The current best high school football rivalries in NC
There are no shortage of rankings of the all-time best high school football rivalries in North Carolina.
You’ll hear the same pairings over and over again, with good reason. High school football in this state has been in part defined by heated showdowns like Richmond-Scotland, Shelby-Crest, Tuscola-Pisgah, and A.L. Brown-Concord.
I wanted to do a ranking of N.C.’s rivalries with a new twist.
Think of the below rankings as more of a power ranking than a historical ranking. Some historic rivalries from North Carolina might not be as good in 2024 as they are known for historically. Perhaps one (or both) of the teams involved are having a down stretch of years.
Some of the rivalries I’ve included are less typical in terms of proximity, but they’ve made the cut because these matchups have occurred on numerous occasions as of late. The best example of one of these atypical rivalries is Tarboro-Mount Airy. These schools are anything but close to one another, but they’ve faced off in state championship games three times since 2017, including each of the past two 1A state championships. For that reason, there is no love lost.
50 Best NC HS Football Rivalries in 2024:
- Butler vs. Independence
- Mount Airy vs. Tarboro
- Pisgah vs. Tuscola
- Crest vs. Shelby
- Richmond vs. Scotland
- East Duplin vs. Wallace-Rose Hill
- Robbinsville vs. Swain County
- Cardinal Gibbons vs. Rolesville
- Mitchell vs. Mountain Heritage
- New Bern vs. Havelock
- Reidsville vs. Shelby
- A.L. Brown vs. Concord
- Murphy vs. Robbinsville
- Northern Nash vs. Southern Nash
- Clayton vs. Cleveland
- Tarboro vs. Southwest Edgecombe
- Forest Hills vs. Monroe
- Murphy vs. Swain County
- West Forsyth vs. East Forsyth
- Chambers vs. Hough
- Mount Airy vs. East Surry
- North Rowan vs. Salisbury
- Dudley vs. Page
- Asheville School vs. Christ School
- Kings Mountain vs. Crest
- Chambers vs. Mallard Creek
- Kings Mountain vs. Shelby
- Lake Norman vs. Mooresville
- Rolesville vs. Wake Forest
- Crest vs. Burns
- Elkin vs. Starmount – The Battle of the Bridge
- A.C. Reynolds vs. Asheville
- Maiden vs. Bandys
- Mount Airy vs. North Surry
- Cardinal Gibbons vs. Leesville Road
- Maiden vs. Lincolnton
- Princeton vs. Rosewood
- Maiden vs. Newton-Conover
- Hunt vs. Fike
- Hillside vs. Southern Durham
- Mount Tabor vs. Reagan
- Grimsley vs. Page
- Hoggard vs. New Hanover
- Ashbrook vs. Huss
- Ragsdale vs. Southwest Guilford
- Lakewood vs. Midway
- Cape Fear vs. Terry Sanford
- Lexington vs. Thomasville
- East Wilkes vs. Elkin
- Manteo vs. First Flight
By the way, I laid out a plan for high school football fans to see as many of the best games as possible this fall:
Some honorable mentions:
- D.H. Conley vs. J.H. Rose
- Franklin vs. Smoky Mountain
- James Kenan vs. Wallace-Rose Hill
- Fuquay-Varina vs. Holly Springs
- East Gaston vs. South Point
- Heritage vs. Wake Forest
- Northeastern vs. Hertford County
- Laney vs. Hoggard
- Ashley vs. New Hanover
- Clinton vs. Wallace-Rose Hill
- Pinecrest vs. Scotland
- East Forsyth vs. Reagan
- West Stokes vs. East Surry
- Reidsville vs. Rockingham County
- Independence vs. West Charlotte
- Marvin Ridge vs. Weddington
- Freedom vs. Hibrtien
- A.C. Reynolds vs. T.C. Roberson
- Cardinal Gibbons vs. Millbrook
- Jordan vs. Hillside
- Oak Grove vs. North Davidson
- West Forsyth vs. Mount Tabor
- Dudley vs. Ben L. Smith
- Northeast Guilford vs. Eastern Guilford
- Rocky Mount vs. Nash Central
- Martin County vs. Washington County
- Whiteville vs. West Brunswick
- Owen vs. A.C. Reynolds
- Eastern Alamance vs. Western Alamance
- East Carteret vs. West Carteret
- Havelock vs. Jacksonville
- Wheatmore vs. Trinity
Source: highschoolot.com