11/28/2017 football Edit

NC State football commitments in action

Matt Carter • TheWolfpackCentral

Editor

Wake Forest (N.C.) Heritage’s season is over after a 20-8 loss at Wilmington (N.C.) Hoggard High in the quarterfinals of the 4A state playoffs. Three-star defensive end Joseph Boletepeli assisted on a pair of sacks, and four-star running back Ricky Person rushed 18 times for 67 yards and Heritage’s lone score. He also caught four passes for 45 yards in the loss.

Heritage finished the year 12-2. Person played in 13 of those games and rushed 262 times for 2,230 yards and 38 scores and hauled in 21 passes for 279 yards and three more touchdowns. Boletepeli had 62 tackles (20 solo), 4.5 sacks, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and a pass breakup in 14 games.

Related link: Hoggard ousts Heritage, 20-8

Clayton (N.C.) High’s dream season came to an end with a 38-31 home loss to Gibsonville (N.C.) Eastern Guilford High in the quarterfinals of the 3AA state playoffs, but not without a huge effort from three-star receiver Devin Carter. He caught 11 passes for 251 yards and three scores in the defeat.

Clayton went 13-1 this season, and Carter finished with 57 receptions for 1,148 yards and 19 touchdowns. He also rushed for two more scores.

Three-star safety Malik Dunlap intercepted a pass for Charlotte Harding High in its 36-7 home win over Kernersville (N.C.) East Forsyth High to advance to the 4A state playoffs semifinals. Dunlap’s younger brother and teammate, top junior target Quavaris Crouch, rushed for 334 yards in the win.

Harding is 12-1 and will host city-rival Vance High next.

Kicker Christopher Dunn and Lexington (N.C.) North Davidson High have moved on to the semifinals of the 2-AA state playoffs after a 35-19 home win over Creedmoor (N.C.) South Granville High. The 13-1 Wildcats will be at Beulaville (N.C.) East Duplin High in the semis.

Dunn missed two field goal tries, but he also set a new state record for the most touchbacks in a season, per the Lexington Dispatch.

Related link: Knights race to semifinals

Three-star corner commit De’Von Graves caught a 51-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to seal a 26-14 win for Appomattox (Va.) County High on the road over Salem (Va.) Glenvar High. Graves finished with three receptions for 68 yards in the win.

Appomattox moved on to the semifinals of the Class 2A state playoffs, where it will play Appalachia (Va.) Union High.

Three-star linebacker Calvin Hart Jr. had six tackles (two solo) to help Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage High prevail 58-57 in triple overtime against Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) Cardinal Gibbons High. American Heritage advanced to the semifinals of the 5A playoffs and will host Immokalee (Fla.) High Friday.

Hart has played in 11 of American Heritage’s 12 games, all victories, and has piled up 73 tackles (28 solo), three sacks and eight tackles for loss. MaxPreps.com ranks the program No. 6 in its national rankings.

Four-star quarterback Devin Leary closed his career with a touchdown reception of six yards during Sicklerville (N.J.) Timber Creek’s 42-14 home win on Thanksgiving over Atco (N.J.) Winslow Township High. Leary completed 12 of 19 passes for 276 yards and three scores in the victory.

For the season, Leary connected on 152 of 246 passes (61.8 percent) for 2,863 yards and 31 touchdowns with seven interceptions. He also rushed 36 times for 344 yards and four more scores.

Three-star defensive tackle commit Davontae McCrae helped Miami Northwestern High prevail 23-15 at home over city-rival Carol City High to advance to the semifinals of the 6A state playoffs against Naples (Fla.) High.

McCrae primarily plays offensive tackle for Northwestern, which is 11-2 on the season and ranked No. 13 nationally by MaxPreps.com.

Three-star teammates Alim McNeill, a defensive line pledge, and Trent Pennix, a running back commit, saw their careers at Raleigh Sanderson High end with a 35-7 loss at defending state champion Wake Forest (N.C.) High in the quarterfinals of the 4AA playoffs. McNeill had an interception and scored Sanderson’s lone points with a 12-yard touchdown run. Sanderson closed the year at 9-4.

Coming into the contest, Pennix had rushed 185 times for 1,184 yards and 17 touchdowns, caught 27 passes for 298 yards and three more scores and collected 13 tackles, two interceptions and two pass breakups on defense.

McNeill had 58 tackles (47 solo), including 16 for loss, five sacks and a safety, three forced fumbles, a pass breakup and a fumble recovery on defense, while rushing 18 times for 134 yards and seven scores in primarily short-yardage situations

For the first time this season, three-star tight end Daevon Robinson did not catch a pass in a game for Medford (N.J.) Shawnee High. He rushed once for seven yards in a 45-0 loss at city-rival Lenape High on Thanksgiving.

Shawnee is 8-4 and will return to playoffs action against Hammonton (N.J.) High in the championship of the South Group 4 bracket. Robinson has 42 receptions for 562 yards and five scores, and has also rushed for three touchdowns.

Davie (Fla.) Western High, featuring three-star corner commit Teshaun Smith, ended its Cinderella run in the 8A state playoffs with a 35-22 loss at Delray Beach (Fla.) Atlantic High in the quarterfinals. Western’s season closed at 10-3.

Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian Academy, featuring sophomore cornerback commit Jahquez Robinson, will not win a state title for the first time since 2013 after a 24-14 loss at Pensacola (Fla.) West Florida High in the quarterfinals of the Class 5A playoffs.