Vote: Who is the North Carolina High School Football Player of the Week? Sept. 24, 2025

The 2025 North Carolina high school football season is now at its halfway point and elite performances keep coming. We are tracking each on a nominating the best for North Carolina High School Football Player of the Week.

Congratulations to last week's winner: J.J. Gulat of Dixon.

Here are this week's nominees. Voting ends Sept. 28 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

Tristan Cowan, South Iredell

Cowan was 21-of-34 for 424 yards and a school-record 7 touchdowns in a 48-44 win over Alexander Central.

Brody Hunt, South Iredell

Hunt caught 13 passes for 312 yards and 4 touchdowns. The 312 yards are a school record and sixth most in North Carolina high school history.

Quincy Fortenberry, Hunter Huss

Fortenberry intercepted three pass and made five tackles in a 35-19 win over North Gaston.

Zaid Lott, Providence Day

The Syracuse commit had another sensation game in the Chargers’ 55-34 victory over Rabun Gap. Lott was 23-of-30 for 338 yards and 4 touchdowns while running 21 times for 145 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Luke Meador, Providence

Meador, a junior making his second start, was 12-of-17 for 202 yards and 2 touchdowns as Providence beat Butler for the first time in 20 years.

Ethan Royal, Hough

The Huskies’ quarterback threw for 305 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 53-15 romp over New Bern. Royal added a rushing touchdown.

Tyson Douglas-Brown, Corvian Community

The freshman quarterback tossed a pair of touchdown passes and had two touchdown runs in a 35-0 win over Lake Norman Charter.

Tanner Payne, West Carteret

Payne lit up Dixon’s defense by going 15-of-24 for 406 yards and 5 touchdowns in the Patriots’ wild, 67-51 win. The Patriots’ quarterback also ran 9 times for 75 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Kingston Welch, Cherokee

Welch ran 15 times for 175 yards and 4 touchdowns as the Braves rolled to a 40-6 win over Rosman.

Hayden Burpeau, Owen

Burpeau booted a game-winning 40-yard field goal with 1:39 left in a 17-14 victory over Polk County. He also caught a 14-yard touchdown pass and ran 9 times for 49 yards.

Zane McCraw, West Henderson

McCraw had a night for sure, running 31 times for 200 yards and returning an interception 37 yards for a touchdown in a 21-7 win over Tuscola.

Chris Najm, Pinecrest

Najm ran for 189 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 36-21 win over Scotland County.

John Evans Jr., Reagan

Evans had 190 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries along with a pair of receptions for 34 yards in the Raiders’ 24-21 win over Lake Norman.

Titus Troy, Northwest Cabarrus

Troy ran 16 times for 166 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the Trojans’ 44-13 win over South Rowan.

Kamari McDonald, Lexington

McDonald set a North Carolina single-game recoerd by returning three interceptions for touchdowns in a 40-0 win over East Davidson.

About Our Athlete of the Week Voting
High School on SI voting polls are meant to be a fun, lighthearted way for fans to show support for their favorite athletes and teams. Our goal is to celebrate all of the players featured, regardless of the vote totals.Sometimes one athlete will receive a very large number of votes — even thousands — and that’s okay! The polls are open to everyone and are simply a way to build excitement and community around high school sports.Unless we specifically announce otherwise, there are no prizes or official awards for winning. The real purpose is to highlight the great performances of every athlete included in the poll.