PHOTO: Clayton junior cornerback Akedran Crumel has allowed only five completed passes.

Visit my website homepage, TomShanahan.Report. Purchase my books here.

— Click here for review and purchase link: THE RIGHT THING TO DO, The True Pioneers of College Football Integration in the 1960s and here for a purchase link to RAYE OF LIGHT, Jimmy Raye, Duffy Daugherty, the Integration of College Football and the 1965-66 Michigan State Spartans.

— Watch a three-minute video to learn about our documentary at the fundraising stage, GAME CHANGERS OF THE CENTURY, and the Investment Deck.

— Documentary synopsis: Duffy documentary snynopsis.pdf – Google Drive

— How Duffy Daugherty and the MSU Team Changed College Football History

— I put my research up against anybody, anytime, anywhere

---

Here’s my latest Friday Night Lights feature in the News & Observer. My stories are posted on the website on Thursday. The story in the print edition is on Friday. Read about the teams, inspiring athletes and the growing pool of talented recruits in the Triangle. As an old newspaperman, I prefer holding the ink versions in my hands. Sadly, I notice in the 21st century I’m usually the only one at my favorite breakfast stop, Brigs at The Crossing in Cary, reading a paper. The last TV show with characters reading newspapers at home or a coffee shop was probably Seinfeld.

---

CLAYTON’S AKEDRAN CRUMEL

DECEMBER 11, 2025

By TOM SHANAHAN

CLAYTON — He looks slick dressed in his black, blue and white football uniform at home, or wearing blue and white on the road. He’s posting suffocating shutdown statistics. Opponents avoid throwing to his side of the field.

The picture fits Duke All-American cornerback Chandler Rivers, who last week helped the Blue Devils beat Virginia in the ACC Championship game.

But these details could also apply to Clayton High’s Akedran Crumel, another shutdown corner set to play in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 7A Division state title game. The East Region champion Comets (12-2) face West Region champ Greensboro Grimsley (14-0) at 8 p.m. Friday at North Carolina’s Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill.

“I look up to Rivers,” Crumel said. “I like his techniques

Read the remainder News & Observer story here: Clayton NC cornerback ready for state title game vs Grimsley | Raleigh News & Observer

***

MILLBROOK’S BRYSON GRAY

DECEMBER 10, 2025

By TOM SHANAHAN

RALEIGH — Bryson Gray loves playing basketball at Millbrook High. The 6-foot-3 combo guard has springs for legs and relishes putting down a flashy dunk.

So, imagine his frustration last winter while sidelined following knee surgery to stitch a donor ligament to his kneecap to prevent it from dislocating.

“I missed the season, but I was part of the team,” said Gray, whose coaches emphasize his team leadership intangibles. “I went to all the games.”

Now fast forward to Gray’s junior basketball season that began Nov. 20. He has yet to play in the Wildcats’ first five games, but this time he watches with eagerness to return to the court. The delay is a lengthy football postseason, with Gray fulfilling his other point guard-like role — playing quarterback. The unbeaten Wildcats are pursuing the 8A Division state title of the N.C. High School Athletic Association.

Read the remainder of my News & Observer story here: Millbrook quarterback leads unbeaten Wildcats to state final | Raleigh News & Observer

***

CLAYTON’S RIVER FIORE

DECEMBER 4, 2025

By TOM SHANAHAN

CLAYTON — College football fans often hear chatter about the transfer portal dramatically shifting high school recruiting. But what changed? And who is paying the price?

To grasp the minutiae, Clayton High tight end River Fiore personifies a case study

Traditionally, college coaches build their rosters by pursuing highly rated prospects and identifying overlooked talent to develop. Nothing has changed for the highly recruited prospects, but the advent of the transfer portal led to coaches adding players with college experience. The quick fix has been at the expense of the lightly recruited athlete.

Fiore, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound tight end, falls into the lightly recruited category, even though Clayton coach Scott Chadwick considers his third-year varsity team leader invaluable to the Comets with his play on the field and his intangibles.

---

Clayton wins 7A East Region: NC high school football playoffs: Clayton, Cardinal Gibbons | Raleigh News & Observer

---

“River had interest from Group of Five schools,” Chadwick said. “But they were telling him they wanted to wait on offering him until after they see what’s available to them in the transfer portal.”

Read the remainder of my story here: Clayton football player picks NC Central, eyes region final | Raleigh News & Observer

***

MILLBROOK’S CAIRO WILLIAMS

NOVEMBER 27, 2025

By TOM SHANAHAN

RALEIGH — Cairo Williams strides across Millbrook High’s practice field with eye-catching height, length and quickness. First impressions quickly size him up as a wide receiver.

But Williams, the Wildcats’ 6-foot-2, 180-pound junior safety, disagrees. And don’t try to change his mind

“No sir, I’m a safety,” he said emphatically, shaking his head prior to Millbrook’s Monday practice.

“The main reason I play football is I like to be aggressive. As a receiver — besides blocking — you can’t be as aggressive as you want to be. Football helps me cope with life and to get my aggression out on the field.”

Read the remainder of my N&O story here: Raleigh HS football junior leads Millbrook to region final | Raleigh News & Observer

***

ROLESVILLE’S MALACHI HARRIS

NOVEMBER 20, 2025

By TOM SHANAHAN

ROLESVILLE — The trend impressed upon college football prospects is to grow up in a hurry. They’re steered with a single focus toward cutting short their high school experience:

• Give up being a multi-sport athlete and work out year-round with a private trainer.
• Graduate early, enrolling in college to gain a head start participating in spring football.

Cases can be made, certainly, to defend private trainers advocating a single-sport focus. Same with college coaches wanting their recruit to adapt to college life and learn the playbook. And in this new age of college athletes earning dollars from revenue sharing and NIL, there are checks to cash, too.

Well, excuse Rolesville High’s Malachi Harris, a three-star defensive lineman committed to Old Dominion, if he wants to be a high school kid a few more months

Read the remainder of my N&O story here: Rolesville HS football lineman Malachi Harris commits to ODU | Raleigh News & Observer

***

CLEVELAND’S KALEB FERRELL

NOVEMBER 13, 2025

By TOM SHANAHAN

A self-conscious grin crossed the face of Cleveland High’s Kaleb Ferrell. The junior running back, seated in a golf cart alongside the Rams’ practice field, was explaining his preseason preparation.

“I wanted to be a complete back this year,” said the Rams’ leading rusher and scorer with 15 touchdowns in nine games. “I wanted to be on the field for third down.”

Then came that grin with a pause.

“This will sound funny,” he said, “but I like to help people, and that helps me with my pass blocking. I’m not trying to improve just to help me look good on film for recruiting. I’m blocking to keep my quarterback safe and help my team.”

It sounds funny only if you consider a typical teenager. Ferrell doesn’t have a typical high school kid’s backstory

Read the remainder of my N&O story here: Purpose fuels Cleveland High running back Kaleb Ferrell | Raleigh News & Observer

***

CARY’S THROWBACK RESURGANCE

OCTOBER 30, 2025

By TOM SHANAHAN

CARY — One word best sums up Cary High posting its first winning football season since 2011: Throwback.

The Imps’ senior core, led by quarterback Nick Grena, is an old-school group that stuck together through tough times dating back to youth football. Their bond through high school isn’t always the case in this modern-day transfer era.

Grena and senior mainstays such as lineman Tyler Evans, tight end/linebacker Donald Haley Jr. and linebacker Ben Hines played on the same youth teams and grew familiar with their future teammates playing against them.

Mix in younger talent that includes Nick’s brother, sophomore wide receiver Erich Grena, and the Imps have turned around a 1-9 record a year ago to 7-1 overall and 2-1 in Triangle Six 6A/7A Conference play.

“We’ve got a lot of guys working together and believing in each other,” said Cary coach Coleman Tyrance. “Nick has been a great leader in the offseason and during the season.”

Read the remainder of my N&O story here: Throwback resurgence lifts Cary High football season in 2025 | Raleigh News & Observer

***

SOUTH GARNER’S EBENEZER EWETADE

OCTOBER 23, 2025

BY TOM SHANAHAN

GARNER — Ebenezer Ewetade grew up understanding little about football, but the South Garner High senior defensive end learned quickly. He progressed so far so fast, his college destination is hallowed ground.

Notre Dame.

Ewetade, now a 6-foot-4, 225-pound 4-star prospect, knows the sport better, but Notre Dame’s tradition requires taking on another learning curve — Irish lore. Hollywood makes movies about Notre Dame, with a future American president playing the part of George Gipp

Along with The Gipper, there’s coach Knute Rockne and The Four Horsemen; 11 national titles; coach Frank Leahy and quarterback Johnny Lujack, one of seven Irish Heisman Trophy winners as the 1947 recipient; coach Ara Parseghian and quarterback Terry Hanratty, the 55th and latest Irish College Football Hall of Famer in the Class of 2025; two “Games of the Century,” with Lujack in the 1946 edition and Hanratty in 1966; coach Dan Devine and the 1978 green jersey game; and much more leading up to last year’s national championship runner-up finish under coach Marcus Freeman.

But when Freeman visited South Garner’s campus, all that mattered to him was Ewetade picked up the sport enough to project to the next level

Read the remainder of my News & Observer story here: Ewetade rise from cut player to Notre Dame prospect 2025 | Raleigh News & Observer

***

ROLESVILLE’S AMIR BROWN

OCTOBER 16, 2025

By TOM SHANAHAN

ROLESVILLE — College football’s big-name out-of-state coaches who phone Rolesville High coach Ranier Rackley may begin by asking about 4-star prospect Zavion Griffin-Haynes, but they don’t stop inquiring there.

When the subject is junior running back Amir Brown, Rackley says he provides the same answer whether he’s talking with Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman, Ohio State’s Ryan Day or Georgia’s Kirby Smart.

“I tell them, ‘I can show you better than I can tell you,’” Rackley said. “I can give you lip service, but if you watch him play or sit down and talk to him, you’ll see. I teach my guys, ‘You’re about what you do when nobody is watching.’ Amir works hard. He’s a leader. I don’t have to push him.”

Brown, a 5-foot-11, 205-pounder, holds 40-plus offers on a list he said is still growing. It starts with all three sides of the Triangle, extends to Miami on the southern eastern tip of map and stretches to Stanford on the West Coast. He’s ranked a 4-star by ESPN and On3, and a 3-star by 247 Sports.

Wednesday, Brown told the News & Observer he decommitted from North Carolina, to which he’d verbally committed in August. It was a stunning move to some, and comes after a week of tumult surrounding the Tar Heels

Read the remainder of my News & Observer story here: 4-star RB Amir Brown decommits from UNC football, Belichick | Raleigh News & Observer

***

SOUTHEAST RALEIGH’S KEYSAUN ELEAZAR

OCTOBER 9, 2025

By TOM SHANAHAN

RALEIGH — Southeast Raleigh High’s football players emerged from their locker room into a hallway while headed for practice earlier this season. They were typical teenagers — fixated on their own chatter, oblivious to an adult stranger.

Except for Keysaun Eleazar.

The Bulldogs’ 6-foot-6, 210-pound defensive end walked, helmet in hand, with a welcoming countenance above the crowd — literally and figuratively.

“Hi, how are you?” said Eleazor, nodding to greet the otherwise invisible visitor.

The Stanford-bound recruit’s nature will serve him well as he embarks on a college career path necessitating a bedside manner. He enrolls in January as a human biology major with a pre-medicine track.

Read the remainder of my News & Observer here: Southeast Raleigh HS football standout commits to Stanford | Raleigh News & Observer

***

MILLBROOK’S RASHAD STREETS AND QUINTON CYPHER

OCTOBER 2, 2025

By TOM SHANAHAN

RALEIGH — Football teams diligently seek the gridiron grail of complementary ball — offense, defense, special teams. Millbrook High team captains Rashad Streets and Quinton Cypher take that quest to another level.

Streets and Cypher — sounds like a legal firm — combined on a game-breaking play last week in a pivotal Cap 8A Conference showdown.

Millbrook led 7-0 early in the second quarter as Rolesville quarterback Kaleb Williams rolled out. Streets, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound defensive end, ran right to left in pursuit. As Streets closed in, the junior extended his body for the sack and stripped the ball in one motion.

Read the remainder of my News & Observer story here: Raleigh high school football recruits dominant at Millbrook | Raleigh News & Observer

Story link to be posted on Thursday and in print edition on Friday. Check back then.

***

CARDINAL GIBBONS’ NOAH TERRY

SEPTEMBER 25, 2025

By TOM SHANAHAN

RALEIGH — Noah Terry carries 220 pounds on his solid 5-foot-10 frame as a running back at Cardinal Gibbons High. Few would be foolish enough to question the senior’s toughness on or off the field — in or out of uniform.

That includes the example of a post-game moment last week when emotions got the best of him.

The Crusaders suffered their first loss against Charlotte Mallard Creek, 20-16, in a showdown of state powers. As Gibbons coach Steven Wright gathered his team at one end of Cardinal Gibbons Stadium, the players took a knee. They formed a u-shaped huddle around their veteran coach.

Wright finished his talk by saying, “Ok, put a hand on a shoulder.”

— Read the remainder of my N&O story here: Cardinal Gibbons RB Noah Terry on leadership, drive, recruit | Raleigh News & Observer

***

SOUTHEAST RALEIGH’S CHRISTIAN FREEMAN

SEPTEMBER 18, 2025

By TOM SHANAHAN

RALEIGH — Southeast Raleigh High’s football team follows a “7:25/2:25 Rule” among coach Edwin Campbell’s standards. It equals the daily school hours.

“It means be accountable,” said junior running back Christian Freeman. “It means take care of your schoolwork, be respectful to your teachers and other students. Be a helping hand.”

If the players need a reminder, they start each week on Monday morning hearing Freeman’s voice. After he finishes his morning workout in the weight room, at 7:25 he takes to the school’s public address microphone and greets students, faculty and staff with school announcements.

“My mom (Diane) said it would be a good idea,” Freeman said. “It helps with me with pronouncing words and speaking loud enough to be heard clearly.”

— Read the remainder of my N&O story here: NC State football recruit, RB from Southeast Raleigh HS | Raleigh News & Observer

***

LEEESVILLE ROAD’S DEVIN GOLDSTON

SEPTEMBER 11, 2025

By TOM SHANAHAN

RALEIGH — High school athletes commonly change schools, crossing boundaries or attending out-of-state academies. They seek recruiting exposure or a winning program, but it’s also a trickle-down from pro sports and the college transfer portal.

That makes Devin Goldston an old-school homebody.

The senior wide receiver plays for his neighborhood high school, Leesville Road. He arrived from his neighborhood middle school, Pine Hollow. And before that he attended his neighborhood elementary school, Brier Creek.

Read the remainder of my N&O story here: Who is Wake Forest football recruit Devin Goldston of Raleigh | Raleigh News & Observer

***

ROLESVILLE PRODUCING DIVISION I TALENT

SEPTEMBER 4, 2025

By TOM SHANAHAN

ROLESVILLE — Friday Night Lights enthusiasm persists at Rolesville Stadium with the usual fan overflow standing along the rail. The line to the concessions was a dozen or so deep, but orderly.

The draw, of course, is a Rolesville football program coming off its seventh straight postseason. A year ago, the Rams won the Northern 4A Conference, the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A East Region and finished as the 4A state runner-up.

Read the remainder of my N&O story here: College football recruiting in North Carolina high schools | Raleigh News & Observer

***

CLAYTON’S AIDEN SMALLS

AUGUST 28, 2025

By TOM SHANAHAN

CLAYTON — Quarterbacks are stubborn. Don’t ask them to switch positions — not if they’ve excelled playing the most intricate position in team sports.

Clayton High senior Aiden Smalls, a prolific dual-threat quarterback, sat on a sideline bench after Monday’s practice and discussed playing quarterback — one of his two football narratives in 2025.

The other is Clayton’s outlook this season. The Comets, who were 10-2 a year ago, remain ranked No. 6 in the 7A Division of the N.C. High School Athletic Association after rolling up 537 total yards in last week’s 52-12 win against Wilson Prep. Clayton plays another home date at 7:30 p.m. Friday against Southern Nash (1-0).

“We’re explosive offensively,” Smalls said. “We can do different things. We have the option, we have running backs, and we have speed with our receivers. It’s going to be hard to stop us. And we have a bunch of guys on defense.”

Read the remainder of my N&O story here: How pickleball helped NC State football recruit Clayton choose Wolfpack

***

RYAN CLARK AND ENLOE’S REVIVAL

AUGUST 21, 2025

By TOM SHANAHAN

RALEIGH — The 2025 high school football season is here. Players, coaches and campuses brim with optimism. Across the Triangle, teams await their first snaps.

“Alumni Night” is Enloe’s first game, a home-opener tradition fifth-year head coach Ryan Clark launched among many building blocks to revive a dormant program. The Eagles face Southeast Raleigh at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Len Bauer Memorial Stadium.

“When I got together this season with our coaches before practices started,” Clark said, “we were telling stories and laughing about the problems we had that first year.”

Read the remainder of the N&O story here: Enloe high school football team of Raleigh trending upward | Raleigh News & Observer

---

PREP ARCHIVES

My N&O archives of 2024 Triangle high school football tales.

My N&O archives of 2023 Triangle high school football stories.

My N&O archives of 2022 Triangle high school football stories.

---

-30-

I invite you to follow me on Twitter @shanny4055

I’ll put my facts on the true pioneers of college football integration versus Bear Bryant fairytales against anybody, anytime, anywhere. Watch here.

Click here for my story on the 1962 Rose Bowl and Segregation and Alabama.

— Tom Shanahan is an award-winning sportswriter with two books on college football integration, “RAYE OF LIGHT, Jimmy Raye, Duffy Daugherty, the Integration of College Football and the 1965-66 Michigan State Spartans,” and “THE RIGHT THING TO DO, The True Pioneers of College Football Integration in the 1960s.” They are the most accurate accounts of college football integration in the 1950s and 1960s. They also debunk myths about the 1970 USC-Alabama game. The false narrative co-opted the stories of the true pioneers who stood up to Jim Crow and the KKK.

— Two children’s books also explain Michigan State College Football Hall of Fame coach Duffy Daugherty’s impact on integration through the Underground Railroad and the Hawaiian Pipeline: “DUFFY’S COLLEGE FOOTBALL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD” and “HOW DUFFY PUT HAWAII ON AMERICA’S FOOTBALL MAP.”

***
PURCHASE LINKS, non-fiction books

— RAYE OF LIGHT, August Publications or on Amazon.

— THE RIGHT THING TO DO, August Publications or on Amazon.

PURCHASE LINKS, children’s books

— DUFFY’S COLLEGE FOOTBALL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD, Order from Barnes and Noble here and Amazon here. 

— HOW DUFFY PUT HAWAII ON AMERICA’S FOOTBALL MAP, coming soon on Barnes and Noble and Amazon.