The worst kept secret in high school sports is that football practice doesn’t really begin Wednesday.
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Most teams, throughout the Carolinas, began off-season works not long after graduations ended in June. But, officially, practice will begin for NC teams Wednesday, leading up to the start of the season on Aug. 21.
Yes, football is just around the corner.
And in keeping with a longtime Observer tradition, here are 10 burning questions about the upcoming season.
We will be releasing our annual list of the top 25 recruits in the state shortly, as well as the top 50 Charlotte-area talents. But the top 3 players in-state, regardless of class, are East Lincoln tight end Jaxon Dollar, Millbrook defensive end Rashad Streets and Hough cornerback Joshua Dobson.
All three seniors are considered 5-star recruits.
Dobson, committed to South Carolina, has a $1.5 million NIL evaluation, per On3.com, a national recruiting website. Street, committed to Oregon, is a top 10 national recruit at his position. Dollar signed an exclusive NIL deal with Nike this summer along with 19 other top recruits nationally.
Dollar was the only N.C. signee.
Yes. The NCHSAA is entering Year 2 of having eight championship games, up from four previously. But, if you’re new to the area, that’s not completely new.
From 2002-21, the association subdivided each of its four classes, producing eight football state champions. In 4A, for example, you would have a 4A and 4AA champion. The AA champion would represent the largest schools in the class.
After a few years of going back to four classifications, the state’s schools asked for and received the current increase in classes and championships, which now run across all sports. Some sports, however, do not have eight classifications due to participation.
Sure, no problem.
1A: Wilson Prep 9, Robbinsville 8: Ethan Nelson ran for 113 yards and kicked the game-winning field goal with 4:14 left.
2A: Tarboro 22, Murphy 0: Kamerin McDowell-Moore had 190 yards rushing and three touchdowns, leading Tarboro to its 10th state title.
3A: Shelby 84, Kinston 41: Shelby QB Lan Farmer completed 20-of-27 passes for 459 yards and eight touchdowns in a blowout win. Three Shelby receivers — Immanuel Collins, Lorenzo Roseboro and Calvin Ramseur — had at least 100 yards receiving.
4A: Reidsville 50, Brevard 20: Reidsville’s Dionte Neal had a memorable game: 65 yards rushing and a touchdown, seven catches for 158 yards and two more touchdowns. Reidsville won its 24th state title.
5A: Crest 31, Hunt 14: Crest QB Ely Hamrick threw for 233 yards and ran for 95 and two touchdowns, giving Cleveland County two state champions on the same day, matching rival Shelby’s 3A title.
6A: Watauga 47, Middle Creek 25: Evan Burroughs caught 14 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown and he ran for 46 yards and three scores in a blowout win. Watauga won its first state title in 47 years.
7A: Grimsley 24, Clayton 14: Down 7-0, Grimsley scored 24 straight points to win its 31st straight game and second straight state title.
8A: Hough 21, Millbrook 0: Hough QB Ethan Royal ran for two scores and threw for another against of the state’s top defenses. Hough’s defense, perhaps the best in the state, allowed 26 yards rushing and 96 passing. Hough won its first state title.
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Private: Providence Day 42, Charlotte Christian 6: Nationally-ranked Providence Day finished 13-0 with a blowout win at home. The Chargers won their fourth state title in five years.
Tough to beat a trip to Dublin, Ireland, right?
Ambassador Christian, which will kick off its second season of varsity football this fall, will play in the Global Ireland Football Tournament on Aug. 28 against Grapevine Faith Christian out of Grapevine, Texas. Faith Christian is looking for its first winning season since 2022. The teams will play at 6,000-seat Energia Park in Dublin.
The two-day event includes a college game on Saturday, Aug. 29, between TCU and North Carolina at the Aviva Stadium. The high school teams represent the states the college teams are from.
This is the seventh time in the past 14 years that this event has been held. And in addition to Ambassador and Grapevine meeting on the football field, the schools’ volleyball teams will also play on the morning of Aug. 28 in a round-robin event with local Irish teams.
The N.C. High School Athletic Association Board of Directors voted to make girls’ flag football an officially sanctioned sport in early May.
To help gauge interest and build teams, the start of practice was pushed back to after school opens next month.
So flag football practice will begin Aug. 31, with the first games on Sept. 9. The playoffs will begin Oct. 31 with state finals on Nov. 14. There will be six rounds of playoff games with two rounds being played on Oct. 31 and two rounds on Nov. 7.
That’s likely going to be a little different in each district where it’s being played and will revolve heavily around participation.
The NCHSAA will allow teams to play four games per week, but the fourth game must be on a non-school day. There is an 18-game maximum for regular-season play.
And games will be played on 80-yard by 40-yard fields.
We’re working on them, plus we can’t give everything away today, right? But look for our annual class-by-class polls and in the Charlotte-area, The Sweet 16 regional ranking will return for a 42nd straight year.
The winner of The Sweet 16 will receive a large banner to hang in the gym.
The state’s longest-running high school football streaming show will return next month, along with the weekly player of the week and Friday night post-game broadcasts, hosted by Dale Ross and Jim West.
Defensively, the Chargers return 10 starters and most are D1 recruits. Offensively, for the first time under coach Chad Grier, Providence Day is going to have to figure it out.
Rabun Gap, the Georgia school that won the NC title two years ago, may have its best-ever team this fall, and among in-state teams, the gap between Providence Day and everybody else appears smaller than its been in a few years.
A lot.
There are 393 football-playing schools in the NCHSAA and 18 more in the NC Independent Schools plus a handful of unaffiliated schools like Ambassador Christian.
And there are 78 new head coaches this season.
The list:
Ardrey Kell: Carter Greene
Ashley: Adam Purzitza
Bartlett Yancey: Ryan Johnson
Beddingfield: Joshua Sims
Bessemer City: Beady Waddell
Bradford Prep: Adam Webber
Brevard: Chase McIntyre
Brougton: Bryan Peterson
Butler: Donald Littlejohn
Byrd, Douglas: Joe Salas
Cary Christian: Brian Elkins
Cedar Ridge: Paul Ronga
Charlotte Catholic: Mike Brodowicz
Charlotte Christian: Jammie Deese
Cherokee: T.C. Guyer
Cleveland: Codi Vick
Clinton: Jason Arnette
Community School of Davidson: Kenneth McClamrock
Covenant Day: Jordan Langs
Cox Mill: Wes Herlocker
Crest: Mark Barnes
Cummings: Darius Pinnix
Cuthbertson: Jeremy East
East Burke: Jonathan Winkler
East Columbus: Vinston Thorpe
East Henderson: Kobey Rudisill
East Rutherford: Chris Cogdill
Elkin: Cory Rycroft
Enka: Jim Beatty
Fairmont: Reggie Bush
Forest Hills: Gregg Giddings
Gates County: Jawan Riddick
High Point Central: Rickey Dowdy
Hoke County: Duran McLaurin
Independence: Robert Williams
Knightdale: Marcel Johnson
Laney: Coraey Houser
Lexington: T.J. Holt
Lumberton: Josh Sheridan
Marvin Ridge: David Johnson
Myers Park: Duke Howell
Nash Central: Carter Varnell
North East Carolina Prep: Zane Rowland
North Gaston: Daniel Hoyle
North Henderson: Jake Sell
North Iredell: Kent Millsaps
North Lenoir: Justin Clark
North Lincoln: Brad Baker
Providence: Perry Osbey
Purnell Swett: Lawrence Ches
Ravenscroft: T.J. Graham
Reynolds, A.C.: Chandler Greer
Ridgecroft School: Josh Harris
Rocky River: Shon Galloway
Rolesville: Kevin Reddick
Seventy-First: Eric Hall
South Caldwell: Chris Everhart
South Columbus: Jake Fonvielle
South Granville: Tony Midgette Sterling
South Iredell: Rydell Cowan
South Johnston: Jacob Cuddington
Southern Guilford: Olandas McFail
SouthWest Edgecombe: James Ward
Statesville: Breon Holmes
Swain County: Scott Riley
Thomasville: Garrett Mills
Topsail: T.J. Albert
Trask: Rance Creech
Wakefield: Brandon Hughes
West Brunswick: Aaron Powell
West Caldwell: George Saffos
West Charlotte: D.J. McFadden
West Craven: Dominick Guglielmo
West Henderson: Dustin McAbee
West Mecklenburg: Randall Ingram Jr.
West Wilkes: Dwayne Berrier
Western Alamance: Drew Hambright
Western Harnett: Brad Peffly
Wilson’s Mills: Brent Bailey
You’re trying to put me on the spot, but save this and check back in December.
8A: Hough
7A: Weddington
6A: Scotland County
5A: Crest
4A: Reidsville
3A: Shelby
2A: Tarboro
1A: Robbinsville
Private: Providence Day
This story was originally published July 29, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline “10 burning questions as NC football practice opens: Stars, champs, flag, forecasts.”
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