With the 2024 high school football season complete, it’s time to look back at who was the top sophomore.

There were plenty of good sophomore players. Here are 15 candidates for your consideration.

The 5-foot-9, 140-pound defensive back corralled seven interceptions, returning two of them for touchdowns. Batiste recorded 45 tackles.

Nichols, a dual-threat quarterback, led the Lions to the 3-A state championship. The 5-foot-10 star threw for 2,633 yards and 29 touchdowns with 4 interceptions. He had 614 yards and 9 touchdowns rushing.

Ingle threw for 2,966 yards and 35 touchdowns with 8 interceptions. In addition, he ran for 285 yards and 9 touchdowns.

Roberts caught 46 passes for 914 yards, averaging nearly 20 yards a reception, and 11 touchdowns for the Rams.

Clem ran for 1,747 yards and 26 touchdowns for the Bulldogs. A highlight of his season was a record-tying 99-yard touchdown run. Clem also saw time on defense, making 15 tackles a and breaking up two passes.

Eatmon ran for 1,139 yards and 15 touchdowns while averaging 9.04 yards per carry. He also made 18 tackles.

Hammock caught 51 passes for 881 yards and 8 touchdowns. The 5-foot-11, 180-pounder also had a pair of rushing touchdowns.

The 6-foot-4, 230-pound edge was spectacular with 26.5 sacks, 31 hurries and 123 tackles, including 35.5 for loss. Streets also blocked four punts and forced two fumbles.

Helms had 7 interceptions, 13 pass breakups and made 28 tackles. The two-way starter had 29 receptions for 344 yards and 4 touchdowns.

The 5-foot-10, 165-pounder had a superb season, going 14-of-17 on field goal attempts, with his longest being 49 yards. Fehling was a perfect 25-of-25 on extra points and had 27 touchbacks on 44 kickoffs.

Agee had a stellar season on both sides of the ball. The 5-foot-11, 185-pounder ran for 1,043 yards and 17 touchdowns while averaging 9.9 yards a carry. He also caught 3 passes for 144 yards and 3 touchdowns. On defense, Agee had 53 tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery.

Coley caught 49 passes for 775 yards and 13 touchdowns. 

The 6-foot-7, 240-pound edge had a dominant season with 23 sacks, 29 hurries and 76 tackles, including 34 for loss. Dudley has college offers from North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky and Liberty.

Dillon did just about everything for his team. The 6-foot-2, 182-pounder caught 38 passes for 798 yards and 7 touchdowns, ran 14 times for 204 yards and 2 touchdowns and threw for 270 yards and a touchdown. Dillon also made 16 tackles.

The two-way starter had 46 receptions for 650 yards and 12 touchdowns. Curry had 8 interceptions, 5 pass breakups and 38 tackles as well.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Ian Jackson scored a career-high 27 points, Elliot Cadeau scored North Carolina’s last six points in the final 22 seconds, and the Tar Heels edged Notre Dame 74-73 on Saturday.

Cadeau hit a driving layup to get North Carolina (9-6, 2-1 ACC) within 71-70 with 22 seconds left, then Notre Dame’s Matt Allocco was fouled and made two free throws with 14 seconds remaining. At the other end, Allocco fouled Cadeau on a 3-pointer to set up the winning free throw.

After Cadeau’s free throw and a North Carolina timeout, Burton was able to drive the lane and draw some slight contact but could not finish the layup.

Jackson has scored at least 20 points in the past four games. Cadeau, the only other UNC player in double figures, scored 10 points and had six assists.

RJ Davis scored eight points and passed former teammate Armando Bacot for second on North Carolina’s career scoring list behind Tyler Hansbrough. Davis is ninth in ACC history with 2,353 points.

Burton, who had been out of the lineup since injuring a knee in the opening minutes of Notre Dame’s loss to Rutgers on Nov. 26, did not start but led Notre Dame (7-7, 1-2) with 23 points in 23 minutes off the bench. Tae Davis scored 17 and Braeden Shrewsberry added 16 points.

Jackson scored 10 of North Carolina’s 18 points in a 5 1/2-minute stretch of the first half, turning a 9-8 deficit into a 26-14 advantage with 8 1/2 minutes remaining before halftime. UNC led 39-32 at the break.

North Carolina has beaten the Irish 13 of the last 15 times they’ve met.

North Carolina hosts SMU on Tuesday and Notre Dame visits N.C. State on Wednesday.

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The family that trained Ripken The Bat Dog — best known for fetching bats and football kicking tees during sporting events in North Carolina — says the black Labrador has died.

In a Facebook post Friday, the O’Donnell family said Ripken died Wednesday due to complications “from a serious undiagnosed medical condition.”

The 8-year-old Ripken’s history in the spotlight included retrieving bats for Durham Bulls minor-league baseball games and kicking tees during NC State college football games at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.

Ripken participated in a ceremonial puck drop for the NHL Stadium Series outdoor game between the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals in 2023 at Carter-Finley.

His last appearance was retrieving a kicking tee during a Dec. 22 home game for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers in Charlotte.

The O’Donnell family wrote that Ripken “was happiest when he was surrounded by people and making friends (and maybe eating a hot dog or two).”

The Bulls, the triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, NC State and the Panthers all honored Ripken in social-media posts Friday.

The Bulls wrote Ripken “put smiles on so many adoring fans’ faces,” while NC State thanked Ripken “for bringing so much joy to Wolfpack Nation.”