East Mecklenburg High’s football team is on a roll.
On a night when Garinger got a historic victory, and Lake Norman got a memorable late score to win, East Mecklenburg rallied to beat South Mecklenburg and keep what could be a magical season going.
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After Friday’s 15-14 come-from-behind over South Mecklenburg, the Eagles now have three wins in four weeks, with several winnable games remaining on the schedule.
And on Friday, in Week 5, the Eagles (3-2) matched their win total from a year ago. The 2025 team, which finished 3-7 under Sanders, had the most wins at the school since coach Barry Shuford led East Meck to a 5-7 finish in 2017.
After trailing 8-0 early, East tied the game at 8 apiece and forced a Sabres’ punt that Tiras Meaders, a sophomore defensive back, returned to midfield. On the next play, junior running back Tyler Willis took the ball over the right side and ran 50 yards for a touchdown.
Crucially, Ericsom Banegas made the point-after for a 7-point lead.
South Meck got the ball back and scored quickly, when Sabres’ running back Greyson Dwight ran 51 yards for a touchdown. That cut East Meck’s lead to 1 point with 1:56 to play.
East Meck blocked the point after, which won the game.
Note: Get more multimedia coverage from Friday’s games by scrolling to the bottom of this article.
1. Hough 4-0: vs. Green Run (VA), Sat, 3
2. Providence Day 3-1: At Rabun Gap (GA)
3. Grimsley 4-0: d. Southwest Guilford, 57-6
4. Lake Norman 5-0: d. Reagan, 31-24
5. Chambers 5-0: d. Ardrey Kell, 57-20
6. Millbrook 4-0: d. Athens Drive, 42-0
7. Weddington 5-0: d. Charlotte Catholic, 37-7
8. Clayton 5-0: d. Fuquay-Varina, 46-7
9. Reagan 4-1: lost 31-24 to Lake Norman
10. Hoggard 3-1: idle
11. Cardinal Gibbons 3-2: lost, 19-14, to Archbishop Hoban (OH)
12. Southeast Raleigh 3-2: lost, 23-21, to Garner
13. Robinson 5-0: d. East Rowan, 35-0
14. Palisades 4-1: d. Independence, 41-12
15. East Forsyth 3-2: lost, 33-29, to Mooresville
16. West Charlotte 3-2: lost, 49-6, to Carrollton (GA)
17. Northside-Jacksonville 4-0: d. Laney 28-7
18. West Forsyth 4-1: d. Richmond Senior, 27-8
19. South Point 5-0: d. Ashbrook, 38-27
20. Crest 3-1: idle
21. Rose 5-0: d. Middle Creek, 36-35
22. Page 4-0: d. Southern Guilford, 81-0
23. Southern Durham 3-1: d. Northeast Guilford, 3-2
24. Myers Park 2-2: idle
25. Mallard Creek 3-2: d. McCallie (TN), 38-0
Lake Norman 31, Reagan 24: In a battle of two top 10 N.C. Super 25 teams, No. 4 Lake Norman (5-0) outlasted No. 9 Reagan (4-1). After Reagan made a 38-yard field goal with less than two minutes to play to tie the game, Lake Norman QB Kaden Craft showed why he’s one of the best junior high school football players in America.
The Tennessee commit went 3-for-3 on the final drive to lead his team for a win. After 17-yard pass to start, Craft hit senior Noah Jacobsen with a perfect 33-yard pass over the top and then hit junior Doc Caldwell with a 32-yarder for the game-winner with one second left. Caldwell jumped over two Reagan defenders to grab the ball — and the win.
Chambers 57, Ardrey Kell 20: Chambers (5-0) scored 43 points in the second and third quarter and turned the Charlotte-area game of the week into a rout. Full coverage here.
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Providence Day 17, Rabun Gap (GA) 14: In what is likely a preview of the NCISAA state championship game, Providence Day won after Chargers’ senior linebacker Moses Poku-kankam intercepted the ball at the Providence Day 1 to stop Rabun Gap’s final drive with 17.7 seconds left.
Providence Day (4-1) started 4-star defensive back Nate Dollard at QB with starter Cole Cater still out. Cater left the Hough game three weeks ago with an injury. Dollard played one series before backup QB Gavin Bronikowski finished the game. By winning in Georgia, Providence Day will likely get home field for the playoffs and the championship game, should it qualify.
Garinger 15, Rocky River 14: Garinger secured its first two-win season since 2018 with the win. The Wildcats led 15-6 before Rocky River took advantage of a fumbled snap on a punt.
Rocky River got the ball in Garinger territory and scored. Rocky River scored and got a two-point conversion to cut the lead to 1. Rocky River tried an onside kick but didn’t get it. Garinger was forced to punt with 8 seconds left. This time, the Wildcats got the punt off and time ran out during the play.
Hickory Grove 36, Buford (SC) 13: Hickory Grove earned its first-ever ome win over a public school and the second win over a public school ever. Lions RB Seth Belote ran 10 times for 150 yards and two touchdowns. He had an interception on defense, a forced fumble and a two-point conversion.
Carrollton (GA) 49, West Charlotte 6: The Lions struggled defensively to stop the No. 2 ranked team in America on the road. Due some transportation issues, West Charlotte didn’t arrive to Carrollton until about 7 p.m., forcing the game to be delayed until 8:30. When it started, Lions’ freshman QB Devareus Hill Jr. had some nice moments, including a 50-plus yard run that got West Charlotte into the red zone in the first quarter, but West Charlotte couldn’t a Carrollton team that came into the game averaging 60 points per week.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 17
Hunter Huss 62, North Gaston 0
Mooresville 33, East Forsyth 29
North Iredell at Pine Lake Prep 37, North Iredell 6
SouthLake Christian 41, Tri-Cities Christian 14
FRIDAY, SEPT. 18
A.L. Brown 52, Harding 14
Alexander Central 24, South Iredell 7
Ballantyne Ridge 34, RJ Reynolds 20
Butler 35, Providence 28
Carrollton (GA) 49, West Charlotte 6
Chambers 47, Ardrey Kell 20
Corvian Community 33, Lake Norman Charter 14
East Lincoln 35, North Lincoln 8
Garinger 15, Rocky River 14
Hickory Grove Christian School 36, Buford (SC) 13
Hickory Ridge 36, Central Cabarrus 0
Hopewell 26, North Mecklenburg 21
Jay M. Robinson 35, East Rowan 0
Lake Norman 31, Reagan 24
Lake Wylie (SC) 33, West Meck 28
Lincolnton 48, East Gaston 6
Mallard Creek 38, McCallie (TN) 0
Marvin Ridge 51, Piedmont 7
Mount Pleasant 19, West Davidson 7
Marvin Ridge 51, Piedmont 7
Mount Pleasant 19, West Davidson 7
Northwest Cabarrus 33, South Rowan 28
Olympic 22, Cox Mill 21
Palisades 41, Independence 12
Parkwood 20, Trinity Christian School 19
Porter Ridge 34, Cuthbertson 14
Providence Day School 17, Rabun Gap School (GA) 14
South Point 38, Ashbrook 27
Stuart Cramer 57, Highland Tech 3
Weddington 37, Charlotte Catholic 7
West Cabarrus 23, Berry Academy 2
SATURDAY, SEPT. 19
Green Run (VA) at Hough, 3 p.m.
MONDAY, SEPT. 21
North Stanly at Mountain Island Charter, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 28
A.L. Brown at Berry
Ashbrook at North Gaston
Bessemer City at East Gaston
Bradford Prep at Langtree Charter Academy
Bunker Hill at East Lincoln
Burns at West Lincoln
Cannon School at Providence Day
Chambers at Butler
Charlotte Christian at Ravenscroft
Charlotte Country Day School at Myers Park
Christ the King at Community School of Davidson
Concord at South Rowan
Corvian Community at Lincoln Charter
Covenant Day at Harrells Christian Academy
Crest at Forestview
Cuthbertson at Piedmont
East Mecklenburg at Ballantyne Ridge
East Rowan at Northwest Cabarrus
Harding University at Cox Mill
Hickory Ridge at West Cabarrus
Highland Tech at Lincolnton
Hopewell at South Mecklenburg
Hough at West Mecklenburg
Lake Norman Charter at Pine Lake Prep
Lumberton at Monroe
Mallard Creek at West Charlotte
Porter Ridge at Charlotte Catholic
Providence at Rocky River
Salisbury at Jay M. Robinson
South Point at Huss
South Stanly at Union Academy
Weddington at Sun Valley
This story was originally published September 17, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline “High school football rewind: Friday’s NC scores, how the Super 25, upcoming schedule.”
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