Apparently, high school football defenses took a major holiday Friday.

There were 44 high school football games played in North Carolina. The winning team scored at least 40 points in 27 of them. And it wasn’t just the winners crossing the goal line, either.

There are many high school football games these days with higher combined point totals than you’ll see next month when basketball really gets going.

In Charlotte, for example, Butler beat Independence 55-26 Friday. In Huntersville, at Hopewell High, Davidson Day beat Harrells Christian 104-80 (and no that’s not a typo). In Hudson, Sun Valley beat South Caldwell 56-35.

It goes on and on.

In Harrisburg, A.L. Brown beat Hickory Ridge 69-55. In Concord, Concord beat West Rowan 55-30.

And the point explosion wasn’t just limited to Charlotte-area teams.

Fayetteville Smith beat Southeast Guilford 54-36 Friday, and Garner beat Raleigh Wakefield 76-34.

So what is going on?

“I don’t know,” Mallard Creek coach Mike Palmieri said. “I think everybody is starting to put their best athletes on offense. A lot of schools are going the route of scoring a bunch of points. Now, you’ve got to score points to win.”

Mallard Creek beat Vance 35-14 Friday. Coming into that game, Palmieri’s team had allowed 16 points in seven weeks. And the Mavericks did that while still maintaining a potent offense.

In an 11-game win streak, Mallard Creek averaged 52.7 points. Only twice since Aug. 24 has Mallard Creek failed to score at least 42.

“We try to keep it as balanced as possible,” Palmieri said. “But what’s been going on has been amazing. That 104-80 score is unbelievable. I don’t know what they were doing. I just think teams are building around offenses more than ever. That’s the sexy thing now. Everybody wants the high-potent offense, from colleges to the NFL.”

Palmieri said he expects the offensive explosions to continue, until defensive coordinators figure out how to slow them down.

“Defenses will figure it out,” Palmieri said. “Defenses will come back when we figure out how to stop all these zone-read offenses and all the trick stuff, but don’t worry, defense will be back.”

•  Butler’s defense allowed the most points its given up all year against Independence on Friday but coordinator Steve Shaughnessy has put together one of the best units I’ve seen in awhile. I’m not sure which Bulldog is more dominant – defensive lineman/linebacker Sean Wiggins around the line of scrimmage, or All-America linebacker Peter Kalambayi coming around the end at what looks like warp speed and delivering the kind of punishment that makes you want to throw too fast the next time.

•  Butler will get All-America receiver Uriah LeMay back next week. LeMay got a two-week suspension for taunting in the regular-season finale against Independence. Butler has looked OK without him, because tailback Josh Glisson has been so good. But LeMay should help ignite Butler’s pass offense as All-America QB Riley Ferguson continues to shake off rust after missing about a month and a half with a broken hand.

•  There are some huge games on the schedule next week. Charlotte Catholic’s stadium might literally rock when Kannapolis’ huge fan base comes to visit Charlotte’s best fan base. East Forsyth and Butler should put a huge crowd into Memorial Stadium. Statesville and South Point will shut down Belmont, and in Union County, Sun Valley visits Porter Ridge for what’s probably one of the five biggest games ever played in that county.

Can I be, like, six places at once?

Wertz: 704-612-9716; twitter: @langstonwertzjr