PITTSBORO–In the post-Pat Moser era of Orange football, the Panthers’ most competitive rivalry has been with Northwood.

In March, the Chargers prevailed 10-7 when Aidan Laros scored all of Nortwood’s points (a touchdown, the extra point and a field goal). In the fall of 2019, Orange trailed 24-6 before Machai Holt and Omarion Lewis triggered a comeback and the Panthers won 31-30 in overtime at Auman Stadium.

On Friday night, both Orange and Northwood met again, this time as members of the Central Carolina Conference. It wasn’t nearly as dramatic.

The Chargers used its power-I offense to dominate a battle of attrition, reducing Orange’s manpower to a nub and prevail 34-6 in front of a packed grandstand at Charger Stadium. Northwood (4-3, 2-1 in the Central Carolina Conference), which got all 363 yards of its offense on the ground, was led by senior tailback Jalen Page, who ran for 162 yards. Senior backup Ryan Hilliard rushed for 137 yards and three touchdowns the Chargers beat the Panthers for the second time in seven months.

The only positive aspect for Orange was that linebacker Jake Wimsatt was Northwood’s leading receiver. You read that right. With 6:46 remaining in the first quarter, after Orange punter Darius Satterfield booted a 47-yard punt to back the Chargers up to its own 4-yard line, Wimsatt picked off a pass from Northwood quarterback Carson Fortunes and returned it 13 yards for a touchdown.

Orange finished the first quarter with a 6-0 lead. They held Northwood without a first down and had just 12 yards total offense in the opening 12 minutes.

From the start of the second quarter to the end of the night, Northwood outgained Orange 351-67. Using a running game that was as successful as it was repetitive, the Chargers ran 52 plays in the final three quarters compared to Orange’s 21.

“It was the same old story,” said Orange coach Van Smith. “We play a team like that’s so big up front and we’re not big. We just got hammered on both sides of the ball.”

After being stymied by Orange’s defense, led by tackles for losses by Kameron Harshaw and Connor Ray, Page opened the second quarter with a 14-yard gain by Page on its first play from scrimmage for the Chargers’ initial first down of the game. From that point forward, Northwood scored on five of its next seven drives. The only two exceptions came when the Chargers took knees to end the first and second halves.

“They had a power formation with two tight ends and just started pounding away,” Smith said. “There wasn’t much we could do.”

Northwood faced a 4th-and-8 from the Orange 34-yard line where Fortunes ran around left end on a designed keeper for eleven yards. Freshman Gus Ritchey scored on a 12-yard burst up the middle to tie the game.

The Chargers took the lead with 2:41 remaining in the first half off a 7-play, 63-yard drive. After Paige gained ten yards on 2nd-and-7, Fortunes scored on a 2-yard quarterback sneak. Holder Jack Spotz threw to backup quarterback Kirk Haddix on the 2-point attempt to put the Chargers ahead 14-6.

Despite starting two drives in the opening quarter inside Northwood territory, the Panthers didn’t chain together two first downs in the same series all night. The Panthers finished with only three first downs, one of which came when quarterback Jared Weaver threw to wide receiver Wynston Brown for a 24-yard gain after the final points had scored.

Northwood opened the second half with a 14-play, 88-yard drive. Hilliard had four consecutive carries to cross the 50-yard line, and scored the first of his three touchdowns from ten yards out. Hilliard added touchdown runs of 28 and six yards in the fourth quarter.

Orange (2-6, 1-2) is now guaranteed its fourth consecutive non-winning season. They will travel to face Walter Williams in a nonconference game next week in Burlington. The Bulldogs defeated the Panthers 28-0 on September 24 in Hillsborough in Orange’s CCC opener.

NORTHWOOD 34, ORANGE 6

ORA–6 0 0 0-6

NWD–0 14 6 14-34

ORA-Jake Wimsatt 12 INT return (pass failed)

NWD-Gus Ritchey 8 run (Illegal forward pass penalty)

NWD-Carson Fortunes 2 run (Jack Spotz to Kirk Haddix)

NWD-Ryan Hilliard 10 run (run failed)

NWD–Hillard 28 run (Michael McGraw kick)

NWD–Hillard 6 run (McGraw kick)

RUSHING: ORANGE 20-27 (Ronald Cooper 8-19, Nate Sorrells 5-10, Jared Weaver 4-0, Jackson Wood 1-0, Omarion Lewis 1-(-1), Nate Hecht 1-(-1))

NORTHWOOD: 56-363 (Jalen Page 22-162, Ryan Hilliard 17-137 3 TD, Ritchey 5-36 TD, Fortunes 7-20 TD, Nathaniel Haley 2-8, Stephen Lane 1-3, Spotz 1-1, Will Smith 1-(-4))

PASSING: ORANGE (Weaver 5-11 63 yards, Ty Walker 0-1 INT)

NORTHWOOD (Fortunes 0-6 INT)

RECEIVING: ORANGE (Sorrells 3-32, Winston Brown 2-31)

For more of Jacques photos from college and high school sports, go to jacquesonthesidelines.com.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is junior running back Ronald Cooper. On Thursday, Cooper ran for a career-high 141 yards and two touchdowns on just nine carries as the Panthers defeated Person 26-14 at Auman Stadium. On Cooper’s first carry of the game, he ran around right end for a 41-yard touchdown. Late in the second quarter, Cooper scored on an 11-yard score for the final touchdown for Orange that would carry them to its second victory of the year. Cooper had a great all-around game. As a linebacker, he and Jackson Wood teamed to hold up Person quarterback Cole Garrett on a 4th-and-3 from the Person 41-yard line late in the first quarter. It led to Coopers’s first touchdown run. On the season, Cooper has four tackles for loss on defense and 20 tackles overall. Cooper, who has gained the nickname RoKu from Hillsboroughsports.com colorman Derryl Britt, will return to action on Friday night when Orange faces Northwood in Pittsboro. You can hear the game on Hillsboroughsports.com starting at 6:55 live from Chatham County.

The Orange volleyball team won its final regular season match of the season against Eastern Alamance in Mebane on Thursday night. The Lady Panthers prevailed 3-1 on scores of 25-16, 23-25, 25-17 and 25-10. It was the final regular season match for Orange seniors Avery Miller, Ella Van Tiem and Aubri Wright. In the final set, Miller had six kills. Van Tiem finished with five kills in the fourth set, alone. Van Tiem led Orange with 117 kills this season going into the Eastern Alamance game. She also was fourth on the team with 119 digs. Miller registered 98 kills, which was third on the squad. She also had 105 digs as Orange finished the regular season 9-8, good enough for fourth place in a very difficult Central Carolina Conference. Wright was third on the team with 127 digs going into the Eastern Alamance game. She also had five aces. Orange will now prepare for the inaugural Central Carolina Conference tournament. The Lady Panthers will play at home on Monday night at 6 PM against either Eastern Alamance or Western Alamance. The winner will face Cedar Ridge in the semifinals on Tuesday.

The Cedar Ridge junior varsity football team defeated South Granville 32-7 on Thursday night at Red Wolves Stadium. It was Cedar Ridge’s first home win of the season. The Red Wolves jumped out to a 12-0 lead wit 7:01 remaining in the first half off a touchdown run by Tyler Fields. To start the second half, Cedar Ridge’s Mason Cates took a punt and returned it 70 yards for a touchdown. The Red Wolves got a defensive touchdown from sophomore Angus Pritchard, who scooped up a fumble and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown. Fields had a 30 yard touchdown run to put the Red Wolves ahead 32-0. It was a strong night for junior Matt Turner, who is this week’s Cedar Ridge Defensive Player of the Week. The Red Wolves will return home next week to face Williams. It will be senior night as well as Homecoming. This was also the first win for Cedar Ridge head football coach Torrean Hinton where he didn’t receive a Gatorade bath afterwards. Cedar Ridge will meet Williams next Thursday.

Women’s Golf: Last year, one of the Durham sisters qualified for the 3A Central Regionals in women’s golf. This year, they both did.

In the final Central Carolina Conference meet of the season, Sarah and Samantha Durham both reached the regional round at Mill Creek Golf Club in Mebane. In an 18-hole event, Sarah finished with a 108 and wound up in sixth place overall in the conference. Samantha Durham finished 11th for the season.

In addition, Cedar Ridge’s Olivia Aitkin also qualified for the Central Regionals. Aitkin is a three-sport athlete at Cedar Ridge. She has also won a conference championship for the Cedar Ridge softball team, and has also advanced to regionals in swimming.

During a regular match at Mill Creek on October 11, Samantha Durham was Orange’s leading competitor, shooting a 56 over nine holes. Sarah Durham shot a 59. Shannon Dorsi, Kayla Pope and Lucia Goodinez also competed for Orange.

The regionals will take place on Tuesday at Greensboro National Golf Club and will be hosted by Western Alamance.

Men’s Soccer: Orange 1, Cedar Ridge 1

The final leg of the Hillsborough Derby wound up going the distance on Monday night. Orange and Cedar Ridge finished in a 1-1 tie after two, 10-minute overtime periods.

After a scoreless first half, the Red Wolves got the opening goal when junior midfielder Evan Sredzienski won a dual at midfield and sent a crossing pass across the box that was headed in by co-Captain Jorge Salazar with 29:19 remaining.

Only two minutes later, Orange’s Darius Corbett notched the equalizer on a penalty kick. The Panthers drew the penalty when junior Tyler Mann was tripped in the box.

Both teams had changes to get the advantage over the final 25 minutes. Cedar Ridge goalkeeper Benjamin Weaver made several big saves in the overtime periods. Salazar nearly scored another goal off a header in the initial overtime session, which was saved by Orange junior goalkeeper Connor McMurtry.

On Wednesday night, Orange defeated Person 4-2 in Roxboro. The Panthers are 6-11-1 overall, 3-6-1 in the CCC.

The Red Wolves had a game against Eastern Alamance delayed on Wednesday night. It will be rescheduled. Cedar Ridge is 6-10-1 overall, 5-3-1 in the CCC. The Red Wolves will journey to Western Alamance on Monday.

Women’s Tennis: Cedar Ridge 5, Western Alamance 1:

In its final Central Carolina Conference of the season, Cedar Ridge defeated Western Alamance 5-1 in Elon. Sophomore Cameron Mayhew earned a victory at #1 singles, winning 6-4, 7-5. In her last regular season match, senior co-Captain Hannah Shinnick won at #3 singles 7-5, 6-2. Another senior co-Captain, Olivia Kelly, captured a victory at #5 singles 6-3, 6-3.

Freshman Ella Caltabianco won at #4 singles 7-5, 6-1.

Cedar Ridge freshman Adeline Cummings wrapped up the day with a 6-2, 6-4 victory at #6 singles.

With the Central Carolina Conference Tournament slated to start at noon on Friday at Burlington Tennis Courts, the coaches opted not to play doubles since Cedar Ridge clinched the match.

The Red Wolves conclude the regular season with a 6-7 overall record, 5-5 in the CCC.

Orange 9, J.F. Webb 0

On Tuesday, the Orange women’s tennis team journeyed to Oxford, where they defeated the Warriors in its final non conference dual match of the season.

Senior Tea Jones, sophomore Erin Sollars, sophomore Isabelle Lynn, junior Madelyn Horn, and sophomore Zoe Vantubbrgh all claimed wins for Orange in single-set, eight-game matches.

In doubles, Lynn teamed with Isabel Jones for a victory at #1 doubles. Katelyn Van Mater, who is now a three-sport athlete at Orange, teamed with Sydney Rogers for a victory at #2 doubles.

The following day, Orange defeated Person 8-0. The Lady Panthers ended the regular season with a 15-4 overall record. It’s widely believed among some longtime Orange High observers that the 15 wins are a school record. Orange finished 7-3 in the CCC and is in contention for a wildcard birth in the 3A State Dual Playoffs.

This week’s Orange Defensive Player of the Week is senior linebacker Jackson Wood. Last week in Orange’s 26-14 win over Person, Wood had ten tackles, tied with Kameron Harshaw for the team lead. Wood had four tackles for loss, including a huge stop on Person quarterback Cole Garrett on 4th-and-3 from the Person 41-yard line in the first quarter. On the next play, Orange running back Ronald Cooper scored a touchdown. This season, Wood is second on the team with 43 tackles. He is third on the squad with ten tackles for loss. In addition to playing football, Wood is a fan away from the gridiron. He is a staunch fan of the Virginia Tech Hokies and has had the honor of being in Blacksburg to watch the famed “Enter Sandman” entrance inside Lane Stadium. On Friday night, Wood and the rest of the Orange Panthers will travel to a familiar place: Charger Stadium. The Panthers will face Northwood. The last two games between the Panthers and the Chargers have been nailbiters. Orange won in overtime in the fall of 2019, while Northwood held off Orange by a field goal last year in Pittsboro. This is the second straight year where Wood has been honored as the Defensive Player of the Game. He earned the same accolade in a win over Cedar Ridge last year.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior tennis player Chloe Patz. On September 27, Patz won her #2 singles match against Northwood 1-6, 6-2, 10-8. The Red Wolves went on to win the dual match 5-4 against the Chargers, who tied for the Central Carolina Conference regular season championship with Williams. On Monday, Patz defeated Williams’ Haven Amick 6-0, 6-2 at #2 singles, which was Senior Day for the Red Wolves. It was Patz’s second win against Williams this year. Patz, co-Captain Olivia Kelly, Hannah Wallace, and Hannah Shinnick where honored during their last regular season match. Cedar Ridge has battled with the best teams in the Central Carolina Conference this season. Patz started the season with a 8-1 victory over Aloha Horton of Person in a 7-2 Cedar Ridge win. She will also be one of Cedar Ridge’s representatives for the Central Carolina Conference tournament, which starts Friday at noon at the Burlington Tennis Center. The Red Wolves will wrap up the regular season on Thursday with a road trip to Elon to face Western Alamance. Cedar Ridge will try to even its conference record to 5-5.