In a year where Duke and North Carolina finally met in the Final Four of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, it was only fitting that Orange and Cedar Ridge would square off in the state playoffs in some sport.

It could have been volleyball. There were three teams from the Central Carolina Conference in the state quarterfinals, with Cedar Ridge ultimately taking it all.

It could have been lacrosse, and it still very much could.

The fact that it will happen in baseball, still one of the most widely participated youth sports from one end of Orange County to the other, makes the matchup juicier than a 5-pound sirloin steak.

The field of 64 in the 3A State Baseball Playoffs was unveiled on Monday morning by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association. Orange, the regular season champions of the Central Carolina Conference, received a #8 seed. Cedar Ridge got a #25 seed, and the two teams will square off head-to-head tonight at Orange High Field. First pitch will be at 6:30.

“I had a pretty good idea it was going to be Cedar Ridge,” said Orang coach Jason Knapp, who was mowing his outfield grass well into Monday night in preparation for the game. “We were prepared for it. It’s going to be a lot of excitement in the community and a great atmosphere.”

The winner will meet the winner of Terry Sanford and Union Pines in the second round later this week.

“This is a great opportunity for our guys,” said Cedar Ridge coach Bryson Massey. “I don’t want to make it any bigger than it is. That’s my way of thinking about it. It’s just another game and it’s great to play in the state playoffs. That was one of our goals at the beginning of the year was to play in the playoffs.”

Going into last week, an Orange-Cedar Ridge matchup in the opening round of the state playoffs looked highly unlikely. As Orange finished first in the CCC, Cedar Ridge came in second. Yet both teams had disappointing results in the CCC Tournament, which is the main reason why they’re playing tonight.

Last Monday, 7th-place Walter Williams upset Cedar Ridge 6-2 in the first postseason game at Red Wolves Territory since 2018.

“We didn’t play our best baseball,” Massey said. “For the guys, it was their first taste of postseason baseball. They got that underneath their belt and realizing how it is. I think it was a good experience for them before the state playoffs. Realizing how it is. It was a learning lesson for them that every out is big. That’s postseason baseball for you.”

Orange, the tournament’s #1 seed, was stunned by Person 4-0 on Tuesday. The Rockets went on to win the tournament championship at Northwood on Thursday night.

“I think we learned you can’t take anything for granted,” Knapp said. “You can get beat any given day at any given time. I think it was an eye-opener for us. We had a great couple of practices in the days after the Person game and had a really good practice today. I think we’re ready to go.”

It will be Cedar Ridge’s first state baseball playoff game since 2018, when they lost to Terry Sanford 7-4 in the 2nd round.

Meanwhile, Knapp is going for his first postseason win in Hillsborough. The Panthers’ last win in the state playoffs came in 2018 when they prevailed at Jacksonville. Four nights later, Chapel Hill dominated the Panthers in what was Dean Dease’s final game as Orange’s head coach after 31 years.

In 2019, J.H. Rose pounded Orange 15-3 in the opening round in Hillsborough. Last June, Asheboro edged the Panthers 5-4 at McCrary Park in a thrilling game that ended with a walkoff double by Tanner Marsh.

The two crosstown rivals met in a two-game series only three weeks ago with plenty on the line. Orange wound up sweeping the series to officially wrap up the CCC regular season championship. On April 21, the Panthers got a 5-inning perfect game from sophomore Cross Clayton in a 16-0 win. The Panthers had a season-high 17 hits.

On April 18, Orange pulled away from Cedar Ridge at Red Wolves Territory 13-5. Leading 4-2 going into the top of the sixth inning, the Panthers scored nine runs in the final two frames. Right fielder David Waitt went 2-for-3 with four runs scored, while sophomore Connor Nordan went 4-for-4 with 4 RBIs.

Nordan went 8-for-9 with seven RBIs in the two-game series against the Red Wolves.

In order to advance to the second round of the state playoffs, Cedar Ridge will also have to battle history. The Red Wolves haven’t won at Orange since April 18, 2012.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior lacrosse midfielder James Clayton. On Thursday night, Clayton had five assists as the Red Wolves defeated Western Alamance 18-5 at Red Wolves Stadium. It was the first time that Cedar Ridge had won a game in the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs since 2017, when they reached the state championship game. In addition, Clayton is the second-leading scorer for Cedar Ridge with 37 points season. On March 8, Clayton had four goals in an 19-4 win over Seaforth. On April 14, the Red Wolves defeated Western Alamance 18-12 in Hillsborough. Clayton had a career-best six assists. On Tuesday night, Cedar Ridge will make a trip to Kill Devil Hills to face First Flight in the Round of 16 in the State Playoffs. Clayton has played four years on the varsity level. This year marks a new career-high for points, goals and assists. After he graduates from Cedar Ridge next month, Clayton plans to attend N.C. State where he wants to play club lacrosse. In a stretch midway through the Mid-Carolina Conference season this year, Clayton scored goals in six consecutive games. 

For the first time since 2017, the Cedar Ridge lacrosse team has won a game in the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs. On Thursday night, Cedar Ridge dominated Western Alamance 18-5 at Red Wolves Stadium. Cedar Ridge, seeded #7, advanced to face First Flight in Kill Devil Hills on Tuesday night. In what may have been his final game inside Red Wolves Stadium, senior Roman Oguntoyinbo scored a career-high nine goals. With the game tied 1-1 with 8:22 remaining in the first quarter, Oguntoyimbo scored five goals during a 10-0 Cedar Ridge run that took all suspense out of the game. Senior Alex Castro scored all five of his goals in the first half. Castro finished with six points on the night. Oguntoyinbo came away with eleven points as the Red Wolves defeated the Warriors for the third time this season. Cedar Ridge advances to the Round of 16. Junior Billy Power added two goals and an assist, while Mason Lynde and Jim Trost also scored goals for Cedar Ridge. The Red Wolves will face the Nighthawks on Tuesday night. The winner advances to the state quarterfinals. Cedar Ridge is one of three teams from the Central Carolina Conference remaining in the state playoffs. 

One. There has been only one.

In each of the two seasons where Cedar Ridge men’s tennis junior Josh Mayhew has finished a season, there was one person who has beaten him each year and kept him from winning the 3A State Singles Championship.

In 2021, it was a senior from Chapel Hill. This year, it was a freshman from Terry Sanford High.

On Saturday at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center in Greensboro, Drew Hedgecoe faced Mayhew for the second straight weekend. With the 3A State Championship on the line, Hedgecoe held off Mayhew 6-3, 7-5. It was the second consecutive year where the state championship boiled down to the top two players from the Mideast Region. Last Saturday at the Burlington Tennis Center, Hedgecoe defeated Mayhew 6-2, 6-3 in the Mideast Regional final.

Mayhew became the first player ever from Cedar Ridge to reach the state singles final in back-to-back years.

“We used to play tournament together when I was about ten,” Mayhew said about Hedgecoe. “We used to be around the same skill level. He just got really good.”

In 2021, Chapel Hill senior Dennis Perumov defeated Mayhew, then a sophomore, in both the state championship and Mideast Regional final. He was the only singles player to beat Mayhew last year.

Facing the best in the state, Mayhew wasn’t seriously challenged leading up to the state championship match on Friday. In the opening round, Mayhew defeated J.J. Woerner of First Flight 6-0, 6-2. In the quarterfinals, Mayhew rolled past Shiv Patel of South Point 6-0, 6-2.

In the semifinals, Mayhew turned back the challenge of Ajay Swisher of St. Stephens 6-0, 6-1.

Hedgecoe was just as dominant throughout the tournament. He lost only two games in the opening three matches. Last week in the Mideast Regionals, Hedgecoe didn’t lose a game in his three matches leading up to the regional championship dual with Mayhew.

Mayhew concludes what has been the most successful season for Cedar Ridge men’s tennis since they joined the 3A ranks in 2012. The Red Wolves won the Central Carolina Conference Championship. Mayhew went 19-2 this season. His only losses came against Hedgecoe.

Any parent who has dropped their child off to Orange Middle School may have already seen Mayhew working out and just didn’t realize it.

On March 14, after Cedar Ridge had finished a 9-0 win over Western Alamance, just about everyone went home. As the Red Wolves’ softball team played its own game against the Warriors, Mayhew remained on Cedar Ridge’s tennis court, where he had just won a singles match over Samuel Durham (6-0, 6-0), then teamed with teammate Seth Upchurch to win at #1 doubles 8-5.

While everyone else’s attention was turned to the softball game, Mayhew stayed behind and worked out by himself until the lights at the softball field were off.

Mayhew’s insatiable work ethic starts with a daily workout at 6:45 inside the Orange High Tennis Courts, where his father Steve (who is also the head coach of the Cedar Ridge men’s and women’s tennis teams) once played as a member of the Orange Panthers. After classes at Cedar Ridge, he has practice along with fitness sessions five days a week.

“There’s foot speed, sprints, a three-mile run, just to see how fast how I can do it,” Mayhew said. “Some matches against teams just aren’t very good hitting sessions, so I have to do more.”

Mayhew’s dominance throughout the course of this season was reflected through a rigorous schedule. This year, Mayhew faced Chapel Hill’s top player, Ayan Patel, 6-2, 6-2. The Tigers won the championship of the DAC-VII Conference. Mayhew also knocked off Carrboro’s Jonathan Baddour 6-2, 4-6, 10-3 on March 21. It was the only time during the regular season that Mayhew dropped a set. Mayhew defeated Baddour again in the 3A State Dual Team Tournament last month. After winning the Northern Lakes Conference championship, the Jaguars have reached the quarterfinals of the State Team Tournament, where they will host West Carteret later today.

In addition to Mayhew, Orange’s doubles team of senior Justin Conover and freshman Porter Pelphrey reached the state quarterfinals. After finishing fourth in the Mideast Regionals, Conover and Pelphrey defeated Wilson Fike’s Snyder Pearson and Hatten Gore 5-7, 6-3, 7-6. Conover and Pelphrey won the tiebreaker 7-2 to advance to the round of eight.

Shelby Crest’s Sam Thomas and Jonathan Peeler defeated Conover and Pelphrey 7-5, 6-3. In another testament to the power of Mideast Regional tennis, Carrboro’s tandem of Aidan Chung and Jonathan Baddour won the 3A State Championship, beating Costen Holtzman and Griffin Lovern 6-2, 6-4. Chung and Baddour, who also won the Mideast Regional championship, lost only nine game in four matches in the state tournament.

Lacrosse: Orange 18, South Brunswick 5: Following an undefeated run through the Mid-Carolina Conference championship, the Orange lacrosse team comfortably moved into the Round of 16 of the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs with an easy victory over South Brunswick on Thursday night at Auman Stadium in Hillsborough.

Sophomore Connor Kruse score seven goals for the Panthers, who improved to 9-1 at home this season. Kruse leads Orange with 71 goals and 123 points. Junior Joe Cady, who scored six goals against Eastern Alamance on April 26, finished with three goals. It was his fifth hat trick of the season.

Tigh Metheny finished with six assists along with two goals. Metheny is second on the team with 60 points. Jake Wimsatt won all ten of his face-offs as orange never trailed against the Vikings.

Sophomore Katie Wolter earned the win as Orange goalkeeper. She has a 10-2 record in 2022. Freshman Luke Nevius, who was called up from the junior varsity squad, played in the second half.

Orange (15-2) advanced to the Round of 16 in the 3A/2A/1A/ State Playoffs for the second straight year. The Panthers will host Walter Williams on Tuesday night at Auman Stadium. The Bulldogs pulled an upset on Thursday, surprising Northwood 12-10 in Pittsboro. Williams trailed 10-7 late in the third quarter, but shut out the Chargers 5-0 in the fourth quarter for its second win over Northwood this year.

Orange swept the regular season series from Williams. The Panthers held off the Bulldogs 13-11 in Burlington on March 24. On April 22, Orange shutout the Bulldogs in the final 12:07 to win 12-8. Kruse scored five goals in an Orange win that largely secured the Mid-Carolina Conference championship.

Women’s Soccer: Orange 3, Northwood 2

With one game remaining in the regular season, the Orange women’s soccer team is on the verge of making the 3A State Playoffs for the first time since 2017.

On Wednesday night, junior Sydney Rogers scored the game-winning goal off a free kick from 22 yards away to push Orange past Northwood 3-2 at Orange Soccer Field in Hillsborough. With the win, the Lady Panthers improved to 9-6-1 overall, 8-3 in the Central Carolina Conference. The Lady Panthers are tied with Walter Williams in the loss column for second place.

Last Monday, the Lady Panthers rolled past Person 6-0 at Rocket Field in Roxboro. Junior Abby Montieth, who usually is the Orange goalkeeper, scored two goals. Senior Bella Brown added another goal. Freshman Elliana Sullivan Gaddy and Caroline Cathey added goals for Orange, as did junior Kitcia Castanada.

On April 27, Orange completed a season sweep of Cedar Ridge. The Lady Panthers defeated the Red Wolves 3-0 at Orange Soccer Field. Montieth earned the win in net after she played the opening 65 minutes. Junior Kate Barger played the final 15 minutes.

Destiny Lily Crayton, Sullivan Gaddy and Cathey all scored goals for Orange. Junior Isabel Jones, Allison Torkewitz and Brown added assists.

Orange will travel to Eastern Alamance, who leads the Central Carolina Conference, to wrap up its regular season on Wednesday night. The brackets for the 3A State Tournament will be unveiled on Friday.

On the home side of Red Wolves Stadium, there are two signs that honor each of Cedar Ridge’s lacrosse teams that reached the Final Four of the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs.

Every name of the 2015 Eastern Regional Championship squad is printed in the school’s burgundy colors along a white backdrop. Coached by Patrick Kavanaugh, they will forever be the first lacrosse team in Hillsborough history to play in the 3A/2A/1A State Championship game.

Going into Thursday night, they were also the last Cedar Ridge lacrosse team to win a game in the state playoffs. That fact was something that didn’t escape the attention of the 12 Red Wolves seniors on the current Cedar Ridge lacrosse team, all of whom stuck together when their sophomore season ended after just three games due to COVID-19. Last year, playing in stadiums left mostly empty due to COVID-19 protocols, the Red Wolves lost in the opening round of the state playoffs to East Chapel Hill at Dave Thaden Stadium.

The bottom line for seniors Roman Oguntoyinbo, Alex Castro, James Clayton, Josh Taylor, Holden Neal, Erickson Thole, Harrison Neal, Robert Gross, Aidan Dumain and Kellan Hepditch was that their careers wouldn’t be complete without a state playoff win.

It was that purpose that produced Cedar Ridge’s most complete performance of the season on Thursday night.

Roman Oguntoyinbo had a career-high nine goals as the Red Wolves crushed Western Alamance 18-5 at Red Wolves Stadium in the 2nd round of the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs. Castro added five goals as Cedar Ridge, seeded 7th, advanced to face First Flight in Kill Devil Hills on Tuesday. The Nighthawks, seeded #2, rolled past J.H. Rose 11-3 on Thursday night.

Knowing it was likely their final game at Red Wolves Stadium, all of the Cedar Ridge seniors got in on the act. Taylor started as goalkeeper in the first half before being replaced by freshman Leo Oguntoyinbo in the second half, as is the usual routine established by first-year head coach Cole Churchill. Clayton assisted on five goals, including the opener by Castro 2:21 into the game. Trost scored the final goal of the night, which just happened to be the first of his career, sending the Cedar Ridge bench into a total frenzy. Trost mimicked the celebration by soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo in the end zone

“I didn’t want to have it end today,” Castro said. “I wasn’t going to let my career end today. I love these boys. I would really be down if this was the last game.”

For the second straight game, Oguntoyinbo re-established his career-high for goals. Last Thursday, he scored seven in a 8-2 win over Carrboro at Jaguars Stadium to conclude the regular season. Oguntoyinbo has 76 goals and 49 assists this season.

“Coming into this game, I knew that even though we had beaten Western twice, that the playoffs are a completely different animal,” Oguntoyinbo said. “We saw it last year when we got knocked out in the first round. For days leading up to this game, that’s all I’ve been thinking about. We knew we couldn’t let this team get an edge at all. So we came in and finished the job early.”

After Western Alamance’s Joey Leupold evened the game with a sidearm shot to force a 1-1 tie with 8:27 remaining int the first quarter, the Red Wolves reeled off ten consecutive goals. Castro notched the game-winning goal off a feed from Trost with 7:03 remaining in the first quarter. In the 10-0 run, Oguntoyinbo scored five goals, two of which were assisted by Clayton. Billy Power also scored and assisted on another Oguntoyinbo marker. To wrap up the first half, Oguntoyinbo sent a centering pass behind the night to Castro, who tucked the ball into the upper-left hand corner give Cedar Ridge an 13-2 halftime lead. Castro scored all five of his goals in the first half.

Mason Lynde also scored in the third quarter for the Red Wolves, which triggered a running clock for the remainder of the second half.

Leupold had a hat trick for the Warriors, who end the season 7-10. Sophomore Evan Kuehnel added the other two Western Alamance goals. Junior Tanner Stout had two assists.