Chris Hughes

Nicknamed the 'Guru of High School Football' by Charlotte Observer columnist Langston Wertz, Jr., Chris Hughes is the Founder and Managing Editor of CarolinaPreps.com. A lifelong fan of the game, Chris grew up in Kannapolis and has devoted most of his life to covering the sport. Before starting CarolinaPreps, he spent time as a coach at multiple schools and is a U.S. Army veteran.

Looking ahead at the opening round of the playoffs

As the scoreboards ticked down to zero and the final horns blew in last Friday’s prep football games, we saw the conclusion of the 2021 regular season and boy what a regular season it was.  For casual fans and observers, this year may have seemed like any other season, but …

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Top25 Roundup for Week 11

Here is a look at how the teams ranked in the CarolinaPreps Top-25 fared during Week 11.   4A Classification Rank School Record Result 1 Hough (10-0) Def. Hopewell 58-0 2 Chambers (9-1) Def. Mallard Creek 33-7 3 Cleveland (9-0) Def. Clayton 55-6 4 Grimsley (10-0) Def. Northern Guilford 42-36 …

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Friday Night Scoreboard – Week 11

Here are the scores from around the state from Week 11 of the North Carolina High School Football season. A.C. Reynolds 60, McDowell 0 A.L. Brown 47, Concord 0 Andrews 22, Murphy 12 Apex 27, Green Hope 13 Apex Friendship 47, Green Level 26 Ardrey Kell 49, Berry 7 Ashbrook …

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Week 11’s Extended Football Rankings

Each week of the High School Football season, we rank every single team and evaluate every game that is played. This process is done by watching coaches’ films, streamed games, reading media reports, studying and comparing statistics, conversations with coaches, and of course decades of experience in knowing teams, regions, …

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Red Zone Strength Top-25 Power Rankings for Week 11

Here are this week’s CarolinaPreps Top-25 Power Rankings presented by Red Zone Strength for Week 11. Check back later this afternoon for the CP Extended Power Rankings. 4A Classification Rank School Record Prev. 1 Hough (9-0) 1 2 Chambers (8-1) 2 3 Cleveland (8-0) 3 4 Grimsley (9-0) 4 5 …

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Week 11 Schedule: Guru’s Picks

Here is the Week 11 schedule across North Carolina with the Guru’s Gameday Picks. Guru’s Pick Albemarle (2-6) at North Stanly (4-4) North Stanly Anson (3-6) at West Stanly (2-5) West Stanly Apex (4-5) at Green Hope (3-5) Apex Apex Friendship (3-6) at Green Level (2-7) Apex Friendship Ardrey Kell …

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It’s Rivalry Week across the Carolinas

Just a few short months ago, I wrote about the new season that was upon us, about the smell of freshly cut bermudagrass, the sweltering heat of those first practices, and the high hopes that teams had for winning conference and state titles.   Now we’re in the final week …

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Grading the Guru – Week 10

This week the Guru of High School Football went 135-68 for 80.36 percent in his Friday Night Picks! Let’s see where he was right! Guru’s Pick A.C. Reynolds 56, T.C. Roberson 0 A.C. Reynolds Albemarle 46, Union Academy 20 Albemarle Ardrey Kell 13, Olympic 12 Ardrey Kell Asheville 48, North …

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Top25 Roundup for Week 10

Here is a look at how the teams ranked in the CarolinaPreps Top-25 fared during Week 10.   4A Classification Rank School Record Result 1 Hough (9-0) Def. West Cabarrus 52-3 2 Chambers (8-1) Def. West Charlotte 48-28 3 Cleveland (8-0) Def. Garner 50-21 4 Grimsley (9-0) Def. Page 52-22 …

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Friday Night Scoreboard – Week 10

Here are the scores from around the state from Week 10 of the North Carolina High School Football season. A.C. Reynolds 56, T.C. Roberson 0 Albemarle 46, Union Academy 20 Ardrey Kell 13, Olympic 12 Asheville 48, North Buncombe 6 Ashley 30, Topsail 8 Bandys 37, West Caldwell 26 Bartlett …

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