Carolinas Top 25: After Week 1, here are the best high school football teams in NC, SC
There’s a new No. 1 in the Carolinas Top 25 poll, a ranking of the top high school football teams across the Carolinas.
The weekly poll appears online and in print editions of multiple McClatchy-owned media companies in both North and South Carolina.
▪ Weddington High School, near Charlotte, takes over the top spot after beating nationally ranked Providence Day, 13-7, at the Carolina Panthers’ Keep Pounding Classic at Bank of America Stadium. Providence Day fell to No. 2.
▪ Rock Hill’s Northwestern High School jumped six spots to No. 5 after rallying from a 20-point second half deficit to beat N.C. power Hough 45-44 at Charlotte’s Memorial stadium.
▪ Two N.C. teams — Rolesville and East Forsyth — made big jumps after Week 1 wins. Rolesville routed N.C. power Butler, 64-14, on the road. The Rams moved up three spots to No. 6. East Forsyth jumped eight spots to No. 7 after a 44-0 win against Wake Forest’s Heritage High.
▪ Three new teams join the rankings this week: Mallard Creek from Charlotte; J.L. Mann from Greenville, S.C, and TL Hanna from Anderson, S.C.
▪ In all 15 N.C. teams are ranked this week, compared to 10 from South Carolina.
| Rank | School | State | Hometown | Record | LW |
| 1 | Weddington | NC | Weddington | (1-0) | 2 |
| 2 | Providence Day | NC | Charlotte | (1-1) | 1 |
| 3 | Dutch Fork | SC | Irmo | (0-0) | 4 |
| 4 | Gaffney | SC | Gaffney | (0-0) | 3 |
| 5 | Northwestern | SC | Rock Hill | (1-0) | 11 |
| 6 | Rolesville | NC | Rolesville | (1-0) | 9 |
| 7 | East Forsyth | NC | Kernersville | (1-0) | 15 |
| 8 | Westside | SC | Anderson | (1-0) | 7 |
| 9 | Summerville | SC | Summerville | (1-0) | 5 |
| 10 | Hickory | NC | Hickory | (1-0) | 6 |
| 11 | Irmo | SC | Irmo | (1-0) | 12 |
| 12 | Independence | NC | Charlotte | (1-0) | 8 |
| 13 | Grimsley | NC | Greensboro | (1-0) | 10 |
| 14 | Cardinal Gibbons | NC | Raleigh | (1-0) | 22 |
| 15 | Mallard Creek | NC | Charlotte | (1-0) | NR |
| 16 | Hough | NC | Cornelius | (0-1) | 13 |
| 17 | J.L. Mann | SC | Greenville | (1-0) | NR |
| 18 | Seventy-First | NC | Fayetteville | (1-0) | 14 |
| 19 | Dudley | NC | Greensboro | (1-0) | 16 |
| 20 | West Charlotte | NC | Charlotte | (1-0) | 17 |
| 21 | South Florence | SC | Florence | (1-0) | 20 |
| 22 | Daniel | SC | Central | (1-0) | 19 |
| 23 | T.L. Hanna | SC | Anderson | (1-0) | NR |
| 24 | Cleveland | NC | Clayton | (1-0) | 24 |
| 25 | Charlotte Christian | NC | Charlotte | (2-0) | 25 |
This story was originally published August 29, 2024 at 5:30 AM.
