In the month of April, HSOT Insiders will receive daily articles to preview the 2025 high school football season in North Carolina.

Today, we’re going to take a look at the defending N.C. High School Athletic Association western regional runners-up and the players who they are set to return next season.

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Last year’s western regional runners-up were Weddington in 4A, Hickory in 3A, Brevard in 2A West, and Mountain Heritage in 1A.

Weddington, defending 4A West runner-up

Weddington has to find a new quarterback again. Last year, senior Greg Fee came in and played very well in place of the graduated Tyler Budge. Now, Fee is graduating. Rising senior Walker Powell played the most behind Fee. Powell completed 23 of his 30 passes for 257 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. Weddington will probably have a competition for the starter role.

Two good running back are back for the Warriors: Brody Anson, who had 800 yards and eight touchdowns as a junior and Anthon Barrino, who had 461 yards and eight touchdowns as a sophomore.

At pass catcher, leading receiver Javon Barber and third-leading receiver Joseph Madden are graduating. However, Jon Manley and Kelson Tate are two good options to have back with their athleticism. Manley had 435 yards and five scores, while Tate had 395 and six touchdowns. Tate also had 411 kick return yards.

On the offensive line, Yale signee Jimmy Randazzo led a senior-heavy group. 6-foot-3, 295-pound Bryce Johnson will be back for his junior year. Johnson is an FBS-level prospect. Ethan Van Order, a rising junior, has potential to be a good player.

Defensively is where Weddington will really shine again.

The standout Harris twins – Aiden and Drew – are preparing to wreak havoc again as seniors. The brothers are both considered to be 4-star prospects and have the production that meets the billing, unlike some other prospects at their positions.

TJ Davis, the cousin of the brothers, is back to patrol the middle of the field at linebacker. Davis already committed to play at Notre Dame. A couple of the good players around him, Braeden Barger and Bryce Larson, are graduating.

On the back end of the defense, Caleb Hill and Stellan Schilder are graduating after nice careers. Ace Clements and James Colonna are returning defensive backs. Clements led the team with 15 pass breakups as a sophomore. Colonnal led the team with three interceptions and also had 48 tackles.

The Warriors have kicker Owen McNulty and punter Liam Goodwin back. McNulty is one of North Carolina’s best kickers. He made seven of nine field goal attempts and 62 of 65 point after touchdown tries. Goodwin averaged 33.1 yards per opportunity.

Weddington’s JV team finished 8-0 in 2024. They blew out most of the teams, with the exception of Independence (Weddington won 28-22).

Hickory defending 3A West runner-up

The Red Tornadoes’ historically good triple-threat of quarterback Brady Stober, running back Isaiah Lackey, and wide receiver Jamien Little have reached the end of their high school careers.

Replacing a 3,700-yard, 39-touchdown passer, 1,200-yard, 37-touchdown rusher, and a 1,345-yard, 16-touchdown receiver is not an easy task for any program. Additionally, senior receiver Ellis Chappell wasn’t the college prospect that Little was, but he has 1,238 yards and 11 touchdowns last year.

Hickory’s most productive returning running back is Jaeem Jenkins, who had 220 yards and six touchdowns over three games. At receiver, there is not a returning player who had more than 46 yards in 2024. Coaches could prepare Dorrian Medley for an expanded role on offense after he spent most of his junior season standing out in the defensive backfield.

On the offensive line, left tackle Dominic Sturghill and right guard Rahshad Swinton are set to return for their senior years.

The Red Tornadoes’ best defensive player Quenshea Abernathy is also graduating. He led the team with 122 tackles and had ten tackles for a loss to go with six sacks. Breyon Gibbs is also gone from the defensive line. Gibbs had 89 stops, seven tackles for a loss, five sacks, a pick, and two forced fumbles.

There are going to be more answers on this side of the ball than there were on offense.

Carter Toney, who tied with Abernathy for the team lead at 122 total tackles, will be back at linebacker. He also made a few tackles for a loss and had two interceptions.

Rising senior Brett Rowland was a magnetic player at free safety in 2024, making a state-leading 11 interceptions. Medley is also a key player on the back end with his 83 tackles and three interceptions. Landon Powell is also returning for his senior season after gathering two interceptions last year.

You might read this and think Hickory is going to be in trouble without its class of 2025. The team will certainly not be as good as it was, but fans should understand that the Red Tornadoes have not lost on JV in two years. They have plenty of players rising through the ranks who will become names we know.

Brevard, defending 2A West runner-up

Brevard will be an interesting team to track as the Blue Devils are losing some of their best players to graduation but are bringing some of the stars back.

Let’s start with the good news: Brevard’s starting quarterback and top three running backs are returning.

Quarterback Benjamin Kessinger had a final stat line of 76/121 passing (62.8%) for 1,334 yards (95.3/gm), 14 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He also had 247 rushing yards and two scores. Star rusher Braylon Thompson had 1,241 yards and 18 touchdowns on 153 carries as a junior. Thompson’s fellow rising senior Nyrell SKinner rushed for 923 yards and 11 touchdowns. Karter Macfie is also back following his 413-yard, five-touchdown season.

Outstanding receiver Eli Griffin and tight end Dillon Galloway are both graduating, leaving two of the biggest roles in the offense vacant. The top returning receiver is Arion Young, who had 14 receptions for 199 yards and a touchdown.

Chandler Nevin is a quality returning offensive lineman. He was all-conference in the Mountain Foothills and selected to the HSOT 828 All-Region Team. Levi Garrett is a graduating player from the line who was also an all-conference selection.

On defense, the Blue Devils are losing their five best players: linebackers Coleman Smith and Cooper Weaver, defensive ends Zion O’Neal Brown and Judson Weaver, and safety Henry Ogle.

Of the 33 sacks that Brevard made, 32 of them were by seniors. The only returning player who had a sack was Daniel Field.

Rising senior linebacker Jax Whitmire wll look to fill the impact that Smith made. Whitmire had 71 tackles and five tackles for a loss last season.

Tristan Thompson-Wynn is returning in the defensive backfield after he impressed with six interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown, and three more pass breakups as a sophomore. Arion Young is also back in the defensive backfield. Young finished with four picks and seven pass breakups last season.

Brevard’s JV team finished with a 7-1 overall record last season. The only loss came to Shelby.

Mountain Heritage, defending 1A West runner-up

The Cougars’ best crack at a state championship was last year.

Star quarterback Brandon Quinn was a terror for opposing teams in the mountains. As a senior, he threw for 11 touchdowns to no interceptions and rushed for north of 2,000 yards with 29 touchdowns. Players like that are not easy to replace.

Mountain Heritage also has to replace graduating running back Lane Chandler, who rushed for 917 yards and 10 touchdowns last year. On the offensive line, rising senior Braxton Batchelor is back at left tackle as is Gabe Onchi at left guard. However, it was a senior-heavy unit other than Batchelor and Onchi.

The player that Mountain Heritage will be most excited to have back is Cason Jones, who at 6-foot-3 and over 200 pounds is a true swiss army knife. Jones had 61 carries for 692 yards (11.3/carry, 53.2/gm) and seven touchdowns with 13 receptions for 343 yards and four touchdowns on offense. Defensively, he was a force with 96 tackles, 19 tackles for a loss, two sacks, three interceptions, one interception returned for a touchdown, four pass breakups, and five forced fumbles. Jones will have an argument as the best player in the 828 next season.

The Cougars also have their top overall tackler back in middle linebacker Malachi Huskins, who finished above Jones with 112 total tackles and also had 11 tackles for a loss, a sack, two interceptions, and a fumble recovery.

Defensive back Parker Burleson is set to be back after his 43-tackle, two-tackle for a loss, four-interception season as a junior. Braxton Batchelor, Mountain Heritage’s sack leader from a year ago (four sacks), will be senior in the fall. Batchelor had 71 total stops and 17 tackles for a loss to go with his sacks.

Niko Theodorides, Cole McGee, Carter Bennett, and Ervine Pile are other returning players who had imporant roles on the defense.

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HSOT Insiders should stay tuned to the site throughout the spring and summer months for more football preview articles.