High School

North Carolina High School Football Top 25 State Rankings - Sept. 21, 2025

Mallard Creek knocks off then-No. 2 Cardinal Gibbons; Ashbrook leads four new teams in joining the Top 25

Mike Duprez

Ashbrook roars into the Top 25 at No. 14.
Ashbrook roars into the Top 25 at No. 14. / Joe L. Hughes II / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

There was some movement in the poll, with No. 2 Cardinal Gibbons falling to 15 Mallard Creek. Four new teams - Ashbrook, West Charlotte, Millbrook and Kings Mountain - joined the rankings.

1. Grimsley (4-0)

Previous rank: 1

Defeated Southwest Guilford 65-0; next vs. Western Guilford

2. Providence Day (5-0)

Previous rank: 3

Defeated Rabun Gap-Nacoochee 55-34

3. Hough (5-0)

Previous rank 4

Defeated New Bern 63-15; next vs. West Mecklenburg

4. Cleveland (4-0)

Previous rank: 5

Idle; next at South Garner

5. Cardinal Gibbons (4-1)

Previous rank: 2

Lost 20-16 to then-No. 15 Mallard Creek; next idle

6. Weddington (4-1)

Previous rank: 7

Defeated Charlotte Catholic 42-7; next vs. Sun Valley

7. Jacksonville (4-0)

Previous rank: 6

Defeated East Duplin 35-24; next idle

8. Hoggard (4-0)

Previous rank: 8

Idle; next vs. West Brunswick

9. Tarboro (5-0)

Previous rank: 9

Defeated Northampton County 49-0; next idle

10. Seventy-First (4-1)

Previous rank: 10

Defeated Jack Britt 36-29; next idle

11. Mallard Creek (4-1)

Previous rank: 15

Defeated then-No. 2 Cardinal Gibbons; next vs. West Charlotte

12. Independence (4-1)

Previous rank: 12

Defeated Palisades 27-20; next idle

13. Freedom (5-0)

Previous rank: 13

Defeated A.C. Reynolds 70-20; next idle

14. Ashbrook (5-0)

Previous rank: Not ranked

Defeated then-No. 11 South Point 20-14; next at North Gaston

15. Clayton (4-1)

Previous rank: 16

Defeated Fuquay-Varina 56-10; next at Smithfield-Selma

16. Myers Park (4-1)

Previous rank: 18

Defeated Charlotte Christian 24-6; next idle

17. Watauga (4-0)

Previous rank: 19

Defeated Erwin 49-14; next at Asheville

18. Jordan (5-0)

Previous rank: 20

Defeated Apex 53-7; next Apex Friendship

19. East Lincoln (5-0)

Previous rank: 21

Defeated North Lincoln 49-0; next at Bunker Hill

20. Crest (3-1)

Previous rank: 23

Idle; next at Forestview

21. Hickory (4-1)

Previous rank: 24

Defeated Foard 50-0; next at North Lincoln

22. South Point (3-1)

Previous rank: 11

Lost 20-14 to Ashbrook; next vs. Huss

23. West Charlotte (3-2)

Previous rank: Not ranked

Defeated West Mecklenburg 55-0; next at Mallard Creek

24. Millbrook (4-0)

Previous rank: Not ranked

Defeated Athens Drive 57-15; next at Rolesville

25. Kings Mountain (4-1)

Previous rank: Not ranked

Defeated Forestview 49-0; next idle

Published
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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