With playoffs looming, which are the best high school football teams in North Carolina?
Eight new teams join the N.C. statewide high school football rankings this week.
The rankings are sponsored by The Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer of Raleigh and appear weekly throughout the regular season.
Joining the polls this week are Cleveland and Richmond (4A), Jacksonville (3A), Wallace-Rose Hill and Mt. Pleasant (2A), Pender County (1A), and Asheville School, Christ School and Hickory Grove Christian (NCISAA).
▪ Cleveland (10-0) won the coveted battle with Clayton (9-1) on the final week of the regular season to earn its conference title and a ton of momentum heading into the playoffs. That propelled it into the 4A poll at No. 7.
▪ A newcomer last week, Cape Fear hung onto its spot in the 3A poll, but Crest completed its fall from the list to make room for newcomer Jacksonville at No. 9.
▪ Perhaps the biggest jumble within a Top 10 came in 2A, where No. 9 James Kenan fell from No. 5 after a loss to No. 8 Wallace-Rose Hill, which re-entered the poll with the win. The big mover in 2A is unbeaten Southern Alamance, up to No. 6 from No. 10 after a big win over Cummings in ths regular-season finale.
This week’s rankings
4A
| Rank | School | Record | Prev. |
| 1 | Weddington | (9-0) | 1 |
| 2 | Grimsley | (10-0) | 2 |
| 3 | Hough | (9-1) | 3 |
| 4 | Rolesville | (9-1) | 5 |
| 5 | Cardinal Gibbons | (8-1) | 6 |
| 6 | East Forsyth | (10-0) | 4 |
| 7 | Cleveland | (10-0) | NR |
| 8 | Mallard Creek | (8-2) | 7 |
| 9 | Mount Tabor | (8-2) | 8 |
| 10 | Richmond | (8-2) | NR |
3A
| Rank | School | Record | Prev. |
| 1 | Hickory | (10-0) | 1 |
| 2 | Dudley | (10-0) | 2 |
| 3 | Seventy-First | (10-0) | 3 |
| 4 | West Charlotte | (7-2) | 6 |
| 5 | J.M. Robinson | (10-0) | 4 |
| 6 | Northern Nash | (10-0) | 5 |
| 7 | Havelock | (9-1) | 7 |
| 8 | Cape Fear | (9-1) | 8 |
| 9 | Jacksonville | (8-1) | NR |
| 10 | South Point | (7-1) | 9 |
2A
| Rank | School | Record | Prev. |
| 1 | Reidsville | (10-0) | 1 |
| 2 | Monroe | (9-0) | 2 |
| 3 | Northeastern | (10-0) | 3 |
| 4 | Shelby | (8-2) | 4 |
| 5 | Salisbury | (9-1) | 7 |
| 6 | Southeast Alamance | (10-0) | 10 |
| 7 | Burns | (7-3) | 6 |
| 8 | Wallace-Rose Hill | (7-3) | NR |
| 9 | James Kenan | (9-1) | 5 |
| 10 | Mount Pleasant | (8-2) | NR |
1A
| Rank | School | Record | Prev. |
| 1 | Mount Airy | (10-0) | 1 |
| 2 | Starmount | (9-1) | 2 |
| 3 | Tarboro | (9-1) | 3 |
| 4 | Eastern Randolph | (10-0) | 4 |
| 5 | Mountain Heritage | (7-0) | 6 |
| 6 | Corvian Community | (9-0) | 5 |
| 7 | Murphy | (9-1) | 7 |
| 8 | Wilson Prep | (9-1) | 8 |
| 9 | East Wilkes | (8-2) | 10 |
| 10 | Pender County | (7-3) | NR |
NCISAA
| No. | School | Record | Prev. |
| 1 | Rabun Gap-Nacoochee | (9-2) | 1 |
| 2 | Providence Day | (8-2) | 2 |
| 3 | Charlotte Christian | (7-3) | 3 |
| 4 | High Point Christian | (8-0) | 4 |
| 5 | Trinity Christian | (9-1) | 5 |
| 6 | Asheville School | (5-1) | NR |
| 7 | Christ School | (3-4) | NR |
| 8 | Charlotte Latin | (8-3) | 6 |
| 9 | Metrolina Christian | (5-5) | 7 |
| 10 | Hickory Grove Christian | (7-3) | NR |