Vote for The Observer’s offensive football high school player of the week

Here are the nominees for The Observer’s boys’ high school football players of the week after Week 1 of the season. Nominees come from games played from Aug. 20-22.

The poll will close at noon Friday.

Landon Blevins, West LIncoln: Blevins threw 2 touchdown passes and ran a score in a 41-0 win over Lincoln Charter. On defense, he had 4 tackles and 2 interceptions.

Braylon Clark, Providence Day: In a 34-0 win over Rolesville, Clark caught 6 passes for 158 yards and 2 TDs. He had 58 returns yards and also had a punt return for touchdown called back.

Kaden Craft, Lake Norman: In a 35-7 win over Mount Tabor, the Tennessee commit threw for 201 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 22 yards and another score.

Noah Dailey, Ardrey Kell: The freshman QB was 18 of 28 for 153 yards and 3 TDs in a 20-7 win over Porter Ridge Friday.

Jaxon Dollar, East Lincoln: In a 26-24 win over Providence, Dollar caught 8 passes for 160 yards and a touchdown. He had two sacks on defense, and an interception return for a touchdown.

David Echevarria, Ambassador Christian: Ambassador beat Grapeville Faith (TX) in Ireland last week 58-34. Echevarria, a 6-5, 215 pound junior, was 19 of 27 for 402 yards and 7 TDs, setting school records for yards and TDs.

Lemar Grier, AL Brown: In a 44-6 win over Concord, Grier ran 8 times for 162 yards and 4 TDs. He averaged 20.3 yards per carry.

Niko Henderson, Butler: The reigning Observer player of the week was 27 of 45 for 452 yards and 7 TDs in a 42-14 win over Statesville. He ran 11 times for 85 yards and connected with senior Zaylen Barnes 7 times for 176 yards and 2 TDs.

AJ McClain, Ashbrook: In a 35-7 win over Bury, McClain threw for 180 yards and 3 scores and he ran for 71 yards and another.

Gavin McDermott, Charlotte Christian: In a 49-6 win over Buford (SC), McDermott — the son of former NFL coach Sean McDermott — completed 6 of 9 passes for 110 yards and 3 TDs. He ran 1 time for 28 yards and a touchdown. He didn’t play in the second half.

Carson Massey, Covenant Day: In a 33-0 win over North Wake Saturday, Massey completed 11 of 15 passes for 137 yards and 3 scores. He ran 5 times for 26 yards.

Luke Meador, Providence: In a 26-24 loss to East Lincoln, Meador was 28 for 39 passing for 345 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Darius Morales, Charlotte Country Day: In a 15-7 win over Charlotte Catholic to win the John Cook Cup, Morales ran 17 times for 103 yards and two touchdowns. Country Day beat Catholic for the first time since 2012.

Ja’braylan Patterson, West Iredell: In a 55-0 win over North Iredell, the 6-4, 180-pound junior QB completed 8 of 14 passes for 124 yards and 3 TDs. He ran 4 times for 43 yards and a touchdown.

An’Dre Ramseur Jr., Mountain Island Charter: In a 44-8 win over College Prep Leadership Academy, Ramseur had 3 catches for 71 yards and 2 TDs. He had 3 punt returns for 116 yards, a kick return for 56 yards. On defense, he had 6 tackles and 2 passes defended.

Ethan Royal, Hough: In a 35-10 win over Cardinal Gibbons, the Marshall recruit completed 15 of 19 passes for 285 yards and 4 TDs. He ran for another score.

Carter Stevens, Christ The King: In a 48-0 win over Raleigh’s Grace Christian School, Stevens had an 82-yard kick return for a score, 2 catches for 31 yards, 5 rushes for 58 yards and 2 scores plus more than 65 yards in punt returns.

Matt Taylor, Chambers: In a 48-8 win over Hopewell, Taylor had 10 carries for 110 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Cooper Wise, Piedmont: In a 41-6 win over South Stanly, Wise had 17 carries for 231 yards and 3 scores.

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This story was originally published August 31, 2026 at 8:00 PM with the headline “Vote for The Observer’s offensive football high school player of the week.”