HICKORY, N.C. — An athlete’s success does not develop overnight. His or her craft must be harnessed to its full potential in a gradual process.
St. Stephens High School sophomore Izzy Payne displayed his growth with the varsity football program the last two seasons.
“My love for football came from my dad; he would show me games on TV when I was little,” he said. “I started playing for a little league team called the Optimist Indians not long after, and that really grew my love of the game of football. I wasn’t very good when I started, and I made it my goal to prove people wrong and show them I could be good at this game.”
As the feature running back in 2025, Payne garnered his first 1,000-yard rushing season under 5th-year head coach Kyle Lowman. He was also named an all-conference selection for the first time in his career via the Northwestern 6A/7A Conference.
This type of leap in production was earned by Payne through hard work, along with the belief from Lowman and the rest of the Indians’ coaching staff.
“Coach Lowman has helped me become a better football player but more importantly a better person,” said Payne. “Coach Lowman is a great football coach and has definitely taught me a lot about the game, but the most important skill he has taught me is how the classroom comes first. Without the grades, the football [part] will not happen. He pushes me in the weight room to be the best I can be, and he always tries to guide me in a way that I can become the best player and person I possibly can be.”
Payne’s tenure as a member of the varsity squad initially began as a back-up to star tailback Brycen Gaither in 2024. Unfortunately Gaither went down due to injury in the 14-7 loss against North Iredell on Sept. 28, 2024, effectively ending his season with only five games played.
With a next man up mentality, Payne would secure his first real taste of significant playing time as a newbie in hostile territory against rival Hickory on Oct. 5, 2024.
Despite falling in a 61-7 thrashing at the hands of the Red Tornadoes, he obtained 44 yards on 17 rushes. However, he collected his first rushing TD in the aforementioned losing effort against North Iredell.
Payne finished his inaugural season with 700 yards and five touchdowns on 153 carries (according to Maxpreps.com). This included two 100-yard plus outings including a career-best 323 yards and three TDs in a 42-21 regular-season finale victory over Fred T. Foard on Nov. 1, 2024.
Although the Indians’ season didn’t go as planned, finishing at 2-8 overall, Payne was able to come away with valuable reps heading into his 2025 campaign.
“Starting and playing a big role as a freshman was a really fun experience even though it wasn’t under the best of circumstances,” he said. “Once our starting running back went down with a broken leg half way through the season, a bunch of older guys that I grew up playing with on the team really stepped up and mentored me and helped me develop good habits. Being able to backup a running back the caliber of Brycen Gaither was a huge advantage for me as well.
“I really watched how he carried himself on and off the field, and I am still working hard to try to take those lessons and turn them into positive things for myself even now; not every freshman running back gets to learn from a college level senior running back. As a team that season, we had our ups and downs, but the time I spent on the field I really believe boosted my development…Finishing my freshman season as strong as I did gave me the confidence to know that I could compete at this level and boosted me throughout the off-season.”
He opened his sophomore season with 12 carries for 97 yards and a TD in a 38-19 loss at Bandys on Aug. 22. Payne followed that up with 93 yards and a TD in a 39-20 win over Bunker Hill on Aug. 29.
He then went on to rush for over 100 yards in three consecutive games against Hibriten, North Iredell and Mount Airy, respectively.
In the 49-42 winning effort against North Iredell on Sept. 12, Payne rushed for 150 yards and four TDs on 16 carries. This outing led Payne to earn the WNNC Coca-Cola Golden Helmet Award for Week 4.
Payne’s best performance of 2025 came in a 41-16 win over McDowell on Oct. 17. He rushed for a season-high 164 yards and a career-best five TDs on 22 attempts. He also had a reception for 28 yards.
The biggest moment of the season for St. Stephens came on Nov. 7. For the first time since 2015, the Indians hosted a North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) state playoff match-up.
In a grueling overtime finish, Payne and company garnered the program’s first home playoff win since 1991. Outlasting Mount Tabor, 24-23, he rushed for 62 yards on seven attempts. He also notched seven receptions for 62 yards.
However, the Indians’ turnaround season would come to an end against Northwestern 6A/7A Conference foe, Watauga. The Pioneers dismantled St. Stephens, 47-6, in second-round action of the 6A West State Playoffs on Nov. 14. Watauga became the eventual 2025 NCHSAA 6A State Champion on Dec. 12.
As for Payne, in that contest against the Pioneers, he finished with 10 carries for 53 yards. On the year, he garnered 1,113 rushing yards and 20 TDs on 191 carries. He also obtained 25 receptions for 297 yards and a pair of TDs, leading to his first all-conference selection.
St. Stephens rounded out 2025 with a 6-6 overall record and a 3-2 NWAC mark. This led Lowman to be named Northwestern 6A/7A Conference Co-Coach of the Year for the first time.
When it comes to individual production heading into his junior year, Payne said that he’s proud of the way he’s played so far, but he knows that he can still improve in a lot of areas.
“My goal is to become the best that I can be, not only on the field, but in life in general,” he said. “I am blessed to have the abilities God has granted me, but just like everyone I am not perfect. I want to continue to grow individually and, if I can do that, I am hoping it will allow me to play at the next level one day.
“Rather that be going as hard as I can on every practice rep or doing one more set in the weight room, that’s the goal. I also want to shout out my teammates; without the O-line blocking for me, none of this would be possible. I am surrounded by good people every day, and it really makes me want to be a good person, as well. For that, I am grateful.”
Payne also said that he’s confident his team can continue its successful trend in 2026.
“We have a very young group of talented athletes,” he said. “I believe everyone’s goals are the same, which is a big deal, getting stronger in the off-season and just being good teammates to one another; with that, good things are going to happen for us. It started with our leaders last year like Brycen Gaither and Will Fincher.
“It’s continued to this season and next with people like Maddox Zablan, our 4-star snapper Chip McCracken and several others. I believe we all feel like we can continue our success from this season and hopefully go even further; the goal is a conference championship and making it further into the playoffs.”
Lowman said he has seen improvements from Payne in his work ethic in the weight room in his first two seasons, especially during the summer and fall this year.
“He has made good gains and gained size, strength, and speed,” he said. “He is able to take hits and get tough yards, as well as break away for a long score. We have coached Izzy hard on not just being great when he is getting the ball, but also when he is blocking, making fakes, and running routes, and he is improving in those areas.
“He is an explosive and dangerous player when carrying or catching the football. He is very elusive and hard to tackle, even in the tightest of spaces. The threat of what he can do with the football presents opportunities for his teammates to make big plays as well, and he has improved as a blocker when asked to do so. Izzy is in position to be a leader and have a great junior season.”
