Conference play is in earnest, but so far we’ve got little change in the Cream of Cabarrus Rankings entering the Sept. 25 games.
Here is what we have:
#1 Jay M. Robinson (4-0) – The Bulldogs beat East Rowan (2-2) 35-0 in the South Piedmont Conference (SPC) opener for both teams. This week, the Bulldogs travel to Salisbury (0-4). On paper, this is another blowout – but a year ago at Robinson, the Hornets kept it close, losing only 14-0. Robinson has not allowed a touchdown yet, and that should be motivation.
#2 A.L. Brown (4-0) – The Wonders pounded Harding University (1-3) 52-14 in Charlotte. Kannapolis travels to Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology (POBAT). POBAT may need to deal up some of that technology to compete with A.L. Brown. I expect a similar score as last week.
#3 Mount Pleasant (4-1) – The Tigers ground out another tough road win 19-7 at West Davidson. Mount is off this week before heading into Yadkin Valley Conference play.
#4 Hickory Ridge (3-1) – The Ragin’ Bulls offense and defense both showed up last week at Central Cabarrus (1-3) in a 36-0 win. This week, Hickory Ridge visits West Cabarrus in another GMAC match-up. The Wolverines can throw the ball better than Central, so the defense can’t just focus on the run. This is our Game of the Week and will be broadcast on the NFHS Network.
#5 Northwest Cabarrus (3-1) – The Trojans handled an undefeated South Rowan team, which wouldn’t go away. After the Ashbrook game (40-0), I started to doubt Northwest, but the win of the Raiders 33-28 was a good bounce back to open South Piedmont Conference (SPC) play. So far this season, Northwest seems to let teams hang around after they get the lead. That might come back to bite them.
#6 Cannon-Concord Academy (4-0) – The Cougars were off last week and just back into action at Providence Day. This may be more of a challenge than earlier games. The computer rankings really like Cannon-Concord Academy.
What about the rest?
Central Cabarrus (1-3) has got to find some offense or at least a slight threat in the passing game. The Vikings have stayed close in earlier losses largely thanks to their defense. That wasn’t the case against Hickory Ridge. QB Dillon Ryan went down with an injury, hurting the Vikings’ offense. He scrambled to get a first down and took a vicious hit. A good note for the Vikings: Infinite Morrow (#44 and sometimes #61) has been selected for the North Carolina Coaches Association’s 2026 East-West Allstar game. Morrow will play for the West squad in the game, which will be played on December 19th at Grimsley High’s Jamieson Stadium in Greensboro.
Cox Mill (1-3) gets the award for the toughest break of the week. The Chargers charged back against defending GMAC champion Olympic Trojans and faced a two-point conversion to take the lead late. It appeared the Chargers scored to take the lead 23-22, but the officials ruled the runner was short of the goal line. That’s not what I saw on the video replay. It looked like the runner clearly made it into the end zone. Cox Mill hosts Harding University this week. It will be one of our Games of the Week with an audio-only broadcast on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/live/krarUpDQgwk?si=kJPPJPpS0Sjhq1Lh
West Cabarrus (1-3) shut down POBAT (Berry) in a 23-2 win last week. The assignment is tougher this week with the high-powered Hickory Ridge offense rolling in. Will the Wolverines provide a bigger challenge than Central Cabarrus did last week? I think it will be closer but I expect the Ragin’ Bulls to win. Here is a link to our NFHS Network Game of the Week broadcast: https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/radio-free-cabarrus/gamc1ed8fca3a?maxpreps=maxpreps&utm_campaign=video_share&utm_medium=share&utm_source=copy_link&utm_content=pre&exp=true
Concord (1-3) lost 56-0 to West Rowan (3-1). I doubt the Spiders have lost by a margin that big many times. Spiders’ fans were cautiously optimistic headed into that game. South Rowan will visit Coach EZ Smith Field at Robert C. Baily Stadium this week. I hate to say this, but I will be shocked if Concord wins. Spiders, put it on the bulletin board and prove me wrong.
What do the computers say?
I like to play around with AI (you’ve probably figured that out), so I asked it to check the rankings and RPI for our teams. Here is some of what I found.
The AI said it didn’t find some of the data for Concord and Cox Mill.
Robinson’s strength of schedule hurts their ranking. In another year, playing Charlotte Country Day and A.C. Reynolds would boost your strength. The Bulldogs are ranked #7 in North Carolina for 5A.
Cannon-Concord Academy ranks 3rd in the state for independent schools, while Mount Pleasant is 9th in 4A and A.L. Brown is #10 in 7A.
Enjoy the games this week.
