Written by JEREMIAH ARTACHO
Chapel Hill High School’s senior quarterback Jonah Berman was taken out of Friday’s football game due to a hand injury in the first quarter — the result of a horse collar call on Orange High School.
Berman was not the first-string quarterback.
On Friday, August 23 junior quarterback Samuel Zimmermann also suffered a hand injury, leaving him out of Chapel Hill High’s football game against Orange High School on Friday, August 30.
During the 20-13 loss to Orange, Chapel Hill’s head coach Ryan Horton had no choice but to place senior running back Josh Roberson underneath the center to take snaps for the remainder of the game.
Roberson’s first play lined up as the quarterback was a direct run for 25 yards but that was not the last time you would’ve found the senior on his feet.
Coach Horton placed his team in a wildcat offense with Roberson rarely throwing the ball — most notably during the fourth quarter while the Tigers were trying to mount a comeback, down seven points.
The Tigers not having a true quarterback presented other problems besides not being able to throw the ball. The second quarter saw two different instances of a fumbled snap, one of which the Panthers recovered. In addition, the Panthers were able to grab another loose snap during Chapel Hill’s first drive of the fourth quarter.
Coach Horton talked about what he liked out of his team despite starting the season 0-2.
“Their resilience, their fight,” he said. “I don’t think any team in the country, you lose your two quarterbacks — that’s going to put pressure on everything else.”
This matchup saw its first points from Orange senior running back Ja’ki McDaniels during the first quarter. However, the field goal attempt was blocked by senior free safety Asher Harward, leaving that scoring drive at 6-0.
Not long after, McDaniels received a pass from senior quarterback Hand Nunnery on a wheel route for another score. Coach Devante Pettiford chose to go for two-points and was successful — courtesy of McDaniels’ legs.
The Panthers entered the second half with the lead still 14-0. Coach Horton’s offense was unable to find any wiggle room having his running back taking snaps.
Fortunately, the second half was a whole lot different for the team in yellow and black.
Chapel Hill’s first drive of the third quarter watched Roberson run for 51 yards, giving his team their first points of the contest. Senior kicker Mattheus Hobler successfully made the PAT and left the score at 14-7.
The scoring for the Panthers resumed during the fourth quarter as McDaniels ran into the end zone for another touchdown. The two-point conversion afterward was stopped by the Tigers and held the score to 20-7. That score for Orange was the result of a Chapel Hill fumble.
On the other end, Coach Horton’s team worked up the field and ended the drive with a running touchdown from Roberson on the left side of the field. The following PAT was no good and the score read 20-13 on the scoreboard.
Orange was unable to get any offense going after that, but their defense and the clock were on their side to secure the victory.
Chapel Hill’s final drive of the game found them starting at the 29-yard line. As the Tigers worked their way up the field, a pass interference call on the Panthers vaulted their field positioning forward.
The final play of the game found fans in the stands screaming, in hopes of watching the home team accomplish a come-from-behind win.
Roberson scrambled away with the ball and stepped out-of-bounds with about four seconds left on the scoreboard. However, the time was not correctly paused so that left the Tigers with two seconds remaining.
The ten-yard chains were not reset by the field crew, which left no choice but for the clock to start again and continue winding down, ending the game in dramatic fashion. Coach Horton’s team was a short pass or Roberson run away from achieving another touchdown — they walked off the field being near the Panthers’ end zone.
Orange High School moved to 1-1 with the win and defeated Chapel Hill for the first time since 2019.
The fight by the Tigers showed what their head coach is happy about, regardless of the final result.
“These guys haven’t quit,” Horton added. “Even right then, right at the last second we had a chance to tie or go up — it’s more about character and what type of men we have, what type of coaches we have that I’m really proud of.”
Despite the loss, Coach Horton said he still feels like the future is bright for his team moving forward in the season.
“It’s tough, it’s really tough,” he said. “We had, and still have, some high expectations for the season — so we have to go back to the drawing board. Right now, I’m just proud of the fight and the character that we have.”
Roberson, with tears coming down his face, spoke about what he was proud of after the game ended.
“I’m proud of how I didn’t give up,” he said. “Just kept fighting but just got to get back to practice and shake back — get back to the drawing board.”
“We’ll get it right,” Robinson added. “[I will] come back and not hang my head when times get rough, but we’ll be good.”
Chapel Hill High Football will host Southern Alamance High School next week on Friday, September 6 at 7:00 p.m.
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