The North Carolina high school football playoffs have reached the regional final round. Only four teams remain in the NCHSAA 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A classifications.
Tonight’s winners will square off for state championships next weekend at either NC State’s Carter-Finley Stadium or UNC’s Kenan Stadium.
Two defending state champions remain in the field entering tonight: Weddington and Hickory. Neither are No. 1 seeds, though. Weddington is a second-seed in the 4A West while Hickory is No. 3 in the 3A West.
Tarboro (1A East), Northeastern (2A East) and Grimsley (4A West) are the only top seeds still playing, a sign of the depth across the state NCHSAA high school football landscape this season.
Here are the match-ups for tonight’s regional finals. Scroll below the previews to find links to the 4A, 3A, 2A and 1A interactive brackets. Check back on Friday night for final scores and state championship pairings.
This will be the final year of the four-classification system in North Carolina high school football. The NCHSAA will adopt an eight-classification system beginning in 2025-26.
4A West: Weddington at Grimsley
The top two seeds remain on this side of the bracket. Weddington won last year’s state title. Grimsley, piloted by quarterback Faizon Brandon, a Tennessee commit, looks to unseat the champs.
Grimsley’s toughest game thus far came last week, with the Whirlies surviving 35-28 against Hough. Weddington only gave up 19 points in its first three games before advancing past East Forsyth 37-21 last Friday.
4A East: Rolesville at Cardinal Gibbons
Rolesville, the fifth seed, has been on a tear in the playoffs. The Rams have ripped off lopsided wins over Middle Creek (57-22), Pinecrest (45-8), Richmond (44-6) and top-seeded Cleveland (49-6) to get to this point.
Cardinals Gibbons blanked 2023 runner-up Hoggard 38-0 in its most recent contest. Other wins have come against Willow Spring (60-7), Garner (51-14) and Hillside (52-19).
3A West: West Charlotte at Hickory
Defending state champion Hickory, the No. 3 seed, will contend against eighth-seeded West Charlotte. The Red Tornadoes have been on a scoring binge in the playoffs, clipping North Lincoln 49-46 last Friday. This followed a 63-48 triumph over Crest, a 42-7 blitz of Statesville and a 53-0 shutout of Tuscola. Quarterback Brady Stober, a Samford commit, slung it for 477 yards and 6 TDs against Crest.
West Charlotte turned heads with a 58-0 blowout of No. 1 seed Erwin two weeks ago. West also blanked Huss 47-0 and trounced West Rowan 60-3 in the early rounds before defeating Dudley 39-13 to get to the regional final. The Lions’ lone state title in football came in 1995
3A East: Jacksonville at Seventy-First
Seventy-First from Fayetteville will play in its third consecutive regional final and will try to get back to the 3A title game for the second year in a row. The Falcons defeated Northern Nash 50-36 in this game last season. They are the No. 2 seed.
Jacksonville, the No. 12 seed, dispatched of top-seeded Havelock 56-28 a week ago. Jacksonville’s last regional finals appearance came in 2021 against Rose. The last win in a regional final was 2018 over Havelock.
2A West: Brevard at Monroe
While the East bracket features the top two seeds, this match-up will pit third-seeded Monroe against the No. 9 team from the West. Credit Monroe for taking out the No. 2 team last week, always tough Shelby 41-23.
A pathway to the regional final opened up for Brevard when defending 2A champ Reidsville got knocked out in the second round. Brevard waltzed past the team that beat Reidsville, East Rutherford, 42-6, then topped Forest Hills 57-14 last week.
2A East: Northeastern at Whiteville
It has been nearly four decades since Whiteville advanced this far in the state playoffs. The Wolfpack defeated an upstart Kinston team 48-21 a week ago and also has victories against Pasquotank (34-20), Farmville Central (63-29) and Eastern Wayne (48-14).
Top-seeded Northeastern knocked Whiteville out of the playoffs a year ago, 17-14. Quarterback Trevaris Jones leads the way for the Eagles, throwing for 3,500+ yards and 41 TD passes on the season.
1A West: Corvian Community at Mountain Heritage
We’ll have a new 1A West and 1A state champion this season. Corvian Community dethroned two-time state champ Mount Airy 14-7 last week to improve to 14-0. That ended the Granite Bears’ 43-game win streak. The Cardinals got the winning points on a Cam Johnson touchdown rush.
Mountain Heritage, also undefeated at 12-0, will play in its first regional final since beating Hendersonville 30-29 in 2020. The Cougars, the No. 2 seed, defeated Murphy last week 26-8 to advance. Lane Chandler rushed for 186 yards and two touchdowns, helping snap Murphy’s 12-game win streak. Earlier rounds proved a breeze, with wins over North Stokes 57-7, Hayesville 51-7 and East Wilkes 38-14.
1A East: Wilson Prep at Tarboro
Tarboro has been on a mission to get back to the state title game after losing to Mount Airy a year ago. After getting a bye in the opening round as the No. 1 seed, the Vikings have outscored Weldon, Warren County and Pender by a combined 176-6 margin. Tarboro has been to every regional final since 2017 and captured state titles in 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2021.
On the flip side, Wilson Prep is in uncharted territory, playing in its first-ever regional final after only three years as a program. Prep also had a bye during round one. The team improved to 12-1 with last week’s 36-17 win over Lakewood. Nazir Vines rushed for 175 yards and four TDs in the triumph.
4A NCHSAA Football Playoffs Interactive Bracket
Click HERE for our 4A high school playoff bracket page
3A NCHSAA Football Playoffs Interactive Bracket
Click HERE for our 3A high school playoff bracket page
2A NCHSAA Football Playoffs Interactive Bracket
Click HERE for our 2A high school playoff bracket page
1A NCHSAA Football Playoffs Interactive Bracket
Click HERE for our 1A high school playoff bracket page
