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 Statewide 25, 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 NC High School Football Fabulous 15 + The Next Ten
(At the end of the regular season)
- Hough finishes No. 1: The unbeaten Huskies (10-0) held the top spot from preseason through the final week, finishing No. 1 in all four ranking systems used in our composite.
- The top four remain intact: Providence Day (9-1), Weddington (10-0) and Grimsley (10-0) round out the top four, the same programs that occupied those positions in the preseason. Weddington edged ahead of Grimsley for third this week.
- Mallard Creek makes a big move: The Mavericks (8-2) jumped four spots to No. 5 after beating Chambers 17-7. The Cougars (9-1) slipped three places to No. 8.
- Crest cracks the top 10: The defending 5A state champions climbed to No. 10 following a 45-7 victory over Kings Mountain. Cleveland (9-1) also entered the Fabulous 15, tying unbeaten J.H. Rose for 14th.
- Chambers leads the preseason surprises: The Cougars climbed 32 positions from their preseason ranking of No. 40. Lake Norman (No. 17 to No. 6) and Garner (No. 21 to No. 9) also made impressive gains.
- Sixteen teams make the Fabulous 15: A tie for 14th between Cleveland and J.H. Rose expands the final regular-season rankings to 16 teams. NC Football News will release its next statewide rankings after the playoffs conclude in December.
👉 READ MORE: See our complete final regular-season Fabulous 15 analysis, including the biggest movers, surprises and preseason comparisons.
🔄 Last Updated: November 3, 2026 3:12 pm| Rank | Change | Team (2026) | Class | Avg. | HSOT | CharObserv | MaxPreps | Massey | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | — | Hough (10-0) | 8A | 1.00 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | W, 49-0 at Hopewell |
| 2. | — | Providence Day (9-1) | Ind | 2.25 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | W, 37-0 at Charlotte Country Day |
| 3. | ▲1 | Weddington (10-0) | 7A | 3.25 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | Idle |
| 4. | ▼1 | Grimsley (10-0) | 7A | 3.50 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | W, 62-0 vs. Ben L. Smith |
| 5. | ▲4 | Mallard Creek (8-2) | 8A | 6.25 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 5 | W, 17-7 vs. Chambers |
| 6. | ▲1 | Lake Norman (10-0) | 7A | 6.50 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 6 | W, 56-17 at Mooresville |
| 7. | ▼1 | Millbrook (9-0-1) | 8A | 6.75 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | W, forfeit vs. Corinth Holders |
| 8. | ▼3 | Chambers (9-1) | 8A | 11.00 | 12 | 9 | 12 | 11 | L, 17-7 at Mallard Creek |
| 9. | ▲1 | Garner (8-2) | 7A | 12.50 | 16 | 12 | 8 | 14 | W, 51-28 vs. Fuquay-Varina |
| 10. | ▲3 | Crest (9-1) | 5A | 13.75 | 10 | 15 | 17 | 13 | W, 45-7 vs. Kings Mountain |
| 11. | ▼3 | Reagan (8-2) | 7A | 14.00 | 19 | 11 | 11 | 15 | L, 12-10 vs. East Forsyth |
| 12. | — | Rolesville (7-2-1) | 8A | 15.00 | 14 | 13 | 25 | 8 | W, 52-0 at Enloe |
| 13. | ▼2 | West Forsyth (8-2) | 8A | 15.25 | 11 | 24 | 14 | 12 | W, 43-0 at Parkland |
| T-14. | ▲2 | Cleveland (9-1) | 7A | 15.75 | 21 | 17 | 16 | 9 | W, 21-20 vs. Clayton |
| T-14. | — | J.H. Rose (10-0) | 6A | 15.75 | 17 | 16 | 20 | 10 | W, 53-0 vs. D.H. Conley |
The Next Ten
These schools represent places 16-25 in our composite rankings.
| Rank | Change | Team (2026) | Class | Avg. | HSOT | CharObserv | Massey | MaxPreps | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16. | ▲3 | Jay M. Robinson (10-0) | 5A | 16.75 | 9 | 7 | 29 | 22 | W, 42-7 at North Cabarrus |
| T-17. | ▼2 | Hoggard (9-1) | 8A | 19.25 | 8 | 19 | 33 | 17 | W, 30-13 vs. Ashley |
| T-17. | ▲2 | Myers Park (7-3) | 8A | 19.25 | 15 | 26 | 13 | 23 | W, 35-0 vs. South Mecklenburg |
| T-19. | ▲2 | Cardinal Gibbons (7-3) | 7A | 19.50 | 26 | 25 | 9 | 18 | W, 43-7 vs. Cary |
| T-19. | ▼2 | Clayton (8-2) | 7A | 19.50 | 22 | 18 | 22 | 16 | L, 21-20 at Cleveland |
| 21. | ▼4 | A.L. Brown (10-0) | 7A | 20.50 | 26 | 10 | 18 | 28 | W, 34-21 vs. West Cabarrus |
| 22. | NEW | East Forsyth (7-3) | 7A | 21.00 | 18 | 26 | 21 | 19 | W, 12-10 at Reagan |
| 23. | ▼1 | Northside-Jacksonville (10-0) | 5A | 23.50 | 23 | 14 | 26 | 31 | W, 42-35 vs. Havelock |
| 24. | ▼1 | West Charlotte (5-4) | 8A | 23.75 | 26 | 26 | 23 | 20 | W, 33-19 vs. North Mecklenburg |
| 25. | ▼2 | Jacksonville (7-2) | 6A | 25.00 | 24 | 22 | 27 | 27 | W, 49-0 at White Oak |
How The NC Football News Fabulous 15 Works
To build the NC Football News Fabulous 15 and Next Ten, 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 is entered into a spreadsheet and averaged to create a consensus score. The lower the average, the higher the team appears in the Fabulous 15 and Next Ten.
The computers (Massey and MaxPreps) rank every school in the state. But the HighSchoolOT and Charlotte Observer polls only include 25 teams in their rankings. When using those sources, we give a No. 26 ranking to every team not included in one or both of the human polls.
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.
| Team (2026) | Class | Avg. | HS-OT | CharObserv | Massey | MaxPreps | Massey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
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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