State finalist Leesville Road and Cardinal Gibbons lead the way on All-Area football team
Leesville Road and Cardinal Gibbons marched all the way to the 4AA and 4A state finals, respectively.
They combined for 25 wins in 2019, both representing the CAP-7 in state championship games. To do that, you need the players, and both the Crusaders and Pride had plenty of talent.
That talent led the charge on the 2019 Observer All-Area football team. Leesville Road had six players selected, while Cardinal Gibbons had five. Cleveland, which advanced to the the 3AA third round, also had five selections.
Leesville Road, the 4AA runner-up, had one first-team offense selection (Mitchell Mayes), two on defense (Tylik Caine and David Sohn) and Noah Burnette, listed as an “athlete” on the first team. The senior did a little bit of everything for the Pride. As a receiver he caught 40 passes for 848 yards with seven scores and had 27 tackles as a cornerback. But he was perhaps more dangerous with his leg. The senior had 51 touchbacks on the kickoff unit, connected on 49 of 50 PATs and hit 13 of 15 field goals.
Cardinal Gibbons and Cleveland had two of the best offenses in the area, not to mention a pair of stud running backs.
Crusaders’ senior Jack Grazen was named the CAP-7 Offensive Player of the Year after rushing for 2,103 yards and 19 touchdowns. He became the first player in school history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. Only a sophomore, Omarion Hampton set several records for the Rams on the ground this season. He rushed for a school record 2,402 yards and 35 touchdowns.
The defensive line is led by a group of future college players, including a trio of ACC signees. Lee County’s Desmond Evans, the top rated defensive lineman in the state is headed to UNC. Cary’s Davin Vann signed with NC State and Aeneas Peebles has already enrolled at Duke. Tylik Caine, the senior from Leesville Road, will sign with a school next month.
FIRST-TEAM OFFENSE
QUARTERBACK
Andrew Harvey, Cardinal Gibbons
RUNNING BACKS
Omarion Hampton, Cleveland
Running back - Jack Grazen, Cardinal Gibbons
WIDE RECEIVERS
Whit Kane, Heritage
Devin Smith, Durham-Riverside
Davis Clemmons, Broughton
OFFENSIVE LINE
Mitchell Mayes, Leesville Road
Jonathan Adorno, Rolesville
Mark Charnot, Cardinal Gibbons
Wesley King, Cleveland
Ryan Moran, Wake Forest
FIRSTS-TEAM DEFENSE
DEFENSIVE LINE
Tylik Caine, Leesville Road
Aeneas Peebles, Knightdale
Desmond Evans, Lee County
Davin Vann, Cary
LINEBACKERS
Justin Reed, Apex Friendship
Dakota Marquess, Cleveland
Jamae Blank, Southern Durham
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Kahlil Watson, Wake Forest
Daekwon Rogers, Enloe
Jayden Chalmers, Lee County
David Sohn, Leesville Road
SPECIALISTS
Ben Steele, Heritage
ATHLETE
Noah Burnette, Leesville Road
SECOND-TEAM OFFENSE
QUARTERBACK
Landin Sledge, Durham-Riverside
RUNNING BACKS
AJ Boulware, Lee County
Josh Pullen, Rolesville
WIDE RECEIVERS
Jacob Gill, Cardinal Gibbons
Jashaun Patterson, Rolesville
Juwan Bunch, Wakefield
OFFENSIVE LINE
Kadeem Willis, Rolesville
Camaar Epps, Riverside
Andrew Terry, Apex Friendship
Hunter Sauls, Holly Springs
Jefferson Lambert, Garner
SECOND-TEAM DEFENSE
DEFENSIVE LINE
DeAndre Dingle-Prince, Lee County
Myles Harp, Cardinal Gibbons
Trevion Hadley, Millbrook
Trey Robinson, Cleveland
LINEBACKERS
Tyler Peacock, Garner
BJ Adamchik, Leesville Road
Hunter Morris, Cleveland
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Chance Smith, Wake Forest
Marcus Bland, Corinth Holders
Derrell Gray, Leesville Road
Julian Quao, Ravenscroft
SPECIALISTS
Owen Zalc, Green Hope
ATHLETE
Isaiah Anderson, Grace Christian
This story was originally published January 3, 2020 at 6:00 AM with the headline "State finalist Leesville Road and Cardinal Gibbons lead the way on All-Area football team."
