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North Carolina has 11 teams ranked in the preseason High School Football America top 300 poll.
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The Tar Heel state ranks No. 7 nationally behind Florida (53), Texas (43), Georgia (29), Ohio (21) and Louisiana (15) as it continues to establish a reputation as a high school football hotbed.
South Carolina has six teams ranked in the preseason poll.
“I’ve noticed in Charlotte, for example, and in the surrounding area that there’s been an uptick in football since 1995, and I think a lot of it has to with the Carolina Panthers,” said longtime N.C. high school football analyst Chris Hughes, a co-host of The Observer’s long-running Talking Preps streaming show.
“You started to see a lot of NFL players retire and make their homes in Charlotte and then put a lot of their post-career emphasis on training and development. And that, in conjunction with the population increase and with Charlotte becoming a mega hub in the southeast, it brought a lot of people into the community.”
Hughes said high school football is a numbers game and as Charlotte football began to become successful, it attracted more top athletes and coaches in addition to new families coming to town each year.
“So there’s been a huge uptick in numbers,” Hughes said, “but there’s also been a huge commitment from players and great coaches, like (Providence Day’s) Chad Grier and other top ones. I think you’re seeing the commitment level from these people and programs begin to show.”
Among the 11 ranked teams from North Carolina, seven are from the Charlotte-area and two from Raleigh.
Read more Which 11 NC high school football teams are ranked nationally in preseason?
Reigning N.C. 8A public school champion Hough is the highest ranked N.C. team, coming in at No. 41, followed by Providence Day at No. 43.
Providence Day will play at Hough on Sept. 4, in the third week of the season.
Reigning N.C. 7A champion Greensboro Grimsley is No. 47, followed by West Charlotte (No. 123), Weddington (132), Myers Park (165), Cardinal Gibbons (185), Mallard Creek (191), Millbrook (195), Independence (225) and West Forsyth (269).
Cardinal Gibbons will play at Hough at Bank of America Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 29 as part of the Carolina Panthers “Keep Pounding Classic.”
Rock Hill Northwestern is the highest rated S.C. team, coming in at No. 65. Northwestern will open the season at home against Hough on Aug. 21. Rock Hill South Pointe, Northwestern’s arch rival, is next at No. 69.
Also ranked are perennial S.C. power Dutch Fork (No. 85), South Florence (126), Oceanside Collegiate (194) and Irmo (210).
This story was originally published July 22, 2026 at 6:15 AM with the headline “Which 11 NC high school football teams are ranked nationally in preseason?.”
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