Chapel Hill High School and Orange High School are only separated by 10 miles. On a hot, muggy night in Hillsborough, their separation on the football field was even slimmer.
Chapel Hill used a run of 20 unanswered points between the second and third quarters to take a 12-point lead, and withstood a furious fourth quarter rally from Orange to escape Auman Stadium with a 27-21 victory.
The game remained scoreless after 19 minutes of game action, which included a blocked Chapel Hill field goal on the first play of the second quarter. With four and a half minutes remaining before the half, it was Orange’s senior running back Omarion Lewis who broke the scoreless tie with the Panthers’ first touchdown of the season. A fake on the extra point allowed Orange kicker Darius Satterfield to prance in and put the Panthers on top, 8-0.
Orange’s Elijah Danley (#10) prepares to block a field goal try by Chapel Hill on August 27, 2021.
Orange’s Darius Satterfield (#7) celebrates with teammates after his successful two-point conversion against Chapel Hill on August 27, 2021.
Chapel Hill wasted no time in answering, as the Tigers’ Elijah Ayankoya took the Orange kickoff back 82 yards for a touchdown. After a missed extra point, Chapel Hill trailed, 8-6.
The Tiger defense stopped Orange on the next possession, before the offense drove down the field with the first half clock ticking below a minute. Still out of field goal range, Tiger quarterback Caleb Kelley lofted a high pass into the corner of the end zone, where it fell into the waiting arms of receiver Josh Campos for a touchdown as time expired. Though the Tigers’ two-point conversion attempt failed, they had seized momentum and headed for the locker room leading, 12-8.
Chapel Hill’s Elijah Ayankoya evades Orange’s Elijah Danley on his way to a kickoff return touchdown on August 27, 2021.
The Tigers kept up the energy into the second half, pouncing on a fumble on Orange’s opening kickoff return. Less than three minutes later, Chapel Hill’s Anthony Muldrow pounded the ball in for a score. The Tigers’ two-point try succeeded as well, and Chapel Hill now led by a score of 20-8.
Chapel Hill’s Drew Allen (#5) scores a two-point conversion against Orange on August 27, 2021.
Orange finally stopped the bleeding midway through the third quarter, as the Panthers’ Nate Hecht rumbled in to cut the deficit to 20-14 after another missed two-point try. It seemed the Panthers might re-take the lead after Chapel Hill fumbled with under four minutes remaining in the third. Though the crowd at Auman Stadium had been re-energized, Orange couldn’t capitalize on the mistake, turning the ball over on downs on their subsequent possession.
The Panther defense stubbornly refused to let the Tigers blow the game open, allowing the Panthers another possession with a chance to take the lead early in the fourth quarter. But a botched fake punt gave Chapel Hill excellent field position, and the Tigers finally scored again, with running back Drew Allen punching in a short touchdown. The ensuing extra point gave Chapel Hill their largest lead of the night at 27-14.
It seemed the game was over, but just 30 seconds later a 35-yard swing pass from Orange quarterback Winston Brown to running back Nate Sorrells brought the Panthers back within six points.
Orange’s onside kick try failed, but with two timeouts remaining and 3:53 left on the clock, the Panther defense could still keep their team in the game. They promptly forced a three-and-out to give their offense another shot.
But on the next possession, it was Chapel Hill’s defense making a critical play, stripping Brown of the ball and recovering the fumble with 2:21 left on the clock. Now, the game truly seemed over.
Except, it wasn’t.
After gaining a first down and the clock ticking toward one minute left, the Tigers simply had to run out the clock. Running back Cayden Forbes found a crease and dashed through. He forgot to take the ball with him. The Panther defense stripped the ball from Forbes’ arms and fell on the fumble. With just 1:02 remaining, Orange had a chance to steal the game away at the death.
A scramble from Brown and a late hit penalty on the Tigers had Orange on Chapel Hill’s side of the field. By now, most of Auman Stadium was on its feet. Brown scrambled again, heading for the sideline before throwing back across his body. His pass found a receiver: Chapel Hill linebacker Jeremy Breeze. Breeze fell to the grass with the ball and, finally, the game. The interception clinched Chapel Hill’s first win at Orange in 17 years.
Chapel Hill’s Jeremy Breeze (#31) catches the game-clinching interception against Orange on August 27, 2021.
Orange very nearly caught the Tigers by their toes, but instead were sent to their second consecutive loss to open the season. Chapel Hill improved to 1-0, having not played last Friday. Both teams will play road games next week, with Chapel Hill visiting Pittsboro to take on Northwood, and Orange traveling west to Burlington to play Cummings.
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