The NC Football News High School Football Fabulous 15 is a consensus-style look at the top high school football teams in North Carolina.
The 2026 rankings combine four statewide polls and computer ratings: HighSchoolOT, the Charlotte Observer/News & Observer Super 25, MaxPreps and Massey Ratings. Each source is weighted equally to create a composite ranking showing which programs are most consistently viewed among the state’s best.
The Fabulous 15 will be updated throughout the 2026 season as new rankings are released. The list is designed to provide a statewide snapshot of where teams stand, rather than predict future results.
2026 Preseason NC High School Football Fabulous 15
👉 The defending 8A state champion Hough Huskies open the season as our clear No. 1 team, but Providence Day, Grimsley and Weddington lead a strong group of challengers. Read more about our 2026 Preseason Fabulous 15, published Aug. 16, for the full rankings, key takeaways and our Small-School Super Six.
🔄 Last Updated: August 17, 2026| Rank | Team (2026) | Class | Avg. | HS-OT | CharObserv | Massey | MaxPreps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Hough (14-0) | 8A | 1.00 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2. | Providence Day (13-0) | Ind | 2.50 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| 3. | Grimsley (15-0) | 7A | 3.00 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| 4. | Weddington (12-2) | 7A | 5.25 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 4 |
| 5. | Millbrook (13-1) | 8A | 6.50 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 9 |
| 6. | Cardinal Gibbons (12-2) | 7A | 7.50 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 7 |
| 7. | Mallard Creek (7-4) | 8A | 9.25 | 6 | 8 | 13 | 10 |
| 8. | Hoggard (12-1) | 8A | 11.00 | 5 | 4 | 18 | 17 |
| 9. | West Charlotte (10-3) | 8A | 11.75 | 15 | 22 | 5 | 5 |
| 10. | West Forsyth (10-3) | 8A | 15.50 | 10 | 25 | 16 | 11 |
| 11. | Rolesville (9-4) | 8A | 15.75 | 19 | 11 | 14 | 19 |
| T-12. | Crest (13-2) | 5A | 16.50 | 23 | 14 | 11 | 18 |
| T-12. | Southeast Raleigh (9-4) | 7A | 16.50 | 9 | 9 | 21 | 27 |
| 14. | Independence (10-3) | 7A | 16.75 | 26 | 26 | 7 | 8 |
| 15. | Clayton (12-3) | 7A | 17.00 | 26 | 19 | 9 | 14 |
The Next Ten
These schools represent places 16-25 in our composite rankings.
| Rank | Team (2026) | Class | Avg. | HS-OT | CharObserv | Massey | MaxPreps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16. | Reagan (10-3) | 7A | 18.50 | 17 | 15 | 22 | 20 |
| 17. | Lake Norman (8-4) | 7A | 19.00 | 11 | 13 | 27 | 25 |
| T-18. | Cleveland (10-2) | 7A | 19.25 | 26 | 26 | 12 | 13 |
| T-18. | Myers Park (9-3) | 8A | 19.25 | 26 | 26 | 10 | 15 |
| 20. | Mooresville (9-3) | 7A | 19.75 | 26 | 26 | 15 | 12 |
| 21. | Garner (9-4) | 7A | 21.50 | 18 | 26 | 19 | 23 |
| 22. | Charlotte Christian (7-6) | Ind | 22.00 | 26 | 26 | 20 | 16 |
| 23. | East Forsyth (7-5) | 7A | 22.50 | 20 | 24 | 17 | 29 |
| 24. | Sun Valley (9-4) | 6A | 24.25 | 26 | 26 | 23 | 22 |
| 25. | Richmond Senior (9-3) | 7A | 24.50 | 26 | 23 | 28 | 21 |
How The NC Football News Fabulous 15 Works
To build the NC Football News Fabulous 15, we reviewed statewide high school football rankings and power ratings from HighSchoolOT, MaxPreps, Massey Ratings and the Charlotte Observer/News & Observer Super 25.
Each team’s ranking from those sources was entered into a spreadsheet and averaged to create a consensus score. The lower the average, the higher the team appears in the Fabulous 15.
Because not every source ranks the same number of teams, schools not listed by a particular source were assigned the next available ranking spot for that list. For example, if a source ranked 25 teams, unlisted teams were treated as No. 26 for that source.
Final 2025 NC High School Football Fabulous 15
State champions Hough, Grimsley and Providence Day led the way in our final rankings of the 2025 season.
| RANK | TEAM | CLASS | AVG | HSOT | Simmons | MaxPreps | HSFA 300 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Hough (14-0) | 8A | 1.75 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 2. | Grimsley (15-0) | 7A | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 3. | Providence Day (13-0) | Ind | 2.25 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| T-4. | Weddington (12-2) | 7A | 4.5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| T-4. | West Charlotte (10-3) | 8A | 4.5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| 6. | Millbrook (13-1) | 8A | 7.25 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 8 |
| 7. | Independence (10-3) | 7A | 8.75 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
| T-8. | Cardinal Gibbons (12-2) | 7A | 10.5 | 20 | 6 | 9 | 7 |
| T-8. | Clayton (12-3) | 7A | 10.5 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 12 |
| T-8. | Myers Park (9-3) | 8A | 10.5 | 11 | 14 | 11 | 6 |
| T-11. | Crest (13-2) | 5A | 10.75 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 13 |
| T-11. | West Forsyth (10-3) | 8A | 10.75 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 13. | Hoggard (12-1) | 8A | 13.25 | 9 | 16 | 15 | 13 |
| 14. | Watauga (15-0) | 6A | 13.5 | 6 | 18 | 17 | 13 |
| 15. | Mooresville (9-3) | 7A | 14 | 17 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
The Next Ten
These schools represent places 16-25 in our final 2025 composite rankings.
| RANK | TEAM | CLASS | AVG | HSOT | Simmons | MaxPreps | HSFA 300 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T-16. | Cleveland (10-2) | 7A | 15.75 | 26 | 12 | 12 | 13 |
| T-16. | Mallard Creek (7-4) | 8A | 15.75 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 11 |
| 18. | Reagan (10-3) | 7A | 17 | 16 | 21 | 18 | 13 |
| 19. | Northern Guilford (12-2) | 6A | 18 | 14 | 23 | 22 | 13 |
| T-20. | Garner (9-4) | 7A | 19.25 | 26 | 19 | 19 | 13 |
| T-20. | Southeast Raleigh (9-4) | 7A | 19.25 | 26 | 22 | 16 | 13 |
| 22. | Jordan (11-1) | 8A | 20.25 | 25 | 20 | 23 | 13 |
| 23. | Sun Valley (9-4) | 6A | 21 | 26 | 24 | 21 | 13 |
| T-24. | Middle Creek (11-3) | 6A | 23 | 26 | 28 | 25 | 13 |
| T-24. | South Point (10-3) | 5A | 23 | 26 | 29 | 24 | 13 |
What stands out from the final 2025 list
- Hough finished No. 1 after winning the 8A state title and ranking first in both HighSchoolOT and Simmons.
- Grimsley and Providence Day, both unbeaten championship teams, were close behind, giving the final list a clear top three.
- Weddington and West Charlotte tied at No. 4, rounding out the top tier.
- Watauga finished 15-0 and won the 6A title, but landed outside the top 10 because some rankings weighed schedule strength differently.
- Several state champions finished outside the top 25 consensus list, including Reidsville, Tarboro and Shelby, showing the difference between classification dominance and statewide consensus rankings.
Follow the 2026 North Carolina high school football season
The Fabulous 15 is one piece of our 2026 high school football coverage at NC Football News.
Throughout the season, we’ll use our high school football scoreboard hub to track weekly scores from across North Carolina, with playoff brackets and postseason updates added as the year moves along.
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