We've now been through three months without high school football in North Carolina. Today, there's only four months between now and when games start. Throughout the month of April, we'll have some kind of football preview coverage released to HSOT Insiders each day.
First up, let's take a look at the four defending N.C. High School Athletic Association state champions and the pieces that they'll have back under the Friday night lights this fall.
HSOT Insiders: Prepare for the 2024 football season
Hoggard Vikings, 4A state runners-up
Hoggard's 2023 team was notably heavy on key seniors. One of those important seniors was quarterback Hudson Wilharm, a UNC preferred walk-on. Wilharm was a very accurate quarterback. He completed 200 of his 298 passes for 2,662 yards, 31 touchdowns, and five interceptions last season. The expectation here is that rising sophomore Matthew Boring will take over the starting role. Boring had to start in the first round of the playoffs while Wilharm sat with a hand injury. Boring attempted 17 passes and completed 14 of them for 187 yards. He threw one touchdown and one interception.
There are pieces returning at the skill positions. dynamic rising senior wideout Aniziyon Session is back after gathering 55 receptions for 932 yards and 15 touchdowns last season. Session's fellow starting receiver Blake Edwards is back after recording 51 catches for 675 yards and nine touchdowns in 2023. The Vikings are losing starting running back M'Kel Bellamy (898 yards, 19 TDs in 2023) as well as other key seniors Tamear Webb (514 yards, 9 TDs) and Javion Joseph-Fontaine (520 yards, 11 TDs), but are set to retain starting halfback Isaiah Newkirk.
The Vikings have to replace four starters on their offensive line. Big left guard Jason Smith is going to UNC with Wilharm as a preferred walk-on. He was a HighSchoolOT All-State selection as an Honorable Mention. Center Trey Williams, right guard Prince-William Oatman, and right tackle Will Myatt are also graduating. The one player that Hoggard has back on its offensive line is 3-star left tackle Michael Gibbs. At over 6-foot-3 and 280 pounds, Gibbs has a dozen FBS offers and is a huge target for NC State.
Two HighSchoolOT All-State defensive standouts from Hoggard are set to graduate: First Team linebacker Reagan Printy and Second Team edge rusher Malakahi West. Printy won Football Defensive Player of the Year at HSOT Honors after putting up 186 tackles (12.4/game), 25 tackles for a loss, 9.5 sacks, one interception returned for a touchdown, five pass breakups, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries. West had a terrific two-year run on Hoggard's varsity team, racking up 61 total tackles for a loss and 32.5 total sacks as a junior and senior.
Hoggard will also be without graduating starting linebacker Jaret Austin, who was seventh on the team in tackles. The Vikings do return a standout linebacker in Rylan Edwards, who was an All-State Honorable Mention. Edwards stuffed the stat sheet with 148 total tackles, 14.5 tackles for a loss, 6.5 sacks, five interceptions, a pass breakup, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery over 15 games. Besides West, the rest of Hoggard's starting defensive line is also graduating. Tyran Bell, David Drayton, and Asef Ismail combined for 37.5 tackles for a loss.
Three starters from the secondary are graduating: free safety Josiah Gillespie and cornerbacks Trey Nixon and Brayden Stephens. Rising senior defensive back Kamar Fulton was named Hoggard's most outstanding defensive player in the state championship game. Fulton made plays all over the field throughout his junior season. He recorded 63 total tackles to go with his eight interceptions and five forced fumbles. He, along with Edwards, will have to set the tone for the Viking defense in the absence of Printy and West. They are the only two returning starters for the Vikings on that side of the ball.
In total, seven starters are expected to be back for Hoggard this fall.
Seventy-First Falcons, 3A state runners-up
Four starters on the defensive side of the ball for the Falcons in the title game will be back this fall. There are some key guys. Super linebacker Donavan Fredrick was the only junior to be named to HighSchoolOT's All-State First Team Defense. He produced 175 total tackles (10.9/game), 48 tackles for a loss, six sacks, two pass breakups, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. The Falcons replace the two starting linebackers that played next to him in Zayvion Hill and Melik Thomas. Frederick is also the Falcons' work horse running back. In 2023, he carried the ball 151 times for 1,634 yards, and ten touchdowns.
There was an underclassmen standout on Seventy-First's defensive line last fall: freshman defensive tackle John Archer. The 6-foot-5, 300-pound defender recorded 82 total tackles, 29 tackles for a loss, three sacks, and two forced fumbles during his debut season. The rest of the starters on the defensive line (Carmello Joliffe, Isaiah Harrington, and Jordan Collins) will graduate. In the secondary, two starters return: rising senior cornerback Kalen Lucas and rising senior Anthony Bethea. Those two combined for six interceptions and 18 pass breakups.
One Seventy-First defensive player that you did not see in the 3A state championship game was Hector Bautista, who missed most of his junior season with an injury. If Bautista returns at full strength, it will be a big boost for the Falcons. Despite his 5-foot-10, 220-pound stature, the defensive lineman has compiled 35 solo tackles, 265 assist tackles, 88 combined tackles for a loss, and 20.5 combined sacks over his career.
On offense, everything will continue to run through dual-threat quarterback DeAndre Nance, a rising senior. Nance was Second Team All-State for HighSchoolOT. As a junior, he was 111 of 160 (69.4%) for 1,639 yards for 20 touchdowns and three interceptions. As a rusher, Nance took off 166 times for 1,691 yards and a remarkable 38 touchdowns.
In addition to Nance and Frederick's rushing prowess, Seventy-First has another standout player in the backfield returning in rising junior Jayson Franklin, who rushed for 1,460 yards and 15 touchdowns on 159 attempts. Seventy-First had a freshman play well in a limited role on varsity in Shon Pone, who rushed for 522 yards and eight touchdowns on 60 carries. Jytavius Whitted is the only returning starter at wide receiver. He led the team with 428 receiving yards on 28 receptions. He caught three touchdown passes.
Three starters are returning on the offensive line: rising junior left tackle Zayvon Hutchinson (listed at 6-foot-5, 250 pounds), rising senior right tackle Zymeir McPhaul (6'1, 295 pounds), and right guard Ryland Gaybill (5'10, 270 pounds).
Clinton Dark Horses, 2A state runners-up
Clinton is a big mystery in 2024. The 2023 group was already a senior-heavy one and the Dark Horses lost almost their entire coaching staff, including head coach Cory Johnson, to a higher-paying school in South Carolina. The Dark Horses' top returning receiver/defensive back Jakarrion Kenan has already followed the coaching staff to Marlboro County in SC. Kenan had 538 receiving yards and eight touchdowns on offense last year. As a defender, Kenan led the team with four interceptions as a junior. Clinton also lost rising senior running back Josiah Robinson to Marlboro County. Robinson rushed for 1,087 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior with the Dark Horses. Clinton's returning rising senior quarterback Nydarion Blackwell also followed the coaches to Marlboro. Blackwell completed 83 of 123 passing attempts for 1,812 yards and an impressive 25 touchdowns to just one interception.
Rising senior defensive end Josiah Dwyer is currently enrolled at Clinton. The 6-foot-4, 245-pound defender holds offers from Troy, Old Dominion, Elon, Gardner-Webb, Charleston Southern, East Carolina, and St. Andrews. Dywer had 24 total tackles, eight tackles for a loss, and five sacks. Considering that Clinton's other three best returners have left, it is fair to wonder if Dwyer will suit up for Clinton this fall or at another school. He has tremendous upside for 2024, no matter where he plays. Clinton's top returning tackler in linebacker Jayden Williams is also still at the school. Williams averaged 5.3 tackles per game in 2023. As of now, Dwyer and Williams are the only two starters slotted to return to the defense.
Clinton also graduated some very good players. 3-star running back/athlete Josiah McLaurin graduated and enrolled at the University of Maryland. McLaurin managed to rush for 1,170 yards and 27 touchdowns as well as make 28 receptions for 509 yards and nine touchdowns despite having his season cut short due to an injury early in the playoffs. 4-star defensive line prospect Amaris Williams will play his college ball at Auburn. Williams terrorized opposing offensive lines before he took over the bulk of the offensive carries in the wake of McLaurin's injury. Those two players are two of the best you'll find at the 2A level. They are a huge loss. Safety Alexander Evans and offensive/defensive lineman Jymiek Sampson are going to Catawba, which is a huge get for the Indians as the two players were tremendous in Clinton's run to the state championship game.
The offense should return full back Ty Morrisey, a rising senior and left guard Walter Parsons, a rising senior. In total, it looks like four starters will be back for Clinton in 2024.
Tarboro Vikings, 1A state runners-up
The Tarboro Vikings have enough back to make another run at the 1A title next season.
The Vikings' biggest loss has to be multi-year starting quarterback/safety Omarion Lewis, who is headed to East Carolina to play for the Pirates at the next level. Lewis had a mastery of the Tarboro T offense and was a First Team All-State defender for HighSchoolOT. Lewis had 51 tackles (3.6/game), two tackles for a loss, six interceptions, nine pass breakups, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery from his safety spot in 2023. Tarboro getting the next quarterback as in tune with the offense as Lewis was will be its top priority in 2024.
Tarboro's three-headed backfield monster of fullback Mason Satterfield and running backs Kamerin McDowell-Moore and Caiden Everrette will return. Satterfield will be a senior and McDowell-Moore and Everette will be juniors. Last year, the trio combined for 3,225 yards and 54 touchdowns in 14 games last season. Up front, tight ends Cole Craddock and Tyler Powell are back to contribute to paving the way for the rushing trio. Three starters on the offensive line are set to return: 295-pound left guard Ny'Quaveon Davis, 230-pound right guard Caleb Schenall, and 240-pound right tackle Tyun Wilson. In all, eight starters return for Tarboro's offense.
Coach Jeff Craddock's team will have almost as much back on the defensive side of the ball. Davis and Schenall from the offensive line should be returning starters on the front, but senior Trakeivous Jones is set to graduate. Powell, also the tight end, could see a bigger ole on the defensive line after making 45 stops there last season. So could Powell's fellow rising junior Josiah Dickens, who had 40 total tackles in a rotational role last year. All four starting linebackers from the state championship game are scheduled to return: McDowell-Moore, rising junior Keivious Bridgers, rising senior Cam'Ron Harper, and rising senior Christian Gunter. The four players were Tarboro's top four in terms of tackles last season. They combined for 340 total stops. Craddock also plays a good amount of linebacker and had 41 total tackles last year.
In addition to Lewis, Tarboro has to replace its other two starting spots in the secondary as well. Seniors Isaia Jones and Shermardra Clark were good players for the Vikings on the back end. In all, seven starters are set to return on the Vikings' defense.
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