State Championship Games: West Key Players

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The State of North Carolina West teams are set for the state championship games as Grimsley, West Charlotte, Monroe, and Corvian all won their respective regional finals in impressive fashion. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Grimsley scored 35 second-half points in an impressive come back victory over the regining state champion Weddington Warriors 35-23. A couple of players stood out for Grimsley, let's look at them. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["284090"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-675e6d78e4eb0"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Our #1 QB in the Class of 2026 lived up to his billing in the 2nd half, after being held to a shutout in the first half by the Warriors. Brandon got loose for three touchdown passes as the Whirlies really attacked the Warriors vertically down the field. Brandon showed his big arm and excellent accuracy, showing why he is so well-regarded nationally as a prospect. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["909357"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-675e6d78e4f2b"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Kaden was the main recipient of the big 2nd half by [player_tooltip player_id='284090' first='Faizon' last='Brandon'], catching all three of his TD passes. In total for the game, Kaden had 7 catches for 188 yards, showing some very good route running and some explosive speed in the open field. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>West Charlotte has an uncharacteristically sloppy first half of play, finding themselves down 14-6 to an undefeated Hickory team on the road. The Lions found their offensive execution at the half, and defensively the Lions kept the Red Tornadoes off balance in a 36-20 victory. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1157260"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-675e6d78e4f8b"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">KD had an excellent game on both sides of the ball, however on offense he had 5 catches for 144 yards and 2 touchdowns. His second touchdown was a game clinching 78-yard TD catch that made it a 3 score game at 36-14 with 3 minutes left in the game. KD's explosive athletic ability also helped keep the Hickory passing attack out of sync, and some big defensive stops in the first half kept the game from getting out of hand. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='1310581' first='Emory' last='McClain Jr']. ","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'11u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"180","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"2408","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"West Charlotte ","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-675e6d78e506a"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Emory stepped up big-time in this game with 18 carries for 103 yards and a critical touchdown run. Emory is a strong inside runner who has the ability to run through tackles at the second and third levels of the defense. Emory was interviewed after this game by Brandon Black of Charlotte Football Insiders, check out what he shared with everyone. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/TheCFIproducer/status/1867769290671391126?t=2H9tv5UbH7SwvCvLh9oFNwu0026amp;s=19","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/TheCFIproducer/status/1867769290671391126?t=2H9tv5UbH7SwvCvLh9oFNw&amp;s=19 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Monroe Redhawks literally ran past Brevard in the 2A West final 41-15. Monroe jumped out to a 28-0 lead and was never threatened seriously after that. There was one player on the field who really stood out the most for the Redhawks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["272704"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-675e6d78e50d9"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='272704' first='Kaegan' last='Chambers'] has had an impressive playoff run in leading Monroe to the state championship game. Teams simply cannot handle his speed in the open field, and he is posting multiple big games on this run. This week, Chambers ran for 277 yards on only 12 carries, while throwing for 164 yards, a total of over 400 yards of total offense by himself. The only question I have is, why does he not have more recruiting attention? Any program that employs a dual threat element in their offense should be on the phone with this young man right now. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the 1A West final, Corvian won a tough game on the road over a good Mountain Heritage team 28-19. In Corvian 's 3rd year overall as a school, they will play for a state championship. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1357078"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-675e6d78e5133"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">In this game, a number of players stood out in a good team effort, but I wanted to highlight Cameron because he was an absolute workhorse. He took the most carries in this game, 18 of them, and grinded out 83 tough yards along with a touchdown run. Then, on defense he turned around and picked up 12 total tackles against a physical Mountain Heritage offense. Cameron has been doing this all season long, and deserves to be commended for being an essential piece to Corvian's success this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->