kill, 12 assists and one dig. Meredith is 15-7, 9-2 in the USA South. The Angels travel to North Carolina Wesleyan on Tuesday.

Doing play-by-play for football requires a lot of preparation. There’s a lot of names and numbers to memorize. Plenty of facts to pour over and write down. Football tends to draw the biggest listening audience to the website (though there have been baseball and softball games that have drawn more listeners, except for the 2016 Orange-Havelock football game), so no announcer worth their salt wants to sound uneducated to a listener.

When you try to fool the viewer at home, chances are the broadcaster is the one who will get fooled.

If you do enough games, a broadcaster will see some memorable ones, to one degree or another. The 2014 Orange-Chapel Hill football game stands out for me, when Orange came back from a 21-7 deficit to win 38-37. After Bryse Wilson recovered an onside kick, Tay Jones scored on a long touchdown run, then cashed in on a 2-point conversion with 37 seconds remaining.

I was lucky to do seven years of play-by-play for Northern Durham, where all of the teams had a goal to win the state championship every August. None of the squads I covered ever did, but there were some amazing games. The 2001 Northern Nash-Northern game stands out, where Fred Williams scored on a slant from 65-yards with 1:31 remaining to tie the game, only to have Northern Nash run the subsequent kickoff back 91 yards for a touchdown to win.

Every broadcaster will have forgettable games if they do it for a long time.

Then there are the games that are unforgettable for perverse reasons.

For me and some of my friends, that game is the 2006 Cedar Ridge-East Chapel Hill game.

The game was played on Labor Day, which was fitting, because both offenses sure did labor. Cedar Ridge won 3-0 in what was merely the worst football game ever played. How bad? The longest play from scrimmage was 14 yards. Cedar Ridge had 97 yards total offense—and won.

In the 2nd quarter, Cedar Ridge recovered a fumble deep in East territory and proceeded to go minus-three yards on the subsequent three plays.

And this was the game-winning drive.

Cedar Ridge’s kicker a 29-yard field goal and the two teams spent the rest of the night slogging across a muddy field with one punt piled on top of another.

Which leads us to the officiating, not a subject I look to insult because it’s a hard job and high school sports needs as many bodies as they can nowadays.

But they need people who know the rules.

Any casual football viewer understands what happens when a block in the back is called on the receiving team during a punt. It has to happen once a game, at least.

The receiving team is penalized ten years from the spot of the foul, but they keep possession of the ball.

This simple fact eluded the officiating crew on this night, who called the block in the back penalty against East. But instead of correctly switching possession to East, they gave Cedar Ridge the ball back like it was a roughing the kicker penalty.

And the crew did this TWICE.

After the second time, I completely lost it on the air. I ripped the officials, saying if they didn’t know the rules, they didn’t need to be out there. I threw it to a break at one point with the words “We go to the 4th quarter, and not a moment too soon.”

My colorman, Walter Storholt, couldn’t contain his laughter.

Did I mention there was a rain delay at halftime? Play-by-play men HATE rain delays in football because we have to kill time. We’re talking about anything. By the time the delay started in a slog of a game, I felt like I was sitting beside John Matuzak and Woody Hayes in football purgatory (O.J. Simpson’s seat is warm and waiting, by the way)

Ah, but one bright memory remains.

East’s coach was David Thompson, who spoke with a high-pitched lisp that Avery Johnson would have found exaggerated. His tenure at East was, at best, difficult. But it did lead to the greatest halftime interview in recorded broadcasting history, one that has remained in my Dropbox folder for some 13 years.

I’m not sure how my friend Johnny Jones maintained a straight face through this, but it’s a true tribute to his immense talent that he did.

Enjoy.

For my money, on the list of the greatest coaching rants, you can have your Dennis Greens. You can have your Jim Moras. You can have your Mike Singletarys.

“There’s my foot, I’m going to shoot it” lives on forever, as much as airing over a 5,000 watt AM station possibly can. When I see some of my former WCHL friends to this day, we blurt out “there’s my foot” just to crack each other up.

In 1995, Cowboy Junkies released a song called “A Common Disaster,” which is about people growing closer based off of troubling stories from their past.

Cedar Ridge-East from 2006 will always be my Common Disaster. Aside from most of my first dates, of course.