For each week of the 2024 high school football season, HighSchoolOT will release the Starting 22. It lists the best performances from every position across North Carolina.

Coaches should send in performance nominations to [email protected] for consideration each week. Players cannot have a repeat selection later in the year, as the goal of this is to shine the light on as many players as possible.

See the Starting 22 from this season’s previous weeks:

Offense

QB — Bryce Baker, senior, East Forsyth

• Baker was unconscious against one of the best defenses in 3A. He completed 29 of 38 passing attempts for 482 yards, five touchdowns, and one interception. Baker also rushed for a touchdown in the Eagles’ 49-14 win over A.C. Reynolds.

RB — Brandon Pinkerton, junior, East Rutherford

• Pinkerton rushed 35 times for 279 yards and six touchdowns in the Cavaliers’ huge 62-15 win over Newton-Conover.

RB — Jah Sheppard, junior, Martin County

• Sheppard rushed 22 times for 296 yards, four touchdowns, and a two-point conversion in Martin County’s 52-0 blowout win over 1A threat Northside-Pinetown.

WR — Tyshaun Goldston, senior, Randleman

• In HSOT’s Game of the Week, Goldston was the Player of the Game as he caught nine passes for 174 yards and three touchdowns in the 35-21 Randleman win over Bunker Hill.

WR — Cam’Ron Jones, senior, Reidsville

• Jones had six catches for 103 yards and three touchdowns, with a long of 41 yards, in Reidsville’s dominant win over 3A rival Rockingham County.

FLEX — Luke Collins, senior QB, Starmount

• Starmount’s QB/DB/P completed 9 of his 13 passing attempts for 194 yards and four touchdowns. He also had 62 rushing yards and a touchdown on four carries. On defense, Collins recorded an interception. His lone punt went a significant 52 yards.

OL — J.B. Shabazz, junior, East Forsyth

• The junior Power 4 prospect is a part of an Eagles offense line that has played very well. The left tackle was a big part of the Eagles’ ability to keep A.C. Reynolds’ hands off their star quarterback Bryce Baker.

OL — Braden Ellis, senior, Northwest Guilford

• Over his first three games, the 6-foot-6, 275-pound left tackle has compiled 15 total pancakes and allowed no sacks. Ellis was a late bloomer and has a chance to catch on with a college late.

OL — Kiande Marsh, senior, Hough

• The reigning HSOT First Team All-State center has been trading with his teammate Jarvis Potts as Hough’s top graded offensive lineman through three weeks.

OL — Zonta Davis, senior, Ashley

• At 5-foot-11 and 230 pounds, Davis is not the biggest linemen out there but he is very sound in his craft. Davis was a big part of Ashley’s ability to rush for 350 yards and five touchdowns against a good 1A team in East Bladen

OL — Jarvis Potts, junior, Hough

• At 6-foot-5 and 310 pounds, Potts has really impressed as a junior. He’s been trading the top-graded offensive lineman honors at Hough with Kiande Marsh.

Defense

DL — Cameron Melvin, junior, Cleveland

• Cleveland’s 6-foot, 235-pound defensive end finished with five tackles and four tackles for a loss in the Rams’ 47-0 shutout over a West Johnston team that had a good start to the season.

DL — Noah Clark, junior, Jordan

• The junior Power 4 prospect was credited with six total tackles and a tackle for a loss in Jordan’s shutout win against Heritage has been generally destructive beyond the box score as well.

DL — Dawson Clark, senior, Southwest Guilford

• The 6-foot-1, 260-pound senior was credited with four total tackles, two tackles for a loss, a blocked punt, and a punt return for a touchdown after another block in Southwest’s 55-0 shutout win over rival High Point Central.

DL — Griffin Cockerham, sophomore, Cardinal Gibbons

• The 6-foot-3, 215-pound sophomore had two sacks and two tackles for a loss along with two other tackles as the Gibbons first team defense held Richmond to 7 points.

LB — Dallas Brannon, junior, Independence

• The junior Power 4 prospect was everywhere for Independence in its 34-13 win over Charlotte Christian. Brannon was credited with 20 total tackles. Brannon can play all over the field for the Patriots’ defense.

LB — Aaron Vance, senior, Sanderson

• The 6-foot-4, 200-pound player was a defensive end last year before he moved to linebacker this season. In Sanderson’s 14-12 win over Triton, he had 11 total tackles, two tackles for a loss, two quarterback pressures, one forced fumble, and two blocked field goals.

LB — Leo Housel-Rajacich, junior, Reagan

• The 6-foot-1, 205-pound linebacker was a bright spot in Reagan’s loss to Grimsley. He was credited with 15 total tackles, 13 of them solo, two tackles for a loss, one sack, and one hurry.

DB — Cairo Williams, sophomore, Millbrook

• Williams stuffed the stat sheet in Millbrook’s blowout win over Garner. He finished with nine total tackles, three interceptions, and a 95-yard pick-six.

DB — Adom Hembrick, senior, E.E. Smith

• The senior safety has had an outstanding start to the year. That continued with a four-tackle, five-pass breakup, and two-interception performance in E.E. Smith’s close loss to West Carteret. Hembrick also had four receptions for 60 yards on offense.

DB — Samari Matthews, junior, Hough

• The junior 4-star prospect has been lights out in the first three games. Hough has played strong competition and Matthews has only had the ball thrown at him six total times.

FLEX — Jaylan Willis, senior, Bunker Hill

• In a strong losing effort, Willis had two interceptions, one of which was a pick-six, for Bunker Hill. He also had a rushing touchdown and a kickoff return for a touchdown. He scored all of the touchdowns for the Bears in their 35-21 loss.

Source: highschoolot.com