The 2026 high school football season is set to begin on August 21, ushering in a fresh slate of competition across Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties, with state championship games scheduled for early December.
Among the returning standouts, several linebackers are generating particular buzz after impressive 2025 campaigns that combined tackle totals, sacks and forced turnovers.
Rising Defensive Playmakers
Daeshawn Camp of Kings Mountain recorded 53 tackles, four quarterback hurries and a blocked field goal, while his brother Markalen at Burns posted 102 total tackles and two sacks, underscoring a family tradition of defensive grit.
Maddox Carrigan from Cherryville contributed 49 tackles, half of which were solo, and Khalil Clark of Crest added 77 stops with 11 for loss, three forced fumbles and a recovery, painting a picture of a deep talent pool at the position.
Bryce Cuadra of Stuart Cramer was a tackle machine with 146 stops, nine sacks and two forced fumbles, and Max Davis from Burns notched 55 tackles, a sack, five quarterback hurries, a forced fumble and two recoveries, including a blocked field goal.
Brayden Fortenberry also from Stuart Cramer, despite playing only eight games, amassed 53 tackles, seven sacks and five quarterback hurries, while Peyton Grooms of Lincolnton posted 78 tackles, a sack, two forced fumbles and an interception.
Landon Hollifield of Shelby logged 134 tackles, 4.5 sacks and a blocked field goal, and Jalaythan Mayfield from Lincolnton tallied a career‑high 152 tackles, six sacks, six forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, a blocked punt and a blocked field goal.
Other notable contributors include Jent Miller of South Point with 73 tackles and an interception, Gabe Sides of East Gaston who, as a freshman, logged 68 tackles, two forced fumbles and a recovery, and Kenan Stewart from West Lincoln with 54 tackles and a sack.
Coaches and analysts alike expect these players to shape the early season narrative, as teams open against regional rivals and aim to translate preseason promise into on‑field dominance.