2014 Big 22 class

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — WSOC-TV Channel 9 and High School Football Extra's Big 22 brought to you by OrthoCarolina announced the 22 high school football players who have been determined as the top pre-season standouts from area high school teams for the 2014 season.   They will be featured throughout the season on Channel 9's weekly "High School Football Extra" show along with in-depth coverage on wsoctv.com.

Coaches from public and private high-schools located in the WSOC-TV, Channel 9 DMA viewing area in NC and SC were asked to nominate three players from their team and two players from other schools to be considered for the "Big 22."   The final twenty-two were selected by the WSOC-TV sports department after reviewing the coaches' nominations and using a set of judging criteria.

"Recognizing the "Big 22" players is a great way to showcase these young athletes and demonstrates Channel 9's ongoing commitment to our community", said Joe Pomilla, WSOC-TV Vice President and General Manager.

For the 2014 High School Football season the “Big 22” are (in alphabetical order by last name):

Jareke Chambers, North Rowan High School, Spencer, NC
Elijah Deveaux, Charlotte Christian School, Charlotte, NC
BJ Emmons, Freedom High School, Morganton, NC
Mark Fields, II, Hough High School, Cornelius, NC
Albert Funderburke, Jr., Sun Valley High School, Monroe, NC
Stephen Griffin, South Meck High School, Charlotte, NC
Tre Harbison, Crest High School, Shelby, NC
Dupree Hart, Northwestern High School, Rock Hill, SC 
Jay Hood, Lancaster High School, Lancaster, SC 
Josh Ladowski, Lake Norman High School, Mooresville, NC
Cody Montgomery, Lewisville High School, Richburg, SC
Nate Mullen, Hickory Ridge High School, Harrisburg, NC
Moe Neal, Forestview High School, Gastonia, NC
Akease Rankin, Mooresville High School, Mooresville, NC
Anthony Ratliff, Butler High School, Matthews, NC
Rocky Reid, Concord High School, Concord, NC 
Darian Roseboro, Lincolnton High School, Lincolnton, NC
Van Smith, Jr., West Meck High School, Charlotte, NC
Chazz Surratt, East Lincoln High School, Denver, NC
Mason Veal, Ardrey Kell High School, Charlotte, NC
Robert Washington, Jr., Southlake Christian Academy, Huntersville, NC
Caleb York, Providence High School, Charlotte, NC

SPECIAL SECTION: Big 22 players to watch

The "Big 22" players will also be featured on "High School Football Extra Kickoff", a LIVE primetime special airing Wednesday, August 20 at 8 p.m. on WSOC-TV Channel 9.   "High School Football Extra" will air Fridays on Channel 9 at 11:35 p.m. starting August 22. 

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: Past Big 22 players

WSOC-TV is part of Cox Media Group.

About Cox Media Group
Cox Media Group is an integrated broadcasting, publishing, direct marketing and digital media company that includes the national advertising rep firms of CoxReps.  Additionally, CMG owns Cox Target Media, which operates Valpak, one of North America's leading direct marketing companies, and Savings.com, a leading online source for savings.  The company's operations currently include 14 broadcast television stations and one local cable channel, 57 radio stations, eight daily newspapers and more than a dozen non-daily publications, and more than 100 digital services.  CMG currently operates in more than 20 media markets and reaches approximately 52 million Americans weekly, including more than 30 million TV viewers, more than 3.5 million print and online newspaper readers, and more than 14 million radio listeners.  For more information about Cox Media Group, please check us out online at www.coxmediagroup.com.

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