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

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