After barely surviving an playoff opening battle versus Lee County last Friday, Orange rolled in its second-round tilt as the ‘Crush’ crushed Corinth Holders 42-13 in a road contest in Wendell.

Pat Moser’s Panthers were impressive from the opening kickoff, taking a 14-7 lead before putting the game away late in the opening half to earn a home date with Northern Guilford next week. Northern Guilford crushed Fike 58-28 for the right to travel into Hillsborough for a 3AA third-round matchup.

“We’ve got bumps and bruises but it seems that each week we are able to come together as a team,” Moser told a gaggle of reporters after the game. “The guys played really well.”

Garrett Cloer (Student Sports)

Garrett Cloer (Student Sports)

Garrett Cloer and Drew Lemaster scored on short touchdown runs as the No. 6 Panthers took a 14-7 first half lead. Cloer then got to work through the air with an 80-yard scoring strike to D’Angelo Compton and a 39-yarder to Bryse Wilson for a 28-7 lead just before intermission.

Moser’s magic played a role too as he called for an onsides kick that totally befuddled the home team to set up one of the scores. He said the play worked ‘two or three times before’.

Orange (13-1) erased any doubt in the second half as Mark Holt and Michael Bolden added touchdowns. No. 3 Corinth Holders, in just its fifth year of existence and coming off its first-ever postseason win, finished 9-4.

Orange has company in the area ranks in the third round as Chapel Hill edged Terry Sanford 23-20 for an upset win in Fayetteville.

Noah Layden picked off a pass and returned it 44 yards for a score and Jeff McNeil tacked on a two yard touchdown run to help the No. 12 seeded Tigers take a surprising 17-0 lead.

Terry Sanford, the No. 4 seed, fought back to make it 17-13 on a kickoff return for a score and quarterback Jordan McRae’s 45 yard touchdown run.

Two more field goals from Connor Albrecht helped the Tigers (11-3) hold on for the win and advance to play Southern Durham for a second time this season.

Chapel Hill fell to Southern 38-12 on Oct. 3 at home. This time the Tigers will travel to Durham to face a 14-0 team coming off a 67-48 conquest of Cleveland.

Terry Sanford finished its slate 9-4.