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:

1. Butler vs. Independence
2. Mount Airy vs. Tarboro
3. Pisgah vs. Tuscola
4. Crest vs. Shelby
5. Richmond vs. Scotland
6. East Duplin vs. Wallace-Rose Hill
7. Robbinsville vs. Swain County
8. Cardinal Gibbons vs. Rolesville
9. Mitchell vs. Mountain Heritage
10. New Bern vs. Havelock
11. Reidsville vs. Shelby
12. A.L. Brown vs. Concord
13. Murphy vs. Robbinsville
14. Northern Nash vs. Southern Nash
15. Clayton vs. Cleveland
16. Tarboro vs. Southwest Edgecombe
17. Forest Hills vs. Monroe
18. Murphy vs. Swain County
19. West Forsyth vs. East Forsyth
20. Chambers vs. Hough
21. Mount Airy vs. East Surry
22. North Rowan vs. Salisbury
23. Dudley vs. Page
24. Asheville School vs. Christ School
25. Kings Mountain vs. Crest
26. Chambers vs. Mallard Creek
27. Kings Mountain vs. Shelby
28. Lake Norman vs. Mooresville
29. Rolesville vs. Wake Forest
30. Crest vs. Burns
31. Elkin vs. Starmount – The Battle of the Bridge
32. A.C. Reynolds vs. Asheville
33. Maiden vs. Bandys
34. Mount Airy vs. North Surry
35. Cardinal Gibbons vs. Leesville Road
36. Maiden vs. Lincolnton
37. Princeton vs. Rosewood
38. Maiden vs. Newton-Conover
39. Hunt vs. Fike
40. Hillside vs. Southern Durham
41. Mount Tabor vs. Reagan
42. Grimsley vs. Page
43. Hoggard vs. New Hanover
44. Ashbrook vs. Huss
45. Ragsdale vs. Southwest Guilford
46. Lakewood vs. Midway
47. Cape Fear vs. Terry Sanford
48. Lexington vs. Thomasville
49. East Wilkes vs. Elkin
50. 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