North Carolina High School Football Top 25 State Rankings - Sept. 8, 2025

There was some upheavel in the Top 25, with three teams in the top seven losing. Two new teams joined the rankings.
1. Grimsley (3-0)
Previous ranking: 1
Defeated East Forsyth 48-21; next idle
2. Cardinal Gibbons (3-0)
Previous rank: 3
Defeated Southern Durham 35-3; next at Southeast Raleigh
3. Providence Day (3-0)
Previous rank: 4
Defeated Charlotte Catholic 32-7; next vs. Butler
4. Hough (3-0)
Previous rank: 5
Defeated Highland Springs (Va.) 17-14; next vs. Mooresville
5. Cleveland (3-0)
Previous rank: 8
Defeated Northern Nash 52-28; at New Bern
6. Myers Park (3-0)
Previous rank: 9
Defeated Providence 45-7
7. Jacksonville (2-0)
Previous rank: 10
Idle; vs. Topsaiil
8. Weddington (2-1)
Previous rank: 11
Defeated Monroe 49-7; next at Crest
9. Hoggard (3-0)
Previous rank: 12
Defeated Clayton 38-14; next Panther Creek
10. Tarboro (3-0)
Previous rank: 15
Defeated Havelock 35-7; next at SouthWest Edgecombe
11. Seventy-First (2-1)
Previous rank: 17
Defeated Pine Forest 44-0; next vs. Hoke County
12. South Point (2-0)
Previous rank: 18
Defeated T.C. Roberson 34-6; next vs. Mount Pleasant
13. Indepedence (2-1)
Previous rank: 20
Defeated Charlotte Christian 35-34; next vs. Lake Norman
14. Freedom (3-0)
Previous rank: 21
Defeated East Burke 61-22; next at T.C. Roberson
15. Crest (3-0)
Previous rank: 23
Defeated Asheville 56-12; next vs. Weddington
16. Southeast Raleigh (3-0)
Previous rank: 24
Defeated East Wake 52-7; next vs. Cardinal Gibbons
17. East Forsyth (2-1)
Previous rank: 2
Lost 48-21 to Grimsley; next at Ragsdale
18. Mallard Creek (2-1)
Previous rank: 6
Lost 63-13 Grayson (Ga.); next vs. Myers Park
19. Clayton (2-1)
Previous rank: 14
Lost 38-14 to Hoggard; next at West Johnston
20. Charlotte Catholic (2-1)
Previous rank: 16
Lost 32-7 to Providence Day; next vs. Kings Mountain
21. Watauga (3-0)
Previous rank: Not ranked
Defeated Mount Airy 61-7; next at Erwin
22. New Bern (3-0)
Previous rank: Not ranked
Defeated West Craven 48-27; next vs. Cleveland
23. Jordan (3-0)
Previous rank: Not ranked
Defeated Vance County 52-0; next vs. Riverside-Durham
24. East Lincoln (3-0)
Previous rank: unranked
Defeated Newton-Conover 49-21; next vs. Bandys
25. Murphy (2-1)
Previous rank: unranked
Defeated East Surry 42-6; next at A.C, Reynolds

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.