High School

North Carolina High School Football Top 25 State Rankings - Aug. 26, 2025

Five Top 10 teams fall in opening week games causing massive shakeup

Mike Duprez

Unranked Terry Sanford stunned then-No. 5 Seventy-First Academy on the opening weekend of North Carolina high school football season, sending the Falcons tumbling in this week's Top 25.
Unranked Terry Sanford stunned then-No. 5 Seventy-First Academy on the opening weekend of North Carolina high school football season, sending the Falcons tumbling in this week's Top 25. / Charles Mardre

Week 1 of the North Carolina high school football season saw the top two teams - Grimsley and Weddington - hold their spots. There was quite a shakeup below them as five of the top 10 teams were defeated. But, for the most part, they fell to other ranked teams.

For instance, Grimsley edged No. 8 West Charlotte 28-27 in overtime, No. 12 Mallard Creek whipped No. 3 Rolesville 34-6 and No, 7 Rabun Gap-Nacoochee fell 24-19 to nationally-ranked Grayson, Ga.

North Carolina High School Football Top 25 State Rankings, Aug. 25, 2025

1. Grimsley (1-0)

Previous rank: 1

Defeated No. 8 West Charlotte 28-27 (OT); next at West Forsyth

2. Weddington (1-0)

Previous rank: 2

Defeated No. 16 Mooresville 31-10; next vs. Myers Park

3. East Forsyth (1-0)

'Previous rank: 4

Defeated Glenn 31-0; next at Northern Guilford

4. Cardinal Gibbons (1-0)

Previous rank: 6

Defeated Dudley 34-6; next vs. Maury (Va.)

5. Providence Day (1-0)

Previous rank: 10

Defeated Roman Catholic (Pa.) 29-28; next at Rolesville

6. Hough (1-0)

Previous rank: 11

Defeated South Pointe (S.,C.) 14-10; next at Independence

7. Mallard Creek (1-0)

Previous rank: 12

Defeated No. 3 Rolesville 36-21; next at Grayson (Ga.)

8. Independence (1-0)

Previous rank: 13

Defeated Gaffney (S.C.) 27-21; next vs. Hough

9. Monroe (1-0)

Previous rank: 15

Defeated Hoke County 35-0; next vs. West Charlotte

10. West Charlotte (0-1)

Previous rank: 8

Lost to No. 1 Grimsley 28-27 in OT; next at Monroe

11. Cleveland (1-0)

Previous rank: 17

Defeated Pinecrest 60-19; next vs. Corinth Holders

12. Jacksonville (1-0)

Previous rank: 18

Defeated West Carteret 43-24; next at Northside-Jacksonville

13. Hoggard (1-0)

Previous rank: 19

Defeated Richmond 28-21; next at Jack Britt

14. Millbrook (1-0)

Previous rank: 20

Defeated Garner 34-13; next at Heritage

15. Northeastern (1-0)

Previous rank: 22

Defeated Bertie 49-0; next vs. D.H. Conley

16. Clayton (1-0)

Previous rank: 23

Defeated Wilson Prep 52-12; next vs. Southern Nash

17. Tarboro (1-0)

Previous rank: 24

Defeated Rocky Mount 20-16; next vs. Hunt

18. Charlotte Catholic (1-0)

Previous rank: 25

19. Rabun Gap-Nacoochee (0-1)

Previous rank: 7

Lost 24-19 to Grayson (Ga.); next at Baylor (Tenn.)

20. Northern Guilford (1-0)

Previous rank: Not ranked

Defeated No. 21 Reidsville 47-38; next vs. No. 3 East Forsyth

21. Myers Park (1-0)

Previous rank: Not ranked

Defeated Jay M. Robinson 37-6; next at No. 2 Weddington

22. Seventy-First

Previous rank: 5

Lost 46-44 to Terry Sanford; next vs. Cape Fear

23. South Point (1-0)

Previous rank: unranked

Defeated No. 14 Hickory 27-25; next at T.C. Roberson

24. Oak Grove (1-0)

Previous rank: Not ranked

Defeated Ledford 49-0; next vs. Reagan

25. Rolesville (0-1)

Previous rank: 3

Lost 36-21 to Mallard Creek; next vs. Providence Day

Published |Modified
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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