Orange High School

On an emotionally wrenching night, the Orange junior varsity football team remained undefeated by shutting out Hillside 35-0. Safety Joe Kiger had an interception return for a touchdown. Defensive lineman James McAdoo had two sacks and a fumble recovery. Offensive lineman Owen Aquino had among his best blocking games of the year. Elliott Woods had another interception and missed scoring by three feet. Kicker Nigel Slanker booted a 25-yard field goal and appeared in the game late as quarterback. The players had a special message for injured teammate Tyse Oldenburg.

The Orange football team handed Hillside its first conference loss since 2009 on Friday night. In the process, the Panthers captured its 21st consecutive regular season road victory, completed a sweep of all four of its opponents from Durham and remain tied for first in the Big 8 conference.

Yet for those who were in Russell Blunt Stadium, they wasn’t the lasted memory as Homecoming night faded into Saturday.

Make no mistake, there was animosity between the two teams going into Friday night. even though the two teams hadn’t played in over 20 years. Tensions in the preceding JV game Thursday night started brewing before kickoff when almost all Hillside players took a knee during the national anthem, leading to a predictable backlash afterwards from some on social media.

Then a near tragedy struck when Orange’s Thys Oldenburg suffered a head injury and head to be taken to Duke Hospital in an ambulance. Oldenburg incurred bleeding on his brain and remains at Duke Hospital as of Saturday morning.

The game concluded with a fight between four players during an extra point in a 35-0 Orange victory, leading to four ejections.

This served as a lead-in for the first Orange-Hillside game since Hillside moved into its new school in 1995 on Fayetteville Street. First place was on the line in the Big 8 Conference, as was Hillside’s 48-game conference winning streak (mainly from its days in the 4A PAC-6 Conference) and likely its six consecutive conference championships.

All of that took a backseat when Orange running back Marvante Beasley carried the ball on the first play of the second half. Beasley cut between right guard Jeremiah Bailey and tackle Daylan Alston when he slammed into Hornets linebacker Brendon Edgerton.

It appeared Beasley and Edgerton each lowered their heads and they slammed into each other near midfield. Edgerton got up immediately, but Beasley remained motionless.

Orange Coach Van Smith had just watched this exact scene 24 hours earlier with Oldenburg. Now, he was seeing it again with a senior running back determined to not only surpass his 1,000 yards rushing from last season, but earn a college scholarship. Last weekend, Beasley visited Appalachian State.

An ambulance was called, but Hillside Coach Ray Harrison thought the moment needed something more. He told his players to go over and join the Orange players in a prayer for Beasley.

As the Hillside players walked over, the Orange fans rose to applaud them.

“We felt like we needed to instill certain characteristics that we want to see them develop as young men, “said Harrison. “We’re all brothers in football, regardless of whether it’s Orange or Hillside. We’re still brothers.”

“We get caught up in this game and we think we’re coaching football,” said Orange Coach Van Smith. “But we’re coaching kids. And it’s all about these young men, teaching them life lessons and keeping them safe.”

True to his gregarious nature, Beasley rose his arms as he road away on the stretcher into the ambulance to applause from both teams.

“It meant the world for me to come over to us and pray like that,” said Smith.

Beasley had tingling throughout his legs. Medical personnel assured Beasley he was being placed on the board for precautionary reasons.

“He was arguing with them that the tingling felt normal,” said Smith. “He said that he felt fine and wanted to get up. Obviously, that wasn’t going to happen.”

In its first game inside Hillside’s Russell Blunt Stadium, Orange gained the inside track on the Big 8 Championship with a 34-17 victory. Linebacker Milton Purcell ran in for an interception return for a touchdown. Over the past three games, Burrell has had two blocked field goals, two fumble recoveries and two interceptions.

The Orange football team has struggled to maintain continuity along the offensive line this season. The Panthers have started the same five players along the offensive line in consecutive games all year. However, junior Jeremiah Bailey has stepped in as a guard and defensive tackle. On Friday night, he helped pave the way for Orange to amass 248 rushing yards in a victory over Hillside.

Without Marvante Beasley in the 2nd half, the offensive load fell harder onto the broad shoulders of Orange quarterback Payton Wilson on Friday night. Wilson rushed for 118 yards on 20 punishing carries and two touchdowns as Orange ended Hillside 48-game conference winning streak.

Over the past four games, the Orange defense has forced 13 takeaways. Eryk Mercado has had three interceptions in that span. Eryk continued his solid defensive play on Friday night, helping limit Hillside to 221 yards total offense, a season-low for the Hornets.

Orange handed Hillside its first conference loss since September 25, 2009 on Friday night, a convincing 34-17 victory at Russell Blunt Stadium. Unfortunately, star running back Marvante Beasley was stretchered off the field at the beginning of the third quarter after a 3-yard run. Smith discusses how the team stayed focused in winning its 21st consecutive regular season road game.

Certainly, the United States’ men soccer team catastrophic loss to Trinidad & Tobago to eliminate the Americans from the World Cup can’t compare to the Orange futbol squad losing a conference game. But it was pretty surprising.

Northwood, coming in with a 3-15 record, ended the Panthers’ 9-game winning streak 2-1 on Wednesday night at Panther Soccer Field.

Like Trinidad & Tobago on Tuesday night, the Chargers jumped out to a 2-0 halftime lead. Orange’s Jamar Davis, coming off a four-goal game against Cedar Ridge, tallied the Panthers’ only goal. But the Panthers could never find the equalizer.

With the loss, Chapel Hill now has sole possession of first place in the Big 8 at 10-1. Orange falls to 9-2 with a road trip to CHHS coming up Monday night.

The Panthers are 12-4-2.

Also on Wednesday night, Cedar Ridge tied Northern Durham 2-2 at Red Wolves Stadium. Jake Brown scored both of the Red Wolves goals. Brown also scored against Orange on Monday night.

Senior Cameron Koehler and Gavin Hughes assisted on Brown’s two goals. The Red Wolves had several opportunities to score in overtime, but couldn’t notch a game-winner.

Cedar Ridge is now 4-12-1, 3-7-1 in the Big 8. They travel to East Chapel Hill on Monday night.

With the 3A state playoffs approaching, wildcard playoff spots are up for grabs across the state. If Orange misses the playoffs, Tuesday night’s loss may be a big reason why.

Northern Durham rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat the Panthers 3-2 at Poe Gymtorium. The Knights completed a season sweep of the Panthers on scores of 25-18, 21-25, 22-25, 25-17 and 15-7.

Orange ends the regular season 13-9, 6-8 in the Big 8 Conference. The Panthers finish 5th in the Big 8. Chapel Hill captured the regular season championship while Northern Durham, East Chapel Hill and Northwood finished in a three-way tie for 2nd at 10-4.

Senior Bailey Lucas finished with three aces, ten kills, 16 assists and ten digs. Caroline Compton ended with one ace, one kill, 23 assists and five digs. Senior libero Faith Foushee had 27 digs and two assists. Kaitlyn Werden ended up with eight kills, one bock, one assist and two digs.

On Monday night, Cedar Ridge hosted its annual breast cancer awareness event. It featured a tripleheader with Stanford Middle School and Gravelly Elementary. The North Carolina School of Science and Math swept the Red Wolves 3-0.

Cedar Ridge will conclude its regular season tonight at Southern Durham.