Which players made the Charlotte Observer All-Decade high school football team?
Who are the high school Players of the Decade from the Charlotte Observer’s coverage area?
It’s tough to pull out the best of the previous 10 All-Observer teams (2010-19). But we put together a panel to try to pick All-Decade girls’ and boys’ basketball teams and one for football.
We began with girls’ basketball and boys’ basketball. Today, we look at football. To qualify, players had to have made the All-Observer team and played the majority of their career in the area, particularly their senior seasons. Multiple appearances on All-Observer teams increased a player’s chances to make the All-Decade list, and making the team was much more about what a player did in high school than what he did after. All selected players made first-team All-Observer at least once.
▪ The offensive player of the decade is Charlotte Catholic’s Elijah Hood. Hood won Observer player of the year in 2012 and 2013. As a junior in 2012, he set what were then Mecklenburg County records for rushing yards (3,309 yards) and touchdowns (48). As a senior in 2013, he ran for 3,690 yards and 53 touchdowns. He finished his career with 8,981 yards and 147 touchdowns, which rank fourth and third in N.C. public school history. As a senior, Hood was named N.C. player of the year and US Army All-American national player of the year. He later played at North Carolina and in the NFL.
▪ The defensive player of the decade is South Pointe’s Jadeveon Clowney, a two-time All-Observer defensive player of the year. Clowney had 17 sacks as a sophomore on varsity and had 144 tackles and 23 sacks as a junior. As a senior in 2010, Clowney totaled 162 tackles, 29.5 sacks, plus 29 tackles for a loss. He also forced 11 fumbles and recovered six. As a senior, Clowney scored five touchdowns on defense, was named Mr. Football in South Carolina and USA Today’s national defensive player of the year. Ranked as the No. 1 player in his recruiting class by several recruiting services, Clowney landed at South Carolina, and in 2014, he was the NFL’s No. 1 overall draft pick to the Houston Texans.
▪ The coach of the decade is Charlotte Catholic’s Mike Brodowicz. He took over the program from legendary coach Jim Oddo before the 2014 season. In six years, Brodowicz’s teams went 85-8 overall, 41-1 against conference competition and reached six straight Western Regional championship, or state semifinal, games. Catholic lost in the N.C. 4A state final in 2014, then the Cougars won the title in 2015. They have won the past three N.C. 3A state championship games.
The Observer’s All-Decade Team (Offense)
The Observer’s All-Decade Team (Defense)
This story was originally published January 1, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
