High School Sports

Three Carolinas prep football teams, one from Charlotte, land in MaxPreps national top 100

Dutch Fork Silver Foxes players celebrate with fellow students after winning the 5A State Championship Game Friday, Dec. 1, 2023, at South Carolina State’s Oliver Dawson Stadium in Orangeburg, SC.
Dutch Fork Silver Foxes players celebrate with fellow students after winning the 5A State Championship Game Friday, Dec. 1, 2023, at South Carolina State’s Oliver Dawson Stadium in Orangeburg, SC. Jeff Blake Photo

Three high school football teams from the Carolinas have landed in the MaxPreps’ national preseason top 100 rankings.

The highest ranked school is No. 46 Providence Day, which was No. 2 in The Charlotte Observer’s “way too early” Sweet 16 poll, which was released in May.

The Chargers will try to win their fourth straight state championship this fall.

The top team in South Carolina is Irmo’s Dutch Fork High, which was ranked No. 68. The Silver Foxes are led by coach Tom Knotts, who has led the school to eight state championships since 2010. Knotts won six state championships at Independence and another at West Charlotte before moving away.

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Coming in at No. 80 is Greensboro’s Grimsley High.

Grimsley is the highest ranked N.C. public school team in the poll and is led by five-star junior QB Faizon Brandon, the No. 1 recruit nationally in his class.

Langston Wertz Jr.
The Charlotte Observer
Langston Wertz Jr. is an award-winning sports journalist who has worked at the Observer since 1988. He’s covered everything from Final Fours and NFL to video games and Britney Spears. Wertz -- a West Charlotte High and UNC grad -- is the rare person who can answer “Charlotte,” when you ask, “What city are you from.” Support my work with a digital subscription
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