Photo Credit: Will Okun.[/caption]Friday, November 8, the Orange High School Panther football team defeated Rocky Mount 31 to 3 in the first round of the NC 3AA playoffs. The win came one week after the Panthers suffered their first loss of the season against Southern Durham, and moved the team to 11-1.
Orange’s defense recovered from giving up 55 points against Southern Durham, to hold an explosive offense to just 229 yards from scrimmage, and one field goal. The defense was helped by a fast start from the offense and junior quarterback Garrett Cloer, who found Artrell Stewart for a 44 yard touchdown with eight minutes left in the first quarter.
Cloer would finish the game with two touchdowns and 280 yards, while completing 10 of 20 passes. Orange junior running back Tay Jones also played a big game on offense, accounting for 117 total yards of offense and three touchdowns, while breaking several Gryphon tackles.
Despite beginning three drives in Panther territory in the first half, Rocky Mount was unable to get anything moving on offense. Rocky Mount quarterback Joshua Carter was pressured all night, contributing to him finishing with just 62 yards and completing 8 of 24 passes. Carter was also sacked seven times by the relentless Panthers front seven. The lone score for the Gryphons was scored by kicker Micah Varnell on a 34 yard field goal in the second quarter.
Sophomore linebacker Bryse Wilson, who had eight tackles and two pass deflections against Rocky Mount, spoke about some of the changes the team made after the Southern Durham game, saying, “We [Orange] put in a new speed defense and changed our man coverage.”
The Panthers would lead at halftime by a score of 21 to 3, and would score one more touchdown on a 26 yard touchdown run by Jones. The final points of the night came on a 32 yard field goal by senior Brad Barbee.
Wilson also says the team is prepared for their second round opponent Cleveland, saying, “We expect a lot of running. They have a good running back and a good running quarterback.”
Orange will be on the road for the second round, as the Panthers travel to Clayton to take on the number three seeded, 9-3 Rams of cleveland High School. The game will begin at 7:30 pm.
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