The Sweet 16 at 40: Which football players just missed our all-anniversary lists?

Last week, The Charlotte Observer named the best high school football players, teams and coaches of the Sweet 16 era as it celebrated the 40th anniversary of its high school football poll.

Since 1984, hundreds of outstanding players, coaches and teams have come through the region and been covered by the newspaper. And we couldn’t get them all in our lists.

So here’s 10 that very nearly made the cut.

(Note: come discuss the all-anniversary teams on a special Talking Preps episode, Monday at 6 p.m. on the Charlotte Observer YouTube channel)

Sweet 16 turns 40

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Charlotte Observer’s Sweet 16 poll, our high school preps staff spent months working to determine the best football players, coaches and teams of the era.

• The all-time best high school football players from Charlotte

• Charlotte's greatest high school football player was an 'anomaly'

• Who are the best players from outside Mecklenburg County?

• Which teams were the best of the Sweet 16 era? We make our picks

• COLUMN: In the past 40 years, what’s the greatest team I’ve seen? There are only two contenders

• These are the top high school Charlotte football coaches of the last 40 years

• ‘It’s just a fact’: He is the greatest Charlotte prep football coach in the past 40 years

Jeff Burris, Rock Hill Northwestern, RB: A two-time Charlotte Observer player of the year in Upper State South Carolina, Burris ran for more than 1,800 yards as a senior. In two seasons, he ran for more than 3,500 yards. As a senior, he rushed for a school-record 237 yards against Boiling Springs.

After high school, Burris played at Notre Dame and then enjoyed a 10-year NFL career with the Bills, Colts and Bengals.

Shamar Finney, Crest, LB: In 1997, Finney was ranked as the No. 2 prospect in North Carolina behind potential Pro Football Hall of Famer Julius Peppers. At the time, the ‘97 class was considered perhaps the state’s best ever. A high school All-American, Finney had 101 tackles as a senior and 355 in his career. In the 1997 Shrine Bowl, The Observer reported that Finney was “the most dominant player on the field,” after he had 14 tackles.

In 2022, Finney was named to the Cleveland County Sports Hall of Fame after playing on two high school state championship teams and for legendary coach Joe Paterno in college at Penn State.

Anthony Houston, Harding, QB/Ryan Houston, Butler, RB: Anthony Houston was the 1986 Charlotte Observer Mecklenburg County player of the year after he passed for more than 2,000 yards and 25 touchdowns. That same year, he was named all-state and runner-up for Associated Press N.C. player of the year. Nicknamed “The Lizard,” Houston was the Mecklenburg County QB of the decade along with former Independence star Mark Maye, who finished his career before the Sweet 16 era began.

Houston’s son, Ryan, became a star at Butler High School. Ryan Houston later played at UNC. In high school, Houston ran for 2,219 yards and 32 touchdowns as a senior in 2006. He was ranked among the nation’s top 25 running backs and was a SuperPrep All-American. He ended his career as Mecklenburg County’s all-time leading rusher.

Josh Ladowski, Lake Norman, QB: The 2014 N.C. Associated Press state player of the year as well as the N.C. Gatorade player of the year, Ladowski led the Wildcats to a 13-2 record and a berth in the NC 4AA quarterfinals. Just 5-9 and 180 pounds, Ladowski set NC public school records for offensive yards in a season (5,644) as a senior. He passed for 43 touchdowns and ran for 33.

The runner-up for All-Observer player of the year to Mallard Creek’s eventual three-time state championship-winning QB James Smith, Ladowski played baseball in college at UNC.

Natrone Means, Central Cabarrus, RB: Means was the 1989 Charlotte Observer All-Piedmont player of the year. The newspaper reported that same year that he might’ve been the best running back in the Piedmont (counties outside of Mecklenburg in western North Carolina) in the decade. He ran for 2,030 yards and 32 touchdowns as a senior and finished with 4,399 rushing yards and 62 touchdowns in his career.

After a career at UNC, Means was a second-round NFL draft pick who played for the Chargers, Jaguars and Panthers. He was a member of the Chargers’ 50th anniversary team.

K.P. Parks, West Rowan, RB: The 2009 N.C. Associated Press player of the year, Parks ran for a state record 3,794 yards and 59 touchdowns as a senior, leading his team to a second straight state championship.

Parks led his high school to a 30-game win streak and scored four touchdowns in a 28-21 state championship victory over Eastern Alamance. He ended his career with a N.C. best 10,895 yards. He set national records for career carries (1,370) and 100-yard rushing games (55) and was a top-five rusher in national history. He played in college at Virginia.

Wali Rainer, West Charlotte, LB: Rainer and his twin brother, Jami’h, terrorized Mecklenburg County offenses in the ‘90s. Wali Rainer was a first-team Charlotte Observer All-Mecklenburg pick as a senior in 1994, when he and his brother led the Lions in tackles. Rainer was a three-year starter on one of the state’s top teams.

After high school, Rainer starred at Virginia, where his brother, Jami’h, also went. Wali became a fourth-round NFL draft pick in 1999 and played seven years in the NFL with the Browns, Jaguars and Lions. His son, Zahir, became a high school star in Richmond, Virginia, and recently committed to Minnesota after amassing more than 30 college scholarship offers.

Darius Thomas, West Charlotte, QB: The 2007 N.C. Associated Press player of the year, Thomas led the state in passing yards (4,452) and touchdown passes (56). Both were new school records.

He became the first public school player in state history to have two 500-yard passing games in the same season. Thomas was named Charlotte Observer offensive player of the year and was a Shrine Bowl pick after his senior year.

Mike Thomas, Richmond Senior, Punter/QB: As a senior in 1989, Thomas was named N.C. Associated Press state player of the year after leading the Raiders to the N.C. 4A state title. Thomas made the all-state team as a quarterback and a punter.

During his senior year, Thomas threw for 18 touchdowns and ran for nearly 700 yards and 10 more scores. Named a second team Charlotte Observer All-Piedmont quarterback (behind Concord QB Jimmy Hitchcock), Thomas made the Parade All-America team. He averaged 50.2 yards per punt. Thomas played quarterback and punter after high school at UNC.