Vote: Who Should Be North Carolina Week 1 High School Football Player of the Week?

The first week of the 2026 North Carolina high school football season is in the books, and standout performances came from every corner of the state.

High School On SI has selected 15 nominees for North Carolina High School Football Player of the Week. Read about each candidate below and cast your vote.

Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. PT Sunday, Aug. 30. The winner will be announced in next week's poll.

Cole Cater, Providence Day

In his first start at quarterback for the perennial power Chargers, Cater showed he belonged, completing 17-of-21 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Cater also rushed for 30 yards and a touchdown on three carries.

Lemar Grier, A.L. Brown

The Wonders' tailback ran 22 times for 172 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-10 win over Porter Ridge.

Levi Kerr, Marvin Ridge

A junior quarterback, Kerr attempted just 11 passes but completed nine for 258 yards and four touchdowns in a 77-13 rout of Cox Mill.

Noah LeBlanc, East Duplin

LeBlanc wasn't in on every tackle. But it may have seemed that way. He finished with 18 tackles, including 3 for loss, and a sack as the Panthers edged archrival Wallace-Rose Hill 16-14.

Kyle Albert, Topsail

Albert is just a freshman but, what a debut on both sides of the ball. In a 20-8 win over Dixon, Albert ran 23 times for 152 yards and all three of his team's touchdowns to go along with two interceptions.

Blake Garrett, West Henderson

The senior running back scored four touchdowns in the Falcons' 34-21 win over Erwin.

Austin Livingston, Havelock

This is what you call a perfect special teams night. Livingston returned a kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown and returned a punt 54 yards for a touchdown as the Rams outlasted West Craven 40-35. Livingston, a junior, also had a pair of catches for 21 yards.

Messiah Thompson, Lincolnton

Thompson had a ball-hawking night in the secondary with three interceptions and three passes defended in a 30-10 win over Maiden.

Cruz Scott, Shelby

The sophomore quarterback was 16 of 26 for 238 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions as the Golden Lions held off Kings Mountain 28-21.

Jacob Bennett, Pamlico

Bennett ran for 298 yards and three touchdowns and also threw a touchdown pass in Pamlico's 34-26 upset of KIPP Pride.

Joshua Townsend, Fairmont

The dual-threat quarterback did it all in a 32-31 thriller over Lumberton. Townsend completed 17 of 26 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, rushed eight times for 125 yards and another score, and added an interception on defense.

Levi Dalke, Southwestern Randolph

Dalke completed 14 of 16 passes for a school-record 298 yards and three touchdowns as the Cougars overwhelmed East Davidson 45-0.

Kaden Craft, Lake Norman

The four-star Tennessee commit completed 8 of 15 passes for 164 yards and a touchdown and rushed eight times for 49 yards and two more scores in the Wildcats' 47-0 rout of Sun Valley.

Ethan Royal, Hough

The Marshall commit threw two touchdowns as the reigning 8-A state champions won a 15-10 showdown with South Carolina power Northwestern.

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.

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