Tay Jones scores a 93 yard touchdown during Orange's 55 to 41 loss to Southern Durham. Photo Credit: Mr. Okun[/caption]Friday, November 8, the Orange High School football team suffered their first loss of the 2013 season, in a 55-41 shootout against Southern Durham. With the win Southern Durham earned the Big Eight conference championship and moved to 9-2 on the season and 7-0 in conference, while the loss put the Panthers at 10-1 and 6-1.
The previously undefeated Panthers began the game on defense, and were able to stall a Southern drive at the Orange 14 yard line, after Southern failed to convert on fourth down. Orange however was unable to stop the Spartans after this, as on their next possession, Southern Durham junior quarterback Kendall Hinton put the first points on the board on a 36 yard rushing touchdown. That was just the start of the scoring that occurred on Friday night.
Hinton, a junior, would finish with 428 yards and five touchdowns through the air, while also picking up another 128 yards and one touchdown rushing. The majority of Hinton’s passing yards went to Maurice Trowell, who caught eight passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns for the Spartans, and Derrick Mason who caught 10 for 157 and also brought in two touchdowns.
The Spartans would also score on their next three possessions and would take a 27 to 0 lead over the Panthers with 11 minutes left in the second quarter. The Orange offense would manage to put 13 points on the board by halftime on two Tay Jones touchdowns, a 93 yard rush, and a 29 yard pass for junior quarterback Garrett Cloer, but would trail at the end of the first half by a score of 34 to 13.
Cloer would end the game with 288 passing yards, which mostly came in the second half, and three touchdowns. While Jones, a junior running back, would finish with 119 yards and one touchdown on seven rushes, to go along with his 29 yard touchdown reception.
Orange sophomore linebacker Bryse Wilson credited Southern Durham’s start to speed and strategy, saying, “They [Southern Durham] were very fast! And they [Southern Durham] were replacing our blitz’s.” Wilson also spoke about some of the adjustment’s the Panthers made at half time saying, “On defense we put in our speed package and on offense we were able to pick up their blitz, and throw the ball.”
Those adjustment’s would pay off, as the Panthers’ came out in the second half and scored on their first possession on a five yard Patrick Pettiford run. The score would cut Southern’s lead to just 14. However, the teams would trade touchdowns on their next two possessions, including a 70 yard pass from Cloer to receiver Ky Muller, and a Pettiford four yard run that would make the game 48 to 34 at the end of the third quarter.
Pettiford, the other half of Orange’s running back duo, finished 78 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries, while also catching a 76 yard touchdown pass.
The fourth quarter would not show a touchdown until Pettiford’s 76 yard catch from Cloer that came with three minutes left, which made the score 48 to 41 and cut Southern’s lead to under 10 points for the first time since the first quarter.
However that wouldn't last long as Southern would score the final points of the night, on a 44 yard pass from Hinton to Trowell that secured a 55 to 41 Southern victory.
Wilson believes that the loss will prepare Orange for the playoffs, saying, “We[Orange] will know how to keep up with the speed and we will see that we can lose, so I think we will come together more as a team in the playoffs.”
As for what Wilson’s playoff expectations are, he said, “I think that all of our games will be tough, but I think we will end up playing Southern Durham again in the regional semi-finals, and beating them.”
The Panthers’ will begin the North Carolina 3-AA playoffs on Friday, November 15, as the number six seed against 8-3 Rocky Mount. This game will at home, and will began at 7:30 pm.
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