Friday’s rewind: NC scores, how the Sweet 16 fared, next week’s schedule

A few thoughts after a busy Week 9 of high school football in North Carolina.

1) Many Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ football coaches all wore T-shirts Friday that said, “Pay The Coaches” on them, just days after The Observer broke a story that said coaches were planning a potential boycott over poor stipend pay.

The coaches had considered sitting out a game and CMS had worked up a contingency plan. It now appears the district is working to try to alleviate pay issues.

2) Independence coach DJ McFadden kept saying that his team needed to a win a big game. Friday night, the Patriots won a big game in a big way, beating Mallard Creek 35-0 at home. Mallard Creek had been nationally-ranked for most of the season and is ranked in The Sweet 16, N.C. statewide and Carolinas Top 25 polls.

No matter, the Patriots, a fairly young team, dominated from the start.

3) Hopewell snapped a three-game losing streak at home, beating Garinger 66-21. The Titans had scored just 38 points in its losing streak but erupted for a school-record in points. Hopewell opened in 2001.

Quick links

Hough rolls South Meck in league showdown

Weddington blows out Porter Ridge in Union County key matchup

Independence shocks Mallard Creek with blowout win at home

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools announces new policy for “high profile games” in all sports

Charlotte-Mecklenburg football coaches planned game boycott over pay

‘I’m proud to be a Harding man’

At Harding High, Bralen Banks and Lebron Alford make quite the sacrifice to get to school every day in hopes they can help the Rams turn around a program that’s struggled since winning a state title so improbably in 2017 than CNN came to Charlotte to cover it.

“I committed to Harding,” Banks said, “and that’s a lot to say for a school people don’t talk good about. And it’s hard to look at Harding as a positive place to be. Just being a student here, there’s been some downs but there have also been some ups. It’s good, and Harding is changing. It’s been changing me and I’ve been growing as a person here, and I’m happy to say I’m a Harding man.”

Tap here for the encouraging story

How the Sweet 16 fared

Rk., School, Rec, Friday

1. Providence Day (8-0): d. Charlotte Latin 41-0

2. Hough (8-0): d. South Mecklenburg 42-10

3. West Charlotte (6-2): d. Butler 21-0

4. Mallard Creek (5-3): lost 35-0 to Independence

5. Myers Park (7-1): d. West Mecklenburg 42-0

6. Weddington (8-1): d. Porter Ridge 42-0

7. Mooresville (6-2): d. Davie County 42-10

8. Ashbrook (8-0): d. Forestview 27-6

9. East Lincoln (8-1): lost 31-28 to Hickory

10. Independence (6-2): d. Mallard Creek 35-0

11. Charlotte Latin (7-1): lost 41-0 to Providence Day

12. Lake Norman (6-2): d. North Iredell 55-13

13. Palisades (5-3): lost 34-28 to Providence in OT

14. Jay M. Robinson (7-1): d. West Rowan 49-0

15. Corvian Community (8-1): d. Community School of Davidson 29-28

16. Northwest Cabarrus (7-1). d. Concord 42-20

Talking Preps postgame

View our postgame show for a complete recap of action throughout the state, with highlights, live interviews, commentary and reaction

Friday’s roundup

No. 1 Providence Day 41, Charlotte Latin 0: Known as a passing team, Providence Day morphed into 1970s Nebraska against a Hawks’ team determined to take away that pass.

Charlotte Latin, Providence Day’s longtime rival, set up with two deep safeties on defense and dared Chargers’ coach Chad Grier to lean on his run game.

And Grier did just that.

With Latin’s defense spread out, QB Zaid Lott ran for more than 100 yards on his team’s first three plays and gave Providence Day a 14-0 lead. In the second quarter, Aidan Gallos bust out for a 33-yard scoring run.

With Latin really struggling to move the football, the rout was on.

Just before halftime, former Latin player Steele Fletcher took a forward toss from Lott and sped around the left side for a 28-0 lead. And Jacob Baggett added a field goal just before halftime. The Chargers led 31-0.

Providence Day (8-0, 1-0 Big South 4A) ended Latin’s seven-game win streak. The Hawks (7-1, 0-1) lost for the first time since Nov. 1, 2024 when it fell, 58-28, to Christ School in the playoffs.

West Charlotte 21, Butler 0: West Charlotte leaned on its running game instead of its high-powered passing attack in the shutout win.

The Lions got scores from Javier Gray, Emory McClain and Jamil Watson. West Charlotte coach, a Butler grad who played football for the Bulldogs, beat his alma mater as a head coach for the first time.

Greiner was 0-1 against Butler at West Charlotte and lost to the Bulldogs when he was coaching at Hickory Ridge.

Providence 34, Palisades 28 OT: Providence rallied from deficits of 14-0 and 28-7 to win in overtime. Providence (5-3, 3-0) won its fourth straight game and sits in first place alone in the Southwestern 7A/8A conference.

Providence wins the league outright with wins over Ballantyne Ridge and arch rival Providence in two weeks.

Corvian Community 29, Community Schoool of Davidson 28: Community School rallied to take a 28-21 lead late in the fourth quarter before Corvian went on a long drive. The reigning N.C. 1A Western Regional champions scored and converted a two-point conversion to win.

Friday’s photo galleries

The picks

Charlotte area scores/schedule

(all kickoffs at 7 p.m., unless otherwise noted)

FRIDAY

Greater Charlotte 7A/8A

Hopewell 66, Garinger 21

Hough 42, South Mecklenburg 10

Myers Park 42, West Mecklenburg 0

Power Six 7A/8A

Chambers 21, North Mecklenburg 6

Independence 35, Mallard Creek 0

West Charlotte 21, Butler 0

Southwestern 7A/8A

Ardrey Kell 42, Ballantyne Ridge 7

Providence 34, Palisades 28, OT

Rocky River 37, East Meck 19

Greater Metro 6A/7A

A.L. Brown 28, Hickory Ridge 14

Central Cabarrus 34, Berry Academy 15

Olympic 42, Harding 6

West Cabarrus 35, Cox Mill 34, OT

North Piedmont 6A/7A

Lake Norman 55, North Iredell 13

Mooresville 42, Davie County 10

Statesville 47, South Iredell 29

Southern Carolina 6A/7A

Marvin Ridge 7, Charlotte Catholic 3

Sun Valley 52, Piedmont 14

Weddington 42, Porter Ridge 0

Big South (NCISAA)

Charlotte Christian 55, Charlotte Country Day 38

Providence Day 41, Charlotte Latin 0

Big South 5A/6A

Ashbrook 27, Forestview 6

Crest 76, North Gaston 0

South Point 35, Kings Mountain 0

Rocky River 4A/5A

Forest Hills 41, West Stanly 28

Mount Pleasant 33, Parkwood 14

Monroe 32, Anson County 20

South Piedmont 4A/5A

Jay M. Robinson 49, West Rowan 0

Jesse Carson 43, East Rowan 7

Northwest Cabarrus 42, Concord 20

Salisbury 42, South Rowan 7

Western Foothills 4A/5A

Fred T. Foard 21, Bunker Hill 7

Hickory 31, East Lincoln 28

Maiden 41, Bandys 34

Newton-Conover 37, West Iredell 36

Big Six (NCISAA)

Asheville School 41, Covenant Day 0

Hickory Grove Christian 34, SouthLake Christian 6

Western Piedmont (NCISAA)

Cannon School 31, Metrolina Christian 0

Rabun Gap 42, Christ School 0

Catawba Shores 2A/3A/4A

Christ The King 41, Pine Lake Prep 13

Corvian Community 29, Community School of Davidson 28

Lake Norman Charter 56, Langtree Charter 19

Southern Piedmont 2A/3A/4A

Burns 38, Cherryville 6

Shelby 42, East Gaston 6

Stuart Cramer 45, Lincolnton 21

West Lincoln 61, Highland tech 13

Yadkin Valley 1A/2A/3A

Albemarle 31, Union Academy 24

Mountain Island Charter 38, Bonnie Cone 6

North Stanly 35, North Rowan 23

South Stanly 49, Thomas Jefferson Academy 0

Nonconference

Chattanooga Baylor School 46, Ambassador Christian 0

OPEN WEEK: Bessemer City, Cabarrus Stallions, Cuthbertson, Hunter Huss, Lincoln Charter, North Lincoln

Raleigh-area scores/schedule

Thursday Tobacco Road 6A/7A

Chapel Hill 48, Northern Durham 14

Nonconference

Mount Zion Christian 54, North Wake Saints 0

FRIDAY

Quad City Seven 8A

Apex 38, Green Level 15

Jordan 35, Panther Creek 6

Willow Spring 24, Green Hope 21

Cap 8A

Broughton 42, Wakefield 14

Leesville Road 48, Corinth Holders 10

Millbrook 49, Enoe 0

Rolesville 74, Athens Drive 0

Greater Neuse 7A

Cleveland 28, Southeast Raleigh 10

Fuquay Varina 55, Smithfield-Selma 0

Garner 29, South Garner 3

Tobacco Road 6A/7A

Riverside 44, East Chapel Hill 7

Southern Durham 14, Hillside 13

Triangle Six 6A/7A

Cardinal Gibbons 40, Middle Creek 14

Sanderson 24, Holly Springs 14

Northern Six 6A/7A

Franklinton 13, East Wake 0

Heritage 42, Vance County 33

Wake Forest 48, Knightdale 24

Carolina Pines 6A

Lee County 33, Harnett Central 19

South Johnston 35, Western Harnett 0

Southern Lee 28, West Johnston 23

Union Pines 56, Triton 0

Big Seven 4A/5A

J.F. Webb 64, Cedar Ridge 19

Orange 31, Carrboro 12

Seaforth 27, South Granville 7

Three Rivers 4A

Eastern Wayne 45, North Pitt 12

West Craven 41, North Lenoir 7

Washington 38, SouthWest Edgecombe 34

Quad County 2A/3A/4A

Bunn 27, Nash Central 21

Louisburg 28, Roanoke Rapids 14

Swine Valley 2A/3A

James Kenan 49, CB Aycock 21

Midway 27, Rosewood 14

Princeton 49, Goldsboro 21

Wallace-Rose Hill 73, Spring Creek 0

Big East (NCISAA)

Trinity Christian 14, North Raleigh Christian 7

Other games

Arendell Parrott Academy 61, St. David’s 21

Cary Christian 58, Faith Christian 36

High Point Christian 61, South Wake 6

Ravenscroft 35, Wayne Christian 20

Open date: American Leadership Academy-Johnston, Apex Friendship, Cary, Clayton, North Johnston, Wake Christian, Wake Prep

Friday’s NC scores

AC Reynolds 47, North Buncombe 7

Asheville 41, Erwin 35

Ayden Grifton 35, Greene Central 0

Asheboro 37, Eastern Guilford 33

Bishop McGuinness 59, College Prep 18

Cape Fear 50, Gray’s Creek 21

Central Davidson 41, TW Andrews 6

DH Conley 34, New Bern 25

Dudley 54, Southwest Guilford 0

East Forsyth 21, Northwest Guilford 7

East Rutherford 35, Patton 0

Glenn 35, N Forsyth 0

Grimsley 48, Page 14

Havelock 50, Swansboro 14

Hendersonville 78, Avery County 26

Hibriten 45, R-S Central 26

Jacksonville 28, South Central 7

Jack Britt 47, Overhills 14

James Kenan 49, Aycock 21

JH Rose 44, White Oak 22

Lee County 33, Harnett Central 19

Lejeune 21, Jones 0

Lexington 21, Montgomery Central 13

Maiden 41, Bandys 34

Mount Airy 45, Forbush 0

Mountain Heritage 45, Mitchell 13

Murphy 59, Andrews 0

Northern Guilford 58, Southern Guilford 7

Northside 50, Dixon 39

North Davidson 38, Atkins 0

Oak Grove 52, Mount Tabor 42

Pender 44, South Lenoir 6

Providence Grove 32, East Davidson 14

Rabun Gap 42, Christ School 0

Randleman 42, High Point Central 0

Red Springs 35, West Bladen 0

Reagan 51, Parkland 0

Reidsville 57, Bartlett Yancey 0

Robbinsville 61, Rosman 0

Rockingham County 29, Carver 0

Rocky Mount 22, Southern Nash 20

Seventy-First 1, EE Smith 0 (forfeit)

South Brunswick 28, South Columbus 27

Southern Alamance 42, Person County 18

Southwest Onslow 21, Heide Trask 14

Southwestern Randolph 48, Jordan Matthews 18

Scotland 63, Purnell Swett 32

St. Pauls 31, Westover 27

Swain County 40, Cherokee 14

TC Roberson 41, Enka 0

Tarboro 55, Beddingfield 0

Terry Sanford 42, Lumberton 6

Thomasville 44, Trinity 0

Walkertown 60, McMichael 0

Western Alamance 34, Cumings 6

West Davidson 14, Wheatmore 7

West Carteret 34, Richlands 21

West Craven 41, North Lenoir 7

West Forsyth 55, RJ Reynolds 0

Whiteville 42, Fairmont 28

Williams 31, Eastern Alamance 22

Next week’s Charlotte-area schedule

WEEK 10

THURSDAY, OCT. 23

Nonconference

Metrolina Christian vs. Ambassador Christian, at Johnson C. Smith Univ.

FRIDAY, OCT. 24

Charlotte Power Six 7A/8A

Butler at Mallard Creek

Independence at North Mecklenburg

West Charlotte at Chambers

Greater Charlotte 7A/8A

Hopewell at West Mecklenburg

Hough at Myers Park

South Mecklenburg at Garinger

Southwestern 7A/8A

Ballantyne Ridge at Providence

East Mecklenburg at Ardrey Kell

Palisades at Rocky River

Greater Metro 6A/7A

Cox Mill at A.L. Brown

Hickory Ridge at Harding

Olympic at Berry Academy

West Cabarrus at Central Cabarrus

North Piedmont 6A/7A

Davie County at Lake Norman

South Iredell at North Iredell

Statesville at Mooresville

Southern Carolina 6A/7A

Charlotte Catholic at Cuthbertson

Marvin Ridge at Sun Valley

Piedmont at Weddington

Big South (NCISAA)

Charlotte Latin at Charlotte Country Day

Providence Day at Charlotte Christian

Big South 5A/6A

Crest at Ashbrook, 7:30 p.m.

Forestview at South Point, 7:30 p.m.

Hunter Huss at Kings Mountain, 7:30 p.m.

Big Six (NCISAA)

Hight Point Christian at Hickory Grove Christian

SouthLake Christian at Asheville School

Western Piedmont (NCISAA)

Rabun Gap (GA) School at Cannon School

Rocky River 4A/5A

Forest Hills at Anson County

Monroe at Mount Pleasant

West Stanly at Parkwood

South Piedmont 4A/5A

Jay M. Robinson at Jesse Carson

Northwest Cabarrus at West Rowan

Salisbury at Concord

South Rowan at East Rowan

Western Foothills 4A/5A

East Lincoln at Maiden, 7:30 p.m.

Newton-Conover at Fred T. Foard, 7:30 p.m.

North Lincoln at Bunker Hill, 7:30 p.m.

West Iredell at Bandys, 7:30 p.m.

Catawba Shores 2A/3A/4A

Christ the King at Corvian Community

Langtree Charter at Community School of Davidson

Lincoln Charter at Pine Lake Prep

Southern Piedmont 2A/3A/4A

Bessemer City at Shelby, 7:30 p.m.

Burns at Highland Tech, 7:30 p.m.

Stuart Cramer at Cherryville, 7:30 p.m.

West Lincoln at East Gaston, 7:30 p.m.

Yadkin Valley 1A/2A/3A

Albemarle at North Rowan

Mountain Island Charter at South Stanly

Thomas Jefferson Academy at Union Academy

SATURDAY, OCT. 25

Catawba-Yadkin 1A/2A/3A

North Stanly at Bonnie Cone Leadership, noon

OPEN WEEK: Cabarrus Stallions, Covenant Day, Lake Norman Charter, Lincolnton, North Gaston, Porter Ridge

Next week’s Raleigh-area schedule

(all kickoffs at 7 p.m., unless noted otherwise)

THURSDAY

Carolina Pines 6A

Triton at South Johnston

FRIDAY

Quad City Seven 8A

Green Level at Jordan

Panther Creek at Apex

Willow Spring at Apex Friendship

Cap 8A

Broughton at Athens Drive

Corinth Holders at Enloe

Rolesville at Leesville Road

Wakefield at Millbrook

Greater Neuse 7A

Clayton at Garner

Fuquay-Varina at South Garner

Smithfield-Selma at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.

Tobacco Road 6A/7A

Chapel Hill at Riverside

East Chapel Hill at Southern Durham

Hillside at Northern Durham

Triangle Six 6A/7A

Middle Creek at Cary

Sanderson at Cardinal Gibbons

Northern Six 6A/7A

Knightdale at Heritage

Vance County at East Wake

Wake Forest at Franklinton

Carolina Pines 6A

Southern Lee at Harnett Central

Union Pines at Lee County

Western Harnett at West Johnston

Big Seven 4A/5A

Cedar Ridge at Carrboro

Seaforth at J.F. Webb

South Granville at Orange

Three Rivers 4A

Eastern Wayne at Washington

North Lenoir at North Johnston

SouthWest Edgecombe at West Craven

Quad County 2A/3A/4A

Louisburg at Bunn

Nash Central at Wake Prep

Roanoke Rapids at American Leadership/Johnston, 4 p.m.

Swine Valley 2A/3A

Goldsboro at Spring Creek

James Kenan at Princeton

Rosewood at Wallace-Rose Hill

Big East (NCISAA)

Ravenscroft at Harrells Christian

Other games

Arendell Parrott Academy at Cary Christian

North Wake Saints at Wayne Christian

South Wake Lions at North Raleigh Christian

Trinity Christian at Holly Springs

Wake Christian at St. David’s

SATURDAY

Other games

South Carolina Spartans at GRACE Christian, 4 p.m.

Open date: Green Hope, Midway, North Pitt, Southeast Raleigh

This story was originally published October 17, 2025 at 5:00 AM.