Orange senior Cameron White is looking to end his high school football career in style. On Friday night, White stepped in for the injured Jake DeFranco at punt returner. In the third quarter, White had a 33-yard return to set up an Orange touchdown as the Panthers rallied from a 24-6 deficit to defeat Northwood 31-30 in overtime. On the season, White has three pass breakups. On offense as a wide receiver, he had three receptions against Vance County. White and the rest of the Orange seniors have two games remaining in the regular season, against Cedar Ridge on Friday at Red Wolves Stadium. Then they host Chapel Hill for senior night. If the Panthers pull out wins in those final two games, they could reach the postseason. You can hear Orange vs. Cedar Ridge on Friday night starting at 6:45 with the C&R Ski Outdoor pregame show with Tim Hackett and Jason Knapp. 

By Curran Campbell

We had another week of coastal chaos, and another week of football teams performing at levels of derp never seen before by mankind. We also have our third team so far this season to hit the bottom of the power rankings, keep reading and find out who has become the worst of the worst.

Miami

Miami took advantage of too many Pitt mistakes and busted out the turnover chain 3 times in a gross 16-12 victory over the Panthers. The Miami offense continues to be absolutely dreadful, as they only put up a measly 208 yard of total offense. That being said, they did enough to win and that’s all that matters at the end of the day.

Louisville

Tailback Javian Hawkins and quarterback Micale Cunningham combined for 233 yards rushing as Louisville took 28-21 victory over Virginia. The scoreboard would indicate a close game but the Cardinal ground attack was just too much to handle for the Hoos, and Louisville completely dominated the second half of play.

Clemson

Clemson beat Boston College 59-7. That is all.

Florida State

Florida State started running away with it early, and a couple of garbage time touchdowns made it look way closer than it really was as the Noles took care of Syracuse 35-17. Cam Akers continues to look like one of the top 3 tailbacks in the conference along with Clemson’s Travis Etienne and Louisville’s Javian Hawkins as he put up 144 yards and 4 touchdowns on the ground.

North Carolina

Carolina kind of played like garbage against Duke if we are going to be honest. They did their very best to make sure the Victory Bell stayed in Durham for a fourth straight year, but as most of you probably know already, it’s back in Chapel Hill. The Heels barely, and I mean barely held on for a 20-17 victory as the Tar Heel defense really did play their best game of the season and Chazz Surratt made the big play with 14 seconds left with the interception on the Deon Jackson jump pass when it really mattered. We will have a lot more to say about this game in the Duke section of this ramble.

Pitt

So far this season, Pitt has had a habit of playing the same level of football as their opponent. Playing up to Penn State and UCF, while playing down to the likes of Duke, Syracuse, Delaware, and now Miami in a 16-12 loss. Kenny Pickett was dreadful, going 18-32 for only 146 yards and throwing it to the wrong colored jersey twice. The Pitt defense was good, as it has been all season, but if that offense doesn’t clean it up, they’re going to continue to struggle down the stretch.

Virginia

Virginia on the road is bad. Virginia at home is good. Unfortunately, we were stuck with road Virginia on Saturday as they dropped this one to Louisville 28-21. UVa is now 1-3 on the road and it’s not going to get any easier as they have to travel to Chapel Hill next week. Until UVa can figure out how to win on the road, they will not be the team they are capable of being. Which in my opinion, is a 9 win season with a coastal crown. So far, they’re underperforming.

Boston College

I am sorry that you guys had to lose 59-7 to Clemson. That is all.

Syracuse

Syracuse football continues to disappoint me in new ways every single week. This time with a 35-17 loss to another bad team, this time it was Florida State. The offensive line is still dreadful, surrendering 7 sacks, and quarterback Tommy DeVito isn’t getting any better as the season progresses. DeVito has been lauded as the QB of the future for the Orange and his performance has been so bad that the Orange are now prowling the transfer market looking for another quarterback. A report from Chris Carlson of syracuse.com indicates that former North Carolina quarterback Cade Fortin will be taking an official visit to Syracuse this week. Take with that what you will.

Duke

Duke lost the Battle for the Victory Bell for the first time since 2015. A 20-17 loss in a game you had every opportunity to win stings, and really all the blame can be put on two guys. Those being quarterback Quentin Harris and offensive coordinator Zac Roper. First up to be grilled, Quentin Harris. On the surface, 22-39 for 229 yards with one touchdown and one pick isn’t terrible. That being said, the interception came on a wide open throw that Harris simply missed deep in Carolina territory, taking at least 3 points away from the Blue Devils. Outside of the interception, Harris missed quite a few crucial 3rd down throws that could have kept the ball moving for Duke and avoided having to put together a final drive in the first place. Now Zac Roper, you’re going to be remembered for this mistake for a long, long time. Who in the right mind calls a jump pass at the 2 yard line with your tailback throwing it? If you want to throw the ball there, you run a fade route to one of your receivers who the Carolina corners had been struggling with the whole game. But for whatever reason, Roper took a class at the Larry Fedora School For Coaches That Get Too Cute Near The Goal Line, and went with the jump pass by the tailback. Yikes.

Power Rankings

1. Clemson, duh.
2. Wake Forest
3. North Carolina
4. Virginia Tech
5. Louisville
6. Virginia
7. Florida State
8. Pitt
9. Duke
10. Boston College
11. NC State
12. Miami
13. Georgia Tech
14. Syracuse

Predictions

NC State at Wake Forest: Wake Forest, 35-24

Boston College at Syracuse: Syracuse, 21-20

Virginia Tech at Notre Dame: Notre Dame, 38-17

Miami at Florida State: Florida State, 34-10

Wofford at Clemson: Clemson, 100-0

Pitt at Georgia Tech: Pitt, 45-24

Virginia at North Carolina: North Carolina, 31-28

Last week’s predictions: 4-1

Season total: 13-9

A season ago, the Clayton High School volleyball team finished the year with 15 wins, got to the final of the Greater Neuse Conference tournament where they lost to conference rival Cleveland, made the 3A state playoffs as a #14 seed, hosted the #19 seed in the first round – and lost in straight sets.

Now, one year later, the Comets found themselves in familiar territory. Clayton finished the year with 15 wins, got to the final of the conference tournament where they lost to rival Cleveland, made the 3A state playoffs as a #14 seed, and hosted the #19 seed in the first round – but this year, the end result was a little different.

On the other side of the floor, the Orange High School volleyball team had been in the playoffs for the past four years, but the Panthers hadn’t been able to push past the first round since 2015, when Orange got all the way to the third round as a 21-seed. A couple of key wins late in 2019 ensured the Panthers would be playoff participants again, giving second-year head coach Kelly Young a second chance to guide the Panthers deep into the postseason.

On Saturday afternoon, the #19 seed Orange Panthers (16-8) took a long trip south to Johnston County and battled the Clayton Comets (15-10) every step of the way, but Clayton’s depth on the outside and talent at the service line helped lift the Comets to a straight-sets win (25-22, 25-20, 29-27) over Orange, ending the Panthers’ season in the first round for the fourth straight year.

Orange got out to a quick early lead on the road in the first set, but Clayton tied the score at six apiece and then went a big run to open up a 17-12 lead. Young called a timeout and her team responded, battling back to within 19-18, which prompted a matching timeout from first-year Clayton head coach David Nicholson. That timeout had a similar effect for the Comets, which pulled away for a 25-22 win.

Orange again struck for an early 4-1 lead in set two, but Clayton, needing some offense, once again found it through Kayla Burbage, a 6’2 junior middle hitter with long arms and a cannon of a swing. She missed nearly all of September and it’s fair to wonder how much better Clayton’s seed would’ve been had she played the entire season, but she certainly came to play Saturday. A player that averages 4.87 kills per set with a hitting clip of .360 and that kind of height is a potential star at any level, and she was a matchup nightmare for Orange Saturday. The Panthers did well to limit top Clayton outside Maya Gray, who averages 3 kills per set herself, but Burbage’s big arm helped stake the Comets to a 20-13 edge. The Panthers were able to claw back into the set, but the deficit was too large to overcome – Clayton won 25-20 for a 2-0 set advantage.

Unlike the first two sets, in the third, it was Clayton that grabbed an early lead. But, also unlike the first two sets, the Comets never held a big lead. Instead, Orange, knowing its season was on the line, fought every step of the way, fending off match points at 24-23 and 26-25, and even having a chance to take the set themselves at 27-26. But on their third match point, the Comets forced Orange into a tough defensive situation, and the Panthers overpassed the ball right in the center of the net – and there, of course, waiting to spike it down was Burbage to lift Clayton to a 29-27 victory and a straight-sets win.

Clayton played to its strengths perfectly in this match. A Comet team that, incredibly, averages more than twice as many service aces as it does errors served well all day Saturday, and with top outside Gray stopped up, the Comets found offense from other sources, including Ella Callahan, a freshman outside who tallied at least 15 points serving and attacking after she had appeared in just six sets all season prior to Saturday.

But Orange truthfully played a very strong game as well, producing an effort that would have been more than good enough to beat a lesser team that doesn’t have the ability to go on service runs like Clayton does. The Comets slowed down top Panther outside Avery Miller, but the patented Panther right-side attack from Lottie Scully and especially Ella Van Tiem worked excellently. Emma Vosburg and Devyn Norman both had their moments in the middle, offensively and defensively. Senior Emma Clements has been resurgent lately in this season, and she had a solid final game overall as a Panthers. Scully and Kaitlyn Werden split the setter duties well, both serving well and facilitating clean offense. And libero Brooke Fryar was back there to keep things about as clean as usual. But on this day, all of those good efforts were simply not good enough, and the Panthers quickly packed up their things and hopped on the bus back to Hillsborough to reflect on another strong season of volleyball at Orange.

The Orange football team trailed 24-6 midway through the third quarter against Northwood on Friday night.  The Panthers stormed back to win 31-30 in overtime. Elliott Woods played three different positions for the Panthers. He led the team with 52 receiving yards. Woods also had an interception that led to 24 unanswered Orange points in the third quarter.  Plus,  he had to fill in at long snapper for Joe Kiger, who injured his hand in the first half. Woods led the team with eleven tackles. Orange defensive tackle Courtney Edwards played offense and defense. The Panthers are 3-6 and will go for consecutive wins for the first time this season when they travel to Cedar Ridge on Friday night. You can hear that game with Tim Hackett, Jason Knapp and Jmari Graham starting at 6:45 with the C&R Ski Outdoor Pregame Show live from Red Wolves Stadium. 

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.

There was more than a cruel irony in Orange’s largest comeback victory since 2015 on Friday night.

It was downright eerie.

On October 20, 2017, Orange bolted out to a 14-0 lead against Northwood after Hunter Pettiford scored on a 35-yard touchdown run. The Panthers didn’t score again in regulation. Ultimately, the game went to overtime. Northwood scored first. Orange followed suit, but usually reliable kicker Francisco McKinley hooked an extra point right and the Chargers stunned the Panthers 21-20 in overtime.

With 7:06 remaining in the third quarter on Friday night, Northwood’s Aaron Ross danced untouched into the end zone to give the Chargers a 24-6 lead. At that point, some Orange fans left the stadium, and why not? Homecoming festivities had ended and it appeared Orange’s state playoff chances were gone, as well. This was a Northwood team that trailed for much of the first half against East Chapel Hill and Cedar Ridge, but they were blowing Orange out of their own stadium—on Homecoming. At that moment, the last thing anyone thought was another overtime game was on the horizon, especially when Orange went three-and-out on its next drive.

Elliott Woods had other ideas.

His interception of Northwood quarterback Jack Thompson’s pass sparked 24 unanswered Orange points. In a rally as zany and unpredictable as the team itself, the Panthers pulled off a stunning 31-30 overtime victory over the Chargers at Auman Stadium. Machai Holt scored the game-winning touchdown in the only extra session. Nigel Slanker booted through the extra point, concluding a night reminiscent of Seinfeld’s opposite episode where Slanker missed his previous four extra points after starting 19-of-20 on the year.

On the first play of overtime, Thompson threw to Aaron Ross for a 10-yard touchdown. But kicker Aaron Laros, who looked as reliable as possible earlier, shanked the extra point wide right.

It was Orange’s (3-6, 2-3 in the Big 8 Conference) first overtime win since October 2, 2009, when they defeated South Granville in Pat Moser’s first year as head coach.

It appeared that Laros would be the hero of the night after an incredibly gutsy call by first-year Chargers’ coach Cullen Homolka in the final minute of regulation. With the game tied 24-24, Northwood (4-5, 3-2) faked a punt on 4th-and-3 with 47 second remaining at midfield. Laros dashed to the Orange sideline around right end and earned the first down by the nose of the football.

Thompson completed passes to Jalen McAfee and Ross to set up a 40-yard field goal attempt by Laros with 12 seconds left, but the kick was blocked by Orange’s Trey Grizzle to force overtime.

Orange sophomore running back Omarion Lewis scored three touchdowns and finished with 95 yards rushing. It was his highest total since going for 119 yards against South Granville in his first varsity game on September 6.

The Panthers came into the game on a three-game losing streak. In response, Orange coach Van Smith vowed changes to the lineup before Friday night. He wasn’t kidding.

Three regular starters never got off the bench in the first half. During one possession in the second quarter with Orange trailing 10-0, the wide receiver corps consisted of Connor Ray, Jayce Hodges and Jared Weaver, two of whom are junior varsity players who played the previous night in a 27-0 win over Northwood in Pittsboro.

“I never lost hope,” Smith said after trailing 24-6. “I knew what we had coming in later. We started the game with some guys that don’t normally get a lot of playing time. We were relying on them to make plays when they don’t have a lot of experience making plays at the varsity level. Sometimes, young teenage boys make poor decisions. I’ve done it. You’ve done it. Sometimes you have to suffer the consequences of your actions.”

With 5:51 remaining in the third quarter, Woods returned an interception 27 yards. Two plays later, Lewis scored his second touchdown on a 24-yard run.

Orange’s defense held Northwood without a first down on the next five Charger drives. Lewis scored on a 24-yard run on the Panthers’ next possession to draw within 24-18.

Penalties killed potential big plays for both teams late in the third quarter. Laros appeared to have scored on a 63-yard fake punt for a touchdown where he was never touched, but it was called back for a holding penalty. Orange quarterback Wyatt Jones hit Zyon Pettiford on a perfectly executed misdirection pass for 59 yards, but the Panthers were flagged for ineligible man downfield.

Fittingly, it was Holt who sparked the two biggest plays of the fourth quarter. He picked off a Jackson pass and returned it 14 yards. Two plays later, Jones found Holt for a 32-yard touchdown. Slanker had the extra point blocked to keep the game tied 24-24. Orange was 0-for-4 on points after touchdowns during regulation. By that point, Woods replaced regular long snapper Joseph Kiger, who injured his hand in the first half. Even Jones, Slanker’s holder, left the game in the third quarter because of an injury. He later returned.

For the third week in a row, Orange got off to an awful start. Laros kicked a 42-yard field goal to open the scoring with 9:31 left in the first quarter after Orange muffed a punt return. Laros converted the kick from nearly the exact spot on the field where he was later miss with the game on the line.

After Orange missed a field goal on its opening drive, the Chargers moved effortlessly down the field on a 10-play, 80-yard drive. Thompson found Ross for an 11-yard touchdown.

Ross scored on an eight-yard run with 6:32 remaining in the second quarter to push Northwood ahead 17-0. On the play, Chargers running back Dedric Powell injured his left leg and didn’t return. Northwood’s offense didn’t get another first down the rest of the half and largely struggled the rest of the game.

Orange scored on its final drive of the first half. After Jones found Woods on a 26-yard pass on 3rd-and-7, Lewis scored on a 12-yard run to narrow Northwood’s lead to 17-6 going into the locker room.

“My hats off to my young team,” Smith said. “I think we made a lot of strides tonight.”

ORANGE 31, NORTHWOOD 30 OT

NWD—10 7 7 0 6-30

ORA—0 6 12 6 7-31

NWD–Aidan Laros 42 FG

NWD–Aaron Ross 7 pass from Jack Thompson (Laros kick)

NWD–Ross 8 run (Laros kick)

ORA–Omarion Lewis 12 run (kick failed)

NWD-Ross 5 run (Laros kick)

ORA–Lewis 24 run (run failed)

ORA–Lewis 24 run (kick failed)

ORA–Machai Holt 32 pass from Wyatt Jones (kick blocked)

ORA–Holt 10 run (Nigel Slanker kick)

NWS-Ross 10 pass from Thompson (kick failed)

RUSHING:NORTHWOOD 19-8 2 TD (Ross 8-15 2 TD, Dedric Powell 2-13, Laros 1-3, Thompson 8-(minus 23)

ORANGE: 34-122 (Lewis 12-95 3 TD, Holt 8-26 TD, Elliott Woods 8-14, J.J. Torres 2-6, Joe Kiger 1-4, Jones 3-(minus 23).

PASSING: NORTHWOOD (Thompson 32-49 333 yards 2 TD, 3 INT) ORANGE (Jones 9-26 134 yards TD, INT)

RECEIVING: NORTHWOOD: (Jalen MCAfee 10-99, Ross 8-99 2 TD, Jack Spotz 7-77, Chris Lawson 5-49, Powell 2-9)

ORANGE: (Woods 3-52, Joe Kiger 2-43, Holt 2-34, Torres 1-4, Lewis 1-1)

For the better part of the last decade, Southern Durham has been one of the most dominant teams in central North Carolina. But now, in 2019, after two surprising back-to-back losing seasons, the Spartans are back among the state’s elite – and on Friday night in Durham, Southern showed that it absolutely is a team to be reckoned with in the 3A state playoffs in a few weeks. Cedar Ridge came to town hoping to play spoiler and uproot one of the best seasons in recent Southern history, but the Spartans (8-1, 5-0 Big 8) scored 20 points within the first four minutes and dominated an outmatched Cedar Ridge (1-8, 1-4) squad from start to finish, 54-0. It was the eighth straight win this year for Southern, and the third loss by shutout for Cedar Ridge. 

Even in the face of such a strong team with very few flaws, Cedar Ridge sure didn’t look scared. The Red Wolves looked calm as ever during warmups and never looked like giving up even in the dying moments of the game itself, but, in all fairness, this was always going to be an uphill battle – and that was evident from the opening series. The usually sure-handed Isaiah McCambry fumbled on the first play from scrimmage, and, three plays after that, Southern punched it in on a two-yard score from running back Logan Harper. 

But that was only the beginning. On the ensuing kickoff, Sincere Lecraft hit return man Elijah Whitaker at the 15-yard line, spun him around, ripped the ball away like a vice grip, and jogged down the sideline with the ball, escorted by an entourage of teammates for the strip-and-score. McCambry was pummeled on the next Cedar Ridge possession and coughed the ball up again, and, two plays later, Omari Smith hit top receiver Xavier Rhodes on a quick in, and Rhodes did the rest, evading tacklers and racing 40 yards for the touchdown. The Red Wolves looked up at the small endzone scoreboard: it read 20-0, and four minutes hadn’t even gone by.

Southern wasn’t done. Later in the first, punter Zach Holmes had to scramble to field a poor snap and right after he found the ball Lecraft found him for a tackle for loss on fourth down, and Harper soon scored again to make it 27-0. Cedar Ridge punted on all three of its possessions in the second quarter, and Southern scored on two of their own, one on a bullet of a touchdown pass from Smith to Cinsere Clark, and the other on a 25-yard touchdown run almost unimpeded from Smith himself. Mercifully, the first half came to an end with the home team on top 41-0.

Sure, the running clock was in effect for the entirety of the second half, and sure, the Spartans had nothing more to prove in a game that was no longer in doubt, but the Red Wolves’ defense still showed marked improvements after the halftime break. But even with that said, the Southern offense was just too strong, and the Spartans were able to add an eight-yard touchdown run on a fourth-and-goal from linebacker Jaki Brevard, his first career score, as well as a 96-yard touchdown run from safety Jacquez Warren – a remarkable play where Warren somehow dodged tacklers in his own end zone, and ended up in the other end zone in a matter of seconds. The final score at Spartan Stadium on this night was 54-0, the most lopsided loss in a season that has featured a few of them. 

But as always, there were bright spots for Cedar Ridge. Aiden Seagroves showed some more flashes as the newly appointed number two running back. Jake Mergenthal and Desi Raspberry both recorded their first career catches. Zach Holmes ran a long-awaited fake punt, where the former quarterback baffled the Spartan defense by hitting Whitaker for a big gain on fourth down from midfield. Braxton Mergenthal added another note on the ledger of his excellent Cedar Ridge career by picking off a poor Smith pass in the backfield in the second half. Whitaker and the rest of the Red Wolves blocked John Paulino’s final PAT. And above all else – and yes, this too sounds trite and hard to conceptualize, but it’s true – the Red Wolves never gave up. Even on that Warren TD run with just minutes to go in the game, it’s not like the Red Wolves turned around and let him walk in from 96 yards out – they nearly tackled him around his own goal line, and from there, he was just simply too fast and did the rest himself. At that point, all the Red Wolves could do was tip their collective caps for a job well done.

For Southern, this was just another step towards a perfect conference season – and with matches with Chapel Hill and East left on the ledger, it would be stunning if the Spartans don’t finish this undefeated conference season off. For Cedar Ridge, Friday night was a night to forget, but the Red Wolves will have one more chance to create a night to remember when they host Orange for Senior Night and the football edition of the Hillsborough Rivalry at Cedar Ridge next Friday at 7 PM. Even with all the losses, all the injuries, the trials and the travails that Cedar Ridge has had to suffer this year in its return to varsity football, a win against Orange, a team with legitimate playoff aspirations after a legendary victory on Friday, might help make the 2019 season feel a whole lot better.