Orange High School

The surroundings were there for a coronation.

A year after looking out of sorts in its first-ever Eastern Regional Championship game appearance against First Flight, the Orange lacrosse team looked to get it right on Tuesday night at Auman Stadium in another state semifinal appearance.

Their opponent, Northwood, had lost five straight games to the Panthers. On April 19 in Pittsboro, the Panthers ruined the Chargers’ senior night with a 16-10 win that clinched the Mid-Carolina Conference championship.

Yet despite Orange’s dominance in the rivalry, Northwood looked like the most desperate team on Tuesday night, as they should have. It was the last chance for seniors Will Smith, Taylor Laberge, Jason Walden, Will Johnson and Taylor Zelholf to beat Orange.

They played like it was their last game. It led to the Chargers first regional championship.

As the buzzer sounded on Northwood’s 10-8 upset win over the Panthers in the 3A/2A/1A Eastern Regional Championship game, the jubilant Chargers all threw their white sticks in the air while Orange coach Chandler Zirkle watched from the sidelines.

Northwood advances to face Lake Norman Charter in the State Championship game at Durham County Stadium.

It was a crushing disappointment for Orange (18-4), who was held to a season-low eight goals against a 3A/2A/1A opponent. Junior Connor Kruse, the Panthers’ leading scorer who went into the game with a right leg injury, was held without a goal for the first time this season.

It was Orange’s first loss against a team from its own classification all year. The Panthers had been ranked #1 in the RPI East Region all season. Northwood was #2.

Tigh Metheny, in his final game at Orange, scored two goals. After the final buzzer, an inconsolable Metheny was motionless laying face-down in the middle of the field as his teammates gathered around him in a show of support.

“Northwood made the plays in front of them,” Zirkle said after addressing his team. “They did a great job of that. We just didn’t hit our shots. We turned the ball over too much and created turnover opportunities.”

The wear and tear of playing 21 games caught up with Orange. In addition to Kruse’s injury, freshman Matthew MacNair was also banged up after establishing himself in place of senior Jake Wimsatt, who injured his MCL in March.

Without a healthy Kruse, Orange’s offense looked disjointed. A superb effort by Johnson, who defended Kruse most of the night, kept the Panthers from getting into a rhythm. After Josh Cowan notched Orange’s opening goal off a rebound conceded by Northwood goalkeeper James Flanagan 97 seconds into the game, the Panthers didn’t score for nearly twelve minutes.

“18 wins is the most we’ve had as a program,” Zirkle said. “That’s a lot of games on the legs. Connor’s biggest strength has been his durability. We had all the chances we needed to try to score and we just couldn’t execute it.”

Northwood controlled possession the final five minutes of the first quarter. They evened the game when Carson Fortunes found Smith darting through the heart of the slot for a transition goal. Then Laberge notched an unassisted goal when he fired an overhand shot past Orange goalkeeper Katie Wolter. Fortunes hit Walden on the doorstep for a dunk shot to make it 3-1 Chargers with 2:28 remaining in the first quarter.

Orange quickly tied it in the second quarter with two goals in 22 seconds, both assisted by freshman Brandon Williams. Luke Nevius fired in a sidearm bazooka from 16 yards. After a slashing penalty against Taylor Zelholf, Metheny tallied Orange’s first man-up goal with 10:26 remaining in the first half.

It felt like the Panthers had found their offensive legs after a sluggish first quarter, but that was the final time the game was tied.

Laberge added his second goal off an assist from Fortunes. After Orange’s Nick Cardone was called for slashing, Walden scored off an assist from Smith for the Chargers only man-up goal. Wimsatt responded with a sidearm shot assisted by Kruse with 1:12 remaining to make it 5-4 at halftime.

Walden bounced in his third goal to start the second half off a feed from Laberge. Metheny ripped his second goal off a feed from Kruse, but the Panthers were held scoreless for the final 5:28 of the third quarter. Smith’s second goal off a pass from Van Reece gave the Chargers a 7-5 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Cowan scored from the top of the box on a sidearm shot to begin the fourth quarter, but Northwood built a three-goal lead afterwards. Laberge completed his hat trick off a pass from Walden. Fortunes added his only goal of the game.

Orange fought back with two goals in 44 seconds, the first from senior Joe Cady. Josh Crabtree added another after an offside penalty to cut the Chargers lead to 9-8, but the Panthers couldn’t win a face-off. Coltrane Northington had a strong game for the Chargers at the face-off dot. Walden’s fourth goal with 3;08 remaining put the game on ice.

After Orange defeated Northwood on April 19 to complete a season sweep, it felt like the Panthers could punch its own ticket to the state championship game. It was why they played powerful 4A schools like Green Level and Wilmington Laney early in the season. Instead, the Chargers didn’t win a conference championship, but they did take a regional championship.

“It just sucks,” Zirkle said. “The kids did so much to try to get back to this point and try to take the next step. We weren’t able to do that. So it’s on to next year.”

It was a bitter disappointment for seniors Wimsatt, Cady, Cardone, Metheny, Josiah Tisdale, Braden Hunt, Seth Hall, Andrew Harris and Dalton Murphy, who leave after putting Orange lacrosse higher on the totem pole amid the crowded spring sports landscape in Hillsborough. Together, they won the first two conference championships in school history and hosted a regional title game twice with three trips to the state quarterfinals.

“We love them,” Zirkle said. “They left with the most wins in program history. They’ve done a phenomenal job.”

The Orange lacrosse team will go for its first regional championship tonight when they host Northwood at Auman Stadium. It will be the third matchup of the year between the Panthers and the Chargers. Senior defenseman Nick Cardone had a big hand in beating the Chargers on March 20. In an 11-8 Orange win in Hillsborugh, Cardone helped hold the Chargers to three goals in the final 17:51. Cardone had four ground balls and created two turnovers. Cardone has signed to play at Division II Catawba College. Junior defenseman Sascha Van Praag was in his native country, the Netherlands, at the beginning of the season. He has played seven games for Orange this season. Van Praag had six ground balls against Bishop McGuinness on April 24, a 10-9 Orange win. If the Panthers emerge victorious tonight, they will play for the 3A/2A/1A State Championship at Durham County Stadium either Friday or Saturday.

Orange lacrosse’s Sascha Van Praag and Nick Cardone talk tonight’s regional title game vs. Northwood

No Description

All that stands between Orange High and its first-ever trip to the 3A/2A/1A State Lacrosse Championship is a showdown with a conference rival.

Orange and Northwood are no strangers to one another. When they meet tonight (Tuesday) for the 3A/2A/1A Eastern Regional Championship at Auman Stadium, it will be their seventh meeting since March 8, 2021. On that night, the Chargers disposed of the Panthers easily, 17-6, at Chargers Stadium in Pittsboro.

It was hardly a surprise. It was the Chargers fifth win in six meetings against the Panthers. But like a lot of stuff since Chandler Zirkle took over the Orange lacrosse program, things changed at warp speed.

Just nine days later, the Panthers stunned the Chargers 10-9 to advance to the state quarterfinals for the first time in program history. Freshman Connor Kruse scored the game-winning goal late in the fourth quarter. Sophomore Jake Wimsatt tied the game off a man-up goal following an illegal stick penalty. Two years later, that call still sticks in the craw of some Northwood fans. It took a goal off the scoreboard that would have given the Chargers the lead.

The following year, the Panthers and the Chargers became rivals in the Mid-Carolina Conference. Yet the Panthers have beaten the Chargers four straight times, including twice this season, and have won 30 consecutive conference game overall.

Orange eased into the regional championship game after belting Carrboro 15-7 on Friday night at Auman Stadium. Kruse, who leads the team with 67 goals, paced Orange with four goals and two assists. Senior Joe Cady had a hat trick, putting him at 40 goals on the season.

“I thought we have a lot of skill and we played OK at times,” Zirkle said. “I thought we were focused on trying to play better and take the next step for Northwood. I think some of the guys thought we overlooked last year’s semifinal (also against Carrboro) so we’re trying to be critical of ourselves and focusing on what needs to be fixed.”

Wimsatt, who recently returned after an MCL injury kept him out of the lineup for most of the season, added a goal in the third quarter. For Orange’s ascendance to the top of the conference, Wimsatt was the ace face-off man. Wimsatt’s injury kept him on the sidelines while freshman Matthew MacNair handled duties at the dot. Yet Wimsatt’s presence makes Orange deeper than the last time they played Northwood, a 16-10 Orange win in Pittsboro on April 19.

“It’s such a boost to have Jake,” Zirkle said. “He just makes us better. He’s helped us a lot.”

The Chargers will be deeper, too. Northwood (17-3) is expected to have Grayson Cox, the son of head coach Randy Cox, back in the lineup after he missed last month’s game due to a broken wrist. Junior defenseman Ryan Brinker is also slated to return after suffering a shoulder injury earlier this year.

Northwood edged Croatan 5-4 last week to reach the state quarterfinals, then hammered Havelock 15-4 on Friday in Pittsboro.

“I know they’ll have some type of wrinkle up their sleeve,” Zirkle said. “I’m not sure what to expect. We’ll have to figure out what it could be. It’s going to be interesting. They have a 3-3 zone that use. I wouldn’t be surprised if they use a 10-man ride. I expect they’ll be at their best version of themselves.”

For the Chargers, the game could be a last stand for a senior class that has reached the regional championship game for the first time in school history. Seniors Will Smith (63 goals and 100 points), Taylor LaBerge (60 goals and 98 points) and Jason Walden (76 points) will fight to reach the state championship game–and end a five-game losing streak to Orange.

Orange (18-3) is looking to become just the second team from Hillsborough to win a regional championship in lacrosse. Last year, thousands of fans packed Auman Stadium to see Orange face off against First Flight for the regional title. But the moment may have overwhelmed a Panther team with only five seniors. First Flight defeated Orange 13-7.

Now, Orange starters like Kruse, Cady, Wimsatt, Tigh Metheny and defensive standouts like Braden Hunt, Sascha Van Praag and Josiah Tisdale are a year wiser with more playoff experience that any Orange team in history.

“I’m sure we’re more prepared in some capacity,” Zirkle said. “It’s tough to quantify that. It’s gives us a reference point about what to think about as opposed to going into it blind. That’s a positive. And the end of the day, you’ve got to make the plays in front of you on the field. You’ve got to figure out the right way to play, make sure you win.”

Six years ago today, Cedar Ridge won the 3A/2A/1A Eastern Regional Championship when they defeated Chapel Hill 11-8 at Red Wolves Stadium.

It has been 25 years since the Orange men’s outdoor track and field team had a runner win a state championship.

This Friday, Gabriel Schmid will look to end that drought. If this academic year is any indication, the smart money may be on him.

On Friday, Schmid continued an incredibly impressive year by winning two regional titles at the 3A Mideast Track and Field Championships at Franklinton High School.

Schmid cruised to victory in the 3,200 meters with a time of 9:11.10. He finished a full 37 seconds ahead of Corbin Weeks of Union Pines. Logan Trotten-Lancaster of Union Pines came in third at 9:56.77. Last year, Schmid finished second in the regionals behind his own teammate, Spencer Hampton of Orange.

Schmid also won the regional championship in the 1,600 meters at 4:23.96. Northwood’s Noah Nileson came in second at 4:28.71.

In addition, Orange sophomore Ja’Ki McDaniels earned a spot to the 3A State Championships this Friday at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro. McDaniels came in third in the long jump at 21-feet, 6.5 inches. Kaleb Lucas of the Durham School of the Arts finished first at 22-feet, nine inches. Trenton Wiley of Eastern Alamance finished second at 21-feet, 11.5-inches.

McDaniels almost qualified for the state championships in the triple jump. His best leap of 40-feet-4,25 inches was good enough for fifth place. A.J. Allen of Southern Nash got fourth place, and the final state championship spot, at 40-feet-7.5 inches.

Isaiah Seymour, a senior who started the past two seasons for the Orange men’s basketball team, qualified for the state championships in the triple jump. Seymour finished third in the triple jump at 40-feet, ten-inches. He also came in eleventh in the long jump. Donovan Estes of Franklinton finished first at 44-feet-,6.25-inches.

Seymour’s brother, Issac, qualified for the state indoor track and field championships in February in the high jump. Issac Seymour finished 12th in the high jump in the outdoor regionals on Friday.

Schmid has had one of the greatest years for any runner in Orange High history. He won the 3A State Cross Country championship last November, finishing first at 15:44.28, a full 16 seconds ahead of runner-up Stephen Fernetti of North Lincoln. He became the first state cross country champion for Orange since Bradsher Wilkins in 1998.

Wilkins was also the last Orange runner to win a state championship in outdoor track and field. In 1998, Bradsher was named the Most Outstanding Performer at the State Championships when he won the 1,600 and 3,200 meters.

Jamar Davis was the last Orange competitor to win an outdoor state championship. Davis was named the Most Outstanding Performer of the 2018 NCHSAA 3A State Championships when he captured the state championships in the long jump and the triple jump. Davis also competed in the Penn Relays in his senior season. He is currently in his final season at N.C. State, where he recently won the triple jump in the Penn Relays.

Schmid started the year winning the Early Bird Challenge in cross country on August 20. After winning the 3A State Cross Country Championships, he qualified for the Indoor State Championships by finishing 14th at the New Balance Dash for Doobie 3,200 in Pfafftown. In December, Schmid ran in the Nike Cross Country Nationals in Portland, OR.

Orange had other competitors nearly reach the state championships. Aiden Viola came in eighth in the 800 meters at 2:04.84.

Myles Jermyn almost earned a ticket to Greensboro in the 1,600 meters. He finished 5th at 4:30.09. Corbin Weeks of Union Pines finished fourth to take the final spot for the state championships at 4:29.57.

Freshman Lucas Van Mater of Orange came in sixth in the 3,200 meters at 10:00.96. Peter Musser crossed the finish line in 10th at 10:28.87.

Edgar Ibarra, who was the only Cedar Ridge Red Wolf to qualify for regionals, finished 14th in the 3,200 meters at 11:09.33.

In addition to Sampey’s near-miss in the pole vault, Orange freshman Liam Van Schaick finished fifth at 9-feet.

No rally caps. No hokey chants from the dugout. No pep talks.

Orange didn’t need any of that for the greatest comeback in the baseball’s team history on Friday night. They just needed a reminder of who they were and what they were playing for.

Even if the hole they were in couldn’t have been much darker or deeper.

Triton, who had only four losses all year, had just scored five runs in the tenth inning in the second round of the 3A State Playoffs. It appeared that Kenneth McCoy had delivered the death blow with a three-run triple that bounced into the right field corner. It put the Hawks up 8-4. Then centerfielder Wyatt Avery lined a single up the middle to score McCoy for extra measure.

It was the most runs Orange had given up in an inning all year.

It seemed like a certain ending to a successful season, but not in the Orange dugout. That’s where Ryan Hench and assistant coach Matt Roberts told the team things weren’t over—even if it took a miracle.

Roberts reminded the players the pressure wasn’t on them, it was on Triton.

Hench knew from experience. As a sophomore in 2021, he was the pitcher when Cedar Ridge led Orange 6-3 with the Panthers down to its last strike at Red Wolves Field. Hench drove in the game-tying double and Orange went on to score eleven runs in the seventh to win 13-6.

“You draw off of experiences like that,” said Orange coach Jason Knapp. “Ryan took over ownership after that in the dugout talking to players. That’s something I haven’t seen around here since I’ve been here. Seniors taking ownership. All of them.”

Two years later, the Panthers would chip away at seemingly insurmountable odds 90 feet at a time.

In the most dramatic way possible, junior Wyatt Hedrick became the unlikely hero. He lined a single up the middle with the bases loaded to bring in Cameron Guentensberger in front of a raucous crowd at Panther Field. The Panthers won 9-8 in ten innings to advance to the Round of 16 in the 3A State Playoffs. Orange scored six runs in the bottom of the tenth, its longest game since 2017.

“I didn’t think it was over,” Knapp said. “I’m not going to sit here and say I felt great. But we have watched ourselves be able to do stuff like that, especially on this field. We can erupt at any time with a big, crooked number. We knew the guy they were throwing had some good velocity, but we knew he could walk some games.”

Orange will face Cape Fear, the champions of the United Eight Conference, on Tuesday night in Hillsborough.

Wherever the Panthers go from here, Friday night will be the source of discussion for years to come at reunions and get togethers amongst the players and coaches, not only because it was a giant comeback in the playoffs, but also the sheer craziness of it all.

There was Garrett Sawyer, who hadn’t had a plate appearance all season, somehow batting cleanup in the 10th inning of a state playoff game. Or Hedrick, who had been a part-time starter behind Cross Clayton at second base, with his first career three-hit game. Or Henry Huffman, making his varsity debut after playing on the JV team the whole season, nearly scoring the game-wining run in the ninth.

The Panthers’ season was on life support several times. Triton broke a 2-2 tie in the seventh when leadoff man Jalen Evans scored off a single to right field by Braxton Davis.

Connor Nordan led off the seventh with a liner to left field. Elijah Santos came on to run for Nordan. Santos reached second and third base off consecutive wild pitches. Ryan Honeycutt sent a soft pop fly to shallow centerfield that dropped between Evans and Avery. Santos scored the game-tying run and Honeycutt reached second on the throw. After Ryan Horton was intentionally walked with one out, Neo Best flew out to Avery. Hedrick nearly won the game in the seventh, but Avery made a diving catch in center to extend the game into extra innings.

Nordan led off the ninth with a single to centerfield that somehow got past Avery to the centerfield fence. After Nordan got an extra base, Orange coach Jason Knapp gambled. He pinch-ran Huffman for Nordan to get a faster runner at second. That meant Nordan, who leads the team with 38 RBIs would leave the game permanently.

“That’s was a tough call,” Knapp said. “He gave me a hug after the game. I told him I felt like we needed to get a little more speed out there and try to end it. He was like ‘Coach, I love you and you did what you had to do.'”

Guentensberger drilled a single up the middle that appeared to be enough to win. Yet Avery threw a frozen rope to the plate, where catcher Anthony Jones tagged out Huffman and deny the game-winning run. Relief pitcher Tucker Brown struck out Honeycutt and Horton to send it to the tenth.

Orange appeared to run out of arms in the tenth. Jones got a leadoff walk. Xander Johnson laid down a bunt where Sawyer slipped while fielding it. Ross Stevens loaded the bases off another walk. Diminutive second baseman William Meredith got a bases-loaded walk to score Hayden Campbell, running for Jones, to put the Hawks ahead 4-3 and things were just getting going. McKoy pulled a fastball from Guentensberger, who replaced Sawyer, for a bases-clearing triple. Johnson, Stevens and Meredith all came in to make it 7-3. With still no outs, Avery singled to right field to bring in McCoy.

In retrospect, what seemed like a harmless sequence with Triton ahead 8-3 turned out to be monumental. After Evans doubled, Davis grounded out to Hedrick for the second out. Evans, running at second, took off for third thinking that Avery would try to score from third. Avery wound up in a rundown where Horton tagged him out at the plate for your basic 4-3-6-2 double play.

By that point, Triton probably didn’t care. It seemed they had a surplus of runs and were ready to start a joyous bus ride by to Erwin for a game that had already surpassed three hours.

Braxton Davis, who threw six innings on Tuesday night in the Hawks 12-2 win over Scotland County in the first round, started the tenth for Triton. He induced Neo Best to ground out to Stevens at first base.

Then six straight Panthers reached base.

Hedrick and Jackson Berini walked. David Waitt, who leads the team with 33 hits, drove a fastball into the outfield to load the bases. Hench got drilled on the left knee with a fastball for a run battered in to score Hedrick.

That left Sawyer, in his first plate appearance of the season, in a bizzaro world at-bat with the season on the line. Sawyer worked the count until he got ball four outside to score Berini. Guentensberger ripped a fastball to left field to score Waitt and Hench and reduce the Hawks lead to 8-7.

Triton coach David Reece called in Avery from centerfield to pitch. The Hawks got within one out of the win when Honeycutt flew out to Jones, who moved to right field.

Best, who led off the frame with a groundout, came up to bat 0-for-5. He stayed patient as Avery, who didn’t warm up in the bullpen before going into the game, walked up with ball four well outside of the plate. Sawyer scored amid the loudest crowd pop you’re likely to hear following a walk.

Hedrick returned to the plate, the 11th Panther to hit in the inning. On a 2-2 pitch, Hedrick smoked a liner to centerfield to complete the most miraculous comeback in school history. Guentensberger, who earned the win on the mound, touched the plate for the game-winning run as Triton players collapsed in shock.

Orange, whose last loss was on March 21 is now 24-3. They have now won 17 in a row, but no one in attendance on Friday night will ever forget the Panthers’ latest victory.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior softball shortstop Carson Bradsher. This season, Bradsher was the leading hitter for the Orange softball team with a .596 batting average. On May 2, Bradsher went 3-for-4 with two RBIs as the Lady Panthers defeated Eastern Alamance, the defending 3A State Champions, 9-4 on May 2. The first time Carson was interviewed for Hillsboroughsports.com, it was in November 2019 when she attended a college signing ceremony for Jaden Hurdle inside the Orange Media Center. She said, aside from her family, the thing she was most thankful for was softball. Three years later, Bradsher had her own signing ceremony inside the media center for USC-Upstate in the Big South Conference. In her Orange high career, Bradsher won a Big 8 Conference championship in 2021. She was a member of an Orange team that finished undefeated in the regular season. For her career, Bradsher had a .612 batting average in 38 career games. She had 85 hits and 45 career stolen bases. After missing most of her junior season with an injury, Bradsher had base hits in 18 of Orange’s 19 games this season. Her Orange career ended on Tuesday night in a loss to West Carteret in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs. The daughter of Wayne and Shannon Bradsher, Carson served as a mentor to younger players like Katie Carden this season. Her base running and slap hitting ability at Orange will be missed as she stakes her considerable talents to Spartanburg, SC.

Orange Panther of the Week: Carson Bradsher

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior softball shortstop Carson Bradsher. This season, Bradsher was the leading hitter for the Orange softball team with a .596 batting average. On May 2, Bradsher went 3-for-4 with two RBIs as the Lady Panthers defeated Eastern Alamance, the defending 3A State Champions, 9-4 on May 2.