The Starting 11: the top players from week 1 of the high school football season
Each week, we honor the top 11 high school football performances from around the Triangle and Eastern N.C.
Nominations are appreciated. Email with nominations and send a full box score to hssports@newsobserver.com.
The Starting 11
Holton Ahlers, D.H. Conley: East Carolina recruit completed 17 of 32 passes for 353 yards and 5 touchdowns, ran for 106 yards and one touchdown on 7 carries and even blocked a field goal.
Xzavior Bowden, Goldsboro: Ran for 195 yards and 3 touchdowns on 13 carries.
Tyre Davis, Bunn: Had 2 interceptions, returning one 99 yards for a touchdown; also had 2 catches for 71 yards.
Caleb Groegler, Cary: Completed 25 of 36 passes for 261 yards.
Nick Frey, Cardinal Gibbons: Completed 18 of 25 passes for 238 yards with 4 touchdowns and 1 interception.
Demarcus Jones, Wake Forest: Ran for 173 yards and 2 touchdowns on 16 carries.
Darius Ocean, Cleveland: Completed 20 of 35 passes for 268 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Zach Pittman, Fike: Had 2 interceptions.
Cameron Moore, Rolesville: Had 11 catches for 208 yards.
Ricky Person, Heritage: N.C. State recruit ran for 182 yards and 4 touchdowns on 20 carries.
Payton Wilson, Orange: UNC recruit made 5 catches for 127 yards and 2 touchdowns on offense; had 12 tackles with 3 sacks on defense; had 244 yards on five punt returns (48.8 average) with a long of 72.
This story was originally published August 22, 2017 at 12:16 AM with the headline "The Starting 11: the top players from week 1 of the high school football season."