A new No. 1 in Division 1A, and some top-tier teams suffer ill-fated playoff losses
With the playoffs well underway, the cream has risen to the top. An expanded playoff season (six weeks instead of five) has led to more thrilling matchups earlier in the brackets, and we saw that happen this past weekend.
We’re also getting to the point in the playoffs (state quarterfinals!) where top teams are meeting in each game.
Here are this week’s complete rankings:
4A
| Rank | School | Record | Prev. |
| 1 | Hough | (13-0) | 1 |
| 2 | Chambers | (12-1) | 2 |
| 3 | East Forsyth | (11-1) | 4 |
| 4 | Cardinal Gibbons | (11-2) | 5 |
| 5 | Weddington | (12-1) | 7 |
| 6 | Leesville Road | (10-2) | 11 |
| 7 | Cleveland | (11-1) | 3 |
| 8 | Rolesville | (8-5) | 16 |
| 9 | Panther Creek | (10-3) | 22 |
| 10 | Millbrook | (11-2) | 8 |
3A
| Rank | School | Record | Prev. |
| 1 | Dudley | (12-1) | 1 |
| 2 | Statesville | (12-0) | 3 |
| 3 | Eastern Alamance | (10-1) | 5 |
| 4 | Crest | (10-2) | 6 |
| 5 | Scotland | (8-4) | 9 |
| 6 | Jacksonville | (10-2) | 10 |
| 7 | South Point | (10-3) | 14 |
| 8 | J.H. Rose | (9-4) | 13 |
| 9 | Northern Nash | (11-2) | 4 |
| 10 | Seventy-First | (12-1) | 2 |
2A
| Rank | School | Record | Prev. |
| 1 | Reidsville | (12-0) | 1 |
| 2 | Northeastern | (12-0) | 2 |
| 3 | Maiden | (13-0) | 5 |
| 4 | Shelby | (12-1) | 4 |
| 5 | St. Pauls | (11-0) | 9 |
| 6 | Princeton | (12-0) | 10 |
| 7 | East Surry | (12-0) | 11 |
| 8 | Wallace-Rose Hill | (11-2) | 13 |
| 9 | Salisbury | (11-1) | 3 |
| 10 | Whiteville | (11-1) | 7 |
1A
| Rank | School | Record | Prev. |
| 1 | Mount Airy | (13-0) | 2 |
| 2 | Tarboro | (11-1) | 3 |
| 3 | Mitchell | (11-2) | 5 |
| 4 | Northside | (11-1) | 4 |
| 5 | Robbinsville | (9-3) | 6 |
| 6 | Murphy | (9-4) | 7 |
| 7 | Eastern Randolph | (10-1) | 1 |
| 8 | Northampton County | (10-2) | 12 |
| 9 | Pender County | (8-3) | 11 |
| 10 | Southside | (11-2) | 10 |
This story was originally published November 24, 2021 at 12:00 AM with the headline "A new No. 1 in Division 1A, and some top-tier teams suffer ill-fated playoff losses."