Randy Capps

PRINCETON – Snap the football to Teo McPhatter and watch his highlights jump from the field to viral videos. Through eight games, the junior at Princeton High has amassed 1,959 yards rushing and 29 touchdowns. He is North Carolina's leading rusher and seventh in the country. But McPhatter isn’t so hard to stop in the school’s hallways. One random day, Lucas, a special education student, stopped McPhatter in his tracks. Lucas spotted McPhatter break into a spur-of-the-moment moonwalk and mimicked him. The Big Man on Campus stopped and encouraged Lucas. Then they performed dueling moonwalks. Other students enjoyed the impromptu show. “Teo brings light to everyone he sees,” said Princeton coach Travis Gaster. “He doesn’t care who’s watching him.” Last summer, McPhatter was stopped in his tracks on a visit to Nicaragua. For the past six years, Gaster and his wife Sherri, who is also a Princeton teacher, have led Bulldogs football players on a trip to the village of Los Brasiles. The players help pour concrete floors for kids who previously slept in tin-walled homes with dirt floors. “I knew it would be different, but I didn’t think it would be that bad,” McPhatter said. “They were young kids who were skinny. You can see they don’t get much to eat. But they were smiling and happy to see us. We gave them rice and beans. We played tag with them. We high-fived them. It was fun. It makes you more grateful for what you have.” – – – HSOT Insiders can read Tom Shanahan's entire feature on NC's leading rusher on HighSchoolOT

Teo McPhatter means a lot more than just the state's leading to the people of Princeton. “Teo brings light to everyone he sees,” said Princeton coach Travis Gaster. “He doesn’t care who’s watching him.” More about the person behind the gaudy rushing numbers, and what he brings to those in need. highschoolot.com/news/footba…