High School

Cardinal Gibbons has challenging 2025 football schedule

The Crusaders are loaded with college recruits

Mike Duprez

Hoggard's Tamear Webb fights for yards as Hoggard took on Cardinal Gibbons in a 4A semifinal Friday, Dec. 1, 2023, at Hoggard's Scott Braswell Stadium in Wilmington, N.C.
Hoggard's Tamear Webb fights for yards as Hoggard took on Cardinal Gibbons in a 4A semifinal Friday, Dec. 1, 2023, at Hoggard's Scott Braswell Stadium in Wilmington, N.C. / KEN BLEVINS/STARNEWS / USA TODAY NETWORK

Cardinal Gibbons has a challenging 2025 football schedule as the Crusaders seek another deep playoff run.

The Crusaders were 12-2 in 2024 and reached the 4-A state semifinals, where they lost to conference rival Rolesville. The Rams were the only team to beat Cardinals Gibbons last year and the combined margin was 10 points, with the regular-season game going to overtime.

Quarterback Gannon Jones, who has eight college offers, returns for his final season after throwing for 3,194 yards and 35 touchdowns as a junior.

The Crusaders are loaded with other college recruits such as Xavier Hasan, Skylar Alston and Braylon Peebles.

It’s a different landscape because of the NCHSAA realignment, which doubled the number of classifications from four to eight. Cardinal Gibbons is now a 7-A school in the split 6-A/7-A Triangle Six Conference with Cary (7-A), Holly Springs (7-A), Sanderson (7-A), Felton Grove (6-A) and Middle Creek (6-A). Felton Grove is a new school and will be fielding only a junior varsity squad in 2025. That also means one fewer game for the Crusaders in 2025. The conference is new for Cardinal Gibbons as none of those schools were in the former 4-A Cap 6 Conference.

Before the Crusaders get to their new conference, they have some big-time marquee matchups.

The season begins Aug. 22 with a high-powered matchup as the Crusaders travel to Greensboro to play Dudley, which went 13-1 last year. Dudley’s only loss was to West Charlotte in the 3-A state semifinals.

And then the Crusaders play host to reigning Virginia 5-A state champion Maury on Aug. 29. Maury, a Norfolk school, went undefeated in 2024.

Here is the 2025 schedule:

Aug. 22 – at Dudley

Aug. 29 – Maury (Va.)

Sept. 5 – vs. Southern Durham

Sept. 12 - at Southeast Raleigh

Sept. 19 – Mallard Creek

Oct. 10 – vs. Holly Springs

Oct. 17 – at Middle Creek

Oct. 24 – Sanderson

Oct. 31 – at Cary

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Mike Duprez
MIKE DUPREZ

Mike Duprez became a freelance sports journalist for Scorebooklive.com several months after retiring from the newspaper business. A native of Oakland, California, Duprez moved around as a child due to his father’s service in the United States Marine Corps. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1981. Duprez, who lives in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, had 30 years of experience in newspapers as well as other endeavors before retiring at the end of 2021. He covers stories in both North Carolina and South Carolina for Scorebooklive.com.

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