Every week, HighSchoolOT will publish the Starting 22, which showcases the top performances from every position in North Carolina.

Each week, coaches can submit performance nominations to [email protected] for them to be considered.

Offense

Quarterback Jackson Byrd, a junior from Cleveland.

• Byrd was highly productive, completing 20 out of 25 passes for 318 yards and scoring a total of six touchdowns, leading Cleveland to a dominant 48-7 victory over Garner.

Sophomore Brilison McCullers of Sanderson High School was announced with the initials RB.

• In Sanderson’s impressive 48-24 victory against Enloe, their talented sophomore player ran for a total of 186 yards and scored five touchdowns on 24 carries. The Spartans, as a team, rushed for more than 500 yards.

High School

Second-year student Shannon Wingate at North Lincoln High School

• In North Lincoln’s 38-7 victory against a strong West Iredell team, Wingate had an impressive performance, rushing for 268 yards and scoring three touchdowns on only 12 carries.

WR — Sergio Castellon, senior, Panther Creek

• In Panther Creek’s 34-0 victory over Enloe, Castellon made 11 receptions for 208 yards and scored four touchdowns, setting several school records. One of his notable plays was a 99-yard touchdown.

Hampton Roderick, a junior at Laney High School, is WR.

• The young player from North Brunswick was unstoppable, receiving seven passes for 138 yards and scoring two touchdowns in the team’s 40-0 win.

High School

DeVon Thomas, a junior running back from Rolesville High School, is a member of the FLEX team.

• Thomas has been a standout player this season, running for a total of 235 yards and scoring six touchdowns in Rolesville’s impressive 75-point game against Wake Forest.

High School

JaKobe Campbell, a senior at Rolesville High School, has received the honor of being named OL.

• The 6’4″, 290-pound player who committed to James Madison played a significant role in the offensive success of Rolesville in their 75-27 victory against Wake Forest.

High School

Jonathan Ngandu is a junior at Sanderson High School.

• The junior, who stands at 6 feet 5 inches and weighs 315 pounds, played a crucial role in Sanderson’s most impressive offensive display of the year.

OL — Brandon Pittman, junior, Sanderson

• The Spartans’ junior interior lineman played a key role in their 48-24 victory against Enloe, contributing to a total of 519 rushing yards.

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Thomas Wilson, a senior at Myers Park High School, is an OL.

• The Myers Park team was aided by the Shrine Bowl selection as they were able to pass for 300 yards and run for 150 yards, resulting in a dominating 59-6 victory over Berry Academy.

OL — Sam Nelson, sophomore, East Wilkes

• The sophomore, who stands at 6 feet 3 inches and weighs 260 pounds, aided the Cardinals in gaining 248 yards and scoring five touchdowns against Alleghany.

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Review Previous Installments of the Initial 22

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Defense

High School

Charlie Deeb, a senior at Green Hope High School, is part of EDGE.

• During the game between Green Hope and Green Level, the senior player recorded six tackles, three sacks, two tackles for a loss, and four quarterback pressures. Notably, three of his tackles occurred on crucial third down plays.

DL — D’Nas White, senior, Jay M. Robinson

• As the game progressed into the night, I was able to make an impact in the backfield and help secure a significant victory against Northwest Cabarrus. In the fourth quarter, I played a crucial role in three turnovers that ultimately led to our win. This included pressuring the quarterback, resulting in two interceptions, and recovering a fumble when our team was close to scoring. -Evan Moesta

High School

Christopher Bispham is a sophomore attending Havelock High School.

• The sophomore continued his strong season with four tackles, a tackle for a loss, and a sack against Northside-Jacksonville. The 240-pound Bispham does a lot of damage from the interior and has generated 10 sacks this season.

Sophomore Zavion Griffin-Hayes from Rolesville was featured in EDGE.

• Griffin-Haynes had a standout performance in Rolesville’s dominant 75-27 victory against Wake Forest, marking his best game of the season thus far. He tallied eight tackles, two of which were for a loss, 1.5 sacks, one pass breakup, and five hurries on the quarterback.

High School

Jake Davids, a senior at Ardrey Kell High School, is LB.

• The Knights’ impressive two-way performer was recognized for making 16 tackles, three of which were for a loss, two forced fumbles, and an interception. The Knights emerged victorious with a 34-14 score against Olympic.

LB — Quinton Cypher, freshman, Millbrook

• Cypher, the first freshman to earn a spot in the Starting 22, has made a strong debut in his first season. In a game against Knightdale, he recorded 12 tackles and one sack. So far this season, he has accumulated a total of 110 tackles and seven tackles for a loss.

High School

Sawyer Lowe, a junior at Cleveland High School, is represented by the initials LB.

• Lowe played a crucial role in Cleveland’s strong defense against Garner, tallying 11 individual tackles, three tackles resulting in a loss of yards, and causing a fumble.

High School

Braylen Ollison, a senior at Pamlico County High School, is known as DB.

• Ollison has seven interceptions on the season after picking off another pass in Pamlico’s 55-0 win over Jones, the Hurricanes’ best performance of the season.

DB — Kater Cornwell, junior, Southern Alamance

• Cornwell had numerous successful pass deflections and made a spectacular diving interception to seal the Patriots’ crucial 14-7 victory against Eastern Alamance.

Zach Hulbert is a senior at Cleveland High School.

• The defender, standing at 5 feet and 9 inches, made a total of 11 tackles, with five of them resulting in a loss of yards.

FLEX — Sa’Mad Bell, senior, Dudley

• Dudley’s pass rusher ranks in the top five in the state for number of sacks. This was demonstrated by their five tackles, three of which resulted in a loss, and one sack in the Panthers’ 64-6 victory against Southern Guilford.

Source: highschoolot.com