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North Carolina's biggest football jamboree is bigger than ever.
The first HighSchoolOT Jamboree of 2026 will be played at the 10,000-seat First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary on Saturday, August 8. The HighSchoolOT Jamboree at Wake Forest High School will be played on Friday, August 14. More on that event soon.
The August 8 event, brought to you by State Employees Credit Union, Talk it Out NC, the United States Army, and Wake Orthopaedics, features three defending state finalists: Millbrook, Middle Creek, and Hunt.
Perennial contenders in the 8A, 7A, and 6A classifications round out the field. Cardinal Gibbons, J.H. Rose, Rolesville, Southeast Raleigh, Southern Durham, Union Pines, and Wake Forest fans can get an early look at their 2026 teams.
Varsity matchups will start at 5:00 p.m. For the first time, JV matchups will be conducted the hour before. The JV scrimmages will be played in the stadium adjacent to First Horizon Stadium.
Admission to the event is $15 per person. Concessions will be available during the event. Parking is free. Fans are welcome to tailgate after the parking lot opens at 3:00 p.m.
The entrance for fans will be at the start of the west concourse, which connects both stadiums.
Here's the schedule for the varsity games at First Horizon Stadium. The teams listed first will take the home side and wear their dark-colored jerseys. The team listed second will be the away team and wear white. Each squad is listed with its overall record from last season. The JV scrimmage starts an hour earlier than the varsity time.
- 5:00 PM - Hunt (12-3) vs. Union Pines (11-2)
- 6:00 PM - J.H. Rose (6-6) vs. Rolesville (9-4)
- 7:00 PM - Southeast Raleigh (9-4) vs. Wake Forest (7-5)
- 8:00 PM - Cardinal Gibbons (12-2) vs. Millbrook (13-1)
- 9:00 PM - Middle Creek (11-3) vs. Southern Durham (7-5)
There are over 20 Power 4 prospects set to attend the event and plenty of other players with FBS/FCS offers.
College football fans can get a look at players committed to Duke (Southern Durham's Lance Henderson and Jonathan Dillon), Kentucky (Rolesville's Marquis Bryant), NC State (Christian Freeman of Southeast Raleigh and Griffin Cockerham of Cardinal Gibbons), Nebraska (Rolesville's Amir Brown), Notre Dame (Cardinal Gibbons' Xavier Hasan), Ohio State (Millbrook's Quinton Cypher), Oregon (Millbrook's Rashad Streets), Rutgers (Wake Forest's Josiah Sturdivant), South Carolina (Rolesville's Jayden Broadie), and Virginia Tech (Rolesville's A.J. Roberts).
Power 4 prospects who aren't yet committed include Cardinal Gibbons' Skylar Alston and Truth Caesar, Southeast Raleigh's Grayson Williams, Zamir Jackson, and Jackson Hunter, Southern Durham's Jastin Ikard and Ja'Quez Johnson, and Millbrook's Cairo Williams and Amir Daniels.
Southern Durham running back Kamari Holloway is committed to East Carolina and Spartan defensive back Kobe Whimper is committed to NC Central. Wake Forest defensive back Jayden Debnam is committed to Campbell and running back Micah Olu is committed to Eastern Michigan. Millbrook's tight end Hayes Brawner is a James Madison commit and outside linebacker Chase Sizer is a Campbell commit. Cardinal Gibbons lineman Malek Griffin is a Campbell commit.
Other FBS/FCS prospects at the August 8 event include Jaleek Parson of J.H. Rose, Bryson Gray, Markez Wilbert, Darius Smith, and Dominique Ellis Jr. of Millbrook, Kayden Lamar of Cardinal Gibbons, Kye Johnson and Jayden Bowman of Southern Durham, Carter Jaime and Noah Powell of Southeast Raleigh, and Genesis Allen of Rolesville.
HSOT Jamboree RulesThe HighSchoolOT Jamboree features rules that are as close to real game rules as possible.
An officiating crew will call the scrimmage like a game.
Only two teams will be allowed on the field at one time, meaning we will use the entire 100 yards. Teams will sit on opposite sidelines. The team listed first is the home team and will sit on the sideline closest to the press box. The second team listed in the schedule will be the visiting team and will sit on the sideline opposite the press box. Ticket gates will be located on both sides of the stadium.
A coin toss will determine who gets the ball first. There will be dead ball kickoffs. A change of possession will begin at the 20-yard line even if the kickoff is fielded deeper. A kickoff fielded before the 20-yard line will be the starting drive location.
Teams will have four downs to pick up a first down, score a touchdown, punt the ball away, attempt a field goal, or turn the ball over on downs. Punts are allowed, but punting situations are not live. Chain gangs will be used. For the Jamboree at WakeMed, there will be no extra point or field goal attempts.
Each game will consist of two 22-minute halves with a running clock. The clock will stop for injuries, timeouts, and the dead ball kickoffs. The clock will not stop for incomplete passes or plays that end out of bounds, except for the final two minutes of each half, which will feature normal timing rules. Each team gets one timeout per half.
Halftime will be 5 minutes.
