NC high school football NCHSAA rankings: Top playoff seeds, rankings clash in 4A
The playoffs are here! The playoffs are here!
Given the way the NCHSAA compiles its rankings, and that so many top teams don;t face one another in the regular season, there are bound to be discrepancies in the way things are seeded in the playoffs compare to our humble weekly rankings. Look no further than the 4A rankings here to prove the point.
Grimsley is the top seed in the NCHSAA West bracket, yet comes in only at No. 8 here. Likewise, East No. 1 per the NCHSAA is Hillside, our No. 10.
The past few years, no NCHSAA top seed in 4A has won a title, and that can be attributed to the ranking system that weights records more than the level of competition each school faces. It also creates potential early-round matchups between teams with state title aspirations, like what Cardinal Gibbons could face in Round 2. Should the Crusaders (No. 8 here, East No. 5 per the NCHSAA) win in the first round, and should Millbrook (East No. 12 NCHSAA) win, they’ll meet in the second round.
In 3A, Kings Mountain is atop both the NCHSAA West bracket and our poll, though, and our No. 2, Northern Nash, is the NCHSAA 3A East No. 1. In their part of the world, at least, it all makes sense.
Here are our full top-10 rankings:
The Observer/News & Observer NCHSAA Football Polls
4A
| Rk. | School | Rec. |
| 1. | East Forsyth | 10-0 |
| 2. | New Bern | 10-0 |
| 3. | Hough | 8-2 |
| 4. | Chambers | 8-2 |
| 5. | Independence | 9-1 |
| 6. | Cardinal Gibbons | 8-2 |
| 7. | Charlotte Catholic | 8-2 |
| 8. | Grimsley | 10-0 |
| 9. | Mallard Creek | 7-3 |
| 10. | Hillside | 10-0 |
3A
| Rk. | School | Rec. |
| 1. | Kings Mountain | 10-0 |
| 2. | Northern Nash | 10-0 |
| 3. | Seventy-First | 10-0 |
| 4. | Havelock | 8-2 |
| 5. | South Point | 9-1 |
| 6. | Dudley | 8-2 |
| 7. | East Lincoln | 10-0 |
| 8. | Oak Grove | 10-0 |
| 9. | West Henderson | 10-0 |
| 10. | Eastern Alamance | 9-1 |
2A
| Rk. | School | Rec. |
| 1. | Burns | 9-1 |
| 2. | Monroe | 9-1 |
| 3. | Reidsville | 9-1 |
| 4. | East Surry | 10-0 |
| 5. | East Duplin | 9-1 |
| 6. | Chase | 10-0 |
| 7. | Maiden | 9-1 |
| 8. | Forest Hills | 9-1 |
| 9. | Wallace-Rose Hill | 8-2 |
| 10. | Clinton | 9-1 |
1A
| Rk. | School | Rec. |
| 1. | Tarboro | 9-1 |
| 2. | Andrews | 10-0 |
| 3. | Eastern Randolph | 9-1 |
| 4. | Mount Airy | 9-1 |
5. | North Moore | 10-0 |
| 6. | Thomasville | 9-1 |
| 7. | Draughn | 9-1 |
| 8. | Northampton Cty. | 8-2 |
| 9. | Murphy | 7-3 |
| 10. | Robbinsville | 7-3 |