LAURINBURG — The Fighting Scots moved up two places to No. 2 in this week’s Associated Press state football poll after a hard-fought 40-14 non-conference win over New Hanover.
The biggest move was the downfall of Mallard Creek, after suffering its first loss the school fell from No. 1 to No. 4. Greensboro Dudley moved into the No. 1 spot after remaining undefeated for another week. East Forsyth stayed at No. 3 — being surpassed by Scotland, despite having a 5-0 record.
After an early bye week, Apex Middle Creek also won its game to remain undefeated and hold steady at No. 5 in this week’s AP poll. Mallard Creek is the only top five team with a loss, there are two other schools in the Top 10 — Wake Forest and Charlotte Vance — that could sneak into the top five should the defending champions loss another game. The Scots bitter SEC rival Richmond County fell yet another spot from No. 8 to No. 9 in spite of a 21-0 win over South View.
The Associated Press state high school football poll for the week of Sept. 19, as voted upon by a statewide panel of prep sports writers, will be released weekly until the end of the regular season:
North Carolina AP Prep Football Poll
Class 4A
1. Greensboro Dudley (5-0)
2. Scotland County (5-0)
3. East Forsyth (5-0)
4. Charlotte Mallard Creek (3-1)
5. Apex Middle Creek (4-0)
6. Matthews Butler (4-1)
7. Wake Forest (4-0)
8. Charlotte Vance (5-0)
9. Richmond County (4-1)
10. Charlotte Catholic (3-1)
Class 3A
1. Havelock (5-0)
2. Lenoir Hibriten (4-0)
3. Shelby Crest (3-1)
4. Rocky Mount (4-1)
5. Eastern Alamance (5-0)
6. Fayetteville Sanford (4-1)
(tie) Orange County (5-0)
8. Southern Nash (5-0)
9. Western Alamance (4-1)
10. Lawndale Burns (5-0)
Class 2A
1. Shelby (5-0)
2. Lincolnton (5-0)
3. Clinton (4-0)
4. Reidsville (5-0)
5. East Lincoln (4-0)
6. Burnsville Mountain Heritage (5-0)
7. Newton-Conover (4-0)
8. Monroe (3-2)
9. Edenton Holmes (4-1)
10. Elizabeth City Northeastern (3-1)
Class 1A
1. Wallace-Rose Hill (4-0)
2. Mitchell County (5-0)
3. Mt. Airy (5-0)
4. West Montgomery (5-0)
5. East Montgomery (5-0)
6. Tarboro (3-2)
7. North Edgecombe (4-0)
8. East Carteret (4-1)
9. Murphy (4-1)
10. Riverside Martin (4-0)