Last Friday, the Wildcats held Durham Riverside to 83 yards of total offense in a 38-14 PAC-6 conference win. ECHHS quarterback Ben Jones completed 21-of-26 passes for 195 yards and three touchdowns – 140 of those yards in the second half. The Wildcats also rushed for 157 yards.

“Ben had a good second half for us,” Wildcats coach Bill Renner said. “With our running game having some success, it opened up Ben’s throwing, and the offense had a good game after a slow start.”

Neither team could get any offense going in the first quarter, resulting in a scoreless tie. But Jackson Boyer scored three times in different way – on a fumble recovery in the end zone, a three-yard run just 35 seconds after another fumble recovery, and on a six-yard pass from Ben Jones for a 21-0 margin.

Riverside running back Darius Smiley ended the shutout on a 36-yard draw with just less than 11 minutes remaining. Smiley also scored the Pirates’ second TD with a beautiful 90-yard kickoff return. He finished the game with 76 rushing yards and over 150 yards on special teams.

“He is a tremendous back, the best I-back I’ve ever seen,” Renner said. “Whenever he touched the ball, I shuddered.”

Renner nervously laughed when asked about the team’s chances on winning the conference championship. And, like any good coach, he found something to be unhappy about.

“We gave up too many penalties and a kickoff returned for a touchdown,” he said. “We don’t have the luxury of playing a mistake-prone game. We have to play crisp and sharp.”

Bonitta Best

Gibbons still undefeated

HILLSBOROUGH Cedar Ridge will be asking itself some big questions this week: most importantly, how to score and how to stop opponents. The Red Wolves had trouble doing either last Friday.

Undefeated Cardinal Gibbons executed in all phases of its game as the Crusaders scored all 53 of their points in the first half in a 53-14 victory over Cedar Ridge.

Cardinal Gibbons, ranked No. 6 in the News and Observer poll, moved to 6-0 overall, while Cedar Ridge fell to 0-6.

The high-octane Crusader offense started with a 38-yard field goal by Caine Junginger. After Stephen Scott recovered a Cedar Ridge fumble on the ensuing possession, the Crusaders took over at the Cedar Ridge 12-yard line. Danny Schult capped the short scoring drive by bulling into the end zone from two yards out. The extra point by Junginger gave Cardinal Gibbons a 10-0 lead midway through the first period.

The Crusader offense scored on its first five possessions, including a touchdown run by David Smith, a touchdown pass from quarterback Shawn Stankavage to Dante DiMaggio, and a touchdown run by Scott Washle.

The Cardinal Gibbons defense held Cedar Ridge to negative-eight yards and forced five turnovers in the first half. The defense added two points on a safety when Cedar Ridge quarterback Robert Moore was flagged for grounding the ball while in his own end zone.

“The defense was just lights-out,” said Cardinal Gibbons head coach Steven Wright. “I have never had a defensive line be that dominant in a half.”

Stankavage completed nine of 13 passes for 150 yards and three touchdowns, all in the first half.

The Red Wolves scored late in the third period after blocking a Cardinal Gibbons punt. Cedar Ridge used six straight running plays with Moore capping the drive with a quarterback sneak. Moore started at quarterback for the Red Wolves in place of the injured Josh Keihle.

Brock Page

Orange picking up speed

HILLSBOROUGH Orange, which moved up to No. 16 the News & Observer’s regional rankings last week, coninued to pick up speed offensively and set a season-high for points scored in a 48-7 shellacking of Northern Vance.

It was the first Carolina 3A Conference game of the season for both teams. Orange improved to 5-1 overall with its fourth straght win.Northern Vance fell to 1-5 overall.

Orange showed its offensive versatility with seven different players scoring touchdowns, led by quarterback Sean Motley’s one-yard run for one score and 30-yard pass to Matt Gattis for another. Michael Bolden, Patrick Pettiford, Mark Holt and Garrett Cloer all scored on runs. John Evans scored his TD on a 73-yard punt return.

The Panthers compiled 315 yards of total offense, but none of the runner topped 100 yards. Instead, Jalen Pittman rushed for a team-high 48 on just three carries, while Pettiford, Holt, Bolden, Cloer and Marquiese Morrow added 128 yards rushing by commitee.

W.E. Warnock

Lee takes Northwood

PITTSBORO Everything started fine last week for Northwood.

The Chargers led Lee Senior 7-0 in the first quarter on a 55-yard run by Aumad Walker and extra-point kick Anthony Castro. Lee (4-2) then proceeded to scord 35 straight points, amassing 389 yards total offense in the process.

Despite picking off three Lee passes, Northwood (3-3) didn’t score again until Kadarus Rone’s 37-yard run for a TD with 3:54 left to play.

W.E. Warnock