High School QB Drowns In North Carolina Weeks Before Graudation

A North Carolina high school QB drowned on Thursday just a few weeks short of his graduation.

According to WNCT, Shak Pershey was swimming with friends when he went missing around 7 pm on Thursday night. The coast guard and a marine corps helicopter were killed in to search for the missing football player but the search was suspended due to rough waters.

Pershey’s body wasn’t found until 2 am the following morning off the coast of North Topsail Beach.

Stuart Turille, the town manager of North Topsail Beach, said: “I believe the young man may have been caught in some sort of cross current that may have pulled him down.”

Pershey was a well-liked student at Southwest Onslow High School. He was the star football player and led the team to a state title in the North Carolina High School Activities Association Class 1-AA football division.

According to the Yahoo News, he passed for 1,149 yards during and 13 touchdowns during his senior year. He rushed for an additional 929 yards and scored 18 touchdowns of his own. Pershey also played defense, he had five interceptions and 73 tackles, and special teams where he returned three kicked for touchdowns.

North Carolina Reverend Phil Shepherd said: “(Pershey was a) fine young man and had accomplished so much … It’s times like this that we put our faith and trust in God.”

Pershey was set to graduate in a few weeks and was planning to attend Chowan University.