The 2025 North Carolina high school football playoffs have arrived. The NCHSAA released its post-season brackets on Sunday, Nov. 1, and 336 teams will chase state championships across eight different divisions over the next month and a half.
Follow every NCHSAA high school football playoff tournament — from 1A to 8A — with updated scores, schedules and brackets.
✅ DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE PDF BRACKETS FROM THE NCHSAA.
NC HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCORES (NOV. 14): Check out results from the second round of the NCHSAA football playoffs.
📊 2025 NCHSAA Playoff Bracket Links
The 2025 state playoff field has been set for NCHSAA 1A-8A divisions. Click on a link below to view brackets for an individual classification.
| Classification | Link | Number of Teams |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 1A Football | 2025 1A Bracket → | 24 Teams |
| 🏆 2A Football | 2025 2A Bracket → | 48 Teams |
| 🏆 3A Football | 2025 3A Bracket → | 48 Teams |
| 🏆 4A Football | 2025 4A Bracket → | 48 Teams |
| 🏆 5A Football | 2025 5A Bracket → | 48 Teams |
| 🏆 6A Football | 2025 6A Bracket → | 48 Teams |
| 🏆 7A Football | 2025 7A Bracket → | 48 Teams |
| 🏆 8A Football | 2025 8A Bracket → | 24 Teams |
🗓️ Key NCHSAA Football Playoff Dates – 2025
What is the 2025 NCHSAA football playoff schedule?
The NCHSAA sent out a revised state playoff calendar on Oct. 30. The 1A and 8A tournaments will feature 24 teams, while 2A-7A will have 48 teams. The smaller brackets for 1A and 8A will create a bye weekend for those classifications, as all eight championships will be held the weekend of Dec. 11-13.
The NCHSAA has picked Friday, Dec. 5 as the bye weekend for 1A and 8A, coming between the regional finals and state championship games. The 1A bracket has been trimmed to 24 schools due to opt-outs.
- November 7 – First Round (higher seed hosts)
- November 14 – Second Round (higher seed hosts)
- November 21 – Third Round (higher seed hosts)
- November 28 – Fourth Round 2A-7A (higher seed hosts), Regional finals 1A, 8A (higher seed hosts)
- December 5 – Regional Finals 2A-7A (higher seed hosts), Bye 1A, 8A
- December 11-13 – State Championships 1A-8A (neutral sites, schedule TBD)
Where will the 2025 NCHSAA state championship games be played?
The NCHSAA will use UNC’s Kenan Stadium for four of the championship games (schedule TBA) this year. Lenoir-Rhyne’s Moretz Stadium in Hickory and Durham County Memorial Stadium also will be used on the weekend of Dec. 11-13.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
🗓️ When will the 2025 NCHSAA football playoff brackets be released?
The official 2025 NCHSAA football playoff brackets were announced around 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025.
🎥 How can I stream NCHSAA playoff football games?
Streaming North Carolina high school football is simple through NFHS Network, and every subscription directly supports the schools that produce the broadcasts. Sign up for your monthly or annual NFHS Network subscription now to get ready for the playoffs!
⚙️ How many teams qualified for the playoffs in each classification?
- 2A–7A: 48-team brackets
- 1A, 8A: 24-team bracket
The smaller 8A bracket exists because that class has 32 schools statewide, while others have as many as 64. The 1A bracket was trimmed to 24 schools due to participation opt-outs.
🧮 How were the playoffs seeded?
The 2025 NCHSAA football playoffs were seeded entirely by an RPI formula this year.
- Head-to-head results no longer guaranteed a higher seed.
- Conference finish no longer mattered — conference champions weren’t automatically qualified or seeded before wildcards.
🗺️ How were East and West regions determined?
The old static East/West region line is gone. Instead:
- The NCHSAA took all RPI-qualified teams (48 or 24).
- Ordered them west-to-east by longitude.
- Split that list in half to create the West and East regions.
- Re-sorted each region by RPI to set seeds.
🏆 Who received first-round byes?
- 2A-7A: Top 8 teams per region = 16 total byes.
- 1A, 8A: Top 4 teams per region = 8 total byes.
Those teams automatically advance to Round 2.
🧭 Simplified Playoff Process
- Select top 48 (2A-7A) or 24 (1A, 8A) teams by RPI.
- Sort by longitude → split West/East.
- Re-rank within each region by RPI → assign seeds.
- Top seeds earn first-round byes.
(Sources: HighSchoolOT.com, NCHSAA)
📣 Stay Updated
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