Vote: North Carolina high school football Player of the Week (8/26/2024)

Let us know who you believe deserves the title of NC high school football player of the week by voting in our poll

Grimsley running back Mitchell Summers is a candidate for the North Carolina high school football Player of the Week. Cast your vote for the player you feel is most deserving. /

North Carolina public schools kicked off their season Friday night, so everyone is playing across the state.

SBLive/SI will choose a Player of the Week throughout the season. Here are the 10 nominees for this week’s poll.

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Congratulations to last week's winner: Khalel Wright of Charlotte Country Day.

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SBLive voting polls are intended to be a fun way to create fan engagement and express support for your favorite high school athletes and teams. Unless expressly noted, there are no awards for winning the voting. Our primary focus is to highlight the abilities and accomplishments of all the athletes and teams included in our poll. You can vote as often as you wish and are encouraged to share our polls with others. The use of voting bots and other forms of automated voting are not allowed. Individuals will be removed from the poll if any form of automated voting can be verified. - SBLive Sports

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Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Sep. 1st. The winner will be announced in the following week's poll. Here are this week's nominees:

Tyler Bennett, Mallard Creek

Bennett’s 27-yard interception return for a touchdown was the go-ahead score as Mallard Creek rallied from a three-touchdown deficit to knock off two-time defending Georgia Class A state champion Prince Avenue Christian 31-21.

Aiden Harris, Weddington

The 6-foot-3, 240-pound defensive end was instrumental in the Warriors holding Providence Day’s high-octane offense to 150 yards and a touchdown. Weddington won 13-7 in the high-profile matchup. Harris has 21 college offers, including Ohio State, Notre Dame and Michigan.

Dionte Neal, Reidsville

Reidsville was rocked when superstar tight end/defensive end Kendre Harrison transferred to Providence Day. There’s plenty of talent left on the Rams’ roster. Neal right from his freshman season when he intercepted 12 passes. Now a junior, Neal can add quarterback to his resume. In the Rams’ 28-3 win over Western Alamance, Neal was 12-of-14 for 88 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also ran 6 times for 81 yards. And that’s not all. Neal had a 93-yard kickoff return and a 35-yard interception return.

Jackson Byrd, Cleveland

The senior quarterback was 20-of-34 for 341 yards and 3 touchdowns with one interception in a 35-32 win over Hoggard. Byrd also had 94 yards rushing and a touchdown on 14 carries.

Mitchell Summers, Grimsley

Summers was a dominating force in the Whirlies’ 34-12 victory over Mount Tabor. The 5-foot-6, 155-pound senior ran 23 times for 212 yards and all five of his team’s touchdowns.

Reggie Bush, Lumberton

Bush, a 5-foot-10 junior, ran 29 times for 210 yards and 4 touchdowns as the Pirates eased to a 35-0 win over Fairmont. 

Harley Moyer, Union Pines

Moyer had two interceptions to help limit Triton’s offense to 40 yards in the Vikings’ season-opening 42-0 win. The 6-foot, 160-pound senior also made three tackles.

Braden Atkinson, Rolesville

The Mercer commit completed 22 of 31 passes for 317 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Rams scored an impressive 64-14 rout of Butler in a game between two highly ranked teams. Atkinson directed the Rams to scores on their first eight possessions.

Enijahe Whitworth, Cherryville

Whitworth, a 5-foot-10 sophomore, was a big difference-maker in the Ironmen’s 20-18 victory over Avery County. He returned the opening kickoff down to the Avery 2-yard-line to set up a touchdown, intercepted a pass in the end zone to stop a drive and returned another interception 63 yards for a touchdown.

Grayson Harvey, Mountain Island Charter

Harvey was 21-of-25 for 419 yards and 7 touchdowns in Mountain Island Charter’s 55-6 rout of the Cabarrus Stallions.