It’s almost time for kickoff. We’ve got 10 burning questions for prep football
With heat indexes expected to hit triple digits, at least until Thursday, high school football practice begins this week.
Private schools in the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association were allowed to start Monday. Public and charter schools in the N.C. High School Athletic Association will start Wednesday.
The first games are on Friday, Aug. 15, but the first big night of games is Aug. 22.
Here’s 10 burning questions about the 2025 season.
1. Who is the best player in North Carolina?
Well, this one is easy. Greensboro’s Grimsley High has the nation’s No. 1 overall player, period, in the senior class, according to 247 Sports.
Faizon Brandon, a 6-foot-4 quarterback committed to Tennessee, led his team to a 16-0 record and a N.C. 4A state championship last season. He threw for 2,814 yards and 35 touchdowns, against two interceptions. He completed nearly 80% of his passes (not a typo).
2. Remind us who won state championships last season?
Sure.
In public school, Grimsley (4A), West Charlotte (3A), Monroe (2A) and Tarboro (1A). Among private schools it was Rabun Gap (Division I) and Asheville School (Division II).
3. What are the best Week 1 games and the best way to follow coverage?
There’s a lot of them, and most are in Charlotte on Aug. 22.
Eastern N.C. power Rolesville plays at Mallard Creek. Brandon and Grimsley play West Charlotte at Bank of America Stadium. N.C. power Hough faces S.C. power South Pointe of Rock Hill, also at Bank of America. And just outside of Charlotte, regional power Mooresville plays at Weddington, a perennial state championship contender.
We’ll have in-depth previews, predictions and coverage of these games next month, plus many others in the region. Make sure you’ve bookmarked our high school page at charlotteobserver.com/sports/high-school and signed up for our free newsletter. And don’t forget to tune into our weekly high school sports podcast, Talking Preps, which returns Aug. 17.
4. Which teams have the longest winning streaks in the state?
According to Simmons Ratings, which tracks this kind of data, Grimsley (16 games), Monroe (15), Tarboro (10) and West Charlotte (9) have the longest current win streaks in North Carolina. Reidsville has gone 391 games without being shut out.
5. Can Jupiter Wilson finally get Garinger High going in the right direction?
Garinger has lost 48 straight games, the longest losing streak in North Carolina, and hasn’t won in six years. Wilson, a former offensive lineman for the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, had real success at Hickory Ridge and has made a big impact at Garinger since he got the job last winter.
Numbers are up. Enthusiasm is up. Belief is up.
“He’s a coach who actually cares,” said 17-year-old Garinger junior Robert Shealey. “I feel like no other coach has been there to do that for me.”
Garinger will have a real chance to end the streak early in the season with games. In three of its first four games, Garinger will play two teams that won one game each last season and a third that didn’t win any.
6. How will realignment change the season’s outlook?
A lot. The N.C. High School Athletic Association stretched from four to eight classifications and put teams into new conferences. One of those new conferences, the Meck Power 6, might qualify as the most difficult run in North Carolina. It features Butler, Chambers, Independence, Mallard Creek, North Mecklenburg and West Charlotte.
Those teams have combined to win 17 NCHSAA state championships.
But conference finishes won’t matter for determining playoff spots. Teams will be selected using a pre-determined formula, which will not include margin of victory.
There will also be eight state champions instead of four, but that’s not really new. From 2002-21, when the NCHSAA was subdividing its football championships, classifications were broken up by size of schools. So you had, for example, a 4AA and a 4A state champion, and eight total.
7. So which are the best teams in the state and the region?
OK, we’ve got detailed N.C. statewide and Carolinas top 25 rankings on the way, and the popular Sweet 16 regional poll, which started in 1984, will also return.
Those rankings will debut early next month, so we don’t want to give anything away, but nine N.C. teams are ranked in the High School Football America preseason poll: Grimsley, Providence Day, Weddington, Rolesville, Cardinal Gibbons, Hough, Mallard Creek, Charlotte Catholic and Independence.
8. Are there any big rules changes this year?
The National Federation of High Schools is allowing “fixed electronic signs with play signals” for relaying information to players, but it is still not allowing in-helmet communication.
The NFHS is also prohibiting players on the field to wear any type of audio or video device. Finally, if a forward fumble goes out of bounds this season, it is returned to the spot of the fumble.
9. You talked about conferences earlier, will Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools still be together?
No. Charlotte Catholic, which is not a part of CMS, is leaving a league of Charlotte schools and returning to a league of Union County teams. Berry, Harding and Olympic are moving into a league with Cabarrus County schools. That move should allow the three Mecklenburg County teams to be more competitive across all sports, not just football.
10. How many new coaches are there?
A lot. We count more than 20. A list by county.
MECKLENBURG: Jay Poag, Ambassador Christian (first-year program); Tyson Fernandez, Ballantyne Ridge; Brian Hales, Butler (second stint with the Bulldogs); Jupiter Wilson, Garinger; Brandon Sneed, Hopewell; Captain Munnerlyn, Julius Chambers; Terence Cunningham, Harding (promoted from interim); Caleb Hughes, SouthLake Christian
CABARRUS: Jamaal Birch, Cannon School; Donnie Kiefer, Central Cabarrus (second stint); Charlie Jackson, Christ the King; Brandon Gentry, Hickory Ridge; Matthew Jenkins, West Cabarrus
GASTON COUNTY: Kyle Creed, Bessemer City; Nate Medici, East Gaston; Ashton Simmons, Stuart Cramer
IREDELL COUNTY: Will Weir, Langtree Charter (first year varsity program)
LINCOLN COUNTY: Mike Byus, Lincoln Charter (first year varsity program); Chris Hinson, North Lincoln
UNION COUNTY: Mason Sledge, Union Academy (promoted from interim)
This story was originally published July 29, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
