Photo Credit: Will Okun[/caption]To someone reading the stats, the Orange Panthers would have seemed to struggle mightily against cross town rival and fellow Big Eight conference member Cedar Ridge on Friday night. The Panthers managed to just get two first downs and run only 13 offensive games before lightning and rain forced the game to be called with 5:20 remaining in the second quarter.
However, it was the exact opposite, as the Panthers' explosive offense raced out to a 35 to 13 lead over the Red Wolves, which is where the score ended.
Orange was led by senior running back Tay Jones, who scored three touchdowns, including two rushing from eight and 73 yards, while also taking a 97-yard kickoff return to the end zone.
Jones would finish the game with 89 yards on just five carries, while the other Orange scores came on runs of 72 and 15 yards from Eryk Brandon-Dean and Mike Bolden respectively.
Jones' kickoff return fired up the Panthers following a Cedar Ridge opening drive that went 73 yards on five plays and was capped by a Peyton Pappas scramper from 12 yards out.
Following a Cedar Ridge three-and-out on the next possession, Jones followed his blocking around the right edge all the way to the end zone on his 73-yard run.
Cedar Ridge would answer on the following possession and again sustain a long drive as they went 77 yards on 10 plays, this time culminating with a five-yard strike from Pappas to a wide open Marquez Hunter.
Those would be the last points put on the board by Cedar Ridge; following a failed extra point, Orange took the first play from scrimmage to the end zone on Brandon-Dean's quick steps and elusive moves. This led to a 72-yard run to put the Panthers up 21 to 13.
After the Bolden touchdown and a fumble on the ensuing kickoff by the Red Wolves at the 24-yard line, the Panthers were looking to again score quickly. However, a pair of sacks, a penalty, and an incomplete pass led to 4th and 25 for the Panthers.
Orange would be able to convert though, as senior quarterback Garrett Cloer found Bryse Wilson across the middle for a 32-yard gain. Jones would take it in for a score on the next play, before the game would be stopped and eventually called.
Photo Credit: Will Okun. Junior Jawan Chambers runs the ball across half court during the Panthers 62 to 59 victory over Cedar Ridge.[/caption]The 2013-14 season has been one of the best for both the Junior Varsity and Varsity men's basketball teams at Orange High School in recent memory. Both teams were able to win the regular season Big Eight conference championship, finishing with records of 20-1 and 20-4 respectively.
The JV team secured a near perfect season against cross-town rival Cedar Ridge on Monday, February 17, with a 77 to 33 win. The Panthers were lead by freshman Connor Crabtree who had 19 points, while Alex Long also added 14 points off the bench. The Junior Varsity’s only loss of the season came on the road against Southern Durham.
The Varsity men's team also locked up the conference championship against the Red Wolves, winning a nail bitter by a score of 62 to 59. Leading the Panthers was senior forward JD Brooks who finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds, with 5 of them being offensive. Also contributing to the win were senior forward Keegan Crabtree and junior guard Jawan Chambers who added 10 and 12 points respectively.
While the JV team’s season has concluded, the Varsity men play on into the conference tournament as the number one seed.
The one goal scored for OHS was shot by, sophomore, Bowen Collins.
The Cedar Ridge Red Wolves were fluent in the passes and the offense kept the ball forward for the majority of the game. The OHS Panthers, on the other hand, seemed to be having trouble communicating where to move the ball and did not work well with their teammates. They had very few clean passes and even fewer catches.
OHS seemed to struggle communicating with their team members’, and frequently would try to score without passing to their teammates, even if they were open. At some points, the team could even be seen fighting over getting the ball with each other.
With the poor performance of the offense and defense, the goalkeeper, Junior, Dylan McKinnon, was confronted with numerous shots by Cedar Ridge where they were standing right next to the goal, which gave him no reasonable chance to react.
While the Red Wolves’ did score 17 times, McKinnon saved a total of 18 shots.
OHS’ defense seemed to be too concerned with getting the ball rather than making sure they were covering the Red Wolves’ offense, forcing McKinnon to be overwhelmed by the close shots taken by the Cedar Ridge offense.
The OHS Lacrosse team, usually at least an adequate team, struggled and suffered a tremendous loss against the Red Wolves.
