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 state runners-up and the players who they are set to return next season.

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Last year’s regional champions who lost the following state championship game were Rolesville in 4A, Seventy-First in 3A, Northeastern in 2A, and Corvian Community in 1A.

Rolesville, defending 4A East champion

The Rams will return five offensive starters from the state championship game and the defense will return four.

On offense, the biggest difference will be at quarterback. Multi-year All-State starter Braden Atkinson is graduating. Atkinson’s career numbers reached absurd territory.

We may already know Atkinson’s replacement: former Holly Springs starting quarterback Kaleb Williams transferred to Rolesville in March. Williams completed 147 of his 227 passing attempts (64.8%) for 1,878 yards, 20 touchdowns, and five interceptions in his junior season.

Williams, or whoever the quarterback will be, is going to have some awesome receivers to throw to. Rising senior Gavin Waddell is a bona fide Power 4 prospect, as is rising junior AJ Roberts. Caleb Kearney transferred to Rolesville from Palisades last year, but ultimately missed his sophomore season with an injury. Kearney had an offer from Virginia Tech after his freshman season at Palisades.

Davis Brown, an FBS tight end prospect, could be back in his normal role after having to kick in to play guard due to an injury last season.

At running back, Rolesville is losing star De’Von Thomas to graduation, but the Rams already have 4-star prospect Amir Brown waiting in the wings.

From the starting offensive line, only left tackle Logan Pulley is set to return. This is going to be a big unit for Ranier Rackley and his offensive coordinator Mike Holderman to figure out. If they can get even average play from the offensive line, the Rams will have an elite offensive because of their weapons.

Defensively, brothers Zaion Griffin-Haynes and Jayden Griffin Haynes are primed for big senior seasons. Zavion is rated as a 4-star edge rusher and Jayden has become a significant Power 4 recruit himself.

Similar to the offensive line, the Rolesville defensive line has questions to answers. Seniors Jayden Fry, Xavier Lewis, and Camerson Harrison are all leaving. Rolesville already has a transfer to help out in Jaden Colson from Ravenscroft (12 TFLs, seven sacks as a junior).

At linebacker, things are looking good with Jayden Griffin-Haynes and Avery Fleet returning. One starter from the title game, Talyn Watkins, is graduating.

In the defensive backfield, Rolesville has to replace three starters: Cannon Marshall, PJ Hartsfield, and Marion Turner. The one starter who is back, Marquis Bryant, might be Rolesville’s best player and is one of the top safeties in North Carolina.

The Rams’ JV team was 7-1 last year, with the only loss coming to rival Wake Forest.

Seventy-First, defending 3A East champion

The Seventy-First Falcons will be a considerably different team in 2025.

Quarterback DeAndre Nance and running back/linebacker Jayson Franklin, two of the best players in the history of the storied program, are graduating.

Only three starters are back on the Falcons’ offense: receivers Shon Pone and Jasiaha Nance as well as right tackle Zaevon Hutchinson.

That three starter number is a bit misleading as running back Jayson Franklin is a main player for the offense. Franklin has been offered by Power 4 schools.

Next year’s Falcon team will see Franklin and Pone get a load of touches. Pone has a unique skillset that lets him play out of the backfield or outside.

The graduating offensive linemen are going to be a big loss, particularly Zymeir McPhaul and Ziare Ealy.

On defense, things are a bit more clear as five starters return.

Big 6-foot-5, 320-pound nose guard John Archer is a game-chaing player and a Power 4 prospect. He’ll still be just a junior next fall. Marque Winters is another returning starter on the defensive line.

Franklin starts at linebacker. Seventy-First also returns linebacker Xaveon Gear, who was awesome last season. Gear is one of the best players in North Carolina at forcing turnovers.

Cornerback Dwight Drew Jr is back, but other defensive back starters Christian Jackson, Anthony Watson-Bethea, and Kalen Lucas are graduating.

The void that will be left by Frederick’s absence in the middle of the defense will be tremendous, however.

The good news is that the Falcons’ JV team has not lost a game over the past two seasons.

Northeastern, defending 2A East champion

Technically, only one starter is back from Northeastern’s explosive offense.

The returning starter is right guard Jaylin Rascoe. Joshua Outlaw, Christian and Chandler Powell, and Dakari Adams are all graduating.

Prolific passer Trey Jones is graduating, but rising senior Zak Ishman has been chomping at the bit to be a starter. Ishman has unbelievable arm talent, but has to prove that he can be the same type of dependable game manager that Jones was.

Northeastern is losing every starting skill player from the state championship, but the Eagles have earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to replacing those guys. Uzziah Harney is one of the receivers who could become a well-known name this season.

Rising junior Da’Mari McNeill would’ve started at running back as a sophomore if it weren’t for an injury. He is a big, bruising rusher who stands over six feet tall. If he’s healthy, McNeill is going to cause problems for the Eagles’ opponents. Rising senior rotational rusher Jaylin Mallory had 10 touchdowns as a junior.

Defensively, linebackers Maurice Bowser and Carren Armstrong are going to be tough to replace, as will edge rusher Zion Demps.

Those three players were top five in stops for the Eagles.

The good news is that Mallory is a strong linebacker as well. Mallory finished with over 115 tackles in 2024. Rising senior Jermiah Dashiel was fourth on the team in tackles as a defensive linemen. Big 6-foot-5, 285-pound Mekkhei Williams made some impressive plays as a sophomore.

Northeastern is going to feel pretty good about its first two levels.

The defensive backfield is going to look a lot different with the graduation of Khamani Bennett and Tyjae Simpson, who were also two big time players on offense.

Every player who recorded an interception for Northeastern last season was a senior. But again, when it comes to replacing these skill guys, Antonio Moore’s program deserves the benefit of the doubt.

Northeastern was 5-1 on JV last season.

Corvian Community, defending 1A West champion

Corvian’s unprecedented run to the state championship game was led by a strong senior class.

Five starters will return for the Cardinals’ offense: receiver Ryan Delbene, athlete BJ McAdoo, and linemen Chris Peavy Jr, Trey Dukes III, and Jesiah Fields.

The Cardinals’ star players of quarterback AJ Jackson, running back Cam Johnson, halfback Noah Best, and receiver Doug Quarles III are set to walk the stage.

On defense, edge rushers Doug Quarles III and Adrian Scott are graduating, as is interior lineman Tremaine Smith. Trey Dukes III is back as a starter and rising junior Nate Kamba, a blossoming 4-star prospect, is also back after playing a strong rotational role. Kamba didn’t technically start the state championship game against Tarboro, but his numbers speak for themself: 79 tackles, 26 tackles for a loss, and eight sacks.

At linebacker, Jayden Summers is the only starter returning with Cam Johnson and Donovan Kirkwood graduating. Summers is a good player to have back, though, as he was Corvian’s leading tackler.

Reginal Grier III and BJ McAdoo are returning starters in the defnesive backfield, but AJ Jackson and Noah Best were both standout players back there.

Of Corvian’s 30 takeaways last season, returning players were only responsible for six of them.

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