The second annual Keep Pounding High School Classic is set to kick off on Thursday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

This year, the Carolina Panthers chose to host two matchups at the event: No. 21 Myers Park vs. No. 6 Independence at 4:00 p.m. & No. 3 Weddington vs. No. 2 Providence Day at 8:00 p.m.

Admission for the event is just $8. The tickets can be purchased now on Ticketmaster.

The season kickoff event will feature performances by school bands and the Johnson C. Smith University International Institution of Sound marching band at halftime of the Providence Day-Weddington game. There will be honorary coin toss captains for each of the four schools: former NFL wide receiver Hakeem Nicks (Independence), former Panthers cornerback Captain Munnerlyn (Myers Park), current Panthers offensive tackle Ikem Ekwonu (Providence Day) and former Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis (Weddington).

Here’s a preview of the things that I’m looking for from each game.

4:00 pm: #21 Myers Park vs. #6 Independence

Coach D.J. McFadden’s Independence Patriots are in year four of their quest to get the program back to the state championship glory. Its year four for quarterback (#7) Justin Little, who is one of North Carolina’s best players. Little’s football IQ and skill have resulted in many wins for the Patriots over the past two seasons. Little has thrown for 5,840 yards, 57 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions in his career.

In Independence’s four losses last season, the Patriots started well by scoring a touchdown in each of the opening quarters. The offense had a problem with hitting lulls for periods in those games. It’ll be on Little to have the offense at peak performance for a larger part of the game. The seniors is capable of putting together one of the better quarterback seasons in recent memory.

The main questions for the Independence offense is at pass catcher and offensive line. The Patriots’ 1,000-yard, 10-touchdown receiver from last year Vontrez Burch graduated, as did 500-yard, eight-touchdown tight end Will Brown. Second-leading receiver (#1) Brian Crowder does return. Incoming transfers (#8) Prince Young, (#5) Sadat Grant, (#15) Ricky Myers Jr, and (#17) tight end Takeo Massey will need to be comfortable in the offense fast so that the passing attack can reach its potential. Senior tight end (#19) Wisdom Whipper-Daniel is another weapon to monitor. Indy returns three starters on its offensive line, but some fans have been skeptical of the size of that unit in the past.

Junior running back (#2) Jayden Jones had a breakout season as a sophomore in 2023. Jones rushed for 1,830 yards and 19 touchdowns on 181 carries, an average of over 10 yards per attempt. What should concern Myers Park is Jones’ tendency to explode against the toughest opponents. He rushed for over 130 yards against West Charlotte, Charlotte Catholic, Butler twice, Lake Norman, East Forsyth, and Watauga.

Chris James led Myers Park to a 7-4 overall season and a So Meck 4A Conference championship in his first year as the head coach in 2023.

For Myers Park’s defense, a big spotlight has been placed on junior edge rusher (#14) Rodney Dunham. He is a consensus 4-star prospect and ranked in the top 150 national prospects by all four major recruiting services. Dunham is ranked as high as the No. 14 junior in the country by 247Sports. This is the most high profile game that Dunham has played in so far in his high school career, so fans will be looking to see if he can deliver a game-wrecking performance. His athleticism can play a role in mitigating the Patriots’ RPOs when they are ran to his side. Dunham had 55 total tackles, 16 tackles for a loss, seven sacks, 20 quarterback pressures, and three interceptions in nine varsity games as a sophomore.

Myers Park might have the necessary defensive backs to counter Little and the Independence passing attack. New junior defensive back (#7) Camdin Portis, the son of Clinton Portis, transferred to Myers Park and has upwards of 30 Division I offers. Seniors (#12) Elijah Barber and (#5) M.A. Skanes, juniors (#4) Josh Hines and (#3) Josh Falzarano, and sophomore (#20) Orlando Brown are also quality players on the back end for the Mustangs. The game might come down to who wins the battle between Independence’s high-upside receiving corps and Myers Park’s more proven defensive backs.

There are some questions regarding the Mustangs’ front six/seven players outside of Dunham. If the defensive backs are able to slow down the verticality of Independence’s offense, Jones might have an opportunity to carve up quality yardage.

Myers Park’s addition of senior quarterback (#1) Jared Lockhart from Porter Ridge might have been the most consequential transfer of the offseason. Lockhart is a big 6-foot-4 signal caller who holds ACC offers from Boston College and Syracuse. In a run-heavy Porter Ridge offense, Lockhart threw for 1,321 yards, 12 touchdowns, and three interceptions as a junior. He looked fantastic running the show for Myers Park in 7-on-7s this summer. Former Duke quarterback Anthony Boone runs the offense for the Mustangs and he will have Lockhart tossing the ball all over the Panthers’ yard.

4-star junior wide receiver (#2) Brody Keefe is the player that Independence has to find a way to try to stop. Keefe, who has a boatload of impressive offers, has gotten even faster and is looking to increase his total of 559 yards from his sophomore season. The red zone threat did have an impressive 11 touchdowns. How Independence chooses to scheme against Keefe will be fascinating. That receiving corps also has junior (#9) Chaz Portis, the brother of Camdin and the son of Clinton.

Running back (#6) R.J. Alexander is back for his senior year after he fell just short of 1,000 rushing yards. Alexander is a very speedy rusher. However, Myers Park is a big mystery up front as only one starter from the offensive line is returning from last year’s team.

Independence has some dudes on defense.

Junior linebacker (#4) Dallas Brannon is a major Power 4 prospect, as is his fellow junior in defensive back (#11) Nicholas Reddish. Brannon has 147 total tackles as a sophomore and Reddish had 95 total stops along with his four interceptions. Senior linebacker (#28) Cameron Martin is going to have a nice season playing next to Brannon.

East Mecklenburg transfers (#9) Bryce Lee and Massey will play big roles up front. Lee is a 6-foot-3, 255-pound lineman and Massey is a 6-foot-4, 210-pound edge rusher. Senior defensive lineman (#31) Deshaun Wilkes is another player to monitor up front.

Rising senior (#6) Bryce Lofton, senior safety (#3) Tre’jaon Garnes and junior safety transfer (#21) Elijah Sellars could have nice seasons on the back end. The Independence defensive backs will have to be up to the challenge that is about to be presented by Myers Park’s talented and aggressive passing attack.

A general point on Myers Park: despite being such a large school with attendance in the range of 3,000 students, the Mustangs only have 19 seniors on their roster. Independence has less overall players, but the same number of seniors.

8:00 pm: #3 Weddington vs. #2 Providence Day

This is a matchup of two of HighSchoolOT’s top three teams in North Carolina. Each school is a defending state champion. Providence Day has won three consecutive N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association Division I state championships and Weddington is coming off of an N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A state championship, the highest honor in N.C. high school football.

The fascinating dynamic with this matchup is the different stages that the teams are in for this season. Providence Day has already completed its first game: the Chargers defeated defending NCISAA Division II runner-up Trinity Christian by a score of 55-8 last Friday. Weddington, meanwhile, only competed in a scrimmage last week. The six-day break between game action is undoubtedly a limiting factor for the Chargers.

Providence Day very much looked the part of a top team in the state. New starting quarterback (#10) Zaid Lott, a UNC commit as a junior, was unstoppable as he threw for over 400 yards, five touchdowns, and no interceptions while completing 76% of his passing attempts. Lott had instant chemistry with the Chargers’ (literal) big addition this offseason: 5-star junior tight end (#0) Kendre Harrison. The 6-foot-7 prospect caught a handful of passes for over 100 yards and a score in his first private school game.

One of the bigger questions for Providence Day has regarded the new-look receiver room. The Chargers just graduated a pair of 4-stars in Channing Goodwin and Jordan Shipp, but they have some younger guys who are looking to make their own name. Junior (#5) Gordon Sellars, a potential 4-star prospect himself, is the clear standout. Sellars opened Friday’s game with a 49-yard reception and later caught a 19-yard touchdown pass. The rest of the receivers did struggle with some drops, but coach Chad Grier and company are likely hoping that those were game one mistakes. Senior (#1) Jaylen Himes is a really effective player when he can get the ball in his hands and do something with it.

A lingering question coming out of Providence Day’s week zero win over Trinity Christian is the status of running back (#21) Ian Cline. The senior is one of the state’s toughest and smartest rushers. He did not receive a single carry against the Crusaders and was only spotted serving as the holder on extra point and field goal attempts. So, one would figure that Cline is healthy and the team was merely saving his legs for the tougher game against Weddington six days later.

Even if Cline cannot rush the ball, Providence Day has the talent on its offensive line to generate a positive running game. 5-star senior Tennessee commit (#70) David Sanders and 4-star junior (#77) Leo Delaney make the best offensive tackle duo in the state by far. Junior guard (#51) Miles Funderburk is a powerful presence that moves people on the interior.

Providence Day may not see a defense as good as Weddington’s during the rest of the season.

The Warrior’s defensive front is sensational. They are led by 4-star senior defensive lineman (#9) Trajen Odom (Ohio State commit) and twin 4-star juniors (#6) Aiden/ (#1) Drew Harris on the line of scrimmage. The Warriors also have a 4-star junior linebacker in (#0) Thomas Davis Jr. and an FBS-offered senior linebacker named (#3) Braeden Barger. Providence Day’s offensive line is categorically elite, but Weddington has an equal amount of talent to square off against it.

After the first two levels of the Weddington defense, the talent level or star power in the secondary is not as strong. There are athletes in that group, but they are largely unproven. They’ll have quite a task in going up against the quickly prolific Lott. I’m expecting Weddington’s top corner Caleb Hill to match up with Sellars and T.J. Davis to be the primary matchup with Harrison. Even if Weddington struggles to cover the Providence Day receivers, the defensive line has an opportunity to severely limit the PD passing attack by applying relentless pressure.

Weddington’s offense is the most up-in-the-air of any of the units set to take the Panthers’ field on Thursday night. The Warrirors graduated quarterback Tyler Budge (now at Georgia Southern) and star wide receiver Keenan Jackson (now at NC State), as well as four of its starting offensive linemen.

Tackle Jimmy Randazzo is the lone returning starter for Weddington on the offensive line. Randazzo has been an HOST All-State selection and is committed to Yale. He’s play and leadership is going to be very important for Weddington if it wants to have an offense capable of winning a state championship again.

Senior running back Nick Diamond (#34) was outstanding during the Warriors’ playoff run last season. He’s back and will push for a 1,000-yard season despite the offensive line changes.

The new quarterback is (#10) Gregory Fee, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound pocket passer who waited his turn while Budge led the team. Fee could have gone to start elsewhere and now has his golden opportunity to lead a high profile offense. He has shown off a big arm that can get the ball very far down the field in 7-on-7s, but he will not have the benefit of a having a Power 4 stud wide receiver like Budge had.

Weddington’s receivers are mostly new. Javon Barber was second on the team last year with 611 yards and seven touchdowns hauled in. Juniors (#4) Kelson Tate, a transfer from North Mecklenburg, and (#12) Jon Manley are shifty players that will bring a different style of passing attack than what Weddington had last year with the big-bodied Jackson dominating the targets. 6-foot-4 senior tight end (#17) Joseph Madden is another player to watch in the passing game as he has Division I FCS offers.

Providence Day’s defense is dotted with studs.

First of all, the likes of Sanders, Harrison, and Delaney will get plenty of snaps on the defensive line. The Charges also have sophomore edge rusher (#88) Griff Galloway, who was recently rated as the No. 46 class of 2027 prospect in the country by 247Sports. All four of them are capable of wrecking opposing team’s offensive lines. In fact, the new Weddington offensive line vs. Providence Day’s collection of 5-stars and 4-stars up front is the biggest matchup to watch in this game.

The Chargers also have some good players in the secondary. Senior corner (#2) Cairo Skanes is a reigning HSOT All-State selection, senior (#6) Braxton Winston is a Wake Forest commit, junior (#17) Brendan Ravin had a pick-six in week zero, sophomore (#4) Brennan Drummond has some Division I offers, and sophomore (#28) Caleb Cooper has been offered by UNLV.

Providence Day doesn’t have big names in the linebacker group, although you’ll sometimes see Galloway playing off ball there. If there is an area on the Charger defense for Weddington to potentially exploit, it could be that middle of the field.

Source: highschoolot.com