Six new teams, three new No. 1s in this week’s NC statewide high school football rankings
In this week’s statewide high school football polls from The Charlotte Observer and the News & Observer of Raleigh, there are six new teams. There are also three polls with new No. 1 teams at the top.
▪ In the 1A poll: Wilson Prep (11-1) and East Bladen (8-5) are new.
Wilson Prep hasn’t lost since its opening game in mid-August — a 10-8 defeat by an Ayden-Grifton team that finished the season 3-7 and didn’t win a conference game. East Bladen came into the playoffs on a two-game losing streak, but has won back-to-back road games in the postseason.
▪ In the 3A poll, the top six teams are all unbeaten. Despite losing 30-29 in overtime at No. 3 Crest on Friday, West Charlotte (9-4) returns to the poll at No. 10.
▪ The top seven spots in the 4A poll remain the same. Independence (10-3) joins at No. 8. The Patriots have won three straight road games and play No. 3 Butler, their Mecklenburg County rival, on Friday.
▪ In the NCISAA polls, there are three new No. 1 teams. Each moved up one spot after beating last week’s No. 1 team in a state final.
Rocky Mount Academy finishes atop the 8-man rankings. It beat former No. 1 Wayne Christian, 38-32, in Friday’s state championship game. In Division II, Asheville School beat Trinity Christian, 42-29, in the final to take over the top spot. And in Division I, Providence Day rallied to beat Rabun Gap, 34-27. The Chargers finished the season in the spot where they started, at No. 1.
Note: The statewide polls are compiled by Chris Hughes. He began coaching high school football in 1998 and began covering the sport professionally in 2002 when he launched a statewide website. In 2007, he started CarolinaPreps.com, where he began to do football rankings. Hughes, who has also done commentary for Shrine Bowl broadcasts, has visited every school stadium in North Carolina.
This week’s rankings
NCHSAA 1A
| Rank | School | Record | Prev. |
| 1 | Mount Airy | (13-0) | 1 |
| 2 | Tarboro | (11-0) | 2 |
| 3 | Robbinsville | (12-1) | 3 |
| 4 | Eastern Randolph | (12-1) | 5 |
| 5 | Swain County | (11-2) | 4 |
| 6 | West Columbus | (11-1) | 7 |
| 7 | North Rowan | (11-2) | 9 |
| 8 | Wilson Prep | (11-1) | NR |
| 9 | Mountain Heritage | (10-3) | 6 |
| 10 | East Bladen | (8-5) | NR |
NCHSAA 2A
| Rank | School | Record | Prev. |
| 1 | Clinton | (13-0) | 1 |
| 2 | Bunker Hill | (13-0) | 5 |
| 3 | Northeastern | (13-0) | 3 |
| 4 | Reidsville | (12-1) | 6 |
| 5 | Shelby | (10-3) | 7 |
| 6 | Forest Hills | (12-1) | 8 |
| 7 | Whiteville | (11-2) | NR |
| 8 | Nash Central | (11-2) | NR |
| 9 | Monroe | (11-2) | 2 |
| 10 | Salisbury | (12-1) | 4 |
NCHSAA 3A
| Rank | School | Record | Prev. |
| 1 | Dudley | (13-0) | 1 |
| 2 | Seventy-First | (13-0) | 2 |
| 3 | Crest | (13-0) | 3 |
| 4 | West Henderson | (13-0) | 6 |
| 5 | Hickory | (13-0) | 7 |
| 6 | Havelock | (13-0) | 5 |
| 7 | Northern Nash | (12-1) | 9 |
| 8 | Southern Alamance | (12-1) | 10 |
| 9 | J.M. Robinson | (12-1) | 4 |
| 10 | West Charlotte | (9-4) | NR |
NCHSAA 4A
| Rank | School | Record | Prev. |
| 1 | Grimsley | (13-0) | 1 |
| 2 | Rolesville | (12-1) | 2 |
| 3 | Butler | (12-1) | 3 |
| 4 | Cleveland | (13-0) | 5 |
| 5 | Hoggard | (12-1) | 6 |
| 6 | Weddington | (11-2) | 7 |
| 7 | Cardinal Gibbons | (11-2) | 8 |
| 8 | Independence | (10-3) | NR |
| 9 | Hough | (11-2) | 4 |
| 10 | Clayton | (10-3) | 10 |
NCISAA Division I
| No. | School | Record | Prev. |
| 1 | Providence Day | (12-1) | 2 |
| 2 | Rabun Gap-Nacoochee | (13-1) | 1 |
| 3 | Charlotte Christian | (8-4) | 3 |
| 4 | Christ School | (4-6) | 4 |
| 5 | Charlotte Country Day | (4-7) | 5 |
NCISAA Division II
| No. | School | Record | Prev. |
| 1 | Asheville School | (8-3) | 2 |
| 2 | Trinity Christian | (10-2) | 1 |
| 3 | High Point Christian | (8-3) | 3 |
| 4 | Hickory Grove Christian | (9-3) | 4 |
| 5 | Covenant Day | (5-5) | 5 |
NCISAA 8-Man
| No. | School | Rec. | Prev. |
| 1 | Rocky Mount Academy | (11-2) | 2 |
| 2 | Wayne Christian | (11-2) | 1 |
| 3 | Halifax Academy | (9-1) | 3 |
| 4 | Faith Christian | (6-4) | 4 |
| 5 | Arednell Parrott | (5-5) | 5 |